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Getting enough vitamin A in Kenya

There’s an interesting juxtaposition of material in today’s Nation. Unfortunately, none of it is online so you’ll just have to take my word for it, unless you live in Kenya that is. On the one hand there’s an advertising feature announcing the launch of fortified fats and oils. The four-page spread says that “a team representing government, the standards setting body, testing agencies and the private sector brought Vitamin A-fortified oil to the supermarket shelves in only 130 days.” It includes statements by the Ministers of Health and of Trade & Industry, the Director of Medical Services, the Director of the Bureau of Standards, the Director of the Kenya Medical Research Institute and the Africa Regional Director of the Micronutrient Initiative. The mid-term review of the effort is on the Micronutrient Initiative website here.

Interestingly, the Ministry of Agriculture seems not to have been involved, but in a different part of the paper there’s an article about the widespread and rapid adoption of new, vitamin A-rich sweet potato varieties by communities in western Kenya as part of a project funded by Farm-Africa under the Community Mobilisation Against Desertification (CMAD) programme, in which that ministry did take part. A women’s group in Homa Bay has set up a bakery that uses sweet potato flower mixed with wheat to make bread, cakes and other products for local schools and hospitals.

So, two contrasting ways of trying to achieve the same thing: and end to hidden hunger. I wonder which approach will end up proving better value for money? Do we need both?

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Big banana boosts incomes

From Malaysia, news that a new banana variety called Pisang Sekaki has improved the lot of growers on Sebatik Island. Pisang Sekaki means “one-foot” banana and was apparently developed especially for the banana cracker market. The new variety has also increased job opportunities at the nearby cracker-producing factory.

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Longhorns registered

A surprisingly detailed – for this kind of thing – article in the News-Journal describes efforts to preserve the breed of cattle known as the Texas Longhorn. This apparently developed from cattle introduced from Spain to what is now Mexico around 1500. It was the mainstay of the Texan cattle industry until railroads replaced the traditional cattle drive (much seen in John Wayne movies) at the end of the 19th century. Their long horns meant you could fit fewer of them into the cattle-trucks. It has since been much altered by cross-breeding, and, predictably, this loss of “purity” has upset some people, while no doubt leaving others to mutter “So what?”, probably under their breath. Anyway, there’s a registry, and a DNA database is underway. Lots more interesting detail in the article.

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Money for Musa

Of course it is rude to poke fun at other people’s names, but who can resist when the European Union’s €2.11 million aid package for bananas in Belize is received by Said Musa, that country’s aptly named Prime Minister? The aid will help banana growers in Belize to develop integrated pest management strategies against nematode worms and will deliver tissue-culture plants and the capacity to grow them, making plantations healthier and less in need of sprays. Half the budget is earmarked for projects designed to boost rural incomes and improve community services. All in all, despite the focus on Musa, a package that should be good for biodiversity.