3.3 Results
3.3.3 The nutritional importance of maize in Katumba ward
The amounts of maize flour that farm households that took part in this study consumed per meal ranged from 0.5 to 3 kg, with a mean of 1.1308 kg. Farm household size ranged from two to 16,
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with 5.61 mean and 2.08 standard deviation. The mean for the number of female and male adults in the farm households was 1.16 and 0.90, respectively, and standard deviation was 0.49 and 0.39, respectively. Moreover, the number of male children aged above 18 years of age in the farm households ranged from 0 to 6 and the number of male children aged below 18 years of age ranged from 0 to 11, with 0.42 and 1.42 mean, respectively, and standard deviation of 0.76 and 1.38, respectively.
The number of female children aged above 18 years ranged from 0 to 5, and the number of children aged below 18 years also ranged from 0 to 5. The mean for the above was 0.37 and 1.41, respectively, standard deviation was 0.72 and 1.06, respectively. The above figures show that an average farm household in Katumba ward would consist of one male adult, one female adult, one male child aged above 18 years, one male child aged below 18 years, one female child aged below 18 years and no female child aged above 18 years. The mean number of people per farm household would be about five or six. Since the farm households in Katumba ward utilized an average of 1.13 kg of maize flour per meal, the farm households could obtain average amounts of calories of energy and other nutrients indicated in Table 3.3 daily through maize meal consumption alone. Lesser quantities of nutrients could be obtained from maize by households that utilized 0.5 kg of maize flour per meal; whereas farm households that utilized 3 kg of maize flour per meal could obtain relatively higher quantities of nutrients from maize per day (Table 3.3). However, whether these estimates apply to the farm households in Katumba ward or not depended on the degree of the quality of maize which the farm household could produce and properly store.
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Table 3.3: The estimated amounts of energy and nutrients from maize that farm households that participated in the study could consume per day
Nutrients Amount of nutrients from 1 - 1.13 kg of maize
Amount of nutrients from 0.5 kg of maize
Amount of nutrients from 3 kg of maize
per meal per day per meal per day per meal per day
Energy 4161.34 cal 8322.69 cal 1840 cal 3680 cal 11040.00 cal 22080.00 cal
Protein 106.26 g 212.59 g 47.00 g 94 g 282.00 g 564.00 g
Fat 37.32 g 74.63 g 16.50 g 33 g 99.00 g 198.00 g
Carbohydrates 837.92 g 1675.85 g 370.50 g 741 g 2223.00 g 4446.00 g
Fiber 11.31 g 22.62 g 5.00 g 10 g 30.00 g 60.00 g
Ash 11.31 g 22.62 g 5.00 g 10 g 30.00 g 60.00 g
Calcium 203.54 mg 407.09 mg 900.00 mg 1800 mg 5400.00 mg 10800.00 mg Phosphorus 11.31 mg 22.62 mg 890.00 mg 1780 mg 5340.00 mg 10680.00 mg
Iron 37.35 mg 74.63 mg 16.50 mg 33 mg 99.00 mg 198.00 mg
Thiamine 2.94 g 5.88 mg 1.30 mg 2.6 mg 7.80 mg 15.60 mg
Riboflavin 0.91 mg 1.81 mg 0.40 mg 0.8 mg 2.40 mg 4.80 mg
Niacin 11.31 mg 22.62 mg 5.00 mg 10 mg 30.00 mg 60.00 mg
3.3.3.1 The importance of maize as a source of energy in Katumba ward
In line with the findings in section 3.3.3, an average farm household in Katumba ward would consist of one boy aged above 18 years, one boy aged below 18 years, one girl aged below 18 years a female parent aged above 27 years and a male parent aged above 27 years. The recommended daily intakes of energy for an average farm household which is composed of two boys, one girl and two parents are as indicated in Tables 3.4 and 3.5 (Food Nutrition Board- Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2005), which are also applicable to an average farm household in Katumba ward.
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Table 3.4: The estimated caloric requirement per day for an average farm household in Katumba ward where the female child and one of the male children in the household are aged 11 - 14 years
Household member Age (years) Energy (cal)
Boy 11-14 2500
Boy 19- 24 2900
Girl 11- 14 2200
Mother 27- 50 2200
Father 27- 50 2900
Total energy required 12700
Table 3.5: The estimated caloric requirement per day for an average farm household in Katumba ward where the female child and one of the male children in the household are aged 15 - 18 years
The Estimated 8322.69 cal that a farm household can obtain from maize per day in Katumba ward (Table 3.3) equals 69 % of the total energy that an average farm household in Table 3.5 required per day, and it also equals 66.8 % of the total energy that the farm household in Table 3.6 required per day. Thus, it was estimated that an average farm household in Katumba ward can obtain 66.8 - 69.5% of the daily required energy from consumption of maize in their diets.
3.3.3.2 The importance of maize as a source of protein in Katumba ward
Based on the average amounts of nutrients recommended by Food Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine of the National Academies (2005) for specific age groups, the estimated amounts of the
Household member Age (Years) Energy (cal)
Boy 15-18 3000
Boy 19- 24 2900
Girl 15- 18 2200
Mother 27- 50 2200
Father 27- 50 2900
Total energy required 13200
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required protein that an average farm household in Katumba ward should be able to consume daily are as shown in table 3.6 and 3.7.
Table 3.6: The estimated protein requirement per day for an average farm household in Katumba ward where the female child and one of the male children are aged 11 - 13 years
Thus, after rounding off, the estimated 212.59 g of protein that a farm household in Katumba ward can obtain from maize (Table 3.3) equals 90 % of the total quantity of protein that the average farm household in Table 3.6 requires and it equals 83 % of the total quantity of protein that the average farm household in Table 3.7required.
Table 3.7: The estimated protein requirement per day for an average farm household in Katumba ward where the female child and one of the male children in the household are aged 15 - 18 years
Therefore, it was estimated that an average farm household in Katumba ward could obtain from maize 83 - 90 % of the total protein that the household required per day.
Household member Age (Years) Protein (g)
Boy 11-13 34
Boy 19- 24 56
Girl 11- 13 34
Mother 27- 50 56
Father 27- 50 56
Total protein required 236
Household number Age (Years) Protein (g)
Boy 15-18 52
Boy 19- 24 56
Girl 15- 18 46
Mother 27- 50 46
Father 27- 50 56
Total protein required 256
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3.3.3.3 The importance of maize with respect to the nutrients that the farm households obtained through the other types of food that were consumed concurrently with maize meals
As shown in Figure 3.4, all of the farm households in Katumba ward often consumed maize meals concurrently with other types of food, especially beans, fresh leafy green vegetables, dry fish and meat. A significant percentage of the farm households ate maize meals with eggs regularly.
Figure 3.4: Types of food that the farm households in Katumba ward ate concurrently with maize meals
3.3.3.4 The importance of maize based on the farm households’ perspectives
It was found that the importance of maize meal to farm households in Katumba ward was based on several perceptions (Figure 3.5), and the perception that maize meals are more filling than the other types of food had more than 60 % of the total scores, and was the highest.
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Figure 3.5: Reasons for which the farm households in Katumba ward preferred maize meals