Economist: Hidden hunger
How much can farming really improve people’s health?
IN A market in southern Uganda two traders squat behind little piles of sweet potatoes and a sign that says “with extra vitamin A”. A passing shopper complains about the price: 10% more than ordinary sweet potatoes. Yes, say the traders, but they’re better, bred with extra vitamin A. The bargaining goes back and forth, but the struggle to improve the crop has already been won. Since 2007, when an outfit called HarvestPlus began distributing the “biofortified” rootcrop in Uganda and Mozambique, 50,000 farmers have started to plant it or crops like it. Vitamin A intake has soared and the produce commands a premium. The shopper eventually buys some.
Nutrition has long been the Cinderella of development. Lack of calories—hunger—is a headline-grabber, particularly as rising food prices push more people towards starvation. But the hidden hunger of micronutrient deficiencies harms even more people and inflicts lasting damage on them and their societies. It, too, worsens as food prices rise: families switch from costly, nutrient-rich, fruit, vegetables and meat to cheaper, nutrient-poor staples. …
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