“We need to pursue a research and development agenda on diversification of cereal- based systems with grain-legumes, vegetables, horticulture crops, and oilseeds.”


—Rob Bertram, U.S. Agency for International Development


of a few staple crops—now, better nutrition will depend on investing much more in nutrient- dense vegetables, which will have a rapid and effective payoff. Vegetables are one of the best sources of micronutrients, vitamins, and proteins in the human diet. An increasing diversity of vegetables—both exotic and indigenous— requires concentrated and consistent research and development attention and a substantial increase in investment. Crop breeders should focus on breeding vegetables that are high in nutrients and resilient in the face of climate volatility, pests, weeds, and diseases. More prominence should be given to the potential of small-plot agriculture. For example, home gardens in India can provide more than 100 percent of people’s recommended daily allowance of beta-carotene and vitamin C, 75 percent of protein, and 20–25 percent of iron.18


One science tool that can connect agricul-


ture to better health and nutrition outcomes is biofortification—that is, breeding staple crops to have a higher content of micronutrients like iron, zinc, and vitamin A. This tool has the po- tential to improve poor people’s nutrition status in an extremely cost-effective way (see box on this page). Using biofortification has four main advantages for reaching poor people in devel- oping countries. First, it targets the poor who eat large amounts of food staples daily. Second,


biofortification targets rural areas, where it is estimated that 75 percent of the poor live. Third, biofortification is cost-effective because once the initial investment is made to develop the crops, they can be adapted to other re- gions cheaply and then used by farmers year after year. Finally, this approach is sustainable because it relies on the foods that people are already used to eating. Scientists have already created a sweet potato high in vitamin A and released it to farmers in Africa. Biofortification work on bananas/plantains, beans, cassava, lentils, maize, pearl millet, potatoes, rice, sor- ghum, and wheat is also underway. HarvestPlus biofortified crops are poised to be released in seven countries by 2013.19


Science and technology levers can also help


fill the gaps in nutrition and health in other ways. For instance, researchers should collect and analyze more information on people’s usual food consumption patterns and nutrient intakes. It can be difficult and time-consuming to collect these data, but to design effective programs, it is essential to know what populations eat now, where they obtain that food, and where the “gaps” are in their ability to meet their nutri- ent requirements. Another task is to come up with field-friendly and affordable methods to measure nutritional status, especially for several micronutrients simultaneously.20


A Better Sweet Potato: Evidence from Mozambique and Uganda From 2007 to 2009, HarvestPlus and its partners undertook a project that encouraged selected communities in Mozambique and Uganda to produce and consume more orange-fleshed sweet potato, which contains more vitamin A than the white-fleshed sweet potato traditionally eaten there. Among other things, the project distrib- uted potato vines, used nutrition training to create demand for the sweet potato, and offered farmers training on marketing and product development.


The result? People started growing and consuming the orange sweet potatoes in significant numbers, and


these potatoes became an established part of the diet in project households. Increased consumption of orange sweet potatoes led to significant increases in vitamin A intakes, equal to roughly 100 percent of the daily re- quirements for young children (age 6−35 months), older children (age 3−5 years), and adult women.21


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