Nourishing body and mind: How vegetable school gardens can contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goals

Transcription

1 Nourishing body and mind: How vegetable school gardens can contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goals Robert Holmer & Dyno Keatinge Paper presented at the 2012 Rotary International Convention Break-out session of the LearnGrow and Food Plant Solutions (FPS) Rotarian Action Group, 9 May 2012, Bangkok, Thailand 1 /

2 Research to promote development Founded in 1971 as the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center with a regional research focus on Asia. Our research and development is nonprofit. Our research outputs are international public goods. AVRDC has an expanding global role with a growing network of regional offices 2 /

3 AVRDC is a highly decentralized center The World Niger Vegetable Tanzania Center HQ in Taiwan AVRDC s global locations plus Indonesia, Uzbekistan Cameroon Dubai Cameroon UAE Madagascar Laos Thailand and project activities with partners in many other countries Fiji and Solomons India Niger 3 /

4 AVRDC in /

5 AVRDC in 2011 Our sources of financial support Asia & Pacific Seed Association Asian Development Bank (ADB) Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) Australian Government Overseas Aid Programme (AUSAID) Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (CIRAD) Federal Republic of Germany Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) Global Crop Diversity Trust (GCDT) International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Japan Kilimo Trust Private sector partners (e.g. Kagome and BASF) Taiwan Republic of Korea Sir Ratan Tata Trust Thailand United States Agency for International Development (USAID) United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) 5 /

6 Our crop portfolio Solanaceae: tomato pepper eggplant Bulb alliums: onion garlic shallot Legumes: Crucifers: mungbean vegetable soybean chinese cabbage broccoli Cucurbits: bittergourd pumpkin cucumber Indigenous vegetables 6 /

7 Research and Development - four global themes Germplasm Breeding Production Consumption Germplasm conservation, evaluation and gene discovery Genetic enhancement, varietal development, selection of indigenous lines, seed production Safe and sustainable vegetable production systems Balanced diets through increased access to and utilization of nutritious vegetables 7 /

8 No. of accessions 57,937 No. of species 430 No. of countries of origin 155 We now need: Not a Green Revolution, but a Revolution with Greens! The world s largest public sector collection of vegetable germplasm 8 /

9 Germplasm accessions conserved at AVRDC Principal crops Other crops Total No. of accessions 53,533 3,697 57,230 No. of genera 168 No. of species 420 Countries of origin 154 No. of accessions conserved at AVRDC s Regional Center for Africa: 2,519 9 /

10 AVRDC s Genebank - the world s largest public sector collection of vegetable germplasm 10 /

11 Contribution of AVRDC s genebank to vegetable diversity Seed distribution by recipient type NGOs 3% Universitie s 15% National genebanks 18% Others 1% Seed companies 17% AVRDC-RC 19% AVRDC- HQ 6% NARES 21% Thousands of genebank accessions and breeding lines are dispatched annually 11 /

12 June 12 / improved vegetable varieties benefit farmers around the world

13 Malnutrition Every day, 300 women die in childbirth as a result of iron deficiency anemia, accounting for 20 percent of global maternal mortality Anemia among children can impair health and development, limit learning capacity, impair immune systems and reduce adult work performance. Normal concentration and size of red blood cells 13 /

14 Malnutrition Insufficient vitamin A intake among developing-country children causes blindness and contributes to infections and death. Vitamin A deficiency impairs the immune system of about 40 percent of the children under the age of five in developing countries, causing about one million child deaths annually. 14 /

15 Imbalanced Food Systems Deficiency in calories + protein = HUNGER 1.02 billion underweight Deficiency in vitamins & minerals = MICRONUTRIENT DEFICIENCY billion malnourished Excess calories = IMBALANCED CONSUMPTION 2.0 billion overweight Source: FAO, 2009; WHO, /

16 Projected main causes of death, worldwide, all ages, 2005 Cardiovascular diseases 30% CD and nutritional deficiencies 30% Injuries 9% TOTAL DEATHS 2005: 58 million Other chronic diseases Chronic 9% Diabetes respiratory 2% 7% Cancer 13% 35 million people (61%) died of chronic diseases in million people (30%) died of communicable diseases and nutritional deficiencies 80% of chronic disease deaths occur in low & middle income countries Source: WHO /

