Delivering Nutrients Widely through Biofortification: Building on Orange Sweet Potato

The biofortification strategy aims to reduce the prevalence of vitamin and mineral nutritional deficiencies that are widespread in low-income populations by developing nutrient-rich varieties of staple food crops that the poor consume habitually. Biofortification is potentially a cost-effective and sustainable means of delivering more micronutrients to the poor. Since biofortification aims to increase the daily micronutrient intakes from improved staple foods, two factors—scaling up (to reach larger populations) and sustainability (to ensure long-term public health benefits)—are integral to its success.