BIOFORTIFICATIONThe 2nd Global Conference on

Getting Nutritious Foods to People

A Global Consultation

March 31 - April 2, 2014 Kigali, Rwanda

CONFERENCE REPORT

HarvestPlus would like to thank the many partners, advisers and advocates, as well as our generous host, the Government of Rwanda, for their hard work and dedication in bringing this conference to life.

We particularly thank and recognize the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources and the Rwanda Agriculture Board for leading efforts to organize and host the conference in Kigali.

Government of Rwanda

Rwanda Host Committee• Jean Jacques Muhinda, Director General, Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB), Chair• Daphrose Gahakwa, Deputy Director General (Research), RAB• Emmanuel K.Gasana, Inspector General of Police, National Police• Anaclet Kalibata, Director General, Immigration and Emigration• Fred Mufulukye, Director General, Ministry of Local Government • Otto Vianney Muhinda, Assistant Representative (Programs), Food and Agriculture Organization• Jean Munyemana, Chief, Chamber of Rwanda Farmers, Private Sector Federation • Louise Mushikiwabo, Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation• Fidel Ngabo, Coordinator, Maternal and Child Health, Ministry of Health• Simon Rukeratabaro,Vice Dean, College of Agriculture, University of Rwanda• Raphael Rurangwa, Director General (Planning), Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources• Alex Ruzibukira, Director General (Industry Development), Ministry of Trade and Industry

Global Conference Advisory Committee• M.K. Bhan, Former Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology, India• Myrtille Danse, Director, BoP Innovation Center, The Netherlands• Charlotte Dufour, Food Security, Nutrition and Livelihoods Officer, Food and Agriculture Organization, Italy• Bibi Giyose, Senior Nutrition Officer, Nutrition Division, Food and Agriculture Organization, Italy• Chance Kabaghe, Executive Director, Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute, Zambia• Rachel Lambert, Senior Livelihoods Adviser, Department for International Development, United Kingdom• Jean Jacques Muhinda, Director General, Rwanda Agriculture Board, Rwanda • Anna Lartey, Director, Nutrition Division, Food and Agriculture Organization, Italy• Fadel Ndiame, Lead Coordinator, Farmer Organization Support Centre in Africa, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, Kenya• Rajul Pandya-Lorch, Head, 2020 Vision for Food, Agriculture & the Environment Initiative, International Food Policy Research

Institute, United States• Luz Maria De-Regil, Director, Research and Evaluation and Chief Technical Advisor, Micronutrient Initiative, Canada• Meera Shekar, Lead Health and Nutrition Specialist, Africa, Human Development Network, World Bank, United States• Lucy Martinez Sullivan, Executive Director, 1,000 Days, United States• Shelly Sundberg, Senior Program Officer, Nutrition Team, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, United States• Paulus Verschuren, Special Envoy, Food and Nutrition Security for Development, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands

Additional thanks to the staff and Program Advisory Committee of HarvestPlus for their unflagging efforts and strong support, with particular appreciation to the HarvestPlus country team in Rwanda.

Acknowledgments

PHOTO CREDITS (clockwise from top) Cover: Pearl Millet - A. Paul Bossuet (ICRISAT); Orange Sweet Potato/Rice/Beans - N. Palmer (CIAT);

Page 4: A. Saltzman (HarvestPlus); Page 5: H. De Groote (CIMMYT-Nairobi); Page 6: J.Isaacson (HarvestPlus).

Contents

From the Host Government.................................................................................................................... 2

From HarvestPlus.................................................................................................................................... 3

About Biofortification.............................................................................................................................. 4

Overview.................................................................................................................................................. 6

Outcomes................................................................................................................................................. 7

Commitments.......................................................................................................................................... 8

Next Steps................................................................................................................................................ 9

Nutritious Staple Food Crops: Who is growing what?.......................................................................... 10

Conference Agenda................................................................................................................................. 12

Copyright © 2014, HarvestPlus. All rights reserved. Sections of this material may be reproduced for personal and not-for-profit use without the express written permission of, but with acknowledgment to, HarvestPlus.

