Washington — Data being developed by the African Orphan Crop Consortium, which Mars, Inc. is a member of, will be made publicly available so that scientists, plant breeders and farmers can more rapidly improve the nutrition of Africa’s children, Mars announced today at the G8 International Conference on Open Data for Agriculture.
The AOCC works to improve the nutrition, productivity and climactic adaptability of some of the continent’s most important food crops, such as African eggplant, potato, cocoyam and Ethiopian mustard, Mars reports. The consortium’s goal is to help eliminate growth stunting in Africa’s rural children and improve the livelihoods of farmers, according to Mars.
“Getting opportunities to grow nutritious food into the hands of those who need it most has been the ambition of the African Orphan Crops Consortium since inception,” Howard-Yana Shapiro, Mars chief agricultural officer, said during the summit. “It is hugely exciting to realize that through the pursuit of fundamental science the AOCC is playing its role in fighting chronic hunger and malnutrition, and Mars is proud to be a part of that effort.”