Nutrition and Health
Malnutrition is the leading cause of childhood death.
Families in poverty rely on corn because it is cheap, but it lacks key nutrients. This leads to stunted growth, impaired cognition, disease, and lifelong income losses that trap communities in poverty.
Instead of changing diets, we improve the corn itself.
We breed biofortified, naturally bred (non-GMO) corn with 39% more zinc, 19% more iron, and 30–80% more lysine and tryptophan (quality protein).
Our evidence shows that the increased nutritional content in our seeds is enough to significantly reduce nutrient gaps for women and children.
Livelihoods
Smallholder corn farmers are among the poorest in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa.
High-yield, climate-resilient seeds can more than double incomes, but the farmers who need them most often cannot afford them.
On average, our farmers increase their incomes by 76%.
Our biofortified corn is bred from the highest-yielding and most climate-resilient seeds available.
With it, farmers can feed their families and still have surplus to sell. Through subsidies and integration into donation programs, we ensure farmers can access these seeds and increase their profits.
Climate Resilience
Smallholder farmers are extremely vulnerable to climate change.
In 2022, 56% of surveyed farmers lost crops to extreme storms and 29% to drought, which fuels poverty and migration. As carbon levels climb, corn gets even less nutritious, further contributing to malnutrition. As carbon levels rise, corn becomes less nutritious, further contributing to malnutrition.
Our corn’s nutrient density, high yields, and climate resilience help compensate for climate change.
Our seeds grow deeper roots, thicker stalks, and pest resistance to withstand weather, bugs, and diseases without the need for additional fertilizers or pesticides.
Farmers using our seeds see 3-5x higher incomes in droughts and storms.