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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

Kate Ambler

Kate Amber is a Senior Research Fellow in the Markets, Trade, and Institutions Unit. Kate’s research broadly focuses on interventions that can increase incomes for smallholders and other microenterprises in agrifood value chains, with a specific focus on the inclusion of women. This includes work on programming in fragile settings, innovations in agricultural finance, and regulatory solutions for food safety. 

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experts

Innovation Policy and Scaling

Erick Boy

Chief Nutritionist, HarvestPlus

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Erick Boy

Bio

Erick Boy is the chief nutritionist in the HarvestPlus section of the Innovation Policy and Scaling Unit. As head of nutrition for the HarvestPlus Program since 2008, he has led research that has generated scientific evidence on biofortified staple crops as efficacious and effective interventions to help address iron, vitamin A, and zinc deficiency in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and South Asia. Major contributions to the global nutrition community from the HarvestPlus research portfolio during his tenure include the first publications on the impact of biofortification as a dietary intervention to improve nutritional status and aspects of health causally associated with iron, vitamin A, and zinc. Currently, his main area of research is exploring the association between zinc and chronic noncommunicable diseases such as type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Prior to joining HarvestPlus, Erick worked for 10 years at the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP/PAHO), where his research focused on the prevention of low birth weight and the control of iodine and iron deficiencies. The demonstration of the impact of indoor biofuel smoke on birth weight was a memorable contribution during this phase of his career.

At the Micronutrient Initiative (1999-2008), Erick directed the iron and zinc research program, and managed Latin American projects and the Global Vitamin A Supplementation Procurement Project. He was instrumental in the introduction of zinc supplements for the treatment of diarrhea and multiple micronutrient powders to treat anemia in several Latin American countries. Erick holds a medical degree from the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala and a master’s and doctoral degree in human nutrition from the University of California at Davis.

Publications

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Publications

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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

An ex-ante analysis of the impact of biofortified zinc rice on dietary zinc inadequacy: Evidence from Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines

2024De Moura, Fabiana F.; Moursi, Mourad; Angel, Moira Donahue; Angeles-Agdeppa, Imelda; Muslimatun, Siti; Atmarita, Atmarita; Gironella, Glen M.; Boy, Erick; Carriquiry, Alicia
Details

An ex-ante analysis of the impact of biofortified zinc rice on dietary zinc inadequacy: Evidence from Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines

Background: South, East, and Southeast Asia are among the regions of the world with the highest estimated prevalence of inadequate zinc intake. Because populations in those regions eat rice as their main staple, zinc biofortification of rice can potentially improve zinc intake, especially among the most vulnerable. Objectives: We modeled the impact of the consumption of zinc-biofortified rice on zinc intake and inadequacy among women of childbearing age and young children nationally in Indonesia, the Philippines, and at a subnational level in Bangladesh. Methods: We conducted an ex-ante analysis by applying increments of zinc content in rice, from a baseline level of 16 parts per million (ppm) to 100 ppm, and based on rice consumption data to substitute levels of conventional rice with zinc-biofortified rice varying between 10% and 70%. Results: Among all datasets evaluated from these 3 countries, the prevalence of dietary zinc inadequacy at baseline was 94%–99% among women of childbearing age, 77%–100% among children 4–5 y old, and 27%–78% among children 1–3 y old. At the current breeding target of 28 ppm, zinc-biofortified rice has the potential to decrease zinc inadequacy by ≤50% among women and children in rural Bangladesh and among children in the Philippines where consumption of rice is higher compared with Indonesia. Conclusions: Our analysis shows that increasing zinc content in rice ≤45 ppm reduces the burden of zinc inadequacy substantially, after which we encourage programs to increase coverage to reach the highest number of beneficiaries.

Year published

2024

Authors

De Moura, Fabiana F.; Moursi, Mourad; Angel, Moira Donahue; Angeles-Agdeppa, Imelda; Muslimatun, Siti; Atmarita, Atmarita; Gironella, Glen M.; Boy, Erick; Carriquiry, Alicia

Citation

De Moura, Fabiana F.; Moursi, Mourad; Angel, Moira Donahue; Angeles-Agdeppa, Imelda; Muslimatun, Siti; et al. 2024. An ex-ante analysis of the impact of biofortified zinc rice on dietary zinc inadequacy: Evidence from Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Journal of Nutrition 154(8): 2575-2582. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.06.010