17 Population (billions) Urbanization Global Urbanization Trends World Population Total Rural Population Urban Population United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2006) 17 / Urbanization is a factor contributing to obesity

18 Urbanization Global Urbanization Trends 18 / Manila 1975 Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (2010)

19 Urbanization Global Urbanization Trends 19 / Manila 1988 Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (2010)

20 Urbanization Global Urbanization Trends 20 / Manila 2000 Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (2010)

21 Urbanization Global Urbanization Trends 21 / Manila 2010 Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (2010)

22 Obesity Availability of high-fat, highsugar, high-salt, energy-dense, micronutrient-poor foods Tend to be lower in cost Perceived to be tastier Often more accessible than healthier food choices 22 /

23 Obesity Obesity is associated with underperformance in education. A healthy diet, with a high intake of nutrientrich foods may be associated with small increases in IQ. 23 /

24 Vegetables: The key source of vitamins & micronutrients Vegetables 3-5 servings a day 1 serving = 80g g a day Source: USDA 24 /

25 Children < 5 mortality rate (1/1000) Children < 5 underweight (%) National vegetable availability vs. health/nutrition status: 300 Health status indicator: Children under 5 mortality rate 60 Nutrition status indicator: Children under 5 underweight Cambodia Lao PDR Maldives Cambodia Tajikistan Vietnam Lao PDR Korea PDR Korea PDR Viet Nam Tajikistan United Arab Emirates Saudi Arabia Vegetable availability (g/person/day) Vegetable availability (g/person/day) Countries Veg availability (g/ person/day) Mortality rate (1/1000) Underweight (%) Cambodia Lao PDR Viet Nam /

26 Diet Diversity Makes Sense! Iodization 26 / Fe and Zn Biofortification Vitamin Supplementation

27 Indigenous treasures Spider plant African eggplant Nightshade Butterfly pea Slippery cabbage Amaranth Cowpea 27 /

28 Indigenous treasures / Many indigenous vegetables have high nutritional content, they are relatively very high in calcium, vitamin C and iron as compared to onions and tomatoes Slide source: adapted from Dalberg Report for BMGF Data source: "Advancing urban agriculture through use of indigenous vegetables: African experiences 2009; Chapter 3, by Ray-Yu Yang and Gudrun B. Keding

29 Potential of School Gardens A school usually is the center of each community Healthy diets begin with knowledge A place where programs on good health practices can be taught and implemented to achieve behavioral changes at home. 29 /

30 Advantages of school-based programs Promoting good health and nutrition before and during school age is essential to effective growth and development Good health and nutrition are prerequisites for effective learning The preexisting infrastructure of the educational system offers a costeffective route for delivery of simple health interventions 30 /

31 Philippine Vegetable Gardens in Schools Program Establishment of vegetable gardens in all 42,076 public primary and secondary schools of the country Earlier successful lessons of vegetable gardening have to be re-learned by a new generation To be complemented by home & community gardens 31 /

32 Strategies for successful implementation Successful school garden programs cannot be created in isolation but have to be linked with education and environmental interventions Communication and synergy between the health, agriculture and education sectors is necessary 32 /

33 Strategies for successful implementation Identify 10 to 15 vegetable crops which are locally and socio-culturally acceptable, nutrient-dense resistant/tolerant to prevalent biotic and abiotic stresses, preferably open-pollinated to allow local seed production, relatively easy to grow in confined spaces with a short growing period from sowing to harvest 33 /

34 High value/ high nutrient crops - Breeding for nutrition: Tomato: high beta tomato adaptation trials Tomato: search for new genes to improve carotenoids and flavonoids Pepper: high carotenoid paprika for tropics Pumpkin: characterization of varieties for carotenoids Bitter gourd: evaluation of varieties for vitamins and antidiabetic activities High carotenoid pumpkin High beta, golden tomato High flavonoid tomato High carotenoid, low pungency pepper High vitamins and antidiabetic bitter gourd 34 /

35 Major constraints Access to high quality seed and seedlings, Limited knowledge on how to grow vegetables sustainably with low external inputs. High postharvest losses 35 /

36 Major constraints Availability of low-cost, nutritious and goodtasting recipes. 36 /

37 Promotion of vegetables 37 /

38 AVRDC - Prosperity for the Poor and Health for All 38 /