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Maize
Maize
Pages 8-17
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From page 8... ...
Moreover, it is rapidly becoming more popular: annual world production almost tripled between 1930 and 1980, and it increased a remarkable 14 percent -- from 395 million to 449 million tons1 -- between 1980 and 1985. Most of the crop is used in the country in which it is grown; only about 10 percent enters international trade, yet even this small fraction provides more than two-thirds of the total international trade in feed grains.
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From page 9... ...
For example, maize: • Gives one of the highest yields per hour of labor spent; • Provides nutrients in a compact form; • Is easily transportable; • Is protected against birds and rain by its husks; Wheat Rye |j:| Sweet Potato 10 15 20 PERCENT OF WORLD CROP PROTEIN 25 30 FIGURE 2.1 Maize contributes 15.4 percent of the protein produced by the world's crops -- more than any other plant except wheat.
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From page 10... ...
10 QUALITY-PROTEIN MAIZE Maize is the most widely distributed crop and the most important cereal in the world after wheat and rice. Is easy to harvest and can be shelled by hand; Stores well if properly dried; Is relatively free of major disease epidemics; Competes with weeds better than other cereals; Does not shatter and thus can be left standing in the field at maturity; and • Has cultivars with different maturing periods.
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From page 11... ...
It is the staple of at least 200 million people in Brazil, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Venezuela, Benin, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Zaire, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Maize is also an important food crop in the Mediterranean region, the Middle East, and parts of Asia.
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From page 12... ...
It provides 65 percent of all the calories in the diets of families in Guatemala, 62 percent of those in El Salvador, and 49 percent of those in Honduras.2 A typical daily diet of campesinos in these countries is 500 g of maize for men, 350 g for women, and 150 g for children.3 In Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras, the per capita consumption of maize is about 100 kg per year, and for the most destitute people the intake is even higher. The maize tortilla is the basic food for the majority of the people, particularly the poor.
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From page 13... ...
It is also often cooked in more diluted forms to provide porridge, gruel, soup, and even beer. MAIZE AND MALNUTRITION As noted, about half of the world's chronically undernourished people live in countries where maize is a staple (figure 2.2)
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From page 14... ...
(UNDER 1 YEAR) IN DEATHS PER 1,000 LIVE BIRTHS FIGURE 2.2 The infant mortality in some maize-growing countries is extremely high.
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From page 15... ...
TABLE 2.1 Average Daily Food Consumption (in grams) for Three Population Groups in Santa Maria Cauque, Guatemala 1964-1972." Weaned children at Women in third Mothers in third Type of food 3 years of age trimester of pregnancy trimester of lactation Tortillas (maize)
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From page 16... ...
Indians were undoubtedly unaware that their method for preparing maize increased its nutritional value; the procedure was probably adopted because they found that the hard kernels were softened by the lime water and could be ground more easily. However it happened, it was a happy discovery.
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From page 17... ...
In developing nations -- where, by the year 2000, some 60 percent of the world population is projected to live (or hope to get enough food to live) -- no more than 3 percent of available cereal grains goes into animal feed.
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