This edited volume provides insights into the current state of food and nutritional security, highlights the significance of micronutrients for human health, offers a historical perspective on biofortification, and covers current strategies and challenges. This book explores the role of multidisciplinary approaches to cope up with the challenges of major nutrient deficiency.
Hidden hunger (aka micronutrient deficiencies), a prevalent global issue, refers to the chronic deficiency of essential micronutrients despite sufficient caloric intake. With over 2 billion affected individuals, particularly women and children in low-income countries, it impairs physical and cognitive development, increases disease susceptibility, and diminishes productivity. Despite economic progress, undernourishment remains prevalent in the developing countries including India. Among all nutrients, the deficiencies of iron, zinc, iodine, and vitamin A are highly prevalent. Crop biofortification seems a sustainable solution to reduce the global burden of hidden hunger. Previous reports examined the genetic diversity related to micronutrients in germplasm of staple crops and their wild relatives. A number of biofortified crops have been developed by utilizing genetic diversity and biotechnological approaches. This book explores crop-specific biofortification initiatives and diverse approaches, encompassing both traditional and genomics-driven enhancements. It also enlightens the efficacy of biofortification, bioavailability, and future thrust.
This book serves as a valuable resource for researchers, academics, extension workers, policymakers, students, and all those involved in agriculture, nutrition, and health. It focuses on promoting diets that are rich in nutrition, benefiting everyone along the value chain.
Dr. Siddharth Tiwari
Dr. Siddharth Tiwari is a Scientist-F at National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI), Mohali, Punjab, India. He received his doctoral degree in 2008 from