AgroSalud: Nutritionally and Agronomically Improved (Biofortified) Crops to Improve
AgroSalud: (Biofortified)
Food and Nutrition Security in Latin America and the Caribbean
Financed by: Canadian International Development Agency
The AgroSalud Project (www.AgroSalud.org) aims to reduce nutrient deficiency and increase food and nutrition security among vulnerable populations living in 14
Latin America and Caribbean countries through nutritionally enhanced biofortified crops (beans, maize, rice, sweetpotato) and food products derived from these crops
and cassava. In calendar year 2008, the consortium of institutions that make up AgroSalud completed a multitude of activities for the development, evaluation,
deployment and promotion of biofortified crops. Selected highlights are presented.
Commercial release of AgroSalud Supported by Central Biofortification included in
Panama joins AgroSalud
cultivars American Ministers of Agriculture national nutrition plans
Through a letter from the Minister of During an extraordinary meeting of the Comité Cuban and Panamanian partners have
In El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, and Panama,
Agriculture, the Panamanian government Agrícola de Centro América y Caribe (CAC) held in succeeded in including biofortification
quality-protein maize (QPM, with elevated April 2008, the AgroSalud Project’s activities and
requested inclusion in the AgroSalud into national nutrition plans, adding
tryptophan and lysine levels) cultivars were achievements were presented to the Ministers of
consortium, a request that was happily Agriculture of Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican legitimacy and urgency to the
commercially released. Coupled with Nicaragua
granted. Colleagues from the Instituto de Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, biofortification work that AgroSalud
that released nutritionally and agronomically
Investigacion Agropecuaria de Panama Nicaragua, and Panama. The CAC commended implements in these countries.
improved cultivars as a result of the AgroSalud those organizations leading AgroSalud, endorsed
Project in 2007, farmers and consumers in El (IDIAP) have secured in-country funding to support to AgroSalud activities as a tool to reduce
Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, and Panama can develop and evaluate biofortified rice, beans, hunger and malnutrition in the region, and
begin to enjoy the benefits of biofortified crops. maize and sweetpotato, indicating the requested support for a continuation of AgroSalud’s
government’s commitment to biofortification. activities in the region.
CROPS
Bean breeding Maize breeding Rice breeding Sweetpotato breeding
At CIAT, Phaseolus polyanthus and Creation of new breeding populations that will A fast-track approach is underway at CIAT to The sweetpotato breeding program
Phaseolus coccineus have been provide a steady flow of improved quality screen breeding lines and traditional/improved at CIP is working with two orange-
used as sources of high iron to protein maize hybrids and open-pollinated rice varieties to find rice germplasm with higher fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP)
improve common bean. Over several varieties (OPVs) for smallholders in Central iron and zinc content in milled rice. A total of breeding populations: “Jewel” and
and South America and Haiti continued at high “ZAPSPK”. Both breeding
seasons some families and lines 5743 milled rice samples including breeding
rate in 2008. At CIMMYT, over 240 breeding populations have reached 100%
have maintained an advantage of 40 populations in the F1, F2, BC1F1, and BC1F2 lines from CIAT and national agricultural
the breeding target in β-carotene of
ppm (mg/kg) over the low-iron generations were produced or advanced. research system (NARs) partners were 75 ppm fresh storage root weight.
checks. It is fully possible that if these Drought-tolerant, low-N tolerant, and disease- analyzed in 2008 for iron and zinc using the Moreover, assuming a zinc target
genes can be introduced into other resistant donors continue to be used in the atomic absorption method. Some rice lines of 20 ppm on dry matter basis at
genetic backgrounds that give development of QPM breeding populations, were identified presenting between 5 and 7 least 55% of this target has been
adaptation to other environments, the and routine screening of all testcrosses of ppm of iron (>66% of goal), which are being reached.
resulting lines could well represent advanced lines under drought and low fertility evaluated by our AgroSalud partners for local
levels of iron that meet the goal of was initiated in 2008. adaptation. In Brazil, Embrapa identified
95-100 ppm. traditional rice cultivars with up to 12.6 and
42.2 ppm of iron and zinc respectively, which
are used as parents in the breeding program.
Seed production, multiplication and dissemination
Maize in Haiti. In Haiti, 30 tons of maize seed were distributed in collaboration with the FAO staple crop seeds program in 5 departments in the country reaching
over 1500 farmers.
Beans in Central America. In Honduras and Nicaragua, 128 validation parcels with nutritionally enhanced bean lines were established, as were 9 diffusion parcels of
I 0.7 ha each.
Sweetpotato in Nicaragua. The Nicaraguan NARS (INTA) distributed 27,000 OFSP clones to 4 entities (CRS-Estelí, Grupo de Mujeres de San Francisco Libre,
Bono Productivo, UGAQ-Quilalí) to establish family gardens among their program beneficiaries.
M Non-conventional maize-seed production. In the 2007-2008 cycle, the non-conventional production of QPM seed increased 63% (from 5.8 to 9.5 ha) and 35% (from
11.3 to ~15.3 metric tons) compared with 2006-2007.
P
Food products developed with biofortified crops
A
C At Embrapa, cassava scraped flour was produced, using the same methodology of sweetpotato flour production. The results have been positive with 30% flour yield
and 72% of carotenoids retained. In 2008, Clayuca conducted three studies on the β-carotene content and retention in refined raw flour, extruded flour, pre-cooked
flour and cooked mass of sweetpotato varieties, to determine the best processing conditions and obtain intermediary products of better nutritional quality. Further,
T three lines of production have been identified for the development of food products using QPM maize and nutritionally improved rice.
S Economic and agronomic impact work
Ex-ante impact evaluation of biofortified beans, rice, maize and cassava using the Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) methodology was completed for
Nicaragua, Honduras and northeast Brazil. Similarly, through the collaboration of a University of Copenhagen graduate student, a similar evaluation was completed
for provitamin A-biofortified cassava and maize for Nicaragua, Honduras, Mexico and Colombia.
Nutrition activities Geographic information system
Communications updates
advances
At CIAT’s Nutrition Quality Laboratory, several studies A map gallery of all the geographic information that The AgroSalud website was maintained updated
were carried out to asses the in vitro bioavailability of has been developed for use by AgroSalud and relevant throughout the year. An estimated
iron and zinc in beans and protein in maize. Further, in researchers and partners was created 15,064 persons visited the website in 2008.
vitro and in vivo methods for iron bioavailability were (http://www.agrosalud.com/descargas/Multimapas/00 In collaboration with partners in different countries,
evaluated, suggesting good concordance between the 1multimedia%20mapas.html).
methods. news releases were developed and published, and
The maps are organized by the 14 AgroSalud focus
countries and by category. The first category a quarterly e-bulletin was shared widely.
An international sensory evaluation training course was includes maps of agricultural production and The inauguration of CIAT’s Nutrition Quality
sponsored by AgroSalud and IDIAP in Panama; 16 ecology. The second group includes nutritional Laboratory and the celebration at CIAT of World
persons from 8 countries participated. indicators, such as anemia and anthropometric Food Day provided further opportunities to share
measures of children less than five years of age. The AgroSalud’s activities and advances with large
AgroSalud provided support for data analysis and write third category includes population and poverty maps,
up of a QPM efficacy trial carried out in Nicaragua. The audiences in Colombia.
i.e., the socioeconomic indicators. Finally maps of
study was published in Archivos Latinoamericanos de potential sites for biofortification interventions are
Nutrición in December 2008. included in the gallery.