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IFPRI ReportVolume 17, Number 1
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Micronutrients Is Topic of New Series
IFPRI has initiated a new working paper series, Agricultural Strategies for Micronutrients, that presents studies examining the linkages between agriculture and human nutrition and, particularly, the lack of essential minerals and vitamins in the diets of poor people in the developing countries of the world. The activities that provide the basis for these studies are being undertaken by a number of centers of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and are organized within a five-year project begun in 1993 to identify cost-effective alternatives for increasing micronutrient intakes. The project has two main components: one is a multicountry effort to breed nutritionally improved staple foods; the other is the collection and analysis of household data on agricultural production, household resource allocation, and nutrition to provide a basis for policy formulation. The views and findings of researchers from a wide variety of disciplines will be published in the series.
The first three papers in the series were commissioned for presentation at an organization workshop for the project held in 1994. Their purpose was to provide--from the perspectives of human nutrition, household economics, and plant nutrition--background information on what is known and not known about micronutrients and to recommend research directions for the project. In Working Paper No. 1, "Human Nutrition: Food and Micronutrient Relationships," Doris Howes Calloway provides background information on the relationships between food and nutrient intake and the micronutrient status and health of individuals.
Iodine, iron, and vitamin A are the three micronutrients given priority by the international nutrition community. This study discusses the dietary sources of these and many other micronutrients along with the reasons for and effects of inadequate intakes. It also points out that women and young children are more vulnerable than men to the detrimental effects of micronutrient deficiencies because of their greater requirements for reproduction and growth. For example, iron-deficiency anemia affects as many as 70 percent of infants and preschoolers and more than 40 percent of women in developing countries, while the percentage is generally lower for school-age children and much lower for men.
The study establishes three categories of vitamins and minerals according to the reason for inadequate intakes and, based on findings from research in Egypt, Kenya, and Mexico, examines each in detail: first, those, such as vitamins A, B12, and C, that are likely to be found in low quantities in the foods that are principal sources of energy; second, those--iodine and selenium, for example--that are commonly deficient in the soils and water of many areas; and third, those whose bioavailability is low, but which may be improved by home-processing methods, a category that includes iron, zinc, and niacin.
The study also suggests both short- and long-term strategies for interventions to alleviate widespread micronutrient deficiencies. It concludes that although dietary supplements may be useful in the short term for critical cases, the long-term emphasis should be on deriving adequate nutrition from foods. The lesson for CGIAR research is that ensuring nutritional improvement depends on a multidisciplinary understanding of complex farming systems and their connection with the marginal food intake patterns of the poor.
