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Edgar Vhera
Agriculture Specialist Writer
Government and development partners’ collaboration in the Smallholder Irrigation Revitalisation Programme (SIRP) launched in 2017, has mitigated the negative effects of climate change and malnutrition through adoption of biofortification.
SIRP is a seven-year programme funded by International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) and the Government of Zimbabwe which contributes to the resilience of smallholder farming communities in Zimbabwe’s four provinces of Manicaland, Midlands, Masvingo and Matabeleland South.
Biofortification is the idea of breeding crops to increase their nutritional value such as Vitamin A, Zinc and Iron. It is one of the nutrition sensitive interventions that the programme has adopted to tackle the burden of micronutrient deficiency or hidden hunger in communities it works in.
SIRP nutrition specialist Mrs Fungai Kutyauripo said to fight the burden of micronutrient malnutrition, SIRP took advantage of the rehabilitated irrigation schemes to promote production of orange maize and orange fleshed sweet potato which are rich in Vitamin A and iron rich Nua 45 beans as well as supporting activities for development of the value chains.
“Intense education and awareness carried out by SIRP played a pivotal role in influencing adoption and consumption of biofortified crops with the programme having trained 19 489 people.
“Seed fairs with different producers of biofortified seeds has added another 3 000 farmers, thereby enhancing availability of seed at local level,” said Mrs Kutyauripo.
She said over 5 000 farmers were trained on ways of improving crop palatability, preservation of nutrients, processing and value addition with a recipe book developed and shared among farmers.
Mrs Kutyauripo disclosed that SIRP also introduced biofortification in 30 schools (27 primary and three secondary) with the objective of incorporating good nutrition and agricultural practices at an early age for easier adoption.
Orange fleshed sweet potato was launched in the country end of 2021 and SIRP supported farmers with vines, training on vine multiplication and pass on to over 500 farmers to date,” continued Mrs Kutyauripo.
Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals that are required by the body in small amounts for growth, development, disease prevention and well-being. The World Health Organization (WHO) identified deficiencies in micronutrients as causal in the problems of stunting, blindness, immune response suppression and impaired cognitive ability.
The body cannot produce most of these micronutrients hence has to obtain them from food or supplements. Lack of one or more specific micronutrient results in micronutrient deficiency or malnutrition also known as hidden hunger.
“With hidden hunger, people have enough to eat but lack important vitamins and minerals, hence sufficiency in quantity but lacking quality. Hidden hunger is prevalent among people who rely on non-diverse staple food crop diets that are rich in carbohydrates but deficient in vitamins and minerals,” added Mrs Kutyauripo.
SIRP is carrying intense education and awareness on biofortification and health benefits of biofortified crops. There are a lot of myths and misconceptions around biofortification with some likening orange maize to the yellow maize from Kenya consumed during the 1992 drought.
These misconceptions and myths play a role in rejection of these nutrient dense crops.
The micronutrient survey of 2012 showed that the country had a burden of vitamin A, iron and zinc deficiencies with 72 and 61 percent of children under five and women of child bearing age (WCBA) being iron deficient respectively.
The survey also showed that 19 percent of children under five and 23 percent of WCBA were vitamin A deficient. Iron is important for blood formation and brain development while vitamin A is important for good eyesight, immune response and healthy skin.
Online Reporter