Food biofortification: Reaping the benefits of science to overcome hidden hunger: A paper in the series on the need for agricultural innovation to sustainably feed the world by 2050

Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST). 2020. Food biofortification: Reaping the benefits of science to overcome hidden hunger: A paper in the series on the need for agricultural innovation to sustainably feed the world by 2050. CAST Issue Paper 69. https://www.cast-science.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/CAST_IP69_Biofortification-1.pdf

Biofortification is a process of increasing the density of minerals and vitamins in a food crop through conventional plant breeding, genetic engineering, or agronomic practices (primarily use of fertilizers and foliar sprays). Biofortified staple food crops, when substituted consistently for non-biofortified staple food crops, can generate measurable improvements in human nutrition and health. This monograph describes the progress made in developing, testing, and disseminating biofortified staple food crops, primarily through the use of conventional plant breeding, summarizing the activities of two consortiums of inter-disciplinary collaborating institutions led the HarvestPlus program and the International Potato Center (CIP).