Abstracto

Biofortification: A weapon against hidden hunger.

Shubham E Perane, Vipul P Patel

When the diet of a person is unable to fulfill the daily requirements of micronutrients is known as malnutrition. Micronutrients including vitamins and minerals are essential for various physiological functions in the body. When the food becomes deficient in micronutrients hidden hunger is developed in the population especially those belonging to the economically weaker class. According to the statement of UNICEF, 80 percent of adolescents from India are affected by hidden hunger. Malnutrition has become worst because the agriculture sector is focusing only on the quantity of yield and not on its nutritional value. Malnutrition not only affects personal health but also on productivity of the nation. Biofortification is a promising tool to overcome due to its advantages. Biofortification is nothing but increasing the nutrition of crops. It includes different approaches such as crop breeding, use of inorganic fertilizers, transgenic crops. Biofortification is considered sustainable and cost-friendly because targeted crops are part of the diet of the most population.