Subscribe

Back

Who we are

With research staff from more than 60 countries, and offices across the globe, IFPRI provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

researcher spotlight

Manuel Hernandez

Manuel Hernandez is a Senior Research Fellow in the Markets, Trade, and Institutions Unit of IFPRI. He has more than 20 years of experience in diverse projects in Latin America, Africa, and Asia on development issues related to agricultural and labor markets, food security and nutrition, industrial organization and regulation, price analysis, and the informal economy. His current research focuses on impact evaluation linked to rural development and food security projects, migration, functioning of oligopoly markets and value chains, and price volatility.

Back

What we do

Since 1975, IFPRI’s research has been informing policies and development programs to improve food security, nutrition, and livelihoods around the world.

Research topics

Projects and impact

Modeling tools

Project microsites

What’s new

Where we work

Back

Where we work

IFPRI currently has more than 600 employees working in over 80 countries with a wide range of local, national, and international partners.

IFPRI Regional Programs

IFPRI Country Programs

Research by country and region

Subscribe

partnerships

Ghent University is a top 100 university and one of the major universities in Belgium. Our 11 faculties offer more than 200 courses and conduct in-depth research within a wide range of scientific domains. Ghent University Global Campus is also the first European university in Songdo, South Korea.

Homepage Link
logo_ugent_en

Publications

Resource thumbnail

Journal Article

Biofortification: Future challenges for a newly emerging technology to improve nutrition security sustainably

2024
Bouis, Howarth E.; Foley, Jennifer; Lividini, Keith; Jumrani, Jaya; Reinke, Russell; Van Der Straeten, Dominique; Zagado, Ronan; Boy, Erick; Brown, Lynn R.; Mudyahoto, Bho
…more Alioma, Richard; Hussain, Munawar; Pfeiffer, Wolfgang H.
Details

Biofortification: Future challenges for a newly emerging technology to improve nutrition security sustainably

Biofortification was coined as a term to define a plant breeding strategy to increase the micronutrient content of staple food crops to reduce the burden of micronutrient deficiencies in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In 2003, the HarvestPlus program, based in the centers comprising the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), was initiated to implement the biofortification strategy. This paper discusses what has been achieved, what has been learned, and the key challenges to embed biofortification in food systems and to expand its impact. Cost-effectiveness is key to the biofortification strategy. Biofortification piggybacks on the agronomically-superior varieties being developed at agricultural research centers. Central plant breeding research discoveries can be spread globally. Farmers have every motivation to adopt the latest high-yielding, high profit crops. High productivity leads to lower food prices. As a consequence, consumers can increase their mineral and vitamin intakes at no additional cost by substituting biofortified staple foods one-for-one for non-biofortified staple foods. After twenty years of investment, biofortified staple food crops are being produced by farmers in over 40 countries and are eaten by hundreds of millions of people. Published nutrition trials have shown nutrient-rich crops to be efficacious. The biofortification strategy is now recognized by the international nutrition community as one effective approach among several interventions needed to reduce micronutrient deficiencies. This is a promising beginning. However, biofortification is still a newly emerging technology. A limitation of biofortification as implemented to date is that densities of single nutrients have been increased in given staple food crops. To reach a higher trajectory, the impacts of biofortification can be multiplied several-fold using genetic engineering and other advanced crop development techniques to combine multiple-nutrient densities with climate-smart traits.

Year published

2024

Authors

Bouis, Howarth E.; Foley, Jennifer; Lividini, Keith; Jumrani, Jaya; Reinke, Russell; Van Der Straeten, Dominique; Zagado, Ronan; Boy, Erick; Brown, Lynn R.; Mudyahoto, Bho; Alioma, Richard; Hussain, Munawar; Pfeiffer, Wolfgang H.

