Regular consumption of biofortified crops in developing countries where micronutrient deficiency is common has been shown to increase micronutrient intakes and thus help meet the World Health Organization's dietary recommendations. Kindly see the following RG link:

Article Biofortified crops for tackling micronutrient deficiencies -...

Arbind, good topic. Keeping it simple, the biggest question mark around the whole issue is 'do the people most affected by deficiency X actually consume crop Y that has been biofortified with nutrient X to make a physiologically significant impact on said deficiency. To date, most of the publications on this are based on models and predictions, not on any population-wide assessments of any kind. So while the potential exists, it is as yet unproven (not in terms of efficacy but in terms of effectiveness).

There is, too, a danger with continuing the conventional 'nutrient-by-nutrient' approach that was early adopted by pill supplements. The great problems with micronutrients is that they interact with each other - they rarely operate in isolation. So the balance and interactions matter. This is rarely considered in the existing studies that proclaim the benefits of biofortification.

Negative impacts on soil would be hard to imagine. There is nothing inorganic or unnatural about enhancing the content of nutrients that are already present in such crops.

Hope that helps.

Patrick

Dear Afraa Ibrahim

Also, please see the following RG links:

Article Agronomic biofortification of crops to fight hidden hunger i...

Article Micronutrient deficiencies in African soils and the human nu...

Dear Manal Hadi Kanaan You have provided very very useful links related to agronomic biofortification. Thanks for conveying your valuable opinion shared through aforementioned links!

Dear M.K. Tripathi

If something is grown, then the impact on the soil will not be the determining factor. Feeding these varieties will be important.

Dear Sergey Viktorovich Pushkin Thanks for your valuable insight and contribution to the discussion.

Kindly check https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211912416300487

Also check https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nbu.12347

Dear Chinaza Godswill Awuchi Thanks for providing informative links. The last three highlights of your first referred paper merits special attention. At least in eastern Gangetic plains, the research conducted by IFPRI and HarvestPlus Group show that there is strong positive correlation between intake of food grains from biofortified crops and alleviation of micronutrient malnutrition prevalent among children and woman. However, I also share the concern mentioned in that paper

"Sustainable biofortification requires integrated soil fertility management". The second link relates to a comprehensive review on biofortification, and finally calls for development of standards and regulations for biofortified foods to increase global consumer demand. Many thanks, once again!

Biofortification of crop varieties is considered as the most sustainable and cost-effective approach where the nutrients reach the target people in natural form. Interesting results have been reported on the bioaccesibility of nutrient-rich (minerals and vitaminA) biofortified products. Since nutritional traits such as minerals and vitamins do not affect the grain yield, these need to be brought into the mainstream where varieties across crops developed in future should possess at least set level of one/few selected nutritional traits. Biofortified crops and varieties hold future key to nutritional security the world over.

Article Nutritional security through crop biofortification in India:...

Highly agree with dr. Pushkin, feeding is important 👍🌹

Article Agronomic biofortification of crops to fight hidden hunger i...

Dear M.K. Tripathi

Yes

Dear Antethar Jabar M.K. Tripathi

Manal Hadi Kanaan i do agree with your views..... your answers are addictive and superb

nice to see the expert views as already mentioned i love the questions raised by Dr Arbind K. Choudhary amazing

I also agree with Srinivas Kasulla Arbind K. Choudhary Antethar Jabar

S J Malik Thankyou

Thank you Manal Hadi Kanaan for your expert views

Dear S J Malik Srinivas Kasulla I appreciate your endorsement of views expressed by our experts in the discussion. It will be nice to see your independent scientific/technical opinion in the days ahead!

Article Biofortified crops for tackling micronutrient deficiencies -...

This was the link i feel answers your question Arbind K. Choudhary

Dear Srinivas Kasulla I appreciate your contribution; thank you so much!!!

Arbind K. Choudhary Sir......I think varietal screening for mutational breeding, conventional breeding are considered better for development of nutritional dense food crops, but it take lots of efforts and time. Now, fast breeding approcahes like TILLING, Ecotilling, identification of molecular marker for loci identification, CRISPR-Cas9 are most important approaches for biofortification. This approaches provide long term and sustainable way to fight against malnutrition.

Dear @Uma Nath Shukla I fully agree that these non-conventional approaches especially CRISPR-Cas9 based Gene editing hold high promise for developing biofortified varieties. However, the cultivation of such varieties would extract such "nutrients" ultimately from soil. Therefore, continued cultivation of such biofortified varieties of cereals, pulses, oilseeds, and other crops may have "ill effects" on the soil especially in areas where cropping intensity is high.

Interesting reflections

Dear @followers of this question Thus far, no comments regarding ill effects of biofortification on soil & environment has been discussed on this thread. There are so many limitations of biofortification. One such limitation relates to postharvest processing of crops while optimizing biofortification strategies. In addition, the presence of certain antinutrients in crops reduces the bioavailability of certain nutrients in crops. Furthermore, in the context of global environmental change, approaches for improving food production, improvements in a crop’s ability to maintain yields with lower water supply and quality will be critical. In addition, numerous genes are involved in controlling the amount of a mineral element that is absorbed by roots, translocated to shoot, remobilized from vegetative tissues, and deposited in edible portions of seeds and grains in forms that are utilizable in persons consuming the crop. Considerations must also include the micronutrient concentrations in the edible portions of crops, and the amount of nutrients that can be absorbed by the consumer, after processing and cooking. Further details are available at the following link:

Article Biofortified Crops Generated by Breeding, Agronomy, and Tran...

