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Target Crops
Cassava
| Maize | Rice
| Sweetpotato | Wheat
Maize
Maize is the major food source for many poor. It is
the preferred staple of more than 1.2 billion consumers
in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. In those regions,
30 to 50% of the population?particularly the poor and
women and children?are malnourished. The maize-based
diets of inhabitants in extremely poor areas center
on carbohydrates and lack proteins, vitamins, and important
minerals, often leaving them disease-prone and unable
to work, care for children, or take part in normal activities
of their communities. Maize cultivars that offered increased
available iron, zinc and a- and ß-carotene, and
enhanced protein quality could greatly improve the nutrition,
health, and quality of life of these people.
Objectives
The main objectives for the biofortification of maize
are:
- Using socioeconomic and GIS methods, to collect
baseline data on the nutritional status and needs
in specific regions where maize is the mainstay in
the diets of the poor, and document the potential
impact of more nutritious staple crops on the health
and well-being of inhabitants in selected communities.
- Using conventional breeding, to develop, test,
and promote with partners improved experimental varieties
of maize that contain increased levels of lysine and
tryptophan, iron and zinc, and/or high a- and ß-carotene
concentrations.
- To determine the genetics of high iron and zinc
content and develop effective DNA markers that will
allow transfer of those traits to a range of maize
varieties.
- To Identify maize gene systems that allow an increase
in bio-available iron, zinc, Vitamin A, and quality
protein beyond levels attainable through conventional
plant breeding.
- As outputs emerge from the above, to work with
partners to develop improved cultivars—either
new ones, or enhanced versions of those currently
sown—for widespread participatory testing with
farmers, and to help coordinate and otherwise support
that testing.
- To provide coordination and support for community-based
and private company production of affordable, quality
seed of nutritionally enhanced maize.
- As part of HarvestPlus, to participate in campaigns
to provide reliable information and engage public
discussion regarding nutrition, health, and the use
and benefits of nutritionally enhanced food crops.
- To document the impacts of the above efforts, and
conduct any follow-up required.
Achievements to Date
CIMMYT has developed maize that contains twice the
levels of grain lysine and tryptophan as normal maize
and a generally more balanced amino acid complement,
both of which significantly improved protein quality.
Use of this quality protein maize (QPM) helps reduce
protein deficiencies, and its enhanced lysine content
also increases iron and zinc uptake. Varieties and hybrids
of QPM are grown on some 0.5 million hectares in 22
developing countries, and research and promotion involving
CIMMYT, ministries of agriculture, national research
programs, private companies, and civil society organizations
continues funding from the Nippon Foundation, the Rockefeller
Foundation, and CIDA-Canada. CIMMYT and IITA have developed
experimental hybrids and varieties with 25-30% higher
grain iron and zinc concentrations than currently grown
cultivars, and with comparable yields. Research is underway
to increase the number of cell layers in the kernel
that are particularly rich in those nutrients. Yellow
maize contains naturally significant amounts of a- and
ß-carotene that can be converted to Vitamin A
by humans. Consumers in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin
America generally use white maize for preferred dishes
at home, but buy roasted or boiled ears of yellow maize
as a snack. CIMMYT has also found considerable amounts
of carotenoids in landraces with sun-red grain color.
Finally, in collaboration with more than 100 national
research programs and other partners, CIMMYT and IITA
have established strong maize germplasm networks in
sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America for varietal development,
seed production, and participatory testing and dissemination
with farmers.
Strategies
Cross-commodity, diet-based pilot studies will be conducted
at representative locations of sub-Saharan Africa and
Latin America. Part of their purpose will be to establish
reliable baseline data on current nutrition in areas
whose inhabitants consume large amounts of maize. Elite
inbred lines (including QPM) from CIMMYT and IITA will
be screened for grain Fe and Zn concentration. In addition,
the multi-aleurone layer (MAL) trait—a single,
dominant gene whose presence can be assessed through
a simple stain test—will be added to selected
lines and used to develop hybrids and open-pollinated
varieties. The bio-availability of these products will
be established using a caco-2 bio-assay and rat studies.
Suitable donor genotypes for high a- and ß-carotene
will be identified among sun-red landraces. The genetic
variation for a- and ß-carotene and suitability
for green maize consumption will be evaluated in yellow-grained
maize. Consumer assessments of both sun-red and yellow
varieties will be done in selected countries where white-grained
maize is the main staple. The project will maintain
and provide breeders’ seed of the best nutritious
cultivars to seed companies and community-based seed
production schemes in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.
Partners will develop promote the benefits of more nutritious
maize cultivars through the media campaigns. Molecular
markers will be developed for high zinc and iron content
and used to incorporate those traits into a range of
cultivars. As the genetics of micronutrient, vitamin
and amino acid content are determined, knowledge about
genes and biological pathways will allow effective screening
for increased nutritional content. Genes and gene promoters
will be obtained that increase nutritional content beyond
levels attainable through conventional approaches. Improved
maize varieties and hybrids emerging from the above
will be tested and promoted widely in collaboration
with national programs, ministries of agriculture, civil
society organizations, farmers, and other partners.
Finally, drawing on the baseline data mentioned above,
impact studies will establish clear evidence of the
benefits from this work and outline the follow-up activities
required to scale out or ensure sustainability.
Project Facts
Crop Leaders: The International Maize
and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the International
Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA)
Institutional Partners: The International
Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI); the University
of Adelaide, Australia; The Plant and Soil Nutrition
Laboratory (PSNL) at Cornell University, USA; African
Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF); national
agricultural research programs, ministries of agriculture,
private companies, and community-based organizations
(including farmer associations) in dozens of maize-consuming
countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America; nutritionists
from the University of Zimbabwe; World Vision International;
CARE International; Self-Help International; Iowa State
University
Location of Research: El Batán,
Mexico; Lagos, Nigeria.
HarvestPlus Publications
Maize Brochure
English (334 KB)
Espaņol (95 KB)
Publications on Maize
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