Humanity has seen the rise in terrorism, economic inflation and climate change since the dawn of the 21st century. These are the main threats to a peaceful and healthy life. However, many people are unaware of the hidden hunger that lurks in the background. Half of the world’s population is at risk of deficiency in vitamins, proteins and micronutrients.
According to statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO), an estimated 2 billion people suffer from anaemia worldwide. This is due to a deficiency in iron intake. This type of deficiency can have multiple negative effects on the population, including reduced lifespan and increased risk of developing diseases.
Growing evidence suggests that biofortification of staple food crops is an extremely effective strategy for addressing the problem of nutrient deficiency in developing countries. In countries such as these, a large section of the population cannot afford enough vegetables, fish, fruits, legumes and other food products to meet their essential nutritional requirements.
Biofortification refers to the process of creating micronutrients rich food crops by using best-practice breeding techniques or genetic modification with modern biotechnology. This is different from regular fortification because it does not add nutrients manually to food as it grows or matures.
Biofortification can be a cost-effective and realistic way to deliver micronutrients to populations that have limited access to other diets or micronutrient interventions.
Biofortification is based on two principal methods:
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