In the November issue of Gourmet magazine, you can read about Dr. Bouis, Director of HarvestPlus, an international research program that seeks to reduce micronutrient malnutrition by harnessing agricultural technology to breed staple crops (which generally have little nutritious value) for better nutrition. This revolutionary process is known as biofortification—breeding crops with higher levels of vitamins and minerals.

The Gourmet article tells the story of Rougui, a malnourished African girl, and Bouis’ decades-long struggle to win support for his biofortification concept. Across the developing world, despondent mothers tell similar stories—of sluggish infants and slow-moving preschoolers, of children plagued with vague maladies of every sort. The so-called “hidden hunger” from which they suffer is caused by a diet lacking in essential vitamins and minerals because much of Africa’s rural poor cannot afford nutrient-rich fruits, vegetables, meat, and fish.

In Africa, where one-third of all children under five are stunted physically and mentally and hundreds of thousands of preschoolers go blind due to hidden hunger, HarvestPlus, the International Potato Center, and African partners have successfully introduced “biofortified” sweetpotatoes packed with vitamin A, giving children like Rougui hope for a healthy future.

For more information or to arrange an interview with Dr. Howarth Bouis, please contact Michele Pietrowski: m.pietrowski@cgiar.org, +1(202)862-4630.

Please note: The article is only available in the print edition of Gourmet magazine. The November issue will be on newsstands on October 23.

Background Information on HarvestPlus, Biofortified Sweetpotato, and Vitamin A Deficiency

• Sweetpotato: A Solution to Vitamin A Deficiency in Africa? (PDF 184K)
• FAQ: The Sweet n’ Low on Sweetpotato (PDF 183K)
• Prevalence of Vitamin A Deficiency among Children in Sub-Saharan Africa: Country Data (PDF 92K)
• Biographies (PDF 133K)