Country/Region

Bangladesh; Indonesia; Philippines

Keywords

Asia; South-eastern Asia; Oceania; Biofortification; Ex Ante Impact Assessment; Nutrient Intake; Rice; Zinc

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.06.010 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

Resource thumbnail

Opinion Piece

Introduction and executive summary for the supplement micronutrients in Latin America: Current state and research

2024Soto-Méndez, María J.; Boy, Erick
Details

Introduction and executive summary for the supplement micronutrients in Latin America: Current state and research

Global health and nutrition stakeholders are facing a period full of changes and challenges, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Almost every country is experiencing at least, one burden of malnutrition,1 and among them many are facing the triple burden of malnutrition, both associated with unhealthy and nondiverse diets and reduced physical activity. According to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World Report, in 2022, between 691 and 783 million people faced chronic hunger, representing an increase of 122 million people compared to 2019. It also informed that 3.1 billion people could not afford a healthy diet.2 On the one hand, economic shocks, war, violence, and climate-related disruptions are the leading causes of the current steep increase in the global burden of hunger in all its forms. The COVID-19 pandemic and other repeated pandemic shocks further reduce food and nutrition security of poor countries.3 On the other hand, chronic noncommunicable diseases, most of which are associated with overweight-obesity and unhealthy behavioral and environmental risk factors, continue to rise as the principal causes of death and disability worldwide, also disproportionately impacting LMIC.4 While the prevalence of hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is lower than the global average, food insecurity affects a higher proportion of the population in the region (40%) relative to the global prevalence (29.3%). The region also experiences the highest cost of a healthy diet, with 131 million people unable to afford to meet the recommended nutritional requirements that healthy diets would provide.5-7 Consequently, the risks of nutrient deficiency and excess for the region can be inferred, but the scarcity of current nationally representative data on micronutrient deficiencies is neither useful for program planning or evaluation nor conducive to narrowing the equity and justice gaps in the region.

Year published

2024

Authors

Soto-Méndez, María J.; Boy, Erick

Citation

Soto-Méndez, María J.; and Boy, Erick. 2024. Introduction and executive summary for the supplement micronutrients in Latin America: Current state and research. Food and Nutrition Bulletin 45(2S) S4 -S6. https://doi.org/10.1177/03795721241254610

Keywords

Latin America; Diet; Less Favoured Areas; Hunger; Trace Elements

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.1177/03795721241254610 Source record

Record type

Opinion Piece

Blogs

Global Food Policy Report 2024: Leveraging plant-source foods for sustainable healthy diets
IFPRI Blog
 | 
November 04, 2024

Global Food Policy Report 2024: Leveraging plant-source foods for sustainable healthy diets

By Erick Boy, Inge Brouwer, Jen Foley, Natalia Palacios, Samuel Scott, and Victor Taleon

Integrating more fruits, vegetables, and other high-quality crops into food systems.

Potential impact of zinc-enriched rice on zinc intakes in Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines
IFPRI Blog
 | 
September 20, 2024

Potential impact of zinc-enriched rice on zinc intakes in Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines

By Fabiana F. De Moura, Mourad Moursi, Moira Donahue Angel, Erick Boy, and Jen Foley

Nutritional benefits of enhanced biofortification.

Addressing the global, life-long health impacts of zinc deficiency: A call to action
IFPRI Blog
 | 
April 25, 2024

Addressing the global, life-long health impacts of zinc deficiency: A call to action

By Nicola M. Lowe, Andrew G. Hall, Martin R. Broadley, Jen Foley, Erick Boy, and Zulfiqar A. Bhutta

What an array of studies shows about a key nutritional challenge

View all Blogs

Events

Micronutrient Forum: 6th Global Conference
IFPRI at External Event

 | 

October 16 to 20, 2023

Micronutrient Forum: 6th Global Conference

Hybrid Conference: October 16, 2023 – 8:30 AM to October 20, 2023 – 5:00 PM CEST. IFPRI is pleased to participate in this year’s Micronutrient Forum 6th Global Conference, being held at the World Forum in The Hague October 16–20, with a focus on “Nutrition for Resilience (N4R).

News

August 10, 2018 | In the News

The Bajra that can fight India’s iron deficiency problem (The Print)

India’s The Print published a news story on the effectiveness of iron biofortified pearl millet in reducing iron deficiency among the Indian adolescents. The article, based on a recent study by IFPRI’s Samuel Scott and Harvest Plus’ Erick Boy, highlighted how consumption of biofortified pearl millet improves learning and mental abilities. The article reached nearly […]