Biofortification: Future challenges for a newly emerging technology to improve nutrition security sustainably

Biofortification was coined as a term to define a plant breeding strategy to increase the micronutrient content of staple food crops to reduce the burden of micronutrient deficiencies in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In 2003, the HarvestPlus program, based in the centers comprising the C...

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Main Authors: Bouis, Howarth E., Foley, Jennifer, Lividini, Keith, Jumrani, Jaya, Reinke, Russell, Van Der Straeten, Dominique, Zagado, Ronan, Boy, Erick, Brown, Lynn R., Mudyahoto, Bho, Alioma, Richard, Hussain, Munawar, Pfeiffer, Wolfgang H.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Elsevier 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/155541
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author Bouis, Howarth E.
Foley, Jennifer
Lividini, Keith
Jumrani, Jaya
Reinke, Russell
Van Der Straeten, Dominique
Zagado, Ronan
Boy, Erick
Brown, Lynn R.
Mudyahoto, Bho
Alioma, Richard
Hussain, Munawar
Pfeiffer, Wolfgang H.
author_browse Alioma, Richard
Bouis, Howarth E.
Boy, Erick
Brown, Lynn R.
Foley, Jennifer
Hussain, Munawar
Jumrani, Jaya
Lividini, Keith
Mudyahoto, Bho
Pfeiffer, Wolfgang H.
Reinke, Russell
Van Der Straeten, Dominique
Zagado, Ronan
author_facet Bouis, Howarth E.
Foley, Jennifer
Lividini, Keith
Jumrani, Jaya
Reinke, Russell
Van Der Straeten, Dominique
Zagado, Ronan
Boy, Erick
Brown, Lynn R.
Mudyahoto, Bho
Alioma, Richard
Hussain, Munawar
Pfeiffer, Wolfgang H.
author_sort Bouis, Howarth E.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Biofortification was coined as a term to define a plant breeding strategy to increase the micronutrient content of staple food crops to reduce the burden of micronutrient deficiencies in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In 2003, the HarvestPlus program, based in the centers comprising the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), was initiated to implement the biofortification strategy. This paper discusses what has been achieved, what has been learned, and the key challenges to embed biofortification in food systems and to expand its impact. Cost-effectiveness is key to the biofortification strategy. Biofortification piggybacks on the agronomically-superior varieties being developed at agricultural research centers. Central plant breeding research discoveries can be spread globally. Farmers have every motivation to adopt the latest high-yielding, high profit crops. High productivity leads to lower food prices. As a consequence, consumers can increase their mineral and vitamin intakes at no additional cost by substituting biofortified staple foods one-for-one for non-biofortified staple foods. After twenty years of investment, biofortified staple food crops are being produced by farmers in over 40 countries and are eaten by hundreds of millions of people. Published nutrition trials have shown nutrient-rich crops to be efficacious. The biofortification strategy is now recognized by the international nutrition community as one effective approach among several interventions needed to reduce micronutrient deficiencies. This is a promising beginning. However, biofortification is still a newly emerging technology. A limitation of biofortification as implemented to date is that densities of single nutrients have been increased in given staple food crops. To reach a higher trajectory, the impacts of biofortification can be multiplied several-fold using genetic engineering and other advanced crop development techniques to combine multiple-nutrient densities with climate-smart traits.
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publishDate 2024
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spelling CGSpace1555412025-12-08T10:06:44Z Biofortification: Future challenges for a newly emerging technology to improve nutrition security sustainably Bouis, Howarth E. Foley, Jennifer Lividini, Keith Jumrani, Jaya Reinke, Russell Van Der Straeten, Dominique Zagado, Ronan Boy, Erick Brown, Lynn R. Mudyahoto, Bho Alioma, Richard Hussain, Munawar Pfeiffer, Wolfgang H. agricultural research biofortification malnutrition nutrition security sustainability technology trace elements Biofortification was coined as a term to define a plant breeding strategy to increase the micronutrient content of staple food crops to reduce the burden of micronutrient deficiencies in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In 2003, the HarvestPlus program, based in the centers comprising the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), was initiated to implement the biofortification strategy. This paper discusses what has been achieved, what has been learned, and the key challenges to embed biofortification in food systems and to expand its impact. Cost-effectiveness is key to the biofortification strategy. Biofortification piggybacks on the agronomically-superior varieties being developed at agricultural research centers. Central plant breeding research discoveries can be spread globally. Farmers have every motivation to adopt the latest high-yielding, high profit crops. High productivity leads to lower food prices. As a consequence, consumers can increase their mineral and vitamin intakes at no additional cost by substituting biofortified staple foods one-for-one for non-biofortified staple foods. After twenty years of investment, biofortified staple food crops are being produced by farmers in over 40 countries and are eaten by hundreds of millions of people. Published nutrition trials have shown nutrient-rich crops to be efficacious. The biofortification strategy is now recognized by the international nutrition community as one effective approach among several interventions needed to reduce micronutrient deficiencies. This is a promising beginning. However, biofortification is still a newly emerging technology. A limitation of biofortification as implemented to date is that densities of single nutrients have been increased in given staple food crops. To reach a higher trajectory, the impacts of biofortification can be multiplied several-fold using genetic engineering and other advanced crop development techniques to combine multiple-nutrient densities with climate-smart traits. 2024-12 2024-10-23T21:03:15Z 2024-10-23T21:03:15Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/155541 en Open Access Elsevier Bouis, Howarth; Foley, Jennifer; Lividini, Keith; Jumrani, Jaya; Reinke, Russell; Van Der Straeten, Dominique; et al. 2024. Biofortification: Future challenges for a newly emerging technology to improve nutrition security sustainably. Current Developments in Nutrition 8(12): 104478. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2024.104478
spellingShingle agricultural research
biofortification
malnutrition
nutrition security
sustainability
technology
trace elements
Bouis, Howarth E.
Foley, Jennifer
Lividini, Keith
Jumrani, Jaya
Reinke, Russell
Van Der Straeten, Dominique
Zagado, Ronan
Boy, Erick
Brown, Lynn R.
Mudyahoto, Bho
Alioma, Richard
Hussain, Munawar
Pfeiffer, Wolfgang H.
Biofortification: Future challenges for a newly emerging technology to improve nutrition security sustainably
title Biofortification: Future challenges for a newly emerging technology to improve nutrition security sustainably
title_full Biofortification: Future challenges for a newly emerging technology to improve nutrition security sustainably
title_fullStr Biofortification: Future challenges for a newly emerging technology to improve nutrition security sustainably
title_full_unstemmed Biofortification: Future challenges for a newly emerging technology to improve nutrition security sustainably
title_short Biofortification: Future challenges for a newly emerging technology to improve nutrition security sustainably
title_sort biofortification future challenges for a newly emerging technology to improve nutrition security sustainably
topic agricultural research
biofortification
malnutrition
nutrition security
sustainability
technology
trace elements
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/155541
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