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Biofortification is the process by which the nutritional quality of food crops is improved through agronomic practices, conventional plant breeding, or modern biotechnology.
Importance of Biofortification:
- Biofortified staple crops, when consumed regularly, will generate measurable improvements in human health and nutrition.
- Biofortified crops are also often more resilient to pests, diseases, higher temperatures, drought and provide a high yield.
- Biofortification fills an important gap as it provides a food-based, sustainable and low-dose alternative to iron supplementation. It does not require behavior change, can reach the poorest sections of the society, and supports local farmers.
- After the initial investment to develop the biofortified seed, it can be replicated and distributed without any reduction in the micronutrient concentration. This makes it highly cost-effective and sustainable.
Challenges:
- Lack of consumer acceptance due to color changes (e.g. golden rice) and last mile reach of fortified food remains a big challenge.
- Adoption by farmers and cost involved in the process of fortification.
- Though biofortification can be done using non-genetically-modified methods it is a slower process than genetic modification.
Way Forward
- Because of the prevalence of diverse food practices in the country, biofortification will need to achieve high rates of adoption and consumption in geographically distinct areas.
- Strategies for delivery of biofortified crops must be tailored to the local context for each crop–nutrient pair.
- The government should facilitate public-private partnerships. Private sector engagement can leverage technological solutions for scaling up food fortification initiatives, and complement the government’s outreach efforts through mass awareness and education campaigns in communities.
SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT
