The Potential of Integrating Provitamin A-Biofortified Maize in Smallholder Farming Systems to Reduce Malnourishment in South Africa

Abstract

Biofortification interventions have the potential to combat malnutrition. This review explored the use of provitamin A-biofortified maize (PVABM) as a vitamin A deficiency (VAD) reduction agricultural-based strategy. Maize has been identified as one of the key staple crops for biofortification to reduce hidden hunger in Africa. Most nutrition interventions have not been successful in reducing hunger because rural communities, who mainly rely on agriculture, have been indirectly excluded. The biofortification intervention proposed here aims to be an inclusive strategy, based on smallholder farming systems. Vitamin A is a micronutrient essential for growth, immune function, reproduction and vision, and its deficiency results in VAD. VAD is estimated to affect more than 250 million children in developing countries. In Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa, maize is a staple food for rural communities, consumed by most household members. Due to carotenoids, PVABM presents an orange color. This color has been reported to lead to negative perceptions about PVABM varieties. The perceived agronomic traits of this maize by smallholder farmers have not been explored. Adoption and utilization of PVABM varieties relies on both acceptable consumer attributes and agronomic traits, including nutritional value. It is therefore important to assess farmers’ perceptions of and willingness to adopt the varieties, and the potential markets for PVABM maize. It is essential to establish on-farm trials and experiments to evaluate the response of PVABM under different climatic conditions, fertilizer levels and soils, and its overall agronomic potential. For the better integration of PVABM with smallholder farming systems, farmer training and workshops about PVABM should be part of any intervention. A holistic approach would enhance farmers’ knowledge about PVABM varieties and that their benefits out-compete other existing maize varieties.

Biofortified Crops for Combating Hidden Hunger in South Africa: Availability, Acceptability, Micronutrient Retention and Bioavailability

“…In contrast, there is commercial fortification of maize [ 71 , 72 ], which may not be affordable or sustainable for the rural and urban poor in South Africa. It is promising that the government of South Africa is promoting research on the biofortification of maize to implement it at a level that can alleviate VAD [ 73 , 74 , 75 ].…”

A review of micronutrient deficiencies and analysis of maize contribution to nutrient requirements of women and children in Eastern and Southern Africa

“…Maize is the main staple food crop of more than 300 million Africans (Mathenge, Smale, and Olwande 2014;VIB 2017). In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), maize is a key staple and it plays a significant role in reducing poverty and improving the food security status for poor families (Zuma, Kolanisi, and Modi 2018). Contrary to developed countries where maize is mostly used for profit making from feed, fuel and other raw materials for industry, in SSA, maize is mostly used for human consumption (Hu, Burucs, and Schmidhalter 2008).…”

Nutritional and functional properties of maize-oyster mushroom (Zea mays-Pleurotus ostreatus) based composite flour and its storage stability

“…The indigenous staples of most households in sub-Saharan Africa are starch-based with little or no source of other macro and micronutrients (Tzioumis and Adair 2014). The over-reliance on starch-dense staples such as maize to provide all nutritional requirements leads to widespread dietary micronutrient deficiency (Zuma et al 2018) and PEM. Micronutrient deficiency has a detrimental effect on growth and development in children and childbearing women (Bain et al 2013).…”