biofortification of staple food crops: justification, progress, and future activities
TRANSCRIPT
HarvestPlus c/o IFPRI2033 K Street, NW • Washington, DC 20006-1002 USATel: 202-862-5600 • Fax: [email protected] • www.HarvestPlus.org
Biofortification of Staple Food Crops: Justification, Progress, and Future Activities
Howarth Bouis February 17, 2016
Copyright: Micronutrient InitiativeWhy are Mineral and Vitamin Deficiencies Such A Significant Public Health Problem?
Dietary Diversity
Severity of Micronutrient Deficiencies: Vitamin A, Iron, and Zinc
Source: World Health Organization (WHO) children under 5 prevalence data
Consequences Mineral & Vitamin Deficiencies
Vitamin A deficiency• Supplements reduced child mortality by 23%• 375,000 children go blind each year
4
Zinc deficiency• increased incidence/severity diarrhea/pneumonia; stunting• 2 billion people; 450,000 deaths each year
Iron deficiency• Impaired cognitive abilities that cannot be reversed• 82% of children < 2 years in India are anemic
Consequences of Zinc Deficiency
• Zinc essential for the function of many enzymes and metabolic processes
• Zinc deficiency is common in developing countries with high mortality
• Zinc commonly the most deficient nutrient in complementary food mixtures fed to infants during weaning
• Zinc interventions are among those proposed to help reduce child deaths globally by 63% (Lancet, 2003;2008)
• Regular zinc supplements can greatly reduce common infant morbidities in developing countries (strength of evidence)• Diarrhea • Pneumonia • Stunting ?
162 million children with stunted growth in 2012
Source: UNICEF, WHO, The World Bank. Joint Child Malnutrition Estimate (UNICEF, New York; WHO, Geneva; The World Bank, Washington, DC; 2013
Some Zinc Supplementation Trials Show Reductions in Stunting
Biofortification-breeding food crops that are more nutritious
75% of the poor 25%
Empowering women farmers
Cost-effective: central one time investment
Photo: ICRISAT
Copenhagen ConsensusTOP FIVE SOLUTIONS CHALLENGE
1 Micronutrient supplements for children (vitamin A and zinc) Malnutrition
2 The Doha development agenda Trade
3 Micronutrient fortification (iron and salt iodization) Malnutrition
4 Expanded immunization coverage for children Diseases
5 Biofortification Malnutrition
Biofortification – One Piece of the Puzzle
Supplementation Commercial Fortification
Agricultural Interventions
Dietary Diversity
Present Reach of Biofortification
14
Human Nutrition Efficacy Trials
Fourteen Efficacy Trials either completed or in process
–High iron crops +• Meta-analysis completed for beans and pearl millet
–High pro-vitamin A crops • Multiple efficacy trials completed for sweetpotato,
maize, and cassava
–High zinc crops• Bioavailability studies positive, efficacy trials in the field
Nutrition Impacts• Efficacy trials with iron biofortified crops have
also shown improved functional outcomes:–Improved cognitive function–Better work performance
• Biofortified crops, as consumed, provide an extra 40% of estimated average requirement each day – substituting one-for-one the biofortified variety for the existing non-biofortified variety.
Three Million Households Targeted in 2016
400,000250,000 60,000
20,000195,000
600,000360,000
175,000
75,000
85,00055,000
85,000480,000
130,000 11,000
Iron Bean Rwanda Iron Bean DRC Iron Bean UgandaIron Bean Zimbabwe Iron Pearl Millet India Vita-A Cassava NigeriaVita-A Cassava DRC Vita-A Maize Zambia Vita-A Maize NigeriaVita-A Maize Zimbabwe Vita-A Maize DRC Vita-A OSP UgandaZinc Rice Bangladesh Zinc Wheat India Zinc Wheat Pakistan
Orange Sweet Potato
• Vitamin A-rich orange sweet potato (OSP) was released to 24,000 households in Mozambique and Uganda from 2007-2009
• Findings from the project have shown high rates of adoption and consumption, resulting in increased vitamin A intakes among women and children
• Distribution of OSP has been scaled-up in Uganda by HarvestPlus to reach 225,000 households by 2016
Photo: HarvestPlus
Impact on vitamin A intakes
Vitamin A OSP Reduces Diarrhea(Two Years After Extension
Stopped)• Diarrhea is one of the leading causes
of death in children < 5 in developing countries.
• Eating orange sweet potato (OSP) reduces the incidence and duration of diarrhea in children. – For children < 3 likelihood of developing
diarrhea was reduced by more than 50% and duration of diarrhea reduced by more than 25%.
– For children < 5 likelihood of developing diarrhea was reduced by more than 40% and duration of diarrhea reduced by more than 10%.
Incremental Changes in the Prevalence of Inadequate Zinc
Intake, Bangladesh
Comparison of Annual Biofortification and Fortification
Costs, Bangladesh
TRANSGENIC FE- AND ZN-DENSE RICE
Trijatmiko et al., 2016
Proof of concept achieved:
Fe Zn