Crop Science Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education
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Published online 18 December 2007
Published in Crop Sci 47:S-88-S-105 (2007)
© 2007 Crop Science Society of America
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HarvestPlus: Breeding Crops for Better Nutrition

Wolfgang H. Pfeiffera,* and Bonnie McClaffertyb

a HarvestPlus, c/o CIAT, A.A. 6713, Cali, Colombia
b HarvestPlus, c/o IFPRI, 2033 K St., NW, Washington, DC., 20006

* Corresponding author (w.pfeiffer{at}cgiar.org).

Micronutrient malnutrition, the so-called hidden hunger, affects more than one-half of the world's population, especially women and preschool children in developing countries. Despite past progress in controlling micronutrient decencies through supplementation and food fortification, new approaches are needed to expand the reach of food-based interventions. Biofortification, a new approach that relies on conventional plant breeding and modern biotechnology to increase the micronutrient density of staple crops, holds great promise for improving the nutritional status and health of poor populations in both rural and urban areas of the developing world. HarvestPlus, a research program implemented with the international research institutes of the CGIAR, targets a multitude of crops that are a regular part of the staple-based diets of the poor and breeds them to be rich in iron, zinc, and provitamin A. This paper emphasizes the need for interdisciplinary research and addresses the key research issues and methodological considerations for success. The major activities to be undertaken are broadly grouped into research related to nutrition research and impact analysis, and research considerations for delivering biofortified crops to end-users effectively. The paper places particular emphasis on the activities of the plant breeding and genetics component of this multidisciplinary program. The authors argue that for biofortification to succeed, product profiles developed by plant breeders must be driven by nutrition research and impact objectives and that nutrition research must understand that the probability of success for biofortified crops increases substantially when product concepts consider farmer adoption and, hence, agronomic superiority.

Abbreviations: G x E, genotype by environment interaction • HPLC, high performance liquid chromatography • HTMs, high-throughput screening methods • ICP, inductively coupled plasma spectrometer • NIRS, near infrared reflectance spectrophotometry • TLC, thin-layer chromatography

CGIAR Challenge programs are time-bound, independently governed programs of high-impact research that target CGIAR goals in relation to complex issues of overwhelming global and/or regional significance, and rely on partnerships among a wide range of institutions to deliver their products. In the case of HarvestPlus, biofortification research is conducted by a global alliance of research institutions and implementing agencies in developed and developing countries, and co-convened by two CGIAR centers, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). This paper builds on the research accomplishments of HarvestPlus to date. The authors would like to recognize the intellectual contributions made by research partners within the HarvestPlus Alliance. They would also like to acknowledge support received from key members of the donor community, including the Asian Development Bank, the Danish Agency for International Development Assistance, the U.K. Department of International Development, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the United State Agency for International Development, and the World Bank. Our special thanks to Alma McNab for her editorial expertise.

Received for publication April 4, 2007.




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