The Government of Rwanda was pleased to host the Second Global Conference on Biofortification. In Rwanda, we have seen the positive outcomes of biofortified nutritious foods firsthand. Under the direction of President Paul Kagame and our key ministries, most notably Agriculture and Health, we have embraced the potential of high-iron beans as well as other biofortified foods such as orange (vitamin A) sweet potato. Already we have seen how these foods can improve the health of the most vulnerable members of our society, while in many cases also raising the farmer incomes.

It is our responsibility as national leaders to adopt proven interventions that benefit the lives of our people. It is also our responsibility to share our learnings with other regional and international stakeholders as we expand and scale biofortified food crops in Rwanda as part of comprehensive national programs to improve both nutrition outcomes and agricultural and economic development.

We believe biofortification can help us build a healthier, more successful future for ourselves and for our children, and we are acting accordingly to incorporate this innovation into our policies and programs. As many participants in the Second Global Conference on Biofortification noted, effective and sustainable development must be country-led. Governments cannot succeed alone, however. The private sector, research institutions, international organizations, and NGOs also have important roles.

We encourage our fellow leaders in Africa and around the world to join in creating strategic alliances — at national, regional and international levels — to ensure that we use our respective skills and resources to fully deploy biofortified nutritious foods and all other tools available to us to end hunger and malnutrition.

It is an honor for Rwanda to be an early biofortification pioneer. We look forward to working with other nations and partners for increased collective impact.

Gerardine MukeshimanaMinister of Agriculture & Animal Resources

From the Host Government

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Anastase MurekeziPrime Minister of Rwanda

Gerardine Mukeshimana

It seems only a few years ago that biofortification was a concept, an idea yet to be proven. Today, just 10 years after the launch of HarvestPlus, seven different biofortified crops have been released in 27 countries, and are being cultivated and consumed by over 1.3 million farm families.

As biofortified crops reach more people, so, too, do the number of crop varieties and the body of evidence demonstrating nutrition impact and cost-effectiveness continue to expand, as well as the interest of farmers, policymakers, development practitioners and consumers. Indeed, as national and international leaders at the conference affirmed, while there is much still to be learned, biofortification is no longer a concept, but rather a validated tool to be used, together with other proven interventions, in the global effort to achieve food and nutrition security.

It is clear that we are now at a critical moment to support the scale up of biofortified crops and fully integrate them into national, regional and global initiatives to end hunger and malnutrition. To this end, we were deeply gratified by not only the number of participants in the Kigali Consultation, but the diversity of the sectors and regions that were represented and the commitments that were made. This, to us, is another value of biofortification—a tangible way to bring health, agriculture, education and other sectors together to assess their respective roles in improving nutrition.

While it will be no easy task, we believe that through concerted, integrated efforts we can fully reach the potential of biofortified crops, closely coordinated with other nutritional interventions such as fortification and supplementation, to build a world that is nutrition secure as well as food secure.

Good nutrition and health must be a primary function of agriculture, if not the primary function. We are privileged to be a part of this effort, working side-by-side with our partners and supporters. Our common goal is dietary quality for all. On behalf of HarvestPlus, we pledge our full support toward making this goal a reality.

Howarth E. BouisDirector of HarvestPlus

Peter McPhersonChair of Program Advisory Committee

From HarvestPlus

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Howarth E. Bouis Peter McPherson

About Biofortification

What is biofortification?Biofortification is the process of breeding food crops that are rich in micronutrients, such as vitamin A, zinc, and iron. These crops “biofortify” themselves by loading higher levels of minerals and vitamins in their seeds and roots while they are growing. When eaten, they can provide essential micronutrients through the diet to improve nutrition and public health.

Is biofortification a ‘silver bullet’ to improve under-nutrition?No. The process of biofortification has never been presented as a single or only solution to undernutrition. It is simply a food-based approach that improves the nutrient value of foods that are often low or lacking altogether in micronutrients. It is a complement to efforts to increase dietary diversity and to other interventions that address micronutrient deficiencies, such as fortification and supplementation.

What is the evidence that biofortification actually works? There is strong evidence of the benefits of some crops (such as orange sweet potato). Similar evidence for other biofortified staple foods (iron pearl millet and vitamin A maize) is expected in the next year. Studies on orange sweet potato in Uganda and Mozambique, for example, found vitamin A intakes as much as doubled among women and children due to consumption of this nutritious food.

