1

Biofortified Crops as Part of a More Diverse Diet

HarvestPlus IFPRI Seminar October 21 2015 “Getting to One Billion: Scaling Up Biofortification”

International Food Policy Research InstitutePoverty, Health and Nutrition Division

Namukolo Covic (PhD)

2

Nutrition & Food Security Indicators (Sources FAOSTATS, 2015; UNICEF, 2015)

Under 5 nutrition indicators

Wasting Underweight Stunting Overweight0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

SA-2008 Botswana-2008Ethiopia 2014 Zambia-2014

Food security indicators

Ad energy supp (%) Undernourishment (%)0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

South Africa Botswana Ethiopia Zambia

3

IYCF practices(Sources FAOSTATS, 2015; UNICEF, 2015)

Breast feeding practices

EBF <6Mo (%) BF at 1 yeat (%)0

20

40

60

80

100

120

South Africa-2003 Botswana-2007Ethiopia- 2011 Zambia-2013-14

Compl diet quality 6-23 Mo

Min DD (%) Min Accept diet (%)0

5

10

15

20

25

South Africa-2003 Botswana-2007Ethiopia-2011 Zambia-2013-14

Increasing evidence of efficacy

Iron Pearl Millet & Iron Deficiency

• India: A study found that iron pearl millet can significantly reduce iron deficiency in children 12-16 years after six months of intervention.

A Randomized Trial of Iron-Biofortified Pearl Millet in School Children in India. The Journal of Nutrition. 2015

Orange Sweet Potato

• Vitamin A-rich orange sweet potato (OSP) released in several African countries.

• High rates of adoption and consumption, resulted in increased vitamin A intakes among women and children in Uganda and Mozambique.

A large-scale intervention to introduce orange sweet potato in rural Mozambique increases vitamin A intakes among children and women. British Journal of Nutrition, 2011

Introduction of β-Carotene–Rich Orange Sweet Potato in Rural Uganda Results in Increased Vitamin A Intakes among Children and Women and Improved Vitamin A Status among Children. Journal of Nutrition, 2012

Impact on vitamin A intakes

HarvestPlus. Disseminating Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato: Findings from a HarvestPlus Project in Mozambique and Uganda. 2012. Washington, D.C.: HarvestPlus.

Vitamin A OSP & Diarrhea

• Eating orange sweet potato reduced incidence and duration of diarrhea in children. – For children < 3 years: likelihood of

developing diarrhea was reduced by more than 50% and duration of diarrhea reduced by more than 25%.

– For children < 5 years: likelihood of developing diarrhea was reduced by more than 40% and duration of diarrhea reduced by more than 10%.

Diarrhea –a leading causes of death in children < 5 in developing countries.

Using Agriculture to Improve Child Health: Promoting Orange Sweet Potatoes Reduces Diarrhea. World Development. 2015

Vitamin A Maize & Vit A status

Vitamin A ‘orange’ maize found to increase vitamin A liver stores in children as effectively as supplements.

nshima, made from orange maize

Biofortified orange maize is as efficacious as a vitamin A supplement in Zambian children even in the presence of high liver reserves of vitamin A: a community-based, randomized placebo-controlled trial.American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; December 2014

Biofortified foods as part of a diverse diet

• Iron beans• Iron pearl millet• Orange-fleshed sweet

potato• Vitamin A cassava• Vitamin A maize• Zinc rice• Zinc wheat