Nigeria releases Vitamin A cassava to improve public health

Nigeria releases Vitamin A cassava to improve public health

Three new vitamin A-rich ‘yellow’ cassava varieties that could provide more vitamin A in the diets of more than 70 million Nigerians who eat cassava every day, have been released by the Nigerian government.

The yellow colour cassava is generally white due to the higher vitamin A content.

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD)

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is widely prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa and afflicts almost 20 per cent of pregnant women and about 30 per cent of children under-five in Nigeria.

VAD can lower immunity and impair vision, which can lead to blindness and even death.

Children and women will be the main beneficiaries of these new yellow varieties, which could provide up to 25 per cent of their daily vitamin A needs.

Varieties with enough vitamin A to provide up to half of daily needs are already in the breeding pipeline and should be ready for release in a few years.

These new yellow varieties were bred using traditional (non-transgenic) methods by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the Nigerian National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) and were liked by farmers during field trials.

Cassava is an extremely adaptable crop; it is drought tolerant, requires limited land preparation, and grows well in poor soils.

The new yellow varieties are also high yielding and resistant to major diseases and pests.

The HarvestPlus Manager for Nigeria, Paul Ilona, said: “Demand for these varieties has already started, but it will take some time before we have enough quantities to give out.”

The yellow cassava is already being multiplied through stem cuttings.

In 2013, when sufficient certified stems are available, HarvestPlus and its partners will then distribute these to about 25,000 farming households initially.

NP/Adekusibe/Williams