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Who is likely to benefit, and how much, from biofortification? Biofortification should be most beneficial to groups who are vulnerable to deficiencies in micronutrients such as vitamin A, zinc or iron, including children and pregnant and breastfeeding women. Its greatest benefit is in contributing to the prevention of micronutrient deficiencies, rather than treating acute or established deficiencies.

Are biofortified nutritious crops cost-effective?The 2008 Copenhagen Consensus, which is composed of the world’s leading economists, estimated the ratio of health benefit-to-cost ratio for expanding access to biofortified nutritious crops as $17 of benefits for every $1 invested. Once a particular micronutrient is bred into a crop line, the nutrient value persists over time. This makes the process of biofortification, over time, sustainable and cost-effective.

Will farmers adopt these new, biofortified nutritious crops?Two studies published in the British Journal of Nutrition (2011) and in the Journal of Nutrition (2012) found that in project areas, 68 percent of households in Mozambique and 61 percent of households in Uganda adopted vitamin A orange sweet potato. In addition, the share of sweet potato cultivated area devoted to orange sweet potato increased from 9 percent to 56 percent in Mozambique and from 1 percent to 44 percent in Uganda.

Who is leading efforts on developing, utilizing and scaling biofortified crops?Although biofortified crops were initially developed and bred by HarvestPlus and the CGIAR network of international agricultural research centers, biofortification efforts are led and implemented by a wide variety of partners including country governments, NGOs, and private sector entities. As biofortified crops continue to gain acceptance and uptake, HarvestPlus will take on more of a coordination role, with country governments leading the way forward.

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A set of Biofortification Progress Briefs were released in August 2014 and are available at:

www.HarvestPlus.org

Overview

The Second Global Conference on Biofortification—titled “Getting Nutritious Foods to People”—was held in Kigali, Rwanda, from March 31 to April 2, 2014. The conference was officially hosted by the Government of the Republic of Rwanda and organized by HarvestPlus.

The three-day conference was designed to be a highly inter-active consultation on how biofortified nutritious crops can be used to address the twin challenges of hunger and malnutrition. More than 300 leaders from around the world came together to discuss issues and opportunities related to the goal of integrating biofortified nutritious crops into food and nutrition security efforts at national, regional and global levels. Among the participants were health and agriculture ministers from Rwanda, Uganda, and Nigeria and senior government officials from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, as well as farmers and a broad array of representatives from civil society, business, research, and international development agencies. A full list of participants can be found at http://biofortconf.ifpri.info.

HarvestPlus Director Dr. Howarth Bouis set the tone for the event in his opening address by saying “agriculture and the food we eat are the primary sources of minerals and vitamins that people need to be healthy.” The objectives of the conference were to:

1. Share progress and lessons learned; 2. Explore country-led pathways to scale biofortified

nutritious crops/foods; 3. Enhance the evidence base; and 4. Forge partnerships and collective action to address

gaps and challenges in increasing access to biofortified nutritious crops.

The conference included diverse formats to spur evidence and ideas into action – keynote speeches, panel discussions, field visits and consultative working sessions.

Senior leaders in global agriculture, health and development provided their perspectives on issues related to biofort-ification within the context of the larger challenges of combating hunger and malnutrition. The Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition convened two moderated discussions on agriculture, health and nutrition-specific policymaking, and how biofortification and other proven nutrition interventions could be integrated and supported within national strategies. One Global Panel member, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for Nigeria, asserted in his keynote address that “investment in nutrition is not a social cause, it is investing in the economy. The biggest contributor to economic growth is brain power, what I call ‘gray matter infrastructure.” An interview panel moderated by journalist Roger Thurow provided ground-level perspectives on the realities of working with biofortified foods and nutrition interventions in communities.

Champions of biofortification spoke on how to bring bio-fortified nutritious crops to scale. Rwanda’s then Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Dr. Agnes Kalibata, noted that “biofortification is critical because we are talking about the best way and easiest way for smallholder farmers to get what they need for their children.” World Food Prize Laureate Dr. M.S. Swaminathan also underscored the key role of farmers, saying “science in the laboratory has no meaning. We must bridge the gap between the scientific ‘know-how’ and the farmers’ ‘do-how.’”

