An international development organization, in response to a vitamin A deficiency among people in the impoverished nation of Tagus, has engineered a new breed of millet high in vitamin A. While seeds for this new type of millet cost more, farmers will be p

The author gives the argument that the government should promote the new type of millet to decrease the deficiency of vitamin A among the citizens Tagus based on the assumption that the new millet is high in vitamin A. I do not agree with the conclusion fully because the argument is based on some assumptions which have flaws in them and thus the solution may not prove fruitful.

Firstly the author assumes that the introduction of the new breed would reduce the deficiency of vitamin A among the people.But he has not taken into account the fact that since the nation is impoverished, the people of that country may not afford the cost of the new millet which is probable to be high since the seeds themselves are costly.Even the farmers may be reluctant to grow the seeds since the cost of seeds after providing subsidy may be high.

Even if the cost is not high, the author has not taken into account the the real reason behind the deficiency of vitamin A. There are a lot of factors leading to the deficiency for example, the absorption of vitamin A may not be up to the mark due to some other reasons which leads to its deficiency. People are not aware of the food rich in vitamin A and also do not know about its deficiency, so they may not be taking vitamin A in their diet.

Secondly, even if the assumptions of the author are considered true, there is a chance that the new millet might not prove to be successful in removing the deficiency because of a few reasons. The new breed generated by artificial techniques may have some harmful side-effects which can prove to be deleterious to the health of people. People may be reluctant to buy the new breed since generally hybrid variety is not preferred by the common people.

Thirdly, the survey reports may not be including all the sections of people.There is a chance that people who were surveyed belonged to a specific category of the people suffering from vitamin A deficiency and hence the results.

It is probable that some people are allergic to millet , so do not consume it. They will continue to contribute to the deficiency of vitamin A. Thus, simply promotion of the new millet is not the solution of the problem. The government need to find out the actual reasons behind the deficiency of vitamin A and take steps accordingly.