Biofortification: Pathway Ahead and Future Challenges

A large share of global population is affected by mineral and vitamin deficiency, particularly in the developing countries. Recent estimates exposed the problem will be more disappointing in the near future. Biofortification is emerging as a potential crop-based approach to deal with the mineral malnutrition problem by enriching the density of bioavailable micronutrients and vitamins in food products. In recent years, significant advancement has been made in the fundamental understanding of micronutrient acquisition and translocation in soil-plant system. However, the current knowledge base in this area needs significant advancement to accelerate the pace of biofortification programme. Apart from the conventional breeding techniques, possible transgenic and agronomic approaches have also been identified for increasing the zinc, iron, selenium and iodine concentrations in the edible parts of food crops. Although these approaches are useful to address the mineral malnutrition problems worldwide, the effectiveness of the biofortification programme essentially relies on the farmers’ and consumers’ acceptance and future policy interventions. Therefore, strategic research and appropriate policy can lead to biofortification’s grand success in the near future. In this chapter, we discussed the current knowledge and future prospects of crop biofortification.