Applying a nutribusiness approach to increase animal source food consumption in local communities

Abstract

Animal source foods (ASF) in the diets of schoolchildren are beneficial for supporting optimal physical and cognitive development. Nevertheless, behavioral change and economic development are needed to increase and sustain adequate meat product consumption by schoolchildren in developing countries. A NutriBusiness enterprise may be one way for local communities to promote economic development while increasing the availability of meat for children. This work evaluates the feasibility of a NutriBusiness enterprise involving the production of rabbits and the manufacture of solar dried snack food. Some rabbits would be kept for home use, whereas others would be used in the manufacture of a rabbit-sweet potato dried snack food that could be fed to children or sold for income. The NutriBusiness enterprise would be composed of participants from the community contributing to a cooperative effort for setting up a manufacturing facility and organizing production, manufacturing and marketing functions. A unit operation for rabbit-sweet potato Chiparoos, based on full-capacity operation of a single solar drier would involve up to 110 shareholder families, each producing 240 rabbits/y with 120 used at home and 120 sold for Chiparoos manufacture. Participation in the enterprise would increase the availability to children of iron, zinc and vitamin B-12, and other nutrients, and provide approximately 350 dollars/y additional income for the family.