According to Hunger Notes, an estimated 239 million people in sub-Saharan Africa suffer from hunger and malnourishment and a total of 925 million worldwide. In 2010, around 30% of Africa's population is undernourished, having the largest proportion of the population suffering from hunger and undernourishment. It's like one in three people are hungry or suffering from poor nourishment. Ironically, the answer to this pressing concern is not providing enough food but rather, providing the right types of food.
An interview with Jane Howard in BBC tells us that "the vast majority of those numbers that we're talking about are children who, because they haven't had the right nutrition in the very earliest parts of their lives, are really very susceptible to infectious diseases, like measles. A child that's had good nutrition would just shrug it off, but for a child that's really fragile and has a compromised immune system it becomes really life threatening." And this is where sweet potatoes come in.
In sub-Saharan African countries like Uganda an Ethiopia, rice and corn are easily available. However, these are not enough sources of micronutrients. According to WHO, an estimated of 250 million preschool-age children in Africa and Southeast Asia suffer from Vitamin A deficiency (VAD). VAD can actually cause growth issues in kids, decrease in immunity against infection, blindness and eventually results to death to many children.
Researchers aided by the United Nations were able to cut the mortality rate by 25% by providing kids in Africa Vitamin A capsule once every six months. However, they wanted to create a sustainable and less expensive source of Vitamin A. This is where "biofortification" comes into play. This is the process of developing nutrient-rich varieties using molecular techniques or conventional breeding. The result is produce that provides better nutrition, right from the field.
A research published in Science News, shows how Sunette Laurie and her team was able to create the perfect sweet potato. The team tested 12 varieties of sweet potatoes, and was able to come up with two promising varieties, Impilo and Purple Sunset. According to Laurie, both varieties are widely accepted by farmers and consumers. A 4.4-ounce serving of Impilo provides 113% of the daily vitamin A requirement of a 4-8 year old. Purple Sunset provides 261%. A third variety, Bophelo, has higher beta-carotene than Impilo and fares better in taste tests.
Laurie and her team are involved in all efforts to expand the use of local varieties.
