Biofortification of Staple Food Crops and Its Impact on Iron Status of Women of Reproductive Age in Taraba State, North East Nigeria

Iron deficiency anaemia affects approximately 50 percent of women of reproductive age in North East Nigeria, with Taraba State reporting some of the highest prevalence rates nationally. Biofortification of staple food crops, particularly orange-fleshed sweet potato, iron-biofortified beans, and zinc-biofortified maize, offers a sustainable dietary strategy to improve iron intake in resource-constrained settings. This study examined the impact of consuming biofortified staple crops on iron status among women of reproductive age in Taraba State through a community-based pre-post intervention design. One hundred and eighty women aged 15 to 49 years from six rural communities were enrolled. Following baseline assessment of dietary intake, serum ferritin, haemoglobin, and serum transferrin receptor, three communities were assigned biofortified crop consumption for six months while three communities continued conventional crop consumption. End-line assessments used identical methods. Intent-to-treat analysis with difference-in-differences estimation was applied. Results showed significant increases in haemoglobin concentration (mean difference: 0.82 g per dl, p equals 0.003) and serum ferritin (mean difference: 4.6 micrograms per litre, p equals 0.01) in the biofortified crop group compared to controls. Dietary iron intake in the intervention group increased by 4.2 mg per day from baseline. Anaemia prevalence fell from 54 to 38 percent in the intervention group. The study provides empirical evidence supporting biofortification as a viable iron status improvement strategy for women in Taraba State. Keywords: biofortification, iron deficiency anaemia, women of reproductive age, staple crops, Taraba.