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ICARDA News International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas P.O. Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria Phone: (963-21) 2213433, 2213477, 2225112, 2225012 Fax: (963-21) 2213490, 2225105; E-mail: ICARDA@CGIAR.ORG Website: www.icarda.org
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Media
contact: Surendra Varma (s.varma@CGIAR.ORG)
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Lentil
as Iron and Zinc Tablets
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| The CGIAR
HarvestPlus Challenge Program on biofortification of crops has launched
a multidonor-supported research program to genetically fortify crops
with micronutrients essential for human nutrition. Iron, zinc, and
vitamin A have been identified as priority nutrients because their
deficiency poses a serious threat to health in the poorer sections
of society, especially in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. About
3.5 billion people in the developing world suffer from iron deficiency.
The primary victims are women and pre-school children. About half
a million children go blind every year due to vitamin A deficiency.
Hundreds of thousands of people suffer from zinc deficiency, which
causes stunted growth, susceptibility to infections, and skin lesions. ICARDA, a partner in the HarvestPlus Challenge program, has been involved in the development of bio-fortified crops through genetic manipulation. Lentil, one of ICARDA's global mandate crops, is one of the 16 target crops in the HarvestPlus Challenge Program. Preliminary analysis of more than 1000 lentil accessions, including germplasm, breeding lines, and released varieties, for iron and zinc has shown tremendous variability among the lentil lines. This provides the opportunity for breeders to develop micronutrient-dense lentil cultivars. Breeders are using lines that contain high levels of micronutrients for crossing to develop lentils with higher iron and zinc content. Screening for vitamin A content is yet to start. Some of the cultivars grown by farmers represent a spillover benefit from ICARDA's breeding program for high-yielding and disease-resistant lentil lines. For example, a popular and widely grown lentil variety 'Alemaya' has been found to possess a high content of iron (82 mg/kg) and zinc (66 mg/kg) in Ethiopia. Also, breeders have found a high iron content in 'Idlib-2' (73 mg/kg) and 'Idlib-3' (72 mg/kg) in Syria, a high iron and zinc content in 'Beleza' (iron 74 mg/kg and zinc 56 mg/kg) released in Portugal, and high zinc content in 'Meyveci-2001' (53 mg/kg) in Turkey. These varieties are contributing to reduce micronutrient deficiency in the developing world. |
About
ICARDA: Established in 1977, ICARDA (www.icarda.org)
serves the entire developing world for the improvement of barley, lentil,
and faba bean; and dry-area developing countries for the on-farm management
of water, improvement of nutrition and productivity of small ruminants
(sheep and goats), and rehabilitation and management of rangelands. In
the Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) region, ICARDA is responsible
for the improvement of durum and bread wheats, chickpea, pasture and forage
legumes and farming systems; and for the protection and enhancement of
the natural resource base of water, land, and biodiversity.
The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
(www.cgiar.org) is a strategic alliance of countries, international and
regional organizations, and private foundations supporting15 international
research centers that mobilizes cutting-edge science to promote sustainable
development by reducing hunger and poverty, improving human nutrition
and health, and protecting the environment.