Biofortification: Evidence and lessons learned linking agriculture and nutrition
Howarth Bouis, Jan Low, Margaret McEwan, Sherry Tanumihardjo
Biofortification, the process of breeding nutrients into food crops, provides a comparatively cost-effective, sustainable, and long-term means of delivering more micronutrients. The biofortification strategy seeks to put the micronutrient-dense trait in those varieties that already have preferred agronomic and consumption traits, such as high yield and disease resistance. Marketed surpluses of these crops may make their way into retail outlets, reaching consumers first in rural and then urban areas. Progress to date in breeding and delivering biofortified crops is discussed.
The nutrition evidence on bioavailability and efficacy is growing. Completed nutrition studies for each crop are briefly discussed. Human studies have included a variety of technologies, including stable isotope methods, which are among the most powerful to measure bioavailability and efficacy. Efficacy and effectiveness studies are available for orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP); full evidence is not yet available for biofortified maize, cassava, or golden rice, but initial bioavailability and efficacy results are promising. Efficacy trials have been completed for iron crops (beans and pearl millet) and evidence for zinc biofortification is still developing.