Cassava. It’s a root vegetable and resembles something like a potato or tuber.
A third of sub-Saharan Africans rely on this for more than half of their calorific intake.
An issue however, it is nutrient poor. Consequentially, iron and zinc deficiencies are common in Africa as well as health troubles such as anaemia, diarrohea and impaired cognitive development. Those hoping to breed better varieties are plagued with difficulty due to the lack of genetic diversity.
Introduce Biotech.
The USDA have genetically modified cassava to contain much higher zinc and iron by using genes from thale cress. Using IRT1 encodes an iron transport protein and FER1 an iron storage protein.They estimate that this cassava could provide up to 50% of dietary requirements of iron and up to 70% of zinc in kids aged 1-6, as well as non-lactating, non-pregnant women.
Let’s hope that this gets brought through.
James Creber 