An estimated 3 billion people suffer from micronutrient malnutrition, a condition that leads to results in impaired immune response, retarded mental and physical development in children, and reduced productivity in adults. HarvestPlus is a global alliance of research institutions working together to breed and disseminate staple food crops that are nutritionally enhanced in selected micronutrients. The long-term goal of the project is to reduce the prevalence of micronutrient malnutrition in countries where the problem is widespread. HarvestPlus is coordinated by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Colombia and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Washington, D.C. Plant breeders in universities and agricultural research centers around the world are using conventional plant breeding methods to “biofortify” staple food crops to contain increased concentrations of iron, zinc, and beta-carotene. Once promising lines have been developed, sufficient quantities are produced for use in nutritional trials to assess the bioavailability of the target nutrients. Seeds from the best of these biofortified crops will then be distributed to farmers who will plant them and deliver the nutritionally enhanced foods to their local communities with the ultimate outcome being reduced prevalence of micronutrient malnutrition.

This project was launched because of the high prevalence of micronutrient malnutrition around the world. An estimated 3 billion people are affected, with young children and women of childbearing age being especially vulnerable. The consequences of this problem are enormous in terms of human suffering and reduced economic productivity that has a significant effect on the gross domestic product in many countries. This leads to a vicious cycle of poverty and malnutrition. The introduction of biofortified foods to low income areas around the world will enhance the nutritional quality of diets that are otherwise lacking in key nutrients, especially iron, zinc, and beta-carotene (a plant pigment that can be converted to vitamin A in the body). Preventing micronutrient malnutrition will benefit children, adults, and national economies around the world.

Our role in the project is to assess the bioavailability of iron and zinc in biofortified crops developed by the plant breeders. We recently completed a feeding trail using biofortified black beans that were developed and grown at CIAT in Columbia. The biofortified beans contained 106 parts per million iron compared to control beans that contained 71 parts per million. We used a piglet model to assess the bioavailability of iron in the beans. Bean-corn diets were formulated and fed to iron deficient piglets. We monitored the hemoglobin concentrations in the piglets over a period of five weeks to determine whether the iron in the high-iron beans was available for producing hemoglobin in the animals. We found that the high-iron beans did improve the iron status of the pigs compared to the pigs fed the control diet.

The HarvestPlus project is now in its fifth year. So far several biofortified crops have been developed by the plant breeders. Our work on the bioavailability of iron in some of these crops demonstrates that the increased levels of iron in the foods is in fact bioavailable and therefore the crops should have a significant impact on human nutrition when they eventually make their way into the hands of farmers. This is a very long-term project and, while our results to date are promising, it will be 5 to 10 years before we can expect a significant impact of the people we are seeking to help.