These and other speakers highlighted the need for govern-ments to take the lead in designing policies and creating environments supportive of the adoption and spread of biofortified crops. However, they also noted that government policies and programs would not be able to achieve a world free from hunger and malnutrition on their own. There was broad recognition that multi-sectoral partnerships, defined by collaboration across disciplines and government ministries, would be necessary to achieve true scale, sustainability and impact. Dr. Agnes Binagwaho, Rwanda’s Minister of Health, underscored this point in the closing panel when she said “the fight against malnutrition is the most multi-sectoral fight ever in my career, not only as a Minister or as a Permanent Secretary, but also as a doctor.”

To benefit from the broad knowledge and experience of participants, the conference also featured three consultative sessions to identify gaps and challenges, solutions and opportunities, and sector-specific roles. More than a discussion of the issues, the conference focused on creation of an action plan and an initial set of commitments to take actions forward.

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Country-led Pathways Toward Scale

Policymakers from around the world, including ministers of agriculture, ministers of health and senior officials from regional and global policy institutions, took center stage at the conference. The need for countries to take the lead was emphasized not only by the conference attendees as a group, but in particular by government leaders. These leaders spoke boldly about picking up the banner of biofortification and the need to develop and expand policies that incorporate proven interventions such as biofortification in their national health, nutrition and agriculture policies and programs. Ministers encouraged their fellow country leaders to integrate biofortified nutritious foods into their policymaking efforts; these calls to action were echoed and supported by attendees from civil society, international organizations, research institutions, donors and the private sector.

Enhancing the Evidence Base

The message from the conference attendees was loud and clear – biofortification is an intervention that has proven its potential and its place within the nutrition toolkit. This, however, does not indicate that further research is not needed. Instead, research should focus less on proving the possibilities and more on improving and expanding available varieties, assessing impacts on health and nutrition status, and providing insights on delivery science – how biofortification programs should be implemented and in which contexts they can have the greatest impact. In discussions, attendees also spoke of the need to translate research and evidence for specific audiences (policymakers, NGOs, etc.), emphasizing that communicating research and progress in a way that is understandable and useful for decision makers is as important as building the evidence base itself.

The Conference yielded important progress in terms of the goals set for the consultation and acknowledgment of the path forward for scaling biofortified nutritious crops. Highlights included:

Progress and Lessons Learned

The conference provided a tremendous opportunity to share cross-sector, geographically-diverse learnings from organizations and governments, both those currently implementing biofortification programs and those interested in deepening their involvement. Panels and speeches focused on highlighting the tremendous strides made in the development and introduction of biofortified nutritious crop varieties over the past decade. Scientists, practitioners and policymakers discussed their experiences working with biofortified crops, including successes, challenges and opportunities. The Prime Minister of Rwanda and the Minister of Agriculture of Nigeria spoke of how biofortified crops are having an impact in their countries in alleviating malnutrition. Dr. M.S. Swaminathan spoke of the progress and potential of biofortified crops in India and around the world, as well as how they could be better utilized to achieve a world with zero hunger. Dr. Howarth Bouis noted the existing and growing pipeline of biofortified, nutrient-rich staple food crops that have been released or are being tested in nearly 30 countries worldwide (see biofortified crops map/Infographic on page 10). In the interactive sessions, participants delved into more specific discussions on the particular challenges, opportunities and country roadmaps for bringing biofortified nutritious crops to scale. Among the many issues raised were how to address gender to increase nutritional outcomes and product uptake, how to engage the private sector to create sustained demand, how to ensure an enabling public policy environment, and how to most effectively integrate biofortified nutritious crops within the wider array of proven nutrition strategies.

Outcomes

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“I believe that this is one of the ways to go if we are going to be able to not only reduce but to eliminate hunger and malnutrition, particularly vitamin and nutrition deficiencies in the continent, and contribute to the reduction of stunting.”

Bibi Giyose Senior Nutrition Officer, Food and Agriculture Organization

“For me, the challenge is no longer the science of biofortification –

we know it works; our challenge as policy-makers is to scale up

biofortified crops to reach millions of households through institutional,

regulatory and financial policy.”

