This document summarizes a side event at the 2016 ReSAKSS conference in Accra, Ghana on biofortification in Africa.
1) The session included introductions and presentations on nutrition and socio-economic impact evidence, crop releases and delivery, and partnerships for scaling up biofortification. Research has shown that conventional breeding can increase nutrient levels in crops without impacting yields, and when consumed these nutrients can significantly impact human nutrition. Farmers are willing to grow and consumers are willing to eat biofortified crops.
2) Over 20 African countries are developing, testing, and releasing several biofortified crop varieties. Delivery operations are active in several countries, using commercial and non-commercial channels to reach
Biofortified Crops in Africa: Evidence of Success and Vision for Scaling Up
1. HarvestPlus c/o IFPRI
2033 K Street, NW • Washington, DC 20006-1002 USA
Tel: 202-862-5600 • Fax: 202-467-4439
HarvestPlus@cgiar.org • www.HarvestPlus.org
Biofortification in Africa
Evidence of Success and Vision
for Scaling Up
ReSAKSS 2016 Conference Side Event
October 18, 2016 | Accra, Ghana
2. Session Line-up
I. Introduction
Prof Ruth Oniang’o (Chair)
II. Nutrition and Impact Evidence
Dorene Asare-Marfo
III. Crop Releases and Delivery
Bho Mudyahoto
IV. Partnerships for Scale Up
Nelson Ojijo-Olang’o
V. Discussion
Dr. Lawrence Haddad (Discussant)
3. INTRODUCTION
Prof Ruth K. Oniang’o
Editor-in-Chief, African Journal of Food, Agriculture,
Nutrition and Development (AJFAND)
Founder, Rural Outreach Program (ROP) Africa
4. NUTRITION AND SOCIO-
ECONOMIC IMPACT EVIDENCE
Dorene Asare-Marfo
Program Manager and Senior Research Analyst
HarvestPlus-IFPRI, Washington DC
6. Hidden Hunger
Affects 2 billion people worldwide (i.e. 1 in 3)
(FAO 2013)
Contributes to the global disease burden of children
Poor quality diets is one of the major causes
– High intake of starchy staple foods
(e.g. rice, maize, cassava)
– Low intake of micronutrient-rich foods
(e.g. vegetables, legumes, animal source foods)
8. is a process of
increasing the density of vitamins
and minerals in a crop through
plant breeding or agronomic
practices, so that the biofortified
crops, when consumed regularly,
will generate measurable
improvement in vitamin and
mineral nutritional status.
10. 3
1 2
Dr. Howarth Bouis
2016 World Food Prize Laureate
Are farmers willing
to grow and are
consumers willing to
eat biofortified
crops?
Can conventional
breeding add extra
nutrients in the
crops without
reducing yields?
When consumed, can
the increase in nutrient
levels make a
measurable and
significant impact on
human nutrition?
11. 1
3
2
Can conventional
breeding add extra
nutrients in the
crops without
reducing yields?
Are farmers willing
to grow and are
consumers willing to
eat biofortified
crops?
When consumed,
can the increase in
nutrient levels make
a measurable and
significant impact on
human nutrition?
Is biofortification
feasible &
effective?
