The consumption of vitamin A enhanced cassava could help Nigeria reduce economic losses in Gross Domestic Product that is estimated at about $1.5 billion, says the Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Dr. Nteranya Sanginga.
"But more than economic savings, it will also improve the nutrition of women and children who are the most vulnerable," said Sanginga at the public presentation of pro-vitamin A varieties by the Nigerian government in Umudike last weekend.
Represented by the Coordinator, Cassava Enterprise Development Project, IITA, Dr. Gbassey Tarawali, Sanginga commended the Nigerian government for taking the lead in bio-fortification with the release of the cassava varieties to farmers.
He canvassed joint efforts from partners and the private sector to ensure that the pro-vitamin A- rich varieties get to the hands of resource-poor farmers.
"Today we have varieties that have beta-carotene that could help tackle vitamin A deficiency; what is needed now is to get these varieties to farmers with the support of all stakeholders," he said.
Elsewhere, in some developing countries, vitamin A deficiency remains a major bottleneck to improved nutrition with approximately 250,000 to 500,000 malnourished children going blind each year, and half of whom die within a year of becoming blind.
The prevalence of night blindness due to vitamin A deficiency is also high among pregnant women in many developing countries.
"Vitamin A deficiency also contributes to maternal mortality and other poor outcomes in pregnancy and lactation," said Nigeria's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina.
"Annually, Nigeria loses over $1.5 billion in GDP to vitamin and mineral deficiencies as many staple foods are low in essential micronutrients," he added.
Adesina said that it was crucial that Nigeria accelerates efforts and policy measures on improving health and nutrition of vulnerable groups, especially women, infants and children, adding that scaling up core micronutrient interventions would cost less than $188 million per year, which makes economic sense.
To popularise the Pro Vitamin A cassava, he said greater efforts would be needed to increase the nutrition capacity within the Ministries of Health and Agriculture and Rural Development; improve infant and young child feeding through effective education and counselling services; increase coverage of vitamin A cassava within the nation.
The minister also gave the government's support to the dissemination of the pro-vitamin A varieties by directing the inclusion of Abia state, one of the 36 states in Nigeria.
On December 7, 2011, the Nigerian government announced the release of the pro-vitamin A cassava varieties, developed by IITA in partnership with the National Roots Crops Research Institute, Umudike (NRCRI), the project was funded by Harvestplus.
The vitamin A cassava varieties are named by the National Variety Release Committee of Nigeria as UMUCASS 36, UMUCASS 37, and UMUCASS 38, and are recognised as IITA genotypes TMS 01/1368, TMS 01/1412, and TMS 01/1371.
"They have high beta carotene (pro-vitamin A) and are suitable for food uses as garri, fufu, and high quality cassava flour," says Dr. Thomas Ezulike, Acting Executive Director, NRCRI.
The yellow root colour of the vitamin A-rich varieties are products of over 20 years of breeding efforts for improved nutritional quality using traditional breeding methods involving hybridisation and selection of cassava seedlings followed by clonal propagation of the selected desirable plants.
Drs. Peter Kulakow of IITA and Chigozie Egesie of NRCRI said the development of the varieties was a major breakthrough that would change the nutritional status of people living on cassava-based food.
Farmers who participated in the trials of the varieties across Nigeria loved the varieties for their high-yielding ability and resistance to major diseases and pests.
"Demand for these varieties have already started, but it will take some time before we have enough quantities to give out," says Paul Ilona, the HarvestPlus Manager for Nigeria.
The yellow cassava is already being multiplied through stem cuttings. In 2013, when sufficient certified stems will be available, HarvestPlus and its partners will then distribute these to about 25,000 farming households initially.
Farmers will be able to grow these new vitamin A varieties and feed them to their families. They can also multiply and share cuttings with others in their community, amplifying the nutritional benefits. After the mid-2014 harvest, more than 150,000 household members are expected to be eating vitamin A-rich cassava.
Other partners in this work include the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa).
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