Bio:

Semira received her PhD in Agriculture from Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa in March, 2015 under the mentorship of Prof. Felix Dapare Dakora and Dr. Endalkachew Wolde-Meskel. Her thesis work focused on the identification of the genetic diversity and symbiotic efficiency of soybean microsymbionts in Ethiopia. Her novel results demonstrated the existence of indigenous microsymbionts of soybean in various soils of Ethiopia that effectively fix atmospheric nitrogen. 

Project summary:

The poor nutritional status of women and children has been a serious problem in Ethiopia for many years and occurs even in years of good harvest years due to non-balanced food intake caused by inexpensive cereal-based foods available in poor communities that are low in protein and micronutrients. The first aim of this study is to determine dietary diversity and calculate nutrient dietary intake in the Sodo Zuria district using data from 3days weighed-food record and 3days 24-h recall survey and food composition tables, and compare it with nutrient intakes based on nutrient analysis of duplicate diet composite samples collected on the same days of the survey. The second aim is to investigate the relationship of nutritional status of study population with dietary intake, diet diversity, and that of food micro-nutrient with soil micronutrient status, in particular Fe and Zn. The study will develop models that describe nutrient dietary intake in relation to dietary diversity and establish whether micronutrient status of diet is dependent on soil micronutrient nutrients status or other factors.