The Hindu Business Line : Micronutrient network to sign pact to combat zinc, iron deficiency in crops

THE Indian Micronutrient Biofortification Network, consisting of 13 leading Indian institutes, will sign an agreement with HarvestPlus, an international organisation, on finding a solution to combat deficiency of zinc and iron in Indian crops.

The partnership will be under the supervision of the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, and will work on increasing zinc and iron content in major crops such as rice, maize and wheat, and in regional crops such as sorghum, according to the Department's Secretary, Dr M.K. Bhan.The partnership will be signed in a couple of months, and it will take two to three years for things to fructify from the partnership, he told newspersons.

According to Dr Bhan, HarevestPlus, which is based at International Food Policy Research Institute, has a global network and experience in improving mineral content of various crops in different countries.

The partnership with it is to share information and technology on crop-related research.

A press release says more than 6,000 children under age five die every day in India largely due to lack of basic micronutrients, and 50,000 Indian children are born deformed each year due to various vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

The release, quoting the World Health Organisation, says that one out of three people in developing countries suffer from vitamin and mineral deficiencies (also known as micronutrient malnutrition). Dr Howarth Bouis, Programme Director, HarvestPlus, said the organisation was a global alliance of research institutions and implementing agencies that have come together to breed and disseminate crops for better nutrition.

It is coordinated by the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

He was in the city to participate in a two-day biofortification meet on Crop Biofortification for Alleviating Micronutrient Malnutrition