IDENTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL AREAS IN MEXICO FOR INTERVENTION WITH BIOFORTIFIED HIGH-ZINC MAIZE

Malnutrition is a problem that affects human growth, development and general health, particularly on children under 5 years of age and pregnant women. In Mexico, low weight and height statistics reveal a decrease of 8 and 13.3 %, respectively, between 1988 and 2012. Despite public health interventions, the prevalence of low height continues to be a serious public health problem (13.6 % on average), especially in rural and marginal urban areas. Biofortifying crops such as maize (Zea mays L.) with zinc is a way of combating zinc deficiency, particularly in states with important maize production and high per capita consumption of the grain (almost 200 kg per year). The objective of this study is to identify target areas with high potential for the introduction of maize biofortified with zinc. A Biofortification Priority Index (BPI) and the Conditions for Biofortification Intervention (CBI) were established for that purpose. These two parameters were determined by estimating three indices: production, consumption and zinc deficiency. The BPI is a geometric mean of the three indices, while the CBI establishes the parameters that biofortification should focus on. The results of both the BPI and the CBI indicate that the areas with high priority for biofortification are Chiapas, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Hidalgo and Puebla. The areas of medium priority are Nayarit and Durango, while Quintana Roo was determined as low priority.