Malnutrition could be worsened with the use of climate resilient crops, scientists say

As farmers move toward growing crops designed
to meet growing world demand for food and stand up to
tougher climate conditions, they may inadvertently be
worsening malnutrition, scientists say.
Such "hidden hunger" stems from a lack of vitamins and
minerals in some crops that replace staple favourites, and a
narrowing of the range of foods eaten.
"When I was young, we used to feed on amaranth
vegetables, guava fruits, wild berries, jackfruits and many
other crops that used to grow wild in our area. But today, all
these crops are not easily available because people have
cleared the fields to plant high yielding crops such as kales
and cabbages which I am told have inferior nutritional
values," said Denzel Niyirora, a primary school teacher in
Kigali, Rwanda's capital.
Now scientists aim to address that problem as well by
developing fortified versions of crops that aim to ensure not
only that people have enough to eat, but that what they eat
gives them sufficient nutrition.
"In the face of climate change, the focus has been on
climate resilience, yields and sometimes resistance to
emerging pests and diseases, with very little attention on
micronutrients," said Yassir Islam, a spokesperson for
HarvestPlus, an agricultural research organisation working
with 40 countries to improve "nutrition security."
African nations in particular have been working hard to
increase crop yields, which remain among the lowest in the
world, experts say.
LIMITS OF 'FOOD SECURITY'
"But it is unfortunate that some communities considered to
be food secure have anaemic, stunted, visually and
sometimes mentally impaired children because they lack
important micronutrients," said Agnes Kalibata, Rwanda's
Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resource during a
conference on bio-fortification of crops in Kigali.
With the advent of climate change, experts say that many
staple food crops with sufficient micronutrients are
becoming susceptible, paving the way for changes in crops
and diets. The problem is that the world is not coping well
with such changes, said José Graziano da Silva, director-
general for the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation
(FAO).