Adding value to your food

There are speculations on whether the government's policy on genetically engineered products has undergone a subtle, even if undeclared, change. If it is so, it is welcome

The concept of biofortification, which involves augmenting a crop’s inherent nutritional value through genetic improvement, received strong support recently from Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he released a bunch of 17 biofortified varieties of eight food crops for commercial cultivation. He deemed this technology a cost-effective means to alleviate malnutrition and boost farmers’ income. Earlier, the government’s Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) had allowed experimental field trials of genetically modified (GM) Bt-brinjal, which contains an alien gene borrowed from a non-plant source, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), a soil-dwelling bacterium. The field testing of GM crops is banned since 2010. These developments have led to speculation on whether the government’s policy on genetically engineered products has undergone a subtle, even if undeclared, change. If it is so, it is welcome. If not, it is time to consider doing so. 

The modern biotechnological tools make developing biofortified seeds through gene editing and inter-species transfer of genes much easier and quicker than for conventional plant-breeding methods. 

India urgently needs nutritious cereals. The country has, no doubt, managed to banish starvation, thanks to food self-sufficiency and launching several food-based welfare programmes, including the Food Security Act, which obliges the government to supply highly subsidised foodgrains to two-thirds of the population. But malnutrition (imbalanced nutrition) and undernourishment (inadequate nutrition), more aptly called hidden hunger, still persist. Little wonder, India is lowly-placed at 94 among 107 countries, below Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal, on the Global Hunger Index 2020. The poor ranking is attributed chiefly to the high incidence of wasting (low body weight), stunting (inadequate height), and mortality among children below five. The world’s largest under-nourished population, 194.6 million, is in India. About 38.4 per cent children are stunted and 35.7 per cent underweight.

The food supplementation schemes are mostly cereals-based, disregarding the need for a balanced and wholesome diet, critical for normal growth and good health. The normal diet of poor households is also dominated by cereals. Consequently, the deficiency of proteins, vitamins, and essential minerals like iron, zinc, and iodine is rampant. The remedy lies in either promoting the intake of nutrient-dense food like fruit, vegetables, and non-vegetarian stuff, which the poor can ill-afford, or transforming the cereals into wholesome food by injecting proteins, vitamins, and minerals into them. The latter, achievable through biofortification, is a relatively cost-effective and practical solution. That is also what the prime minister seemed to suggest by advocating the inclusion of biofortified grains in the food supplied through mid-day meals in schools and Anganwaris.

No doubt, cereals can also be made more nutritious by blending or coating them with vitamins, minerals, and proteins, but the biofortified grains capable of producing these nutrients on their own have shown better results. The nutrients in their natural state are absorbed in significantly higher quantities than their manufactured substitutes. This is particularly true of the consumption of Vitamin A, iron, and zinc by women and children. Studies have shown more improvement in morbidity, work performance, and cognitive (brain) functioning on account of the consumption of natural nutrients vis-à-vis the synthetic ones.

India is a late starter in gainfully exploiting the potential of biofortification in combating hidden hunger. Nearly 40 low- and middle-income countries in Africa and elsewhere are way ahead of India in this respect. The HarvestPlus, a chain of global farm research institutes funded through donations, which is engaged in developing and promoting biodiversified crops across the world, reckons that about 15 million tiny and small farmers have begun growing biofortified crops.

According to Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Director-General T Mohapatra, India has developed nearly 36 biofortified varieties of different crops and more are in the pipeline. These can be integrated into the food chain to create a “Kuposhan Mukt Bharat” (malnutrition-free Indian). The 17 biofortified strains released by the prime minister included a rice variety called CR Dhan 315 with a high amount of zinc, and three varieties of wheat (HD 3298, HD 303, and DDW 48) supplemented with protein and iron. Among the coarse cereals, three maize hybrids — numbered 1, 2 and 3 — have a higher content of superior-quality proteins like lysine and tryptophan. Two varieties of finger millet (ragi) — CMFV 1 and 2 — have additional minerals like calcium, iron, and zinc, while the CLMV variety of little millet (kutki) excels in its content of iron and zinc. In the case of oilseeds, the variety Pusa Mustard 32 has been modified to reduce its content of harmful erucic acid. The groundnut varieties — Girnar 4 and 5 — on the other hand, have been gene-edited to augment their Oleic acid content. In yams, the varieties Sri Neelima and DA 340 have been enriched with zinc, iron, and anthocyanin, which is believed to guard against diabetes, cancer, inflammation, and obesity.

Now that the prime minister has endorsed the virtues of biofortified foods and has even commended their increased use in nutrition improvement, nothing should stand in the way of walking the talk.

surinder.sud@gmail.com