The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, often referred to as the “Father of Medicine” is credited with the statement “Let Food Be Thy Medicine”, which is the theme of the 2016 Borlaug Dialogue.
It is a fitting introduction to the work of the four World Food Prize laureates, whose combined work has shown the potential nutrition benefits that can be achieved from the biofortification of crops, in their case specifically the sweet potato.
An important staple crop across much of Africa, the starchy sweet potato is typically white or yellow in colour, but crop scientists found a way to biofortify it with beta carotene (a precursor to vitamin A) through conventional breeding – turning its flesh a bright orange colour in the process.
Vitamin A deficiency causes a number of illnesses including night blindness and poor outcomes in pregnancy and lactation, as well as reducing one’s ability to fight infections and contributing to maternal mortality. Globally, it affects about one third of children under the age of five and is estimated to kill 670,000 children under five annually.
The consumption of the biofortified orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) was found in early studies to lead to a 15 percent decline in Vitamin A deficiency in children who ate it daily compared to those who did not. It symbolises the specific potential of foods to contribute to improved nutrition outcomes.
2015 was a remarkable year for the global biofortification movement. More than 15 million people are now growing and eating these healthier crops. Over 100 varieties of 12 micronutrient-enriched crops are available in 30 countries, and are being tested in an additional 25 countries. HarvestPlus’ goal is to scale up delivery so that a billion people worldwide will be reaping the nutritional and agronomic benefits of these crops by 2030.
Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank, stressed the importance of good childhood nutrition in his presentation at the Borlaug Dialogue – not only as a moral imperative but also as a practical investment for sustaining countries’ broader development progress. He noted that malnutrition has led to stunting in children across much of Africa and south Asia over more than 30% of the population. This has lifelong implications to their cognitive abilities and their productive capabilities.
Similarly, President Akin Adesina of the African Development Bank emphasised his institution’s commitment to providing $24 billion in funds over the next decade to agricultural development on the continent. “To eat well is expensive,” he said, “ and the focus must not only be on filling the body” but also on providing it with the nutrients it needs. In addition to sweet potatoes, he also noted many promising biofortification programmes for other crops, ranging from beans to cassava and sorghum.