BIOFORTIFIED CROPS IN INDIA: A SUSTAINABLE STRATEGY TO COMBAT HIDDEN HUNGER AND ENHANCE NUTRITIONAL SECURITY

Abstract

Despite significant strides in food-grain production and calorie availability in India, hidden hunger continues to be a serious nutritional and public-health problem. Iron, zinc, vitamin A, folate, calcium and other micronutrient deficiencies are ongoing and continue to impact children and adolescents, women, rural communities, tribal communities and socio-economically disadvantaged populations. Biofortification has proven to be a sustainable nutrition-sensitive and agriculture-based approach to enhance the nutrient quality of staple food crops. Biofortification increases the nutrient content, retention and bioavailability of edible parts of crops before they are harvested, and is different from supplementation and industrial food fortification, which add nutrients to or remove them from food products after harvest. This review covers the possibilities of biofortified crops for hidden hunger and the nutritional security in India. It covers the main methods such as conventional breeding, agronomic biofortification, molecular breeding, transgenic approaches, genome editing, microbial biofortification and strategies to mitigate anti-nutritional factors. It also reviews the current status of the biofortified agricultural, horticultural, tuber and underutilized crop varieties in India with focus on rice, wheat, maize, pearl millet, pulses, oilseeds, vegetables, fruits and tubers. Policy framework and government support in the form of ICAR based research, strengthening of seed system, extension services, POSHAN Abhiyaan, Anemia Mukt Bharat, PM POSHAN, ICDS and potential public distribution system are also highlighted in the review. India can make biofortification a major component of its agri-food system by improving seed systems, establishing public procurement systems, labelling, value addition and impact assessment.