You won’t find sweet potatoes growing in South Dakota fields, but sweet potato-fortified bread developed at South Dakota State University might help fight vitamin A deficiency in Africa.
Visiting scientist Daniel Mbogo of the International Potato Center in Kenya is working with assistant professor Srinivas Janaswamy to formulate breads with sweet potatoes that will enhance vitamin A in diets. Janaswamy’s research in the Department of Dairy and Food Science focuses on starch digestion and micronutrients.
“Vitamin A deficiency is a huge problem in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Mbogo. UNICEF estimates that 48 percent of children between six and 59 months old in sub-Saharan Africa suffer from vitamin A deficiency, which can lead to preventable childhood blindness and increases the risk of death from common illnesses, such as diarrhea.
The four-month collaborative project was made possible by a Borlaug Fellowship through CGIAR, a global agricultural research partnership for a food secure future. The Borlaug Fellowship Program honors Nobel laureate Norman E. Borlaug, an American agronomist known as the Father of the Green Revolution.
Continue reading this story from the South Dakota State University website.