{"id":13062,"date":"2026-06-20T12:26:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:26:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/nigeria-releases-vitamin-a-maize-to-improve-nutrition\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T12:26:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:26:18","slug":"nigeria-releases-vitamin-a-maize-to-improve-nutrition","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/nigeria-releases-vitamin-a-maize-to-improve-nutrition\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria releases Vitamin A maize to improve nutrition"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/newint.iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/image_gallery-1-1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-9771\" src=\"http:\/\/newint.iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/image_gallery-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"Image\" width=\"250\" height=\"170\" \/><\/a>The Nigerian Government has released two new maize hybrids that can provide more vitamin A in the diets of millions in the country, raising optimism about stemming the menace of vitamin A deficiency in the years ahead, especially among children, pregnant women,  and mothers. The provitamin A is converted by the body into vitamin A when the maize is eaten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hybrids, which are the first generation vitamin A-rich maize, were released on 4 July 2012 by the National Variety Release Committee of Nigeria as Ife maizehyb 3  and Ife maizehyb 4. They are recognized as IITA hybrids A0905-28  and A0905-32, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe hybrids are a product of nearly a decade of breeding for enhanced levels of pro-vitamin A,\u201d says Dr. Abebe Menkir, maize breeder with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), who led the development of the new maize hybrids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hybrids outperformed local checks with yields ranging from 6 to 9 tons per hectare compared with 2 tons per hectare recorded on most farmers\u2019 fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The vitamin A hybrids were developed by IITA in partnership with the Institute of Agricultural Research &amp; Training (IAR&amp;T) using conventional breeding in a project funded by the HarvestPlus\u2014a Challenge Program of the CGIAR as part of strategies to address the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency. Other collaborating partners include the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Zaria; University of Maiduguri; International Maize  and Wheat Center (CIMMYT), University of Illinois,  and University of Wisconsin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Nigeria, vitamin A deficiency afflicts about 30% of children below five years of age, almost 20% of pregnant women,  and 13% of nursing mothers. Vitamin A deficiency lowers immunity  and impairs vision, which can lead to blindness  and even death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Researchers say the two hybrids can supply enhanced levels of vitamin A in the diets. Maize is consumed by millions of people throughout Nigeria, whether roasted  and eaten off the cob or as a dish prepared from fermented maize flour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Menkir, maize is the most frequently consumed staple in Nigeria with about 20% of households consuming it at different times within a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThese hybrids will provide not only increased amounts of provitamin A but also improve productivity in farming communities,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Farmers who participated in the on-farm trials indicated that they liked the varieties, so there is a high prospect for quick adoption. IITA  and IAR&amp; T, in partnership with private seed companies, now plan to multiply these hybrids so they can begin distributing them to farmers by 2014,  and to continue to develop higher levels of vitamin A in maize by conventional breeding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe plan to target to areas where maize consumption is high to help address the problem of vitamin A deficiency in Nigeria\u201d says Dr. Samuel Olakojo, a maize breeder with IAR &amp;T, who worked on the varieties with Menkir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The release of vitamin A cassava in Nigeria last year should help pave the way for broad acceptance of the vitamin A maize. These new maize varieties are well suited to the tropical lowl ands of many West African countries  and are expected to spread beyond Nigeria&#8217;s borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a parallel effort, the International Maize  and Wheat Research Center (known by their Spanish acronym CIMMYT) \u2013 a sister CGIAR Center of IITA \u2013 has been breeding mid-altitude vitamin A-rich varieties for Zambia in a project also funded by HarvestPlus, with release anticipated later this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Contacts presse :<\/strong><br>Katherine Lopez, Head of Communication, IITA, <a>k.lopez@cgiar.org<\/a>; Tel: +1 201 633 6094<br>Abebe Menkir, Maize Breeder, IITA, <a>a.menkir@cgiar.org<\/a>; Tel: +234 2 7517472<br>Samuel Adelowo, Maize Breeder, IAR&amp;T, <a>saolakojo@yahoo.co.uk<\/a>; Tel: +2348034671714<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">##<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>IITA (<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>www.iita.org<\/em><\/a><em>) is an international non-profit research-for-development organization established in 1967  and governed by a Board of Trustees. We work with partners in Africa  and beyond to enhance crop quality  and productivity, reduce producer  and consumer risks,  and generate wealth from agriculture. Our award-winning research for development is anchored on the development needs of tropical countries.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>IITA is a member of the CGIAR Consortium. CGIAR (<\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cgiar.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>www.cgiar.org<\/em><\/a><em>) is a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future that is dedicated to reducing rural poverty, increasing food security, improving human health  and nutrition,  and ensuring more sustainable management of natural resources.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Nigerian Government has released two new maize hybrids that can provide more vitamin A in the diets of millions in the country, raising optimism about stemming the menace of vitamin A deficiency in the years ahead, especially among children, pregnant women, and mothers. The provitamin A is converted by the body into vitamin A when the maize is eaten&#8230;<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"tags":[],"science-area":[],"program":[],"location":[32],"news-type":[],"hub":[],"crop":[68],"impact-areas":[],"item-year":[190],"class_list":["post-13062","news-item","type-news-item","status-publish","hentry","location-nigeria","crop-maize","item-year-190"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Nigeria releases Vitamin A maize to improve nutrition - IITA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/nigeria-releases-vitamin-a-maize-to-improve-nutrition\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nigeria releases Vitamin A maize to improve nutrition - IITA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Nigerian Government has released two new maize hybrids that can provide more vitamin A in the diets of millions in the country, raising optimism about stemming the menace of vitamin A deficiency in the years ahead, especially among children, pregnant women, and mothers. 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