Output response of staple food crops in Nigerian agriculture (1990 – 2005)

Biofortification of Staple Food Crops: Six Questions

More than half the world’s population suffers from micronutrient malnutrition. Biofortification of staple food crops is a new public health approach to control vitamin A, iron, and zinc deficiencies in poor countries. Biofortification is the development of micronutrient‐dense staple crops using traditional breeding practices and modern biotechnology. It has multiple advantages: it capitalizes o...

Quantification of ferritin from staple food crops.

Ferritin-iron has been shown to be as bioavailable as ferrous sulfate in humans. Thus, biofortification to breed crops with high ferritin content is a promising strategy to alleviate the global iron deficiency problem. Although ferritin is present in all food crops, its concentration varies between species and varieties. Therefore, a successful ferritin biofortification strategy requires a meth...

Agronomic Approaches to Increasing Zinc Concentration in Staple Food Crops

Food crops, exports, and the short-run policy response of agriculture in Africa

The response of agriculture to changes in relative prices is an important factor in the success of structural adjustment programs in Africa. In this paper I estimate supply functions for total agricultural output, food crops and export crops in 14 African countries for the years 1975 to 1990. Food and export crops are substitutes in production in the short run. Total agricultural output respond...

Chapter 9. Biofortification of Staple Crops

Micronutrient malnutrition, also called “hidden hunger”, caused by the deficiency of micronutrients in the diet, afflicts more than two billion people worldwide, especially women and preschool age children (Welch and Graham 2002; White and Broadley, 2009) in the developing countries who are largely dependent on staple food crops. The consequences, in terms of malnutrition and health, are devast...