A new type of enriched corn - with double the protein and 10 percent higher yield - is already being grown in several Latin American countries, including Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela. Evangelina Villegas, who developed this miraculous grain that is expected to alleviate hunger and malnutrition around the world, spoke with Tierramérica in an exclusive interview.

MEXICO CITY - Mexican scientist Evangelina Villegas spent many years working on improving wheat varieties, but her true passion has been corn, or maize, the most widely cultivated grain in the world and source of nutrition for millions of poor people. After decades of intense effort, Villegas, now 75, made a major achievement: she developed a maize variety with double the protein content and 10 percent higher yield. This new product, known as ''quality protein maize (QPM), could be one of the most important tools in the fight against hunger in the world.

Because of the broad social impact of her discovery, ''which has significantly improved the quality and quantity of food in the world,'' Villegas was honored on September 7 with the World Food Prize 2000, alongside Surinder K. Vasal, a scientist from India.

Villegas, a biochemist who studied at Kansas State University and received her doctorate from North Dakota State University, both in the United States, became the first woman to receive this 250,000-dollar honor, inaugurated in 1986 by Nobel Prize winner Norman E. Borlaug.

The scientific headquarters for the work of Villegas, Vasal and other scientists who contributed to the creation of this miraculous corn variety, is the International Center for the Improvement of Maize and Wheat (CIMMYT), located in Texcoco, outside Mexico City.

How did the creation of this improved maize begin?

-It began after a discovery in 1963 in the United States, where researchers at Purdue University identified the gene opaque-2, which improves the quality of maize, increasing its lysine and tryptophan content. The problem was that despite having high nutritional quality, the maize had many defects: low weight, low density, it was opaque and gritty and had an appearance that neither the farmers nor the consumers liked. And when it came to cultivation, it was very susceptible to disease and pests, both in the field and in storage. That variety of maize had no hope for success. Our work was to take the maize from that point and work with it genetically to improve it.

It took three decades of work.

-Yes, we began in 1970 when Dr. Surinder K. Vasal arrived at CIMMYT.

The method you used was basically to cross different varieties of maize?

-Yes, everything was done by crossing, all through conventional improvement methods. Sometimes they were crosses between sibling varieties, sometimes between other strains, with varieties that had better texture, that were not so soft, that would have greater resistance to disease and insects.

What is the difference between your method of work and those that produce genetically modified organisms (GMOs)?

-This maize is developed through traditional methods, and we work only with maize genes, of different types, but only from maize. Genetic modification, however, is when genes from other species are utilized, and genetic engineering is employed. But that is not to say that genetically modified products are bad - they have been made to seem so terrifying - but we have to work in many areas, with all the technology we have in our hands.


Is it possible to say how many crosses were conducted or how many varieties were used to arrive at QPM?

-I couldn't say, there were thousands! In the field we handle thousands of materials to select among them and determine which are the plants to be used (in the crosses). And there are varieties that come from all parts of the world. We work with a wide range of germplasm.

What does QMP maize look like, what are its traits, its color?

-There is white, yellow, but the color is not important. We have introduced different types. There are late maturing and there are early varieties, some for tropical regions, subtropical, for intermediate altitudes, etc.

Several countries are already growing QPM, especially in Latin America and Africa. Mexico has the largest number of hectares dedicated to this variety, with 300,000, while Brazil has 50,000, Guatemala 3,000 - are these levels due to cultural factors?

-Yes, in Meso-America we depend a great deal on maize, as do the Andean countries. In Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador it is part of the basic diet, especially among people with low incomes and in rural areas. In other countries maize consumption is less, but it will begin to expand. QPM is already being grown in Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and Peru. Predictions for growth for Mexico are 2.5 million hectares by the year 2003. In Africa, maize consumption is also important. In Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, South Africa and Ethiopia they are already growing QPM.

QPM is also grown in China and India, where the population does not traditionally consume this grain.

-Yes, China is a very important case. I recently met with the scientists who are leading the QPM revolution there. It is already being grown in several villages, though on a small scale. There are an estimated 400,000 hectares planted with QPM in China. But maize is used there as pig feed, which is fine because they are also producing protein, high quality animal protein, and the humans who consume it will benefit. In India there are regions were people consume QPM maize directly, to great benefit. They have also been working in conjunction with the CIMMYT for many years.

But our idea is to promote QPM in those countries where there is already a history of maize cultivation and consumption. We are not going to change the diet of other societies, which would be very difficult. There are other scientists working with rice and other grains to promote them in places where their consumption is more widespread.


What benefits does QPM offer children in particular?

-This variety is fundamental for children under age five. In many countries of Latin America and Africa, children of the poorer sectors of society, after they stop nursing, have a diet based exclusively on maize. But most of the maize they eat is low in amino acids and, if that is all they are eating, they may suffer malnutrition. So QPM is essential. (According to the United Nations, one billion people in developing countries are undernourished or do not consume enough proteins, and more than half of the children suffering malnutrition live in countries where maize is part of the basic diet.)


As a result of initiatives such as the ones involving QPM, do you think that in the next two decades, for example, we will witness a significant reduction in hunger in the world?

-To fight hunger, we need to continue producing much more food at low cost, because with each passing day we have a larger population, more poverty, more problems of undernourishment and malnutrition. We have to keep working at a faster pace. But researchers alone cannot make the changes, we depend on the governments, and it is there that decisions have to be made. But yes, I am optimistic.

What does the World Food Prize mean for you?

-I greatly appreciate the prize. Both Dr. Vasal and I are very pleased. What I would like to do with this prize is make the world more aware of what we have developed. Because for me, the greatest honor, as a Mexican, would be to see the fields of Mexico overflowing with QPM maize.

Learn more about Dr. Villegas and QPM at:

www.cimmyt.org
www.wsfp.org
www.futureharvest.org