2021 Key Metrics
12.8m
Smallholder farming households growing biofortified crops, up 32% from 2020
64m
Total beneficiaries in farming households
21
HarvestPlus/CGIAR biofortified crop varieties released in 2021 by governments in eight countries
283
HarvestPlus/CGIAR varieties released to date in 30 countries; hundreds more are in testing
250,000
Farmers and value chain actors trained in biofortified crop nutrition, agronomy, production, processing, and marketing
54%
Percentage of trainees who are women (133,763)
A message from CEO Arun Baral
Dear Friends,
The war in Ukraine has provided another example of the vulnerability of our food systems to shocks. Beyond the human suffering and privation in Ukraine itself, the war added momentum to price upswings in food commodities globally, threatening millions more around the world with hunger and malnutrition. Higher fertilizer and energy prices also cast doubt on farmers’ ability to produce sufficient food in future growing seasons.
The crisis underscores the urgency of crafting food systems that make nutritious food options affordable and accessible to all, including the hundreds of millions of smallholder farming households in low- and middle-income countries who mostly eat what they grow. The CGIAR’s HarvestPlus program and its partners contribute to this effort by scaling crop biofortification, which increases the vitamin and mineral (micronutrient) content of staples that rural households and low-income urban consumers rely on to fill their plates—especially during crisis periods.
Despite a challenging global environment, we can share encouraging news in this Annual Report: production and consumption of nutrient-enriched staple crops continue to expand briskly, particularly in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa where the need for them is greatest.
By the end of 2021, nearly 13 million farming households were growing biofortified crops and 64 million people were benefiting directly from them; both figures were up 32 percent from 2020. In human terms, this is likely to mean far fewer people suffering from anemia, stunting, and other health and developmental issues linked to micronutrient deficiency. This is especially significant for women and young children, who are most susceptible to the effects of these deficiencies.
A prime example of biofortification’s growth is zinc wheat in Pakistan (see p. 6). Introduced there in 2016, in part to help address high childhood stunting rates, zinc wheat now has a significant share of the wheat seed market. Driving this progress is a proven HarvestPlus scaling model, focused on empowering national partners to build and grow sustainable value chains for biofortified seed and foods, and strong engagement and involvement of national policy decisionmakers.
Elsewhere, with the backdrop in 2021 of the UN Food Systems Summit and the Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit, we saw more high-level commitments to scale biofortification by Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nigeria, Uganda, and other countries. HarvestPlus is also providing technical assistance and capacity strengthening to the Governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Indonesia on major new scaling projects (see p. 5). And in early 2022, at an African Union summit, member state leaders adopted a declaration promoting scaling of biofortification as well as fortification.
Nutrient-enriched staple crops are not a silver bullet for growing malnutrition risks, but they are a proven, practical strategy for strengthening the nutrition resilience of the most vulnerable households. These crops are also a powerful channel for empowering women, who account for the majority of farmers and value chain actors trained by HarvestPlus. We thank our funders and partners for supporting our scaling effort, and we encourage others to join us in sustainably improving health and lives.
Yours Sincerely,
Arun Baral
New Scaling Commitments in a Summit Year
The UN Food Systems Summit and Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit made 2021 a landmark year for national governments to made bold new commitments in support of scaling up biofortification.
Scaling in Pakistan: Toward a Tipping Point
The first zinc wheat variety was only released in Pakistan in 2016, but a HarvestPlus-led scaling strategy has led to strong, sustainable growth
since then.
Improving Livelihoods
See examples from Kenya, Bangladesh, and Uganda of how biofortified crops are not only improving nutrition of farming households but also creating livelihood opportunities.
Adding biofortified foods to school meals programs is an efficient, cost-effective method of scaling reach to a priority population: children.
Reaching the Most Vulnerable
With NGO and other partners, we are empowering refugees and other high-risk groups to access and grow nutrient-enriched crops and foods.
Addressing the Climate Challenge
Many biofortified crop varieties are also climate-smart, which can offset climate-related losses in crops’ nutrient content and boost farming households’ resilience to drought and heat.
Iron Crops
Rwanda: Bean (8)
Zimbabwe: Cowpea
Zinc Crops
Bangladesh: Rice
Colombia: Rice
Pakistan: Wheat
Vitamin A Crops
Brazil: Sweet Potato
Burundi: Banana/Plantain (5)
Ghana: Maize (3)
(Numbers indicate multiple varieties released)
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Learn more about the crops
Learn more about the crops
Zinc rice
Zinc wheat
Zinc maize
Vit. A cassava
Vit. A maize
Vit. A OSP
Iron bean
Iron pearl millet
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HarvestPlus improves nutrition, health, and livelihoods by working with partners worldwide to develop and promote biofortified crops that are rich in vitamins and minerals, and are climate-smart. HarvestPlus also provides leadership on biofortification evidence and technology.
HarvestPlus is part of the CGIAR and is based at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), a CGIAR research center.