Dr. Akinwumi Adesina Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nigeria

Forging Partnerships and Collective Action

A recurring theme during the three days, partnerships and collaborations across sectors were frequently cited as critical not only for bringing biofortification to scale, but also for achieving the overall global goal of ending hunger and malnutrition. In working sessions and panels, participants specifically discussed the strengths that each sector could bring to the table in terms of developing partnerships and programs to scale biofortified nutritious crops. To that end, a conference statement, The Kigali Declaration on Biofortified Nutritious Foods, was developed during the three-day meeting, drafted by a Conference Writing Committee and circulated to all conference attendees for review and comments before being finalized. The Declaration outlines sector-specific actions identified during the three-day consultation and also recognizes the need for collaboration to achieve maximum impact. It is intended to support scaling efforts, and to establish clear goals and guidelines to measure success. The Kigali Declaration can be found at: http://biofortconf.ifpri.info/kigali-declaration.

In the final hours of the conference, Rachel Kyte of the CGIAR Fund Council and Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition led a panel focused on action and next steps. A range of leaders from government, research, international development, civil society and business took the opportunity to announce their organizations’ commitments to help scale up the reach of biofortified nutritious crops through their work and programs.

In the coming months and years, additional commitments are anticipated toward the goal of ensuring that those who would most benefit from biofortification have access to more nutritious varieties of foods that they already grow or consume on a daily basis.

Some of the commitments made are:

The National Food and Nutrition Commission (NFNC), Zambia recognizes its central role in formulating evidence-based national policies that will contribute to the reduction and even eliminate ALL forms of malnutrition among vulnerable populations in Zambia. In view of this, the NFNC pledges to promote all strategies, including biofortification as a key strategic initiative, that would be incorporated in the national policy to resolve the burden of hidden hunger in Zambia.

CGIAR Consortium acknowledges the essential role of agriculture and food systems to provide the minerals, vitamins and other compounds that are essential for good health. As one way to contribute to this objective of agriculture, the Consortium/Centers agree to develop a plan for mainstreaming breeding for mineral and vitamin traits into conventional food crop development programs.

M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) is hosting the Asia-Pacific Conference on the Year of Family Farming in August this year jointly with FAO, IFAD, WFP, IDRC and CGIAR. At this Conference, it is proposed to get a resolution passed for seeking the commitment of every nation to include biofortified crops in the fight against malnutrition. The proposal will be to adopt a resolution involving the commitment of every nation to make ‘Every Family Farm a Biofortified Farm’.

“We can see that after years of scientific research, we are just at the point where the research is no longer being argued or debated, but we are at that tipping point where we can start taking the product of all of that work and push it out into the world at scale.”

Rachel Kyte Chair, CGIAR Fund Council; Vice President, World Bank

Commitments

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“You have a double advantage here – the problem of solving

undernutrition, calorie deprivation – and at the same time, vitamin A deficiency. Biofortification gives

you these multiple advantages.” Dr. M.S. Swaminathan World Food Prize Laureate

The World Food Programme (WFP) has incorporated biofortified crops into our corporate Nutrition Policy, and will increasingly use biofortified grains and pulses in our food basket as the availability increases. Through our Purchase for Progress (P4P) programme, we are already linking farmer cooperatives to HarvestPlus and government research entities to multiply seed, in Rwanda and elsewhere. P4P commits to procure greater quantities of biofortified beans and cereals as their availability increases during the forthcoming scale up in Rwanda, Zambia, Uganda and elsewhere, dependent upon quality and price.

World Vision International is committed to promoting biofortified crops as part of our package of interventions in our Health and Nutrition Strategy, which focuses on the first 1,000 days and in our Agriculture and Food Security programs. In January 2014, World Vision signed a Memorandum of Understanding with HarvestPlus committing to collaborate across business, government and civil society in countries where HarvestPlus is not operational, but where World Vision is working.

Nirmal Seeds is committed to act as a private sector advocacy organization for promoting biofortification and to stipulate that biofortified rice, wheat, and pearl millet be included in the Government of India food subsidy programs. We also confirm our interest in participation under the Nutri-Farm concept [stimulated by Dr. Swaminathan] in India.

Key donors also expressed continued commitment to the development and deployment of biofortified nutritious crops, including the UK Department for International Development (DFID), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, European Commission, and US Agency for International Development (USAID).