12. Is Biofortification Feasible and Effective?
H+
Socio-
Economic
& Nutrition
Research
Targeting for impact
Measuring impact
Testing for impact
14. Testing for Impact
Efficacy Trials/Studies
Farmer Field Day Evaluations
Farmer Feedback Studies
Consumer Acceptance Studies
15. Testing: Nutrition Evidence
• Vitamin A Maize Efficacy study - Zambia (Gannon et al., 2014)
– Children aged 5-7
– Total body stores of vitamin A increased significantly for treatment group
for three months
– Beta carotene in maize is an efficacious source of vitamin A
• Iron Beans Efficacy study - Rwanda (Haas et al., 2016)
– Young women aged 18-27
– Significant increase in iron status after consuming biofortified beans for
six months
– Iron biofortified beans are an efficacious source of iron
16. Testing: Socio-Economic Evidence
• Vit A Maize (VAM) Farmer Feedback study - Zambia (Diressie et al, 2016)
– Farmers who planted VAM
– Feedback from farmers was very positive and informative
• Growers liked the production and consumption traits of VAM
• Majority want to plant VAM in subsequent seasons and want 4X more seed
• Vit A Cassava Consumer Acceptance - Nigeria (Oparinde et al., 2014)
– Rural consumers in Oyo state
– Hedonic testing for vitamin A (light and dark yellow) gari vs white gari
– Information on nutritional benefits has an effect on level of acceptance
• Without information, light yellow gari is preferred
• With information, higher preference for deep-colored yellow gari
18. Measuring: Nutrition Evidence
Orange Sweet Potato (OSP) Effectiveness Study in Uganda
and Mozambique
• OSP significantly increased vitamin A intake among women and
children 9.5% reduction in prevalence of low serum retinol
(Hotz et al., 2012)
• OSP accounted for more than half of total vitamin A intake –
53% in Uganda and 78% in Mozambique (Hotz et al., 2012)
• Reduced prevalence (by 11.5 percentage points) and frequency
(by 0.6 days) of diarrhea in children under-five
(Jones and de Brauw, 2015)
• OSP can improve child health by reducing vitamin A deficiency
(Jones and de Brauw, 2015)
19. Measuring: Socio-Economic Evidence (1)
Orange Sweet Potato (OSP) Effectiveness Study in Uganda
and Mozambique
(de Brauw et al., 2010)
• 61% (Uganda) and 68% (Mozambique) of beneficiary households
adopted OSP
• Farmers increased share of OSP in total sweet potato cultivated
area and consumers substituted white or yellow SP varieties for
OSP
• Intervention cost about US$15–20 per Disability Adjusted Life
Years (DALYs) saved highly cost-effective
20. High Iron Beans (HIBs) Impact Assessment Study in Rwanda
(Asare-Marfo et al., 2016)
• 28% HIB adoption since 2010 ≈ Half a million HHs in Rwanda
• 54% continuous or intermittent adopters
• Farmers increase area planted to HIB over time
• 12% of total bean output in SB 2015 was HIB
• Social networks play a major role in diffusion
– 41% received first planting material from friend or neighbor
Measuring: Socio-Economic Evidence (2)
21. 1
3
2
Can conventional
breeding add extra
nutrients in the
crops without
reducing yields?
Are farmers willing
to grow and are
consumers willing to
eat biofortified
crops?
When consumed,
can the increase in
nutrient levels make
a measurable and
significant impact on
human nutrition?
The Research has proven that:
Conventional breeding can increase the
nutrients in the crop
When consumed, nutrient levels can make a
measurable and significant impact
Farmers are willing to grow, and consumers
are willing to eat biofortified crops
22. The Potential of Biofortified Crops
Dr. Akinwumi Adesina,
President of the African Development Bank
23. BREEDING AND DELIVERING
BIOFORTIFIED CROPS IN AFRICA
Bho Mudyahoto
Senior Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation Specialist
HarvestPlus-IFPRI, Kampala
24. What We Now Know About Breeding and
Delivery of Biofortified Crops in Africa
• Breeding can add extra nutrients to crops
• Farmers are willing to grow and consumers are
willing to eat biofortified crops
• More African countries have embraced biofortified
crops and biofortification as a strategy to reduce
malnutrition
• Carefully identified indicators and good
coordination are crucial for tracking reach and
impact for biofortification initiatives
25. Breeding, Testing & Release of Varieties
• HarvestPlus/CG/NARS develop, test & release
• NARS release and keep improving nutrient levels and
other production traits
• Biofortified germplasm public goods to governments
• Over 20 African countries are now developing, testing
& releasing several biofortified crop varieties
26.
