Zimpapers Logo

Zimbabwe must shift focus from  generalised crop production to foods that are bio-fortified, and high  in nutrients if the country is to have a healthier population to drive  its development objectives, a senior government official said on  Wednesday.

Micro-nutrient deficiency is a big challenge in Zimbabwe with an  estimated one in every five children under the age of five and one in  every five women between 15 and 49 years suffering from a lack of  Vitamin  A.

A large number of children and women are also anaemic due to a lack of  critical nutrients in the food they consume.

And to address this challenge, the government, working with the British  government’s Department for International Development (DfID) is  promoting the growth of bio-fortified crops especially among smallholder farmers.

Bio-fortification refers to the process of breeding food crops that  are rich in micro-nutrients such as vitamin A, zinc and iron.

Bio-fortified crops that are currently being promoted in Zimbabwe  include maize, sugar beans and sweet potatoes.

Senior Principal Director in the Office of the President and Cabinet,  Mary Mubi said it was time the country’s agriculture sector moved away  from producing crops just aimed at “filling people stomachs without  necessarily nourishing them.”

“Our agriculture sector has long been criticised for its  pre-occupation on feeding the nation and filling people’s stomachs  without necessarily nourishing them, with national food security being  interpreted by many as cereal adequacy for the majority of the  population, thus our programmes and efforts have supported and ensured  that people have adequate access to white maize with little  consideration of access to key micro-nutrients needed for growth and  development,” she said at a bio-fortification event.

“As a result, we have a population that continues to grow in size but  their bodies lack key elements to enable them to reach their full  growth and reproductive potential.”

She said Zimbabwe’s vision to attain an upper middle income economy by

2030 can only be realised through a healthy population.

“While we may have all the minerals in the world, all the arable land,  if we do not improve the quality of our human capital, we cannot reach  our vision,” she said.

Production of bio-fortified crops would lessen the burden on the  country’s health infrastructure through avoidable diseases if people  consumed crops that are rich in nutrients.

DfID head in Zimbabwe, Annabel Gerry said it was imperative for the  country to have a nutrient sensitive agriculture sector.

“Nutrition is central to sustainable development goals that all  countries, including Zimbabwe, have signed up to,” she said.

She added:“Zimbabwe does face significant nutrition challenges but  gains have  been made since 2000, but more needs to be done to tackle the hidden  hunger of micro-nutrient deficiency.”

Micro-nutrient deficiency, she said, resulted in malnourishment and  was a worldwide challenge, estimated to be costing the global economy  over US$3.5 trillion annually.

To address the problem of malnourishment in Zimbabwe, DfID was  championing production of bio-fortified crops through the Zimbabwe  Livelihoods and Food Security Programme.

The programme seeks to contribute to poverty reduction through  increased agricultural productivity, increased incomes, and improved  food and nutrition security for small holder farmers.

Over 300 000 farming households have so far participated in the  programme.

The Food and Agricultural Organisations representative for Southern  Africa, Dr Alain Onibon lauded the collaborative efforts between the  government and development partners to promote production of  bio-fortified crops.

On exhibition at the event were all types of confectionery such as  scones, bread, buns and biscuits baked out of bio-fortified crops. – New Ziana.