International Food Policy Research Institute Receives $25 Million Grant to Support Innovative Nutrition Program for Poor Countries

SEATTLE -- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced a $25 million grant to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) to combat malnutrition, a leading cause of child deaths in the developing world, by improving the nutritional quality of staple foods in developing countries.  

The grant will support HarvestPlus, a global research initiative to breed and disseminate crops for better nutrition, which is being spearheaded by the International Center for Tropical Agricultural Research (CIAT) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)  Using an innovative approach called biofortification, agricultural and nutrition scientists will work together to breed crops that provide higher levels of micronutrients such as iron, zinc, and vitamin A. 

“Vitamin and mineral deficiencies, which contribute to the deaths of millions of children each year, can be easily prevented by adding just a few key nutrients to staple foods,” said David Fleming, Director of Global Health Strategies at the Gates Foundation.  “HarvestPlus, working with partners around the globe, has the potential to dramatically improve the lives of poor children and their families who depend largely upon these staples for their diets.”

Malnutrition contributes to over half of child deaths in the developing world, and the UN estimates that nearly one-third of the world’s population suffers from deficiencies in micronutrients such as iron, zinc, and vitamin A.  Even mild levels of micronutrient malnutrition can damage cognitive and physical development, lower disease resistance in children, and reduce the likelihood that mothers survive childbirth.   Iron deficiency alone affects over 3.5 billion people in the developing world and is responsible for 100,000 maternal deaths during childbirth each year.  Vitamin A deficiency causes more than 500,000 children to go blind each year and is a leading cause of child mortality. 

“Those most affected by malnutrition, the rural poor, are also the most difficult to reach with traditional nutrition programs,” said Howarth Bouis, Director of HarvestPlus. “Biofortified crops have the potential to transform the health of these communities by allowing them to grow crops that are naturally fortified with essential micronutrients.”

The first crops to be developed by the HarvestPlus initiative include those most widely consumed in the developing world, such as rice, wheat, maize, beans, cassava, and sweet potato. 

“HarvestPlus provides a remarkable opportunity to harness twenty-first century agricultural science to dramatically improve children’s health over the long term,” noted Joachim Voss, Director of CIAT, which is leading crop breeding research for HarvestPlus. “This grant will enable biofortification researchers to accelerate their work adding nutrition into existing high-yielding varieties that meet the needs of poor farmers.”

Biofortification represents an important new avenue for agricultural research.  Traditionally, crop breeding has often centered on increasing yields or enhancing environmental sustainability.

“Adding healthier food to the agricultural research agenda is an idea whose time has come,” said Joachim von Braun, Director General of IFPRI, which is directing nutrition and policy research for HarvestPlus. “Together with conventional strategies for improving nutrition, such as fortification, supplementation, and diversification of food in diets, this approach holds enormous potential. It will require a strong partnerships among agriculture and nutrition specialists.”

With the funding announced today, HarvestPlus will be able to substantially accelerate the development of crop varieties under its alliance of international and national agricultural research institutes, university nutrition and food crop programs, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations in the developing and developed world. The grant from the Gates Foundation provides one-half of the total $50 million that will be needed for HarvestPlus over an initial four-year period. It is hoped that grants from the World Bank, USAID and Denmark will account for approximately 40 percent of the required funding, and the remaining 10 percent is currently being sought from a number of potential donors.

“The Gates Foundation's support for HarvestPlus is welcome recognition of the value of innovative approaches to solving global problems," said Ian Johnson, Vice President of Sustainable Development at the World Bank and Chairman of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) that supports CIAT, IFPRI and other agricultural research partners. "The research program links the agriculture and public health sectors and creates a public-private partnership for tackling nutrient malnutrition. It is the latest example of groundbreaking initiatives adopted by the agricultural research centers of the CGIAR and their partners."

On the Internet:
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, www.gatesfoundation.org
HarvestPlus, www.harvestplus.org