New sweet potato variety tackles vitamin A deficiency

The Orange Flesh Sweet Potato, named for its inside of colour, was developed to introduce more beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, in diet.“The orange there is the beta-carotene,” explained Mary Umoh, promotion officer for the group, Helen Keller Initiative, which is pushing for its adoption by farmers and nutritionists.“When consumed, it improves the vitamin […]

The Orange Flesh Sweet Potato, named for its inside of colour, was developed to introduce more beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, in diet.
“The orange there is the beta-carotene,” explained Mary Umoh, promotion officer for the group, Helen Keller Initiative, which is pushing for its adoption by farmers and nutritionists.
“When consumed, it improves the vitamin A content in the body,” she said.
OFSP was developed from crossbreeding programmes at the National Root Crop Research Institute and multiplication sets planted by farmers in on-farm trials in six states to compare yield, say proponents, quick to emphasise the crop is not the product of genetic modification.
Farmers were asked to cook and eat OFSP to assess its taste, its match to local food culture, and ensure its yield is consistent regardless of site of planting, said Umoh.
They routinely ate orange flesh sweet potato pounded, fried, boiled, roasted—in ways similar to yam, cassava and most tubers.
“We had to work with our regional office in Nairobi for the cleanup of these plant materials,” she also said.
“The leaves are high in protein but that we have not researched in Nigeria here. Right now we are promoting the consumption of the crop itself.”
Proponents say OFSP promises easy cultivation in backyard gardens or intercropped with maize or yams, and can be harvested up to twice a year because of its short cultivation period lasting three to four months.
OFSP is the third food-based intervention against vitamin A deficiency, which causes poor eyesight and blindness – a major problem Helen Keller, herself blind, was dedicated to fight
One of five prominent studies between 1998 and 2011 suggests the amount of OFSP needed to address vitamin A deficiency among the most-at-risk population is less than 11% of current worldwide sweet potato production.
Improved vitamin A status in children aged under five reduces their risk of dying from measles, diarrhoea and similar causes of death, said HKI, in effect saving up to 645,000 lives a year in sub-Saharan Africa.
Two other varieties of sweet potato bred for higher vitamin A content have been in production in the past two years—King J, released December 2012, has high dry matter content and withstands boiling more than previous varieties and Mama’s Delight released June last year.