The Role of Moringa as a Nutrient Rich Food for World Poverty and Malnutrition

“We live in a world where poverty and malnutrition are major problems in many countries. Poverty is a major cause of malnutrition. This overview reviews the role of moringa as a nutrient dense food and collaboration between the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS), the Global Horticulture Initiative (GHI) and the World Vegetable Center in response to world poverty and malnutrition.”

CONCLUSIONS:

“In the 20th century, agriculture in the form of the green revolution fed the world with increased protein and carbohydrates from high yielding cultivars of dietary staple crops. In the 21st century, biofortification is seen by many funding agencies as the way to address malnutrition. We must address hidden hunger which in our era affects 2.5 times more people than energy/protein deficiencies. Horticulture provides variety, quality, nutrients and vitamins, plus value adding and income. Crop and diet diversification is a better and more achievable approach to addressing hidden hunger than biofortification of staple crops. Thus for every $ 1 we are spending on staple crops, $ 2.50 should be spent on horticultural crops. Moringa is a highly nutritious food crop that has the potential to help address the pressing problems of poverty and malnutrition.”