27. Status of Biofortified Varieties in Africa
Iron
beans
Yellow
cassava
Orange
maize
Orange
sweet
potato
Number of countries
tested in
6 8 10 > 14
Number of countries
released in
6 5 7 > 14
Number of varieties
released
28 10 31 > 90
Source: HarvestPlus (2016)
28. Delivering Released Varieties to Farmers
• Active delivery operations in DRC, Nigeria, Rwanda,
Uganda, Zambia Zimbabwe, Tanzania & Kenya*
• H+ delivers through partners use commercial and
non-commercial delivery channels:
– Zambia – private commercial seed companies multiply & market direct
– Uganda & Rwanda – partners & Individual smallholder farmers
– Also through governments, NGO/CBO with or without H+
• Indirect reach farmer to farmer diffusion for non
hybrid varieties
*HarvestPlus partnership countries
29. Measuring What We Report
• HarvestPlus’ 3 legged Monitoring, Learning and Action
(MLA) system
a. Implementation monitoring 5 process & 10 output level
indicators
b. Outcome monitoring 10 outcome level indicators
monitoring surveys
c. MLA models 10 outcome & 3 impact indicators
• Feeding data into MLA models application/use
• Impact Assessments 10 outcome & 3 impact level
indicators qualitative variables
30. Number of Households Reached in Africa (‘000)
Crop/country 2012 2013 2014 2015
Vitamin A cassava, Nigeria 0 106 360 520
Vitamin A OSP, Uganda 33 76 107 132
Iron beans, Uganda 29 69 43 37
Iron beans, Rwanda 105 609 332 480
Iron beans, DR Congo 60 241 128 175
Vitamin A cassava, DR Congo 0 25 75 180
Vitamin A maize, Zambia 0 11 104 110
Total 227 1,137 1,149 1,634
31. • High phytate content in crops being developed for high
iron or zinc interfere with their absorption
• β-carotene levels vs DM content in OSP & VAC
• Invisible trait crops iron and zinc:
– Adulteration/falsification along the value chain
• Seed production is a constraint in many countries
– Low access by the poor
– Commercial seed shun root & tubers crops
– Seed quality control is challenging
Challenges:15yrs of research, delivery & learning
32. Concluding Remarks
• The HarvestPlus/CG/government/private sector and farmers
tremendous progress in Africa develop, test, release
• Commercial and non-commercial channels for delivery of PM
• More households are growing and eating biofortified crops each
year in target countries
• More countries are developing and releasing biofortified crop
varieties without direct support from HarvestPlus
sustainability
• Variable identification, systematic data collection and analysis
and good coordination of M&E systems crucial for successful
measurement of progress & results for biofortification initiatives
33. PARTNERSHIPS FOR SCALING UP
BIOFORTIFIED FOODS
Nelson Ojijo Olang’o
Lead Specialist Capacity Development
FARA, Nairobi
34. Partnerships for Biofortification
Phase of Biofortification Type of Partnership
Development of biofortified crop
technologies
For technical feasibility
(breeders,
agronomists, funding)
Efficacy and effectiveness testing For nutritional impact
(nutritionists, food
scientists, processors)
Adoption, scaling up, sustainability For scalability &
sustainability
(See next figure)
36. Africa’s Commitment to Nutrition
• African Union Commission (AUC)
– Malabo Declaration III 3(d)
– Africa Regional Nutrition Strategy (2005 – 2015 & 2016 – 2025)
– African Task Force on Food and Nutrition Development (ATFFND)
– The Cost of Hunger in Africa (COHA) studies
• NEPAD
– Food & Nutrition Program
– NEPAD Food Security and Nutrition Expert Panel
• Regional Economic Communities
• FARA and SROs
40. Partnerships for Scalability
• Sweet Potato for Health Initiative (SPHI): 10 million
households in 10 years
– Dissemination of New Agricultural Technologies in Africa (DONATA)
(2008 – 2015): OFSP
– Sweet potato Action for Security and Health in Africa - SASHA I and
II (2010 - 2019) including Mama SASHA on OFSP
– Reaching Agents of Change (2011 – 2014) on OFSP
• Building Nutritious Food Baskets, BNFB (2016 – 2018):
testing a model for multi-crop approach to scaling up
– Orange sweet potato, yellow cassava, high iron/zinc beans, orange
maize (CIP, IITA, H+, FARA, CIMMYT, CIAT, national partners)
41. Partnerships for Sustainability (1)
We need action at policy, private sector and
beneficiary levels:
– Mainstreaming of biofortification initiatives in
government policies
– Private sector commitment and involvement in
biofortification – development, production,
processing, marketing, and promotion
– Increased nutritional knowledge and changed
consumption habits of consumers
42. Partnerships for Sustainability (2)
Key partnerships would include:
• Biofortified crop development – mainstreaming
by national and CG Centers (Kigali declaration of
2014)
• Partnerships with Private Seed Companies
• Aid/Grants - Development partners including
biofortification in their programs
• Food Industry - Local and International
companies processing biofortified foods
43. The Work Ahead
Forging NARS/CGIAR partnerships :
– For Zinc rice and Zinc wheat varieties
– For Iron Pearl Millet and Zinc/Iron sorghum in Sahelian
countries
– To increase regional capacity to develop additional
nutrient-rich staple food varieties;
– To strengthen public and private seed systems and policies
to fuel supply and demand for more nutritious crops
44. Call To Action
• Explicit indicators needed to track nutritional outcomes
at Levels II & III of the CAADP RF (2014 – 2024)
• Urgent need for African policy makers to:
– Include biofortification in key agriculture, health and nutrition
strategies at national, regional, and global levels.