For more information on these and other commitments, or to learn how to make a commitment, please visit:

http://biofortconf.ifpri.info

Following the commitments announced by other participants, Dr. Howarth Bouis committed HarvestPlus to continue to play a catalytic role in supporting the expansion and scale up of biofortified nutritious food crops, mainly in four areas identified by the conference attendees:

1. Communicating EvidenceDisseminate established and ongoing evidence of the impact and cost-effectiveness of biofortified nutritious crops, in formats accessible to/understandable by key stakeholders. Action: Build upon the materials/tools available on the conference website for ongoing review and feedback by stakeholders.

2. Serving as a ResourceProvide support to help countries and other interested organizations/partners integrate biofortified nutritious crops into their policies and programs. Action: Extend the discussions from the conference to other sectoral and regional stakeholders through a series of interactive, web-based briefings to be held in 2014.

3. Supporting Partnership DevelopmentEngage implementing partners from across all relevant sectors to share and integrate best practices and new knowledge. Action: Investigate forming an informal network to assist in global and regional advocacy and development of strategic alliances.

4. Coordinating and Encouraging Action Support and enable the realization of the Kigali Declaration on Biofortified Nutritious Foods and of the stakeholder commitments already made, and still to be made. Action: Convene a small group of conference participants by spring 2015 (one year from the event in Rwanda) to assess progress in accomplishing the activities laid out in the Kigali Declaration.

In closing the conference, Dr. Bouis also pledged that HarvestPlus would take the lead in organizing the Third Global Conference on Biofortification by 2017. He and Dr. Agnes Kalibata, on behalf of the Rwandan government, thanked the participants and underscored the opportunity for country leaders and partners from across sectors to join forces to translate the insightful discussions in Kigali into action to create lasting change.

Next Steps

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III. Biofortified Crops Infographic

ZIMBABWE

ZAMBIA

UGANDA

TANZANIA

SYRIA

SOUTHAFRICA

SIERRA LEONE

SENEGAL

RW.

PHILIPPINES

PANAMA

PAKISTAN

NIGERIA

NIGER

NICARAGUA

NEPAL

MOZAMBIQUE

MEXICO

MALI

MALAWI

MADAGASCAR

LIBERIA

INDONESIA

INDIA

HONDURASGUATEMALA

GHANAETHIOPIA

EL SALVADOR

CÔTED'IVOIRE

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

COLOMBIA

CHINA

CENTRAL AFRICANREPUBLICCAMEROON

BUR.

BURKINA FASO

BRAZIL

BOLIVIA

BENIN

BANGLADESH

ANGOLA

KENYA

NUTRITIOUS STAPLE FOOD CROPS: WHO IS GROWING WHAT? These crops have been conventionally bred to be rich in essential vitamins and minerals that are needed for good health.

RELEASEDAND/OR AVAILABLE TO FARMERS

THROUGH FORMAL OR INFORMAL CHANNELS

TESTINGBEING EVALUATED OR TESTED IN A TARGET OR EXPANSION COUNTRY

BANANA/PLANTAIN (VIT A)

BEANS (IRON)

CASSAVA (VIT A)

COWPEA (IRON, ZINC)

IRISH POTATO (IRON)

LENTIL (IRON, ZINC)

MAIZE (VIT A)

MAIZE (ZINC)

PEARL MILLET (IRON)

PUMPKIN (VIT A)

RICE (ZINC)

RICE (IRON)

SORGHUM (ZINC, IRON)

SWEET POTATO (VIT A)

WHEAT (ZINC)

BANANA/PLANTAIN (VIT A)

BEANS (IRON)

CASSAVA (VIT A)

COWPEA (IRON, ZINC)

IRISH POTATO (IRON)

LENTIL (IRON, ZINC)

MAIZE (VIT A)

MAIZE (ZINC)

PEARL MILLET (IRON)

PUMPKIN (VIT A)

RICE (ZINC)

RICE (IRON)

SORGHUM (ZINC, IRON)

SWEET POTATO (VIT A)

WHEAT (ZINC)

Source: HarvestPlus. Copyright © 2014 HarvestPlus. Further information: www.harvestplus.org

HarvestPlus leads a global effort to improve nutrition and public health by developing and disseminating staple food crops that are rich in vitamins and minerals. HarvestPlus is part of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) which helps realize the potential of agricultural development to deliver gender-equitable health and nutritional benefits to the poor. The HarvestPlus program is coordinated by two CGIAR centers, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

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ZIMBABWE

ZAMBIA

UGANDA

TANZANIA

SYRIA

SOUTHAFRICA

SIERRA LEONE

SENEGAL

RW.

