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Orange maize – an eye-opening solution?

22 September 2010

Orange maize, a variety of the staple food that has been biofortified with vitamin A to curb the incidence of child blindness and other diseases, is to be released in Zambia in 2012.

Other Southern African countries might follow its example soon.

Public health figures show that severe vitamin A deficiency affects more than 53% of Zambian children. It has been associated with partial and complete blindness, higher levels of malnutrition and child mortality.

Orange maize has been developed and adapted for Zambian conditions by US scientists with funding mainly from USAid, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK’s department for international development.

Wendy White of Iowa State University, who headed a study done on orange maize, notes that many people in the region cannot afford vitamin A-rich foods such as orange fruits, dark leafy vegetables or meat. “œBut they eat large amounts of white maize “” up to a pound “” daily, and it is often the first solid food given to infants. Orange maize could provide a substantial portion of their vitamin A needs.”

It is not the first time that a staple food has been fortified to provide consumers with more vitamin A. But the marketers of orange maize will be hoping for far less controversy than that which has hounded the creators of golden rice for more than a decade.

Golden rice was announced with the stated intention of combating the high incidence of child blindness in Asia.

Read the full article at Financial Mail and share your views in our Comments section below.