This document summarizes findings from a project to disseminate provitamin-A-rich orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (OFSP) in Mozambique and Uganda between 2006-2009. The project aimed to increase vitamin A intake and reduce deficiencies. It used seed distribution, nutrition training, and marketing to promote OFSP under two models - an intensive initial model and less intensive subsequent model. Evaluations found both models significantly increased OFSP cultivation, contributing over half of vitamin A intake and meeting daily requirements for young children. The less intensive model was over 30% cheaper to implement, suggesting it could be more sustainable for wider scale-up efforts.

1. Learning from Evaluations:The HarvestPlus Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato Project in Mozambique and Uganda Presented by Neha Kumar International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) May 10, 2011

2. Overview Biofortification Findings of evaluation of a project to disseminate provitamin-A-rich orange-fleshed sweet potatoes to reduce vitamin-A deficiency Implications for cost effectiveness and scaling up

3. Biofortification Is a food-based approach designed to reduce micronutrient malnutrition by improving nutrient content of staple foods Especially important for poor rural communities with limited access to diversified diets, commercially marketed fortified foods, or supplements. Especially important for women and children since they face greater risks of micronutrient malnutrition. Its main advantages: Pro-poor: staples are consumed daily and constitute large proportion of diets of poor households. Cost effective: After an initial investment in developing biofortified crops, the crops can be adapted to other regions at a low additional cost. Sustainable: With broad adoption and good access to seed of planting material the crop can be grown and consumed for years to come. No adverse effects on productivity: It may increase yields in some cases

5. disseminate provitamin-A-rich orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) as a strategy to increase vitamin A intakes and reduce vitamin A deficiency

6. OFSP given to 24,000 households in Uganda and Mozambique from 2006 to 2009

8. Model 2: Less intensiveidentical to Model 1 in year 1 little activity or costs in year 2

9. Evaluation Design Cluster randomized design; baseline and endline surveys Randomly assigned clusters to Model 1, Model 2, and Control Mozambique: households in church groups (n=703) Uganda: households in farmer groups (n=1594) Survey included several components (at least 2 rounds) Socioeconomic Survey Dietary Intake and Nutrition Survey In addition to outcomes presented here today, Impact Report (2010) assessed impact on agricultural and nutrition knowledge retention agricultural, nutrition and marketing practices household consumption child feeding practices

11. International Potato Center (CIP)

14. VEDCO • FADEP

15. OFSPImpact Report (July, 2010) coauthors

16. Alan de Brauw1, Patrick Eozenou2, Daniel O. Gilligan1, Christine Hotz2, Neha Kumar1, Cornelia Loechl3, Scott McNiven4, J.V. Meenakshi2, and Mourad Moursi2 1International Food Policy Research Institute; 2HarvestPlus; 3International Potato Center; 4University of California, Davis.

17. Women and the OFSP Project Women play a critical role- not only as caregivers of young children, but also as producers and retailers of OFSP. Women were targeted for the nutrition trainings in both the countries. Knowledge about Vitamin A increased significantly among women in both countries. In Mozambique, female nutrition extension workers were more successful than male nutrition extension workers in conveying nutrition messages. In Uganda, women are traditionally responsible for food crops (to be explored in future work).

20. by 54-57 percentage points in Mozambique

21. by 41-46 percentage points in Uganda

22. Households substituted OFSP for white or yellow SP

23. limited area expansion

24. improves micronutrient quality of dietary staplesBaseline End of project

26. by 202-241 μg RAE/day in Mozambique

27. by 192-224 μg RAE/day in Uganda

28. Large effect: equivalent to child’s daily requirements of vitamin A (210 μg RAE/day)

29. Increased vitamin A intake due to OFSP

30. OFSP 78% of total vitamin A intake in Mozambique

31. OFSP 53% of total vitamin A intake in UgandaBaseline End of project

33. No significant difference between Model 1 and Model 2 in OFSP adoption, nutrition knowledge, increase in vitamin A intakes

34. Model 2 was cheaper to implementby almost one-third

35. Further cost savings from Model 2 are possible

36. More targeted demand creation messages

37. Reduced marketing component

39. Search for ‘Model 3’ Plans to scale up with lighter integrated intervention, greater focus on crop diffusion