NAIROBI, May 2 (Xinhua) -- About 100 leading scientists and policymakers from Africa are due to meet in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa on Thursday to discuss new technology to fight malnutrition and enhance the health in the continent, organizers announced here Tuesday.

    The May 4-5 regional workshop on biofortication, a revolutionary process that holds great potential to enhance the health of poor people in Africa, is co-hosted by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and Harvest Plus, an international research program that seeks to reduce micronutrient malnutrition by harnessing agricultural technology to breed staplecrops for better nutrition.

    "Addressing micronutrient malnutrition requires a paradigm shift. Agricultural research needs to move beyond increasing productivity to improving food quality as well. In this way, biofortification can play a critical role in improving health," Dr.Howarth Bouis, director of Harvest Plus told reporters in Nairobi, capital of Kenya.

    He said this week's meeting will discuss the latest research on the biofortification, breeding crops with higher levels of vitamins and minerals, and identify strategies to develop biofortified crops in Africa and integrate it into national agriculture and health policy agendas.

    "Imagine a new breed of crops capable of alleviating malnutrition is even hard-to-reach rural areas of Africa," said Dr.Bouis.

    "We are now capable of producing staple crops, such as beans rich in iron and zinc and orange-fleshed sweet potatoes packed with Vitamin A that could be grown on family plots throughout the continent, improving the health, well-being and productivity of millions of Africans," he added.

    "Until now, the solution to micronutrient deficiency among the poor has focused on vitamin and mineral supplements, dietary diversity and commercial food fortification," said Prof. Ruth Oniang'o, Kenyan lawmaker and professor of food science and nutrition at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agricultural and Technology.

    "While these approaches have attained some success, they have not been able to reach all those in need, particularly people in remote rural areas. By targeting staple food crops grown and consumed by the rural poor, biofortification can reach large numbers of people in cost-effective and sustain manner, leading to a nutrition evolution for Africa," she said.

    According to scientists, much of Africa's rural poor can only afford a diet based mostly on staple crops, such as maize, white-fleshed sweet potatoes and beans, which are generally low in micronutrients, particularly iron, zinc and Vitamin A.

    As a result, more than a third of the population of sub-SaharanAfrica suffers the debilitating effects of micronutrient malnutrition, or diets deficient in essential vitamins and minerals. Enditem