July 2024: News and Insights

Empowering Women to Develop Nutritious and Profitable Food Businesses

Tendekayi Tracy Kurehwatira's life as a smallholder farmer in rural Zimbabwe was a constant struggle due to low crop yields, which made it difficult to meet her family's nutritional needs and earn a decent income. After receiving training from HarvestPlus on improving agronomic practices and nutrition, she now has a more diverse and nutrient-rich diet and can earn a decent income by processing and selling biofortified crops. Her children are healthier, and she can afford to send them to school. READ MORE

Chikoka Women’s Group Promoting Healthy Futures in Zambia

For over a decade, the Chikoka Women’s Group in Zambia has worked tirelessly to combat malnutrition in their community. The children suffered from severe vitamin A deficiency, which led to weakened immune systems and impaired vision. Since 2010, the group has been planting orange maize, a vitamin A-rich variety introduced by HarvestPlus. As a result, their families are healthier, and their livelihoods and food security have greatly improved. READ MORE

Empowering Pakistani Women Farmers with Zinc Enriched Wheat Varieties

Pakistan ranks 145th out of 146 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index 2024, highlighting significant gender disparities. Women play a vital role in agri-food systems, but their working conditions and economic opportunities are limited, including reduced access to knowledge and training. To address these issues, HarvestPlus has conducted several capacity-building training sessions to empower smallholder women farmers to cultivate biofortified zinc-enriched wheat varieties in Pakistan. These efforts aim to improve both gender equality and nutritional outcomes in the region. READ MORE

Innovating Communication to Reach Smallholder Farmers

Empowering Farmers Through Climate and Nutritious Crops Hausa Radio Service

Radio plays a significant role as the primary source of information for households in rural Nigeria. The Nutritious Crop Hausa Radio Service initiative leverages the power of radio to provide information and education to rural farmers in northern Nigeria. The program implemented by HarvestPlus complements ongoing physical extension activities and empowers farmers with valuable knowledge on climate-smart agriculture and nutritious crop production. READ MORE

Radio Campaign Driving Demand and Consumption of Biofortified Crops in Rural Uganda

The demand for biofortified crops significantly increased in the Ugandan districts of Luwero and Iganga, driving an increase of nutrients in local diets. This surge in demand is attributed to a well executed radio campaign that sensitized stakeholderson on the benefits of biofortified crops. READ MORE

Lessons Learned Commercializing Iron Pearl Millet in Nigeria?

HarvestPlus hosted a webinar "Accelerated Release and Commercialization of New Seed Varieties" on July 30, 2024, to discuss lessons learned from releasing and commercializing iron pearl millet in Nigeria. The webinar highlighted the successes of the UK Aid-funded project implemented in Kaduna, Kano, Gombe, and Jigawa states under the Propcom+ program. The webinar provided an opportunity to discuss challenges and lessons learned in increasing equitable access to and adoption of new climate-smart and nutrient-enriched crop varieties in Nigeria. WATCH WEBINAR RECORDING

2023 Annual Report

20 Years of Impact for a Food Systems Transformation

By the end of 2023, over 330 million people were eating biofortified food, including 103 million who ate what they grew on their farms. Additionally, biofortified food available in markets was enough to feed an estimated 227 million people. HarvestPlus' 2023 Annual Report summarizes the various ways biofortification is being embedded into food systems through collaborations with public, private, and civil society partners. READ MORE?

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