A large-scale intervention to introduce orange sweet potato in rural Mozambique increases vitamin A intakes among children and women.
β-Carotene-rich orange sweet potato (OSP) has been shown to improve vitamin A status of infants and young children in controlled efficacy trials and in a small-scale effectiveness study with intensive exposure to project inputs. However, the potential of this important food crop to reduce the risk of vitamin A deficiency in deficient populations will depend on the ability to distribute OSP vines and promote its household production and consumption on a large scale. In rural Mozambique, we conducted a randomised, controlled effectiveness study of a large-scale intervention to promote household-level OSP production and consumption using integrated agricultural, demand creation/behaviour change and marketing components. The following two intervention models were compared: a low-intensity (1 year) and a high-intensity (nearly 3 years) training model. The primary nutrition outcomes were OSP and vitamin A intakes by children 6-35 months and 3-5·5 years of age, and women. The intervention resulted in significant net increases in OSP intakes (model 1: 46, 48 and 97 g/d) and vitamin A intakes (model 1: 263, 254 and 492 μg retinol activity equivalents/d) among the younger children, older children and women, respectively. OSP accounted for 47-60 % of all sweet potato consumed and, among reference children, provided 80 % of total vitamin A intakes. A similar magnitude of impact was observed for both models, suggesting that group-level trainings in nutrition and agriculture could be limited to the first project year without compromising impact. Introduction of OSP to rural, sweet potato-producing communities in Mozambique is an effective way to improve vitamin A intakes.
HarvestPlus, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC 20006, USA. christinehotz.to@gmail.com
Christine
C
Hotz
Cornelia
C
Loechl
Alan
A
de Brauw
Patrick
P
Eozenou
Daniel
D
Gilligan
Mourad
M
Moursi
Bernardino
B
Munhaua
Paul
P
van Jaarsveld
Alicia
A
Carriquiry
J V
JV
Meenakshi
D000328:Adult; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003116:Color; D018556:Crops, Agricultural; D003906:Developing Countries; D004032:Diet; D004034:Diet Surveys; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D027723:Ipomoea batatas / Q000737:chemistry*; D008297:Male; D009073:Mozambique; D009752:Nutritional Status; D012424:Rural Population; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000517:prevention & control
D014801:Vitamin A