Vitamin A deficiency is the leading cause of preventable blindness in children globally and an important contributor to the burden of night blindness in pregnant women and severe illness and death in children under the age of five. Southern Africa is not spared. 

In Zimbabwe, nearly one in five children under the age of five are vitamin A deficient. Micronutrient deficiency, also known as hidden hunger, is a result of consuming on a day-to-day basis a diet composed mostly of starchy staples. In Zimbabwe, rural diets mainly consist of what farming families can grow, which is predominantly white maize. However, white maize is high in starch and very low in nutritional value.

In response to this nutritional challenge and to support the Government of Zimbabwe to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2 – Zero Hunger, FAO partnered with HarvestPlus and the Department of Research and Specialist Services (DR&SS) of Zimbabwe to promote the production of biofortified vitamin A orange maize, or VAM, that is suited to Zimbabwean conditions. 

Biofortification is the development of crops with enhanced levels of nutrients available for consumption, and it has become a central component of global multi-sectoral approaches to tackling malnutrition. To date, biofortification efforts in Zimbabwe and neighbouring countries have involved the promotion of VAM, Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP) and zinc- and iron-enriched beans.