Zn and Fe deficiency in soil is a global concern. The practice of growing biofortified varieties is likely to aggravate the situation as they mobilize from soil, and accumulate into the seed the candidate micronutrients. Among various interventions (agronomic, genetic, and soil-based) to enrich seeds with micronutrients, microbe-based approaches need to be incorporated into the system to make it more sustainable. Both rhizospheric and endophytic microorganisms have significant impacts on micronutrient bioavailability to plants. However, endophytic microorganisms are considered more promising agents to enhance Fe and Zn uptake and translocation, because endophytic microorganisms can indirectly influence the regulation of metal transporters. Hence, along with plant breeding and agronomic fortification, significant efforts need to be undertaken to include microbes as partners in such approaches. For example, priming seeds with microbes or their products may be used to improve bioavailability of micronutrients or reduce phytic acid in grains. A detailed review on this aspect is available at the below mentioned link:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13593-020-00619-2

South Asia is home to most of the world's people who suffer from micronutrient malnutrition. The rates of anaemia in pregnant women, for example, are higher in South Asia. This region also has the highest number of children suffering from stunting, or impaired growth and development caused by malnutrition, often with lifelong consequences.

Until the 1970s, Indian farmers grew 110,000 varieties of rice; today, only 6,000 have survived. Green revolution resulted in the loss of not only crop genetic diversity, but also loss of dietary diversity. Biofortification, that is mainly based on enhancing Zn, Fe and pro-vitA, may cause further loss of diversity through monoculture of selected varieties of selected crops. About 41 and 14 per cents of Zn and Fe deficiencies are encountered in Indian soils. With increasing adoption of Zn and Fe rich varieties, the situation is like to go from bad to worse.

(This is totally my personal opinion; the data used in the narrated excerpt belong to reliable sources).

Arbind K. Choudhary These varieties can be included in a holistic approach to create a world of Zero hunger (including hidden )

Dear Anuradha Choudhary Yes, it should be. Thank you for posting your opinion at this thread!!!

Thank you

There is a lack of direct evidence on the effectiveness of biofortification to improve human health. Moreover, sustainable agronomic biofortification requires integrated soil fertility management.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2016.12.001

Biofortification of staple crops remains one of the best options to address micronutrient deficiencies in Africa. Several African leaders met virtually to discuss the issues and opportunities involved in leveraging agriculture for better nutrition in West Africa. The webinar ‘Addressing Hidden Hunger through Agriculture and Reflecting on Progress with Biofortification in West Africa’, was organized on 15 September 2021, by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Leaders for Nutrition (ALN) and HarvestPlus.

Several sorghum varieties with high iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) content have been released in Nigeria: SAMSORG 45 with 60% higher Fe concentration and SAMSORG 46 with 62% higher Zn compared to the average 35 ppm Fe and 25 ppm Zn found in sorghum. Chakti, a pearl millet variety, has over 65 ppm Fe content compared to popular varieties. Other pearl millet varieties GB 8735 and ICTP 8203 have been selected for fast-track improvement and release in Niger, Ghana and Senegal.  There is need of partnering with the private sector for product development, processing and wider upscaling.

https://www.icrisat.org/addressing-hidden-hunger-through-agriculture/

Nutri-priming (the method of soaking seeds in solutions containing nutrients before planting) has been primarily used for yield improvement, germination, seedling establishment, and root system development in crops. However, some studies have shown that this process improves grain nutrient content. For instance, zinc nutri-priming increased grain zinc content by 29% in chickpeas and from 12% to 15% in wheat. Furthermore, nutri-priming flax and fenugreek with fish oil increased polyunsaturated essential fatty acids (i.e., docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid) in sprouts. An additional benefit of nutri-priming is that farmers can conduct this approach, as it is considered a low-cost and simple practice for nutrient enrichment. However, the effectiveness of nutri-priming may be largely affected by crop type, genotype, time (duration of the priming process), osmotic potential of the priming solution, and environmental conditions (e.g., light and temperature).

https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/11/3/464/htm

The biofortified varieties are 1.5 to 3.0 times more nutritious than the traditional varieties. The rice variety CR DHAN 315 has excess zinc; the Wheat variety HD 3298 is enriched with protein and iron while DBW 303 and DDW 48 are rich in protein and iron. Biofortification has been used to improve micronutrient contents in crops for human consumption. In under-developed regions, it is important to fortify crops so that people can obtain essential micronutrients despite the limited variety in their diets. As well as increasing the nutritional content of staple foods, the addition of micronutrients can help to restore the micronutrient content lost during processing. Fortification is an evidence-informed intervention that contributes to the prevention, reduction and control of micronutrient deficiencies. Biofortification is the most sustainable, cost-effective, and promising technology to provide micronutrients to deficient populations on a global level. Biofortification is the process of developing a crop with bioavailable micronutrients in its edible parts. However, the use of micronutrient is not without risk. Consumption of micronutrient fortified foods for a long period of time may result in side effects ranging from mild to severe toxicity.

Dear Dr Rk Naresh, your opinion about biofortified varieties is reasonable; I appreciate your contribution.