Philippine Workshop to Examine Human Nutrition through Agriculture

For further information, contact:
Don Lippincott at 202-862-5679, or David Gately at 202-862-5679

The United Nations Population Division estimates that the world's population will reach 6 billion on October 12. On the eve of this event, 100 of the world's leading crop scientists and human nutritionists will meet in the Philippines to determine whether agricultural research can have a greater impact on the state of human nutrition. They will attend the October 5 to 7 workshop at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Improving Human Nutrition Through Agriculture: The Role of International Agricultural Research.

As the scientists gather, consider their challenge. Today, more than 2 billion of the world's 6 billion people are iron deficient; the vast majority are women and children. More than 100 million preschool children suffer from vitamin A deficiency. And a significant number of people lack zinc in their diets. Without adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals, immune systems cease to function, growth is impeded, and cognitive development slows.

While a large portion of the world's population lacks appropriate nutrition in their diets, the ability to produce enough staple food crops to simply feed the world's burgeoning population is hampered by attempts to grow food on marginal, often mineral-deficient soils, especially in the developing world. Just as vitamins and minerals are essential for human nutrition, agricultural research shows that they are equally critical for food crops. Well-nourished crops, like humans, grow better and resist disease.

The workshop will bring together two scientific disciplines—agriculturalists and human nutritionists—to evaluate emerging research findings that show staple food crops can be bred for higher nutrient content. The findings—initiated by the Washington, D.C.-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), IRRI, and the other international agricultural research centers that make up the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)— offer another step toward improving human nutrition and agricultural productivity through agricultural research.