"www.fao.org/about/meetings/sustainable-food-systems-nutrition-symposium The International Symposium on Sustainable Food Systems for Healthy Diets and Improved Nutrition was jointly held by FAO and WHO in December 2016 to explore policies and programme options for shaping the food systems in ways that deliver foods for a healthy diet, focusing on concrete country experiences and challenges. This Symposium waas the first large-scale contribution under the UN Decade of Action for Nutrition 2016-2025. This presentation was part of Parallel session 1.1: Sustainable agriculture production and diversification for healthy diets"

1. Bho Mudyahoto
Senior Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation Specialist, HarvestPlus
Biofortification Progress and Evidence from Uganda

2. Micronutrient Deficiency
• Affects 2 billion people worldwide (FAO 2013)
• In Uganda the VAD prevalence for 6–59 is 33% & 35% for
15-49 women (UBOS. 2012)
• Poor quality diets is one of the major causes
– High intake of starchy staple foods
(e.g. rice, maize, cassava)
– Low intake of micronutrient-rich foods
(e.g. vegetables, legumes, animal source foods)

3. Supplementation
Fortification
Dietary diversity
Biofortification
Fighting Micronutrient Deficiency

4. B I O F O R T I F I C A T I O N
•Process of increasing the density of
nutrients e.g. vitamins and minerals
through plant breeding or agronomic
practices.
•HarvestPlus is the global leader in
biofortification

5. Orange Sweet Potato production in Uganda

6. Breeding, Releasing, Disseminating & Growing
Orange Sweet Potato (OSP)
• Uganda is among the 14 African countries that have
released OSP varieties
• 6 OSP varieties developed, tested, released since 2007
• In 2015  1,614 MT of OSP vines given to 132,000 HH
• Planted 1,979 ha (for direct distribution) and 1,0293 ha
• Recipients of OSP vines allocating 32% total SP area to
OSP varieties

7. Evidence: adoption & nutrition effect
• The adoption rates remained high (> 61%) 2 to 4 seasons later
• Vitamin A intake of children under 5 had significantly
increased with OSP accounting for 53% of vitamin A intake
• The prevalence of low serum retinol was reduced by 9.5
percentage points for children under 5
• Intervention cost was about US$15 –20 per DALY saved
• MTF Models show that target of delivering ≥50% of the EAR
for vit A intake  surpassed

8. Challenges & Lessons Learned
Challenges/barriers to scaling up
• Inverse relation btw β-carotene levels & DM content in OSP
• Vine production is a constraint in e.g. dry areas
• Vine quality control in the absence of a regulatory policy
Lessons Learned
• Need for a critical mass and network of vine multipliers
• Use community radio for demand creation messaging
• Strong social networks is essential for OSP vine diffusion

9. Key Messages
The Uganda case provides further evidence that:
• When consumed regularly and in sufficient quantities,
OSP can deliver significant % of EAR for vitamin A
• PPP are key to the development of a critical mass of
vine multipliers, an essential ingredient for scaling up
OSP
• Biofortification is a potential game changer in the
fight against micronutrient deficiency especially in
rural communities