A lively fieldtrip and a workshop in Kenya show how orange-fleshed sweetpotato and other biofortified staples can improve the health of the poor who suffer micronutrient deficiency

A rap song extolling the virtues of the orange-fleshed sweetpotato? You will probably never hear it on the radio, but journalists participating in a HarvestPlus fieldtrip enjoyed the song, as well as poems and skits performed by students who gathered at Lukore Primary School on the Kenyan coast to share their knowledge about the health benefits of orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP). Joining the journalists on the fieldtrip were sweetpotato breeders Regina Kapinga and Sammy Agili of the International Potato Center (CIP by its Spanish acronym), who bred new OFSP varieties suitable for local growing conditions.

Participants in the trip to Kwale District, where many people suffer micronutrient malnutrition, also met OFSP farmers and sampled their culinary creations rich in beta-carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A. Approximately 70 percent of pre-school children in Kenya suffer vitamin A deficiency, which weakens immune systems and contributes to preventable blindness in children.

The fieldtrip preceded a regional workshop held in Mombasa on 4-5 May and jointly hosted by HarvestPlus and the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa. Scientists, policymakers and other leaders in African agriculture and health discussed the latest research on biofortification, or breeding for micronutrient density. They also identified strategies to develop biofortified crops in Africa and integrate biofortification into national agricultural and health policy agendas.

“Addressing micronutrient malnutrition requires a paradigm shift,” observes Howarth Bouis, director of HarvestPlus. “Agricultural research has traditionally focused on increasing crop yields, reducing environmental damage, or improving the incomes of farmers. It needs to move beyond this to improving food quality as well. In this way, biofortification can play a critical role in improving health. ”

Many of Africa’s rural poor can afford only a diet based mostly on staple crops such as maize, white-fleshed sweetpotato, and cassava, which are generally low in such micronutrients as iron, zinc and vitamin A. More than a third of the population of sub-Saharan Africa suffers the debilitating effects of micronutrient malnutrition, a leading cause of illness, blindness, premature death, and impaired mental development.

The farmers and students in Kwale District are part of a pilot project led by CIP and the Kenyan Agricultural Research Institute to promote the production, dissemination, and marketing of OFSP, the first of several biofortified staple crops that HarvestPlus, CIP and national agricultural research partners are breeding specifically for Africa.

“Until now, the solution to micronutrient deficiency among the poor has focused on vitamin and mineral supplements, dietary diversity, and commercial food fortification,” says Ruth K. Oniang’o, Kenyan parliamentarian, professor of food science and nutrition, and keynote speaker at the workshop. “While these approaches have attained some success, they have not been able to reach all those in need, particularly people in remote rural areas. By targeting staple food crops grown and consumed by the rural poor, biofortification can reach large numbers of people in a cost-effective and sustainable manner, leading to a nutrition revolution for Africa.”