Agronomic Biofortification: An Ideal Option for Ensuring Nutritional Security

Food insecurity and under nutrition (malnutrition) are the two major health problems of the world particularly developing countries where cereals are the main staple food. Although sufficient increase in food production was observed in recent decades but still people experience moderate to severe micronutrient malnutrition worldwide particularly in developing nations. Biofortification has emerged as a very effective technology to alleviate the serious public health issue of hidden hunger and malnutrition in lower to middle economic population of the world where the preponderance of population cannot afford healthy and nutritious food to meet their daily nutritional requirements. Biofortification of staple foods through agronomic interventions is the application of micronutrient fertilizers containing nutritionally important minerals to soil or foliage (plant leaves) to augment their accumulation and bioavailability in edible part of specific staple crop. It not only enhances the nutritional quality of food crops but also increases the crop yields.