By HELEN ZULU –
HARVESTPLUS is targeting 600,000 farming households to adopt orange maize in Zambia by 2020.
HarvestPlus Country Manager for Zambia, Eliab Simpungwe said Harvestplus expected at least 600, 000 farming households to have adopted orange maize by 2020.
Mr Simpungwe said that more than 100,000 Zambian farming households were currently growing and eating vitamin A orange maize.
He said the company provided orange maize to 100,000 farmers in Zambia as of December last year and that the number was expected to increase this year.
The orange maize has been bred specifically for human consumption. It is not the same as yellow maize which is popularly used for animal feed.
“More than 100,000 Zambian farming households are currently growing and eating vitamin A maize. HarvestPlus expects that at least 600,000 households will have adopted the crop by 2020.
When consumers have had a chance to taste orange nshima, they would prefer it than the white nshima,” Mr Simpungwe said.
Government officially recognised bio-fortification, which was included in the National Food and Nutrition Strategic Plan for Zambia 2011-2015.
Mr Simpungwe said the 100,000 farmers had produced 20,000 metric tons of orange maize in the country.
On August 11 2015, Agriculture and Livestock Minister Given Lubinda officially flagged-off the production and marketing of Vitamin A Orange Maize in Zambia.
At that launch, Mr Lubinda banned the export of orange maize saying the crop was a preserve for the children of Zambia.
The Zambia Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI), working with local and international partners, and under the leadership of HarvestPlus, developed the orange coloured maize varieties, rich in Vitamin A for mainstream consumption.
The vitamin A maize varieties currently available to Zambian consumers can provide up to 25 per cent of daily vitamin A needs, and varieties in the pipeline will be able to provide up to 50 per cent. Vitamin A maize also boasts competitive yields.