According to FAO (2013), approximately two billion people suffer with micronutrient deficiency of some kind. The introduction of biofortified crops – varieties improved through selective breeding in order to achieve higher micronutrient contents – may complement existing interventions and allow, on a sustainable way, to reach populations with low access to formal health systems and markets.

To reach 20 million rural families until 2020 and one billion consumers until 2030, worldwide, through the development of inclusive and sustainable markets for biofortified crops.

Research is carried in partnership with several universities; technology transfer is carried with the support of local governments and state and municipal institutions; between financing entities, we count Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation), the Government of Maranhão State and HarvestPlus. Family farmers are program’s main beneficiaries.

The practice starts with research, when the best specimens are selected and crossed successively until a new variety with higher micronutrient content and favorable agronomic characteristics is obtained. After obtaining the improved cultivars, both recipes and processed products are developed. All materials produced by the project (cultivars and processed goods) are tested for quality control of nutritional components. Then, acceptance studies are carried with producers and consumers. Finally, technology transfer actions are carried in order to reach farmers, focusing on family farmers. All stages are monitored an obtained results are kept within a database for later analysis, allowing for constant improvement.

Between 2005 and 2010, research and development was the focus. Nowadays, the project has the sweet potato Beauregard as a recommended cultivar, and the folloing released cultivars: BRS Amélia (sweet potato); BRS Jari, BRS Gema de Ovo and BRS Dourada (cassava); BRS 4104 (maize); BRS Supremo, BRS Cometa and BRS Sublime (common beans); BRS Aracê, BRS Tumucumaque and BRS Xiquexique (cowpea beans). All these are considered biofortified, i.e., with higher amounts of a target micronutrient.
After this initial stage, technology transfer became the focus. Until 2018, around 40000 families (approximately 200 thousand people) were reached. In addition, several demonstrative and multiplication units for the cultivars were implemented on different cities and the Project became part of public policies.
Research also generates several papers published in international journals. Plus, the project has published 3 recipe books.

Main enabling factors were Embrapa’s solidity, providing the necessary infrastructure and a competent staff of researchers, technicians and specialists; the constant support from HarvestPlus; and the several partnerships within public and private sectors, which guaranteed necessary funds and collaboration on the development of all of the project’s stages. All this allowed the project to release new cultivars with improved qualities.

Main challenges were working throughout a country as large as Brazil, where different territories have distinct climates, soils and cultures, demanding not only specific cultivars for each area, but also a skilled coordination of logistics and management of human capital. Guaranteeing the funds needed for a project this big is also a constant challenge.

Biofortification, in this context, is a global project already being implemented in different countries around the world: in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and Asia. Sustainability is key, as biofortified varieties usually carry improved agronomic characteristics, resulting in better yields and a differentiated product, which may allow producers to improve their economic situation. In addition, the project is concerned with the best practices within agriculture and usually combines technology transfer of the cultivars per se with enabling the producers to have access to solar panels and equipment for irrigation through water dripping, which saves water when compared to conventional practices.

Biofortification contributes to the fight against hidden hunger (malnutrition caused not by the lack of food itself, but lack of proper micronutrient ingestion), which may cause several health issues, specially between lower social classes and developing countries; while promoting a sustainable insertion of small producers within local markets and the sustainable use of water and clean sources of energy.

biofort.com.br
harvestplus.org
ciat.cgiar.org
embrapa.br
lac.harvestplus.org