Nutrition Integration Fact Sheet: Vegetables

Practitioners must now include nutritional considerations into their work and measure nutritional impact. This fact sheet is part of ACDI/VOCA's ongoing learning agenda, designed to provide a practical and informative resource for staff on the nutritional value of crops and leverage points within the value chains for maximizing nutritional impact. Many countries have prioritized market development of vegetable value chains based purely on their economic growth potential. Vegetables typically fetch higher prices in the market, provide a higher return on investment, are often grown and/or sold by women, and can successfully be produced on limited amounts of land. However, research continues to show that increased vegetable production does not lead to increased household consumption. Therefore, it is essential to pair vegetable value chain work with awareness-raising and behavior-change activities to ensure that producers themselves are able to reap the nutritional benefits of what they grow. Most vegetables contain significant amounts of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, and can improve diet diversity and a household's nutritional status when eaten in combination with staple foods. Improving micronutrient intake through increased vegetable consumption is key to tackling Africa's dual burden of undernutrition and increasing rates of obesity. This fact sheet provides information on the nutritional benefits of a number of commonly grown vegetables in sub-Saharan Africa, with the purpose of assisting practitioners in the selection of vegetables for value chain development and informing rotation, intercropping, and household utilization choices that may better address nutritional deficiencies among farming families. Dark-green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, spider weed, pigweed, moringa, cassava, and sweet potato, have high vitamin and mineral content, specifically vitamin A, iron, and zinc. These vitamins and minerals are often lacking in staple foods and are particularly important for the health and development of pregnant and lactating women and children. Dark-green leafy vegetables are great additions to meals that are based on cereals and legumes, but they do not store well and need to be eaten soon after harvesting. Orange, red, and yellow vegetables, including fruit and flower vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers, and root, tube, and bulb vegetables such as onions, carrots, and sweet potatoes, are also high in nutritional value. Tomatoes are rich in vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin K, B vitamins, and iron, while peppers are a good source of vitamin A and C. Carrots are an excellent source of vitamin A and contain a large amount of dietary fiber and antioxidants. Sweet potatoes are a rich source of protein, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and dietary fiber, and are affordable sources of nourishment.