Biofortification of Food Crops: An Approach towards Improving Nutritional Security in South Asia

Globally, over two billion people are suffering from micronutrient led malnutrition. A diverse diet composed of fruits, vegetables and animal products is needed to meet the nutritional and energy requirements. However, these diets are out of reach for most of the population, especially for people living in under-developed and developing countries. Major staple food crops consumed on a regular basis by the poor is generally low in nutritional content. This issue can be addressed by the process known as Biofortification, an approach of increasing the nutrient density (preferably, vitamins and minerals), and improve the quality dietary uptake and nutritional status of the major section of the society. With the advent of the biofortification, various breeding and agronomic techniques, modern biotechnological approaches have been developed that can successfully incorporate these body essentials in the major food sources. With malnutrition prevailing as major problem, it is a promising, sustainable and economical approach of delivering food rich in micronutrients to the people that have very limited access to diverse diets. This review summarises some important topics related to biofortification including, introduction, micronutrient deficient South Asian countries, different means of biofortification, limitations and future prospects.