Now pursuing a research to enhance the production of B-carotenes in groundnut and help fight Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) among resource-poor consumers in the semi-arid tropics is the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). India-based ICRISAT has been collaborating with the Philippine R&D sector over the past two decades.
The bio-fortified peanut research is part of the Global Challenge Program of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the US-based body that overseas the operation of 16 international research centers, among them ICRISAT and IRRI.
Peanut has been chosen for bio-fortification because of its importance as a cash crop. It is cultivated in 108 countries, with Asia producing 71 percent of the global output.
In the Philippines, reported the DA Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR), peanut, as a food crop, is planted either in monocrop or in rotation with other food and cash crops.
Through bio-fortification, the nutritive content of peanut is elevated to a higher notch – one that is rich in Beta carotene. – RAF