– Mandate biofortification within National Agricultural Research
Systems (NARS)
– Support inclusion of Biofortification definition into CODEX and
National Standards
This map details worldwide severity of the most common micronutrient deficiencies—vitamin A, anemia, and zinc—using World Health Organization (WHO) children under 5 prevalence data. Severity was coded using a 3-point weighting system based on levels of public health significance cut-offs (low, moderate, and high).
HH is highly prevalent in SSA
Point 2 - by limiting proper cognitive development, impairing physical development, and increasing susceptibility to infectious diseases.
Biofortification is a complementary tool to existing nutrition interventions.
Biofortification is cost-effective and sustainable on its own. Often a one-time investment.
Target group is farmers who produce and home consume large quantities of biofortified staple crops and typically suffer from MD
Generic: Our work: HarvestPlus and its partners are developing and promoting biofortified staple crops through plant breeding to increase the density of vitamins and minerals, sufficient to impact human health and nutrition. [All HarvestPlus crops released by governments to date are conventionally bred.]
Focus on iron, zinc and vitamin A
By the end of 2015 over 1.5 million farming households in these countries were reached directly with biofortified planting material
Impact and nutrition research to answers to these questions using studies that can be grouped under three umbrellas
Prescriptive
Informs crop development and delivery
Biofortified variety provides an additional
Current breeding targets are to deliver an additional 30% of the estimated average iron requirements, 40% of zinc requirements and 50% of vitamin A requirements for women and children through our biofortified crops
The goal of all nutrition interventions, including biofortification, is to shift the intake distribution to the right (Figure 4) so that the population group at risk of having an inadequate intake is reduced (smaller hatched area) while ensuring that those who consume larger amounts of the biofortified food will not exceed the Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL).
Descriptive/explanatory
Small-scale
Meant to inform further crop development and delivery, i.e. revisions to breeding and delivery mechanisms
Provitamin A-rich OSP: van Jaarsveld et al. 2005; Low et al. 2007
Provitamin A orange maize: Moura et al., 2014; Tanumihardjo et al. 2013
Provitamin A yellow cassava: Talsma et al, forthcoming; Moura et al., 2014
Iron pearl millet: Finkelstein et al, 2015; Beer et al, 2014; Moura et al., 2014; Scott et al, 2014; Pompano et al. 2013
Iron beans: Haas et al. forthcoming; Moura et al., 2014; Haas et al, 2013; Luna et al. 2012
Larger scale evaluations – population level and nationally representative
Typically conducted after several years of dissemination
Meant to inform country program management and delivery
Effectiveness study proof of concept. Done jointly with both research units.
Vitamin A effectiveness completed so far
Iron effectiveness currently underway in Guatemala
Zinc effectiveness in the pipeline. Hope to do in next couple of years
Randomized controlled trials – proof of concept
In order to complete the effectiveness evidence on all three micronutrients, an iron bean effectiveness study is currently being implemented in Guatemala, and there are plans to conduct a zinc wheat effectiveness study in Pakistan in the coming years.
How did we define adoption here?
Anything less than $293 DALYs saved is highly cost-effective worldbank
Did impact assessment in Rwanda
Significant delivery had already taken place… no untouched areas… small country
Many delivery models used in Rwanda
Talk through the background
Nationally representative
2 part survey. Listing – 19575 HH. Main – 1397 HH
Point 3 – 48% in season 1 to 70% by season 6
Social networks – marginal cost in delivery decreases over time
Quote from President of the African Development Bank, Dr. Akin Adesina at 2nd Biofortification conference, who is a great champion of biofortification. During his talk at the Conference, he stated - “Biofortified crops are going to be game-changers with dealing with the issue of malnutrition in our world today.”
This quote captures how we feel about this moment we are at right now. We’ve shown some great results in our ongoing programs – but for us to have a real impact, we need to translate this potential into real, game-changing action against malnutrition. This will involve scaling up and building strong partnerships Nelson will talk about this.
And lastly, Biofortification cannot and should not be viewed as a “standalone” or “silver bullet” nutrition intervention. There is tremendous potential and opportunity for biofortified, nutritious crops to be integrated within and work harmoniously with the larger toolkit for hunger and malnutrition interventions to fight hunger and malnutrition.
