CGIAR’s HarvestPlus Challenge Program is working to reduce micronutrient malnutrition by har­nessing the powers of agriculture and nutrition research to breed nutrient dense staple foods.

The pathway to success requires researchers to pass four significant milestones: first, when the crop is developed with high levels of nutrients; second, when the varieties have been adapted for the environments where the malnourished reside; third, when the nutrients contained in the crops are ‘bioavailable,’ that is proven to be effective in reducing human malnutrition, and finally, when the crops are accepted and eaten by those in need. CIMMYT and the HarvestPlus alliance have successfully achieved the first goal by using conventional plant breeding techniques to biofortify agronomically superior wheat with 100% more zinc and 35% more iron than other popular modern varieties.

It is estimated that over 1.3 billion people in South Asia are at risk for zinc deficiency. For iron, the numbers are similar, so research in this area has great potential. “We have successfully reached the first of many milestones for biofortified wheat,” says Howarth Bouis, Director of HarvestPlus. “CIMMYT is to be commended for deciding to add biofortification to the rust resistant breeding strategy that was well underway for the region. Now that they have moved the biofortified wheat out of the experimental fields in Mexico and into the hands of our partners in India and Pakistan for testing, we are one step closer to bringing biofortified wheat to farmers. We have crossed the first hurdle,” he emphasized.

In 2005, CIMMYT and HarvestPlus will move to the next phase of development. Further testing involves seeing how the genes associated with enhanced zinc and iron are expressed in differ­ent environments, and checking bioavailability of nutrients in the advanced wheat using stable isotopes in controlled nutrition laboratory trials.