Current Affairs 2022: How bio-fortified food can lead to nutritional security in India?

By Abhishek Desai

Bio-fortification is the need of the hour to mitigate the problems associated with Nutritional security in India. Read here in detail about the issues associated with Bio-fortification.

 Food bio-fortification has, in recent times, become an essential need for ensuring adequate nutrition is provided to the populace at large. This process of biofortification enhances the staples with essential micronutrients, which decreases an individual’s nutritional vulnerability. This is since, during an economic recession, the poor are naturally inclined to reduce their consumption of foodstuffs of a higher value, which are naturally rich in micronutrients. Bio-fortification basically aims at the rural population which grows and consumes staple crops and supplies the surplus in their vicinity only. And this was emphasized as recently as on August 15, 2021, when the Prime Minister of India, Mr Narendra Modi addressed on the auspicious occasion of India’s 75th Independence Day. Since the concept of implementing food biofortification is relatively new, it is widely speculated that the Government had consulted the nutritional experts of the ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) on the same.

Some leading councils have already taken giant strides in the development and expansion of biofortification in India. The scientists of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi have been establishing crops in India that are biofortified in order to remove malnutrition from the poor sections of the society. According to the official ICAR website, a total of 21 varieties of biofortified crops such as rice, wheat, maize, mustard, etc. have been developed by 2019-20. When compared to the traditional crops, these possess about 1.5 - 3 times higher levels of protein, minerals, vitamins, and amino acids. An interesting observation to note here is that these fortified crops aren’t altered genetically; traditional crop breeding techniques have been implemented by the in-house scientists of the ICAR. This makes them more reliable and edible for everyone. Along with the ICAR, a research team at the National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute at Mohali has also created biofortified coloured wheat. This version of wheat is rich in zinc and anthocyanins; farmers of Haryana and Punjab roped in to expand this wheat production. This is considered the starting point of a nutritious journey from just-food security to nutritional security. And the concept of biofortified food isn’t restricted to just India. At least 40 countries across the globe have already delivered biofortified crops, profiting more than 48 million people.  

Biofortified food can lead to food security in India since as per the recent Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) publication, at least 15% of the Indians are still malnourished, and India also has the highest population of children below five years of age who are “stunted” and “wasted”. However, to cater to such a huge chunk of undernourished, innovations in food biofortification need to be upgraded on a large scale with appropriate policies facilitating their smooth and timely functioning. This implies a direct disbursement on not only the R&D of agriculture but also boost the farmers by connecting their crops to profitable markets via a widespread and efficient distribution network. The Government would also include the private sector to design a lucrative market for biofortified food products of superior quality at affordable prices. Private dairies can also immensely contribute to the milk fortification across India.

The Indian PM had stressed the fact of offering biofortified rice to the poor across any government scheme by the year 2024. Though a bold decision, its effective planning and implementation will prove to be a boon for the lower-income strata of society. Implementing biofortification isn’t a difficult task at the ground level, since the farmers can easily use a part of their produce as seeds for the next year. The Indian Government aims to convert a typical Indian thali into a healthier “Nutri-thali”.  

As of today, there is sufficient evidence of food biofortification enhancing the nutritional outcomes of society. For example, improvement in total body iron and serum ferritin was seen in boys and girls facing iron deficiency in Maharashtra after having pearl millet flatbread which was biofortified daily twice for a period of four months. A total of 17 recently created biofortified varieties of seeds, including wheat and paddy rice, we're also dedicated to the nation on World Food Day 2020 by Mr Modi. However, food biofortification alone isn’t the way India can become completely nutritious. It needs other processes working in its favour simultaneously as well. These processes comprise more focus on female literacy, designing and putting to use robust and consumer-friendly policies and a national awareness drive that emphasizes how food biofortification is a win-win for all the stakeholders concerned.

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