Targeted delivery of specific micronutrients e.g. iron, Vitamin A or Zinc………not just crops; reach is counted per crop/country
Name some of the CG centers and NARS that HarvestPlus is working with
Biofortified germplasm and nutrient-rich breeding lines are developed and made available as public goods to governments
Explain commercial and non-commercial delivery; refer to payback and pass on as examples of how farmers pay for seed. No free seed except for demo packs!
Number of HHR steadily increasing over time; 2nd and 3rd crop coming up for DRC, Rwanda, Nigeria, Uganda*
Refer to the following solutions: Lowering the phytate content of the edible portions of these crops without sacrificing plant health is a proven concept; however, further development is necessary, particularly for legumes; Measures and mechanisms to identify and protect authentic biofortified seed and grain XRF machines; the importance varietal targeting by agro-ecological zones for OSP varieties in Uganda; Edutainment: engender demand iron beans song by Rwanda musicians Nollywood film
The use of “ambassadors” in the form of community, religious, and school leaders as well as health workers. HarvestPlus and partners work with these “champions”;
Increase in area notable and accounted for in target countries
Components of scaling up pathway
African Union Commission (AUC):
Malabo Declaration III 3(d):
“to improve nutritional status, and in particular, the elimination of child under-nutrition in Africa with a view to bringing down stunting to 10% and underweight to 5% by 2025.”
AUC’s ARNS (2005 – 2015 & 2016 – 2025)
African Task Force on Food and Nutrition Development (ATFFND)
support the development of food and nutrition policies and programs on the continent
COHA studies
NEPAD: Food & Nutrition Program:
Focuses on maternal and child nutrition, food fortification and biofortification, dietary diversity and home grown school feeding.
NEPAD Food Security and Nutrition Expert Panel
Regional Economic Communities:
Cascading the ARNS (2016 – 2025)
Mainstreaming nutrition in RAIPs
FARA and SROs:
nutrition-sensitive AR4D embedded in strategies
Partnerships for scaling up biofortified crops
On CAADP Core Indicators (Annual Trends & Outlook Report, ATOR 2014)
Level 1: 5 of the 7 indicators have to do with nutritional status, viz.: Indicator 1.2.1, Prevalence of Undernourishment (% of population); Indicator 1.2.2A, Prevalence of Underweight, Weight for Age (% of children under five); Indicator 1.2.2B, Prevalence of Stunting, Height for Age (% of children under five); Indicator 1.2.2C, Prevalence of Wasting, Weight for Height (% of children under five);
Level 2: No indicators that explicitly track nutritional interventions. The closest to this is Indicator 2.1.5 - Cereal Yield (kilograms per hectare). Need to explicitly track adoption and yield of nutrient-enhanced crops
Level 3: No indicators that explicitly track nutritional interventions. Specific partnerships for scaling up nutrition actions could be tracked.
Continuum of partnerships in scaling up:
Scaling up requires multi-stakeholder partnerships; a continuum of potential partnerships between private, public, and CSOs and how different financing models can make them work
Sustaining actions at scale would require
Several countries including biofortification in their national food security plans and nutrition strategies
Policymakers in Ethiopia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda and other countries are incorporating biofortified crops in strategies and programs.
Crop Development, CG Centers:
"Today the CGIAR Consortium and its members committed to mainstream ……… breeding for mineral and vitamin traits in their regular food crop development programs the norm," Frank Rijsberman, CEO, CGIAR Consortium, Kigali, Rwanda, March 31, 2014
Partnerships with Private Seed Companies - Regional and national seed companies take up and promote biofortified crops to farmers
Regional and national seed companies (eg Seed Co and Zamseed)
Farmers in Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and more.
Aid/Grants & Development Programmes
World Vision, World Food Programme’s P4P; USAID and DfID including biofortification in Regional Food Programs; BMGF funding scaling up of biofortified foods; Private partners funding e.g. rice biofortification research
Food Industry - Local and International Companies
Processing biofortified crops into baked goods, snacks and porridges
develop and adapt Zn rice and Zn wheat varieties in Africa as part of Africa’s mandate to be self-sufficient in Rice and increase Wheat production;
develop and adapt Fe Pearl Millet and Zn/Fe sorghum in Sahelian countries for food/nutrition security in climate challenged terrains;
increase regional capacity to develop additional nutrient-rich staple food varieties;
strengthen public and private seed systems and policies to further fuel demand for and supply of more nutritious crops (AfDB, AGRA and other regional partners)