PHILIPPINES

PANAMA

PAKISTAN

NIGERIA

NIGER

NICARAGUA

NEPAL

MOZAMBIQUE

MEXICO

MALI

MALAWI

MADAGASCAR

LIBERIA

INDONESIA

INDIA

HONDURASGUATEMALA

GHANAETHIOPIA

EL SALVADOR

CÔTED'IVOIRE

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

COLOMBIA

CHINA

CENTRAL AFRICANREPUBLICCAMEROON

BUR.

BURKINA FASO

BRAZIL

BOLIVIA

BENIN

BANGLADESH

ANGOLA

KENYA

NUTRITIOUS STAPLE FOOD CROPS: WHO IS GROWING WHAT? These crops have been conventionally bred to be rich in essential vitamins and minerals that are needed for good health.

RELEASEDAND/OR AVAILABLE TO FARMERS

THROUGH FORMAL OR INFORMAL CHANNELS

TESTINGBEING EVALUATED OR TESTED IN A TARGET OR EXPANSION COUNTRY

BANANA/PLANTAIN (VIT A)

BEANS (IRON)

CASSAVA (VIT A)

COWPEA (IRON, ZINC)

IRISH POTATO (IRON)

LENTIL (IRON, ZINC)

MAIZE (VIT A)

MAIZE (ZINC)

PEARL MILLET (IRON)

PUMPKIN (VIT A)

RICE (ZINC)

RICE (IRON)

SORGHUM (ZINC, IRON)

SWEET POTATO (VIT A)

WHEAT (ZINC)

BANANA/PLANTAIN (VIT A)

BEANS (IRON)

CASSAVA (VIT A)

COWPEA (IRON, ZINC)

IRISH POTATO (IRON)

LENTIL (IRON, ZINC)

MAIZE (VIT A)

MAIZE (ZINC)

PEARL MILLET (IRON)

PUMPKIN (VIT A)

RICE (ZINC)

RICE (IRON)

SORGHUM (ZINC, IRON)

SWEET POTATO (VIT A)

WHEAT (ZINC)

Source: HarvestPlus. Copyright © 2014 HarvestPlus. Further information: www.harvestplus.org

HarvestPlus leads a global effort to improve nutrition and public health by developing and disseminating staple food crops that are rich in vitamins and minerals. HarvestPlus is part of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) which helps realize the potential of agricultural development to deliver gender-equitable health and nutritional benefits to the poor. The HarvestPlus program is coordinated by two CGIAR centers, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

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AGENDA Serena Hotel, Kigali, Rwanda

Monday, March 31: Day 1 – Setting the Scene

7:30 – 8:45 Registration

9:00 – 10:30 Opening Ceremony and Keynote

9:00 – 9:05 Introduction Conference Moderator: Jeff Koinange, Host of Jeff Koinange LIVE, Kenya Television Network

9:05 – 9:45 Welcome by the Host Government

9:45 – 10:05 Welcome by HarvestPlus Howarth Bouis, Director, HarvestPlus

10:05 – 10:30 Keynote Address The Honorable Agnes Kalibata, Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Rwanda

10:30 –11:00 Coffee Break

11:00 – 12:30 Panel: How Can Biofortification Support Nutrition-Sensitive Policymaking? Convened by the Global Panel for Agriculture and Food Systems for Improved Nutrition

Chair: Mahabub Hossain, former Executive Director, BRAC, and member of the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition Panelists:

Boitshepo Giyose, Senior Food and Nutrition Security Advisor, NEPAD Wilberforce Kisamba Mugerwa, Chair, National Planning Authority, Uganda Frank Rijsberman, CEO, CGIAR Consortium Paulus Verschuren, Special Envoy, Food and Nutrition Security for Development, Ministry of Foreign

Affairs, The Netherlands

12:30 – 2:00 Lunch – Keynote: Chris Elias, President for Global Development, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Introduction by Shenggen Fan, Director General, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

2:00 – 3:30 Interactive Ideas Lab: From Pioneer to Partners Juergen Hagmann, PICOTEAM Dynamic insight into nutrient-rich crops through a World Café, in which each table addresses a key issue related to crop development, delivery, or impact, with opportunities to visit several tables.

