Quality protein maize (QPM) for school feeding in Ethiopia: stakeholders consultation, sensory evaluation and potential impact

Abstract

Ethiopia is one of the most food insecurity countries in Africa where about 7 million school age children are living in food insecure parts of the country.1 Malnutrition is a serious public health concern for the country with about 44 percent of the children under five stunted.2 Recently the idea of using school feeding programs as a vehicle for agricultural development has gained momentum.3 The rationale behind school feeding programs based on the use of locallyproduced food is that they can provide a regular market opportunity and a reliable source of income for smallholder farmers.3–6 In Ethiopia, maize constitutes one of the major staple foods for the population, ranking first in total production and second in area planted.7 Nevertheless, conventional maize is deficient in tryptophan and lysine, which are essential amino acids for humans.8 Quality Protein Maize (QPM) are biofortified varieties that have improved protein qualityhigher tryptophan and lysine levels.9–11 Meta-analysis of studies in various countries show that consumption of QPM as compared to conventional maize gave 8% increase in rate of growth in height and 9% increase in rate of growth in weight in infants & toddlers with mild to moderate under-nutrition where maize was a significant part of the diet.12 Thus, promoting the use of QPM as a substitute for conventional maize in school feeding programs would not only address the prevailing amino acid deficiency in conventional maize but also serve as a cost-effective way to provide a dependable source of protein for school children. Biofortification is a promising strategy to address the underlying cause of under nutrition, households’ poor access to nutritious food.13 Furthermore, recent studies conducted with human subjects under controlled setting show that biofortification can have an impact on public health. For instance, a school child feeding trial in South Africa showed that consumption of orange-fleshed sweet potato, high in betacarotene, led to improvements in their vitamin A status.14 Likewise, a 9-month feeding experiment in the Philippines showed that frequent consumption of rice containing an extra 2.6 parts per million (ppm) of iron was efficient in improving body iron stores among iron-deficient women.15 The impact of multiple micronutrient fortification, including iron, iodine, and beta-carotene (a precursor of vitamin A), was studied in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Children receiving fortified biscuits for 43weeks demonstrated improved short-term memory compared with children in the control group.16