Staple Crops and Nutrition
Sweetpotato
- Sweetpotato is among the world's most important and versatile food crops. With more than 133 million tons produced annually, sweetpotato ranks as the fifth most important food crop in developing countries after rice, wheat, maize, and cassava. (International Potato Center [CIP], website, 2006)
- White-fleshed sweetpotato is traditionally grown in Sub-Saharan Africa, but contains little or no beta-carotene (a precursor of Vitamin A). However, orange-fleshed varieties, indigenous to the West but not widely grown in Africa, offer one of the highest sources of naturally occurring beta-carotene. (CIP website, 2006)
- Research shows that including even small amounts of new orange-fleshed sweetpotato varieties in diets can eliminate Vitamin A deficiencies in both children and adults. (CIP website, 2006)
Beans
- For more than 300 million people, an inexpensive bowl of common beans is the centerpiece of their daily diet, making this staple crop the world's most important food legume. (CIAT website, 2001)
- Most common bean varieties are low in such critical micronutrients as zinc and iron. (HarvestPlus website)
- In Sub-Saharan Africa, beans are a vital staple, providing the main source of dietary protein for more than 70 million people. (CIAT website, 2001)
- In 2005, Uganda led Sub-Saharan Africa in bean production with 545,000 tons, followed by Kenya with 300,000 tons. (FAOSTAT, 2005)
Maize
- Maize is the preferred staple food of more than 1.2 billion people in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, where over 50 million people are Vitamin A deficient. Maize-based diets, particularly those of the extremely poor, often lack Vitamin A and other essential vitamins. (HarvestPlus website)
- Kenya is the third largest producer of maize in Sub-Saharan Africa, having produced 2.2 million tons in 2005. Nigeria and Ethiopia led the region in maize production in 2005 with 4.8 million and 2.7 million tons, respectively. (FAOSTAT, 2005)
- Eighty-five percent of the maize produced in eastern and southern Africa is used as food. In contrast, only 14 percent of the maize produced in the developed market economies is directly consumed by people. (CIMMYT website, 1998)
Cassava
- Cassava is widely consumed in Sub-Saharan Africa, tropical America, and parts of Asia. An estimated 70 million people obtain more than 500 calories per day from cassava, yet most varieties are low in Vitamin A, making consumers vulnerable to micronutrient malnutrition. (HarvestPlus website)
- In Africa, cassava roots are processed into a wide variety of pastes and flours or are consumed boiled or raw. In most cassava-growing countries in the region, the leaves are also consumed as a green vegetable, which provides micronutrients, such as Vitamin A. (International Institute for Tropical Agriculture [IITA] website, 2006)
- Unlike cereals and other crops, cassava tolerates drought, low-nutrient soil, disease, and pests. It is remarkably adaptable and is frequently identified as a famine reserve crop. (ITTA website, 2006)
- In 2005, Nigeria led Sub-Saharan Africa in cassava production with nearly 40 million tons. Ghana, Mozambique, and Uganda are also significant producers with approximately 10, 6, and 5 million tons, respectively. (FAOSTAT, 2005)