ABSTRACT
Insufficient vegetable and fruit consumption causes 2.7 million deaths annually worldwide and belongs to the top ten risk factors contributing to mortality (Ezzati et al, 2002). Malnutrition is rampant in the tropics where per capita vegetable supplies in most countries fall far short of the minimum recommended 73kg per person per year. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), per capita vegetable supplies are only 43 per cent of what are needed, leading to widespread malnutrition. These conditions are intolerable, yet they are projected to worsen. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) predicts an 18 per cent rise in the number of malnourished children in SSA from 2001 to 2020 (IFPRI, 2001). While micronutrient deficiencies mainly causing vitamin A, iron and iodine disorders remain widespread, the chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes, that caused 60 per cent of all deaths in 2005 are increasing globally (WHO, 2007). About 80 per cent of the deaths from chronic diseases occur in low-and middle-income countries. Increased fruit and vegetable consumption has been widely promoted because of the health benefits of micronutrients, as well as the many non-nutrient phytochemicals associated with health maintenance and prevention of chronic diseases (Steinmetz and Potter, 1996). Greater fruit and vegetable consumption can help to address the double burden of micronutrient deficiencies and chronic diseases.
