Reducing micronutrient deficiency with biofortification

New evidence suggests that selective breeding of staple food crops could be a key strategy in the fight against malnutritionMicronutrient malnutrition is caused by a lack of vitamins and minerals in the diet. Poor people are particularly vulnerable to micronutrient malnutrition, as their diets consist mainly of grains and don't include many vital fruits, vegetables or animal products.HarvestPlus as part of the CGIAR research programme on agriculture for nutrition and health, has promoted the selective breeding of staple food crops to provide more essential micronutrients as a new potentially important strategy in the fight against micronutrient malnutrition. This 'selective breeding' is known as biofortification. Though several investments in large-scale biofortification projects are underway, until recently little rigorous evidence has supported the impact of these investments.To fill this knowledge gap, with support from the Gates Foundation, HarvestPlus conducted the reaching end users project in Mozambique and Uganda from 2006-2009. The project aimed to reduce vitamin A deficiency among children under 5 and among women of child-bearing age by introducing provitamin-A-rich orange sweet potato (OSP) to 24,000 farming households. The varieties of OSP disseminated were all bred locally using conventional methods, had attractive agronomic properties, and reached or exceeded a target level of vitamin A. Research done at the beginning of the REU showed that a majority of consume...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Tags: Nutrition Uganda Farming Guardian Professional Food security Health Food safety Mozambique Editorial Global development professionals network Farming and food security Agriculture Nutrition and development Source Type: news