Zambia will this year introduce a new breed of orange maize to further curb the high vitamin A deficiency levels among people in the country especially the children.

Zambia Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI) director Richard Kamona said his organisation would use the conventional plant breeding techniques, which will result in the production of the more nutritious orange maize. Public health statistics indicate that vitamin A deficiency still remains a serious problem in Zambia affecting more than 53 per cent of the children.

Severe Vitamin A deficiency has been associated with higher levels of malnutrition, child mortality as well as partial and complete blindness.

The new orange maize variety therefore, which is being developed by the ZARI through biofortification, will seek to improve the Vitamin A content of the maize product in a natural way.

Dr Kamona said this at a pro-Vvitamin A maize dissemination and delivery strategic planning workshop held at Chrismar hotel in Livingstone yesterday.

The workshop attracted Ministry of Agriculture and Health directors, Food Reserve Agency (FRA), University of Zambia, Programme Against Malnutrition, Harvest Plus programme officials, Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU), some non governmental organisations, representatives of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and ZARI.

The key objective of the meeting was to develop a delivery strategy that would ensure that Vitamin A maize reached and was utilised by the consumers.

He said that the control of Vitamin A deficiency in Zambia would lead to substantial and lasting improvements in childhood survival and prevention of irreversible blindness caused by micronutrient malnutrition.

Dr Kamona said that despite Zambia having introduced vitamin A through sugar and maize fortification, it was evident that additional measures were required to further reduce vitamin A deficiency in the country.

The biofortification of maize with provitamin A was cost effective as maize was the staple food in Zambia hence would have far reaching impact on the reduction of Vitamin A deficiency.

Dr Kamona said that the new varieties of orange maize would continue to be tested until 2012 when it is hoped that they will be disseminated to farmers in several villages in the country to see how the new varieties perform and whether consumers like to eat the orange maize.

Harvest Plus head of product delivery Harrie Hendrickx said his organization was committed to introducing yellow maize in Zambia because it would greatly improve the health of the people.

Harvest Plus country manager Eliab Simpungwe called on Zambians to embrace yellow maize as it would go a long way in decreasing vitamin A deficiency and malnutrition.