The Need
Lack of vitamin A is a public health issue in more than half of all countries. It is especially severe in Africa, where an estimated 32 percent of preschool-aged children are vitamin A deficient.
The sweet potato is an important food crop in developing countries, but the common white African varieties do not contain vitamin A. A consortium of partners teamed up to develop orange-fleshed sweet potatoes – rich in vitamin A – as a promising way to help end this global health problem.
The Project
The
foundation funded a project to promote the orange-fleshed sweet potato in Uganda and Mozambique, where vitamin A deficiency affects 38 percent and 68 percent of all children respectively. The project worked to educate small farmers and their communities about these new, nutritious varieties.
The results were impressive. A study of more than 24,000 households in Mozambique and Uganda found that vitamin A intake among young children, older children, and women as much as doubled in households that received vines and grew these new varieties. The research conducted by this project will help inform future projects about how to effectively introduce nutritionally enhanced crops. Looking ahead, millions of people in farming communities in Africa could be expected to grow and consume orange-fleshed sweet potato if investments to disseminate these new varieties continue.
The Partners
Experts at institutions around the world have contributed; major partners include: