SPECIAL REPORT: Breeding Success with Biofortification

Addressing “hidden hunger” is a key factor in achieving the second of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – more commonly referred to as the Global Goals – zero hunger – by 2030. 

 

Biofortification and Nutrient bioavailability
Much of the world's population relies on a few staple foods (rice, maize, wheat, and cassava) that are poor sources of essential micronutrients which can reduce stunting, build brains, and strengthen immune systems, laying the groundwork for a healthy and productive society.

 

Biofortification, the process of enriching the nutrient content of crops as they grow, can provide a sustainable solution to malnutrition worldwide by providing bioavailable nutrients. This is because other methods, such as diversifying people's diets or providing dietary supplements, have proved impractical – especially in developing countries.

 

Biofortification is a new type of nutrition intervention: “Biofortification was in its infancy when the MDGs [WHO Millennium Development Goals] were established, but more nutritious varieties of staple food crops are now being grown by millions of smallholder farm families in Africa, Asia and Latin America,” Howarth Bouis, Director of HarvestPlus, explained to NutritionInsight.
 
More than 15 million people in 30 developing countries are already growing and eating biofortified foods. The number continues to grow rapidly as multi-location testing is being conducted in another 25 countries.

 

Biofortification is poised to reach a billion vulnerable people by 2030 – the same target date as for the culmination of the Global Goals.

 

Methods
Both plant breeders and biotechnologists are working to make crops produce more bioavailable nutrients. HarvestPlus’s Crop Development Scientist, Meike Andersson, introduced NutritionInsight to the possibilities used to improve nutrient quality in crop science: “The main options are: conventional plant breeding, agronomic biofortification (e.g. increasing zinc levels in crops via application of foliar fertilizers), and transgenics. Actually, the best option will vary from case-to-case and depends on factors such as crop, nutrient, and country (policy environment, resources available, expected time-to-market, etc.)”
 
Conventional selective plant breeding methods – i.e. not using genetically modified organisms (GMOs) – involve testing many wild relatives of a domesticated crop for a certain nutrient, selecting the ones that contain higher levels of that nutrient, and crossing those wild relatives with the domesticated crop. The crossings can remove desired qualities of the domesticated crop, such as edibility (as many wild relatives are inedible), appeal and yield. However, it often takes a long time for crops to be biofortified using this method.

 

Agronomic biofortification is a process of either enriching existing macronutrient fertilizers or irrigation water with the nutrients lacking from human diets, and supplying these to food crops in order to increase the concentrations of these elements in the human diet.

 

Transgenesis is the method used to make most genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Trangenetics adds altered genetic material from an unrelated organism.

 

Genetic engineering is more precise and involves isolating individual genes from the wild relatives of a domesticated crop or other species that code for increased production of certain nutrients and transferring them into the plant. It is also possible for different genes coding for increased levels of different nutrients to be ‘stacked’ in a crop so that a crop can be biofortified with more than one desired nutrient. However, this method is not approved by everybody.

 

GM controversy
GMO crops are grown in 28 countries. However, in the EU only two varieties have been licensed for commercial harvesting, compared to 96 in the US including soybeans, corn and canola.

 

A new study by the US National Academies of Sciences entitled ‘Genetically Engineered Crops: Experiences and Prospects’ reviewed a broad range of studies and stated that there are no adverse health impacts associated with the use of GMOs for either humans or animals. This news has been welcomed by organizations such as The American Soybean Association.

 

All GM foods previously approved by Health Canada have been crops. However, last week, the first GM food animal was approved for sale in Canada.

 

Ruth Salmon, executive director of the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance, said that because labeling is not required, consumers who oppose the GM fish won't know what they are buying.

 

"GM foods are becoming more common every day and are part of the regular diets of Canadians. GM foods that have been approved by Health Canada have been consumed in Canada for many years, and are safe and nutritious," wrote Health Canada. "Changes to the genes of plants and animals can improve food quality and production – for instance by reducing the need for pesticides, making crops resistant to drought, preventing bruising, or allowing foods to be grown more quickly."

 

Ronald L Stotish, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of AquaBounty Technologies Inc., a biotechnology company focused on enhancing productivity in aquaculture, stated: “Alongside the approval by the FDA in November 2015, there are now two independent reviews by two of the most sophisticated and demanding regulators in the world and both have come to the same conclusion. We look forward to bringing our nutritious salmon to  consumers to enjoy in an environmentally responsible manner without damaging and exploiting the oceans, with the assurance it is as safe and healthy as the Atlantic salmon they are eating now.”

 

An orange ‘super banana’ has been genetically engineered to produce six-times the level of beta-carotene (pro-vitamin A) for Ugandans to grow by 2020. Testing of the product is planned in Iowa, USA. If successful, the modified crops could also be grown in Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania. However, last month over 57,000 people protested against the upcoming human feeding trial. 
 
American supermarket chain Whole Foods Market Inc. is claiming that by 2018, any products that they sell that contain GMOs will have a cigarette-like label and warning. But what will this mean for the future of fortified food sales?

 

Economics
Crop biofortification through plant breeding is expensive and time-consuming, although techniques like marker-assisted selection have dramatically reduced the time and resources needed. However, because they are high-yielding, biofortified varieties sell for the same price as non-biofortified varieties: “Biofortified staple food crops are cost effective. Breeding the nutrient into a crop variety takes just one up-front investment. Once the trait is bred in, it is retained in successive crop generations. Through further breeding at low cost, the crops can be adapted to thrive in a range of agroecological zones.” Bouis says.

 

The cost-effectiveness of biofortification interventions has also been compared to other micronutrient interventions within several countries. All of these analyses indicate that biofortification is highly cost effective and has the potential to engender significant reduction in micronutrient deficiencies.

 

Agribusiness Technology
Hundreds of farmers across Nigeria are trying to take advantage of technology to boost food production. A growing number of Nigerian farmers have entered the agribusiness sector to gain new commercial opportunities in growing beta-carotene-enriched cassava. Information communications technology (ICT) uses data to do business and increase incomes. Access to this technology enables farmers and others to enjoy higher profits when food prices rise, as well as manage their farms in a sustainable manner.

 

Researchers, agribusinesses, suppliers and donors are also able to aggregate timely information from the analysis of valuable data on crop consumption using these technological platforms. This data driven platform supports agribusiness development as it creates new collaborative opportunities, and fosters well-informed, profitable investments in this growing market by reducing cost and risk.

 

However, news about the recent Bayer-Monsanto takeover bid, shows that it is not all positive for agribusiness: “Demand is poor for agribusiness products currently due to low commodity prices. Overcapacity has led to poor performance and lower share prices, in turn providing opportunities for mergers,” according to Professor John Colley of Warwick Business School.

 

Food Industry role
Biofortified foods need to be tested during the development phase to ensure these foods can be manufactured easily and consumers like them. Price, taste, appearance and other considerations of the fortificants (or the form of the micronutrient used to fortify foods) all need to be assessed. Marketing these foods to the relevant target groups is needed for most fortified foods as consumers may be wary of adding something to their food.

 

“The food industry can use biofortified crops as inputs/ingredients to make foods that are more nutritious and also support promotion and marketing of more nutritious foods,” Andersson says. So fertilization is key to this process.

 

Future fertilizers
The complexity of this nutrient challenge demands a coordinated effort of agriculture, nutrition, and public health. Micronutrient fertilization is one solution as it offers a simple, cost-effective and sustainable way for improving food and nutrition security.

 

Research in micronutrient fertilization techniques such as those incorporating zinc, selenium and iodine, are showing promise. Together with the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI), the International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA) researched and published a scientific report ‘Fertilizing Crops to Improve Human Health: A Scientific Review.’ It suggests there is the potential to expand the breadth and scale of these programs considerably.

 

“In addition to the three ‘NPK’ macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) we add to soil in the form of artificial fertilizer or manure, there are 13 other macro- and micro-nutrients needed by crops to grow,” says Esin Mete, IFA President, former CEO of Tekfen Holding’s Agri-Division (now operating as Toros Tarim), and Chairwoman of Toros Agri-Industry Group. “And because different regions have varying soil composition, they have unique needs for the types and amounts of nutrients in fertilizers.”

 

Tefken was the first partner of the Turkish government in providing zinc-supplemented NPK fertilizers in Central Anatolia. A zinc fertilization program on wheat in the Central Anatolian region resulted in as much as a 500% increase in crop yield, lifting economic returns of approximately $150M per year), and resulting in more bioavailability of zinc for those who consumed it.

 

To respond to rising food and nutrition needs, apps, online portals and cell phone-based programs have been developed to help small-scale farmers enhance their skills and biofortified yields. To help continue this effort, organizations can work with public partners to provide innovative farmer shops, as well as agro-stewardship training for those distributing biofortified products.

 

Therefore, biofortification can ensure that populations are not left behind in the effort to improve nutrition and public health nationally and globally for the future.