"Reaching Urban Consumers and Building Markets for Farmers with Biofortified Sweetpotato Products."

Each year, in conjunction with the World Food Prize, the Des Moines Downtown Chamber and West Side Chamber co-host a keynote event featuring a Borlaug Lecture Series speaker. Our presenter this year will be Principal Scientist and "Sweetpotato for Profit and Health Initiative" leader Jan Low, of International Potato Center (CIP).

Jan Low, 2016 World Food Prize Laureate, has focused her career on integrating nutritional concerns into agricultural programs.  Currently a principal scientist based at the International Potato Center’s regional office in Nairobi, Kenya, Dr. Low has spearheaded research to build the evidence base demonstrating the nutritional impact of utilizing pro-vitamin A rich orange-fleshed sweetpotato as part of an integrated agriculture-nutrition intervention.  She led the design and is at the forefront of the implementation of the Sweetpotato for Profit and Health Initiative, launched in 2009. Dr. Low has worked as a policy analyst for Michigan State University and the International Food Policy Research Institute in sub-Saharan Africa.