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Nigeria releases vitamin A cassava to improve public health for millions | Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers
Friday, January 13, 2012 10:11
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Nigeria releases vitamin A cassava to improve public health for millions | Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers:
The Nigerian Government announced in December, the release of three new vitamin A-rich ‘yellow’ cassava varieties that could provide more vitamin A in the diets of over 70 million Nigerians who eat cassava every day. The yellow color – cassava is generally white – is due to the higher vitamin A content.
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is widely prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa. It afflicts almost 20% of pregnant women and about 30% of children under-five in Nigeria. VAD can lower immunity and impair vision, which can lead to blindness and even death.
Children and women will be the main beneficiaries of these new yellow varieties, which could provide up to 25% of their daily vitamin A needs. Varieties with enough vitamin A to provide up to half of daily needs are already in the breeding pipeline and should be ready for release in a few years.
These new yellow varieties were bred using traditional (non-transgenic) methods by the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the Nigerian National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) and were liked by farmers during field trials. Cassava is an extremely adaptable crop; it is drought tolerant, requires limited land preparation, and grows well in poor soils. The new yellow varieties are also high yielding and resistant to major diseases and pests….continues at link
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