Grasspea Affecting Over 100,000 People in Developing Countries

Over 100,000 people in developing countries including Ethiopia are believed to suffer from a legume crop toxin called grasspea, says a new report published by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

The report released recently on "Healing Wounds" said that the problem is much worse in countries like Ethiopia that has been repeatedly affected by the drought during the last few years.

The report said that the legume is eaten by the drought stricken poor people in Ethiopia and other developing countries.

"Egypt, Eritrea, Sudan, Ethiopia and Yemen have seen their share of droughts, war and famine in recent decades. CGIAR have helped rebuild seed systems and train local experts to tackle this problem," said the report.

In an interesting example of how science can help mitigate climatic disasters, said the report, CGIAR is using plant breeding to remove a toxin from a legume crop called 'grasspea' which is eaten by the drought-stricken poor people in Ethiopia.

According to the report, the toxin causes blindness and paralysis, and can permanently cripple and also if children are fed too much of grasspea they often suffer mental retardation.

"Local seed systems in Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and other post-conflict areas in East Africa are being restored, instead of bypassing them with imported seed. Through plant breeding, toxins that cause paralysis, bone deformity and mental retardation in Ethiopia are being removed from a crop called grasspea (lathyrus sativus) that is eaten by drought-stricken people," the report said.

CGIAR is a strategic alliance of countries, international and regional organizations, and private foundations supporting 15 international agricultural research centres across the developing world. It is a non-profit, apolitical international organization co-sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the World Bank. In 2004, CGIAR members contributed over 400 million US dollars to mobilize food and environmental science for the benefit of poor people worldwide.

Approximately 8,000 CGIAR scientists and staff, working in over 100 countries, make research on critical issues such as food security, biodiversity, environmentally-friendly farming techniques, fisheries, forestry, livestock, and policy.