NUI Galway collaboration aims to tackle undernutrition among poor
Galway Bay fm newsroom - NUI Galway has made a significant contribution to the development of more nutritious crops for small farmers in Africa.
The research, which is a collaboration between NUIG and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, has been published in the scientific journal, MNC Plant Biology.
Millions of poor people in Africa and other parts of the world are affected by a Vitamin A deficiency in their diets.
This retards growth, increases risk of disease and can cause reproductive disorders.
In the battle against world hunger, NUIG and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture are involved in the Harvest Plus initiative.
It aims to develop new varieties of crops such as maize, sweet potato and beans that contain higher levels of Vitamin A, iron or zinc.
High vitamin A lines indentified in the research will now be provided to African countries to help them develop their own rich varieties of crops for smallholder farmers.