3:30 – 4:00 Coffee & Tea Break

4:00 – 6:00 Consultative Session 1: From Impressions to Knowledge Four parallel breakout groups, with co-leads/facilitators for each group:

Understanding the World Stage – positioning nutritious crops in the context of global policy frameworks, platforms, and forums aimed at improving nutrition

Supporting National Leadership – leveraging regional and national approaches to encourage policies and practices that expand local access to nutritious foods

Moving from Farm to Fork – working with public and private partners to create demand for nutritious foods and ensure strong markets and effective delivery channels to reach consumers

Stressing Facts, not Fiction – advancing inter-disciplinary research to make available more crop varieties with desirable nutritional and agronomic values

6:30 – 7:30 Opening Reception (cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be served)

Conference Agenda

12

2

Tuesday, April 1: Day 2 – Farmers and the Field

9:00 – 9:05 Welcome

9:05 – 9:35 Keynote Address M.S. Swaminathan, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation

9:35 – 10:15 What Practitioners Have to Say Interactive interviews that match practical experience with outcomes of Consultative Session 1 Moderator: Roger Thurow, Senior Fellow, The Chicago Council on Global Affairs Participants: An array of practitioners from farmer organizations, national agricultural research systems, farm-to-market programs, and community development practice

10:15 – 10:30 Synthesis of Day 1 and Review of Day 2 Activities

10:30 – 10:45 Coffee & Tea Break

10:45 – 12:30 Consultative Session 2: From Knowledge to Ideas Breakout groups to review in more detail opportunities and challenges identified in Consultative Session 1 and to propose forward actions. (Followed by brief group reports in plenary, prior to lunch and afternoon field trips)

12:30 – 1:30 Lunch Remarks: Joane Nkuliye, farmer/seed multiplier, Katabagemu Sector, Nyagatare District, Rwanda

1:30 – 6:00 Getting Out in the Field Field visits to a variety of different sites close to Kigali

7:30 – 9:30 Gala Dinner Keynote: Akinwumi Adesina, The Honorable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nigeria

Wednesday, April 2: Day 3 – Towards Global Reach and Impact

9:00 – 9:10 Welcome (with a special video message)

9:10 – 10:15 Elements and Examples of Taking Innovations to Scale Introduction and brief video by Richard Kohl, Founder, Center for Large-Scale Social Change.

Interactive discussion among individuals from or using approaches of the private sector – research, seed industry, food processing, and marketing/advertising – with examples of how nutrient-rich crops/foods are being or can be integrated into practice

10:15 – 10:30 Coffee & Tea Break

10:30 – 12:30 Consultative Session 3: From Ideas to Action Roundtable discussions to synthesize inputs from previous Consultative Sessions and co-create recommendations defining sector-specific and cross-sector actions and partnerships, based on identified “key elements” of the value chain.

12:30 – 1:45 Lunch

1:45 – 3:30 Panel: Collaborating to Reach More People with Nutritious Foods Convened by the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition Chair/Moderator: Rachel Kyte, Chair, CGIAR Fund Council; Vice President, World Bank; and member of the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition Panelists:

Akinwumi Adesina, Honorable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nigeria Agnes Binagwaho, Honorable Minister of Health, Rwanda Ruben Echeverria, Director General, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) Jonathan Shrier, Special Representative for Global Food Security, US State Department Tim Wheeler, Deputy Chief Scientific Advisor, UK Department for International Development (DfID)

3:30 – 4:10 Next Steps Outcomes of the consultation from the perspective of key stakeholders

4:10 – 4:30 Looking Forward Closing statement and appreciation to guests

HarvestPlus leads a global effort to improve nutrition and public health by developing and deploying staple food crops that are rich in vitamins and minerals. We work with diverse partners in more than 40 countries. HarvestPlus is part of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH). CGIAR is a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future. Its science is carried out by its 15 research centers in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations. The HarvestPlus program is coordinated by two of these centers, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).