Citation

Bouis, Howarth; Foley, Jennifer; Lividini, Keith; Jumrani, Jaya; Reinke, Russell; Van Der Straeten, Dominique; et al. 2024. Biofortification: Future challenges for a newly emerging technology to improve nutrition security sustainably. Current Developments in Nutrition 8(12): 104478. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2024.104478

Keywords

Agricultural Research; Biofortification; Malnutrition; Nutrition Security; Sustainability; Technology; Trace Elements

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2024.104478 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

Resource thumbnail

Journal Article

Effect of balanced energy-protein supplementation during pregnancy and lactation on birth outcomes and infant growth in rural Burkina Faso: Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

2021Vanslambrouck, Katrien; de Kok, Brenda; Toe, Laeticia Celine; De Cock, Nathalie; Ouédraogo, Moctar; Huybregts, Lieven
Details

Effect of balanced energy-protein supplementation during pregnancy and lactation on birth outcomes and infant growth in rural Burkina Faso: Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Adequate nutrition during pregnancy is crucial to both mother and child. Maternal malnutrition can be the cause of stillbirth or lead to poor birth outcomes such as preterm delivery and small-for-gestational-age newborns. There is a probable positive effect of providing pregnant women a balanced energy-protein (BEP) food supplement, but more evidence is needed. The MIcronutriments pour la SAnté de la Mère et de l’Enfant (MISAME) III project aims to improve birth outcomes and infant growth by testing a BEP supplement during pregnancy and lactation in rural Burkina Faso. This paper describes the study protocol.

Year published

2021

Authors

Vanslambrouck, Katrien; de Kok, Brenda; Toe, Laeticia Celine; De Cock, Nathalie; Ouédraogo, Moctar; Huybregts, Lieven

Citation

Vanslambrouck, Katrien; de Kok, Brenda; Toe, Laeticia Celine; De Cock, Nathalie; Ouedraogo, Moctar; Huybregts, Lieven; et al. 2021. Effect of balanced energy-protein supplementation during pregnancy and lactation on birth outcomes and infant growth in rural Burkina Faso: Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open 11(3): e038393. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-038393

Country/Region

Burkina Faso

Keywords

Western Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Child Nutrition; Pregnancy; Healthy Diets; Malnutrition; Nutrition; Pregnant Women; Trace Elements; Supplementary Feeding; Breastfeeding; Rural Areas; Maternal Nutrition

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-038393 Source record

Project

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Record type

Journal Article

Resource thumbnail

Journal Article

Multiplying the efficiency and impact of biofortification through metabolic engineering

2020van der Straeten, Dominique; Bhullar, Navreet K.; De Steur, Hans; Gruissem, Wilhelm; Bouis, Howarth E.
Details

Multiplying the efficiency and impact of biofortification through metabolic engineering

Ending all forms of hunger by 2030, as set forward in the UN-Sustainable Development Goal 2 (UN-SDG2), is a daunting but essential task, given the limited timeline ahead and the negative global health and socio-economic impact of hunger. Malnutrition or hidden hunger due to micronutrient deficiencies affects about one third of the world population and severely jeopardizes economic development. Staple crop biofortification through gene stacking, using a rational combination of conventional breeding and metabolic engineering strategies, should enable a leap forward within the coming decade. A number of specific actions and policy interventions are proposed to reach this goal.

Year published

2020

Authors

van der Straeten, Dominique; Bhullar, Navreet K.; De Steur, Hans; Gruissem, Wilhelm; Bouis, Howarth E.

Citation

Van Der Straeten, Dominique; Bhullar, Navreet K.; De Steur, Hans; Gruissem, Wilhelm; Bouis, Howarth E.; et al. 2020. Multiplying the efficiency and impact of biofortification through metabolic engineering. Nature Communications 11: 5203. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19020-4

Keywords

Biofortification; Trace Element Deficiencies; Sustainable Development Goals; Plant Breeding; Hunger; Malnutrition; Trace Elements; Metabolism; Goal 2 Zero Hunger

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19020-4 Source record

Project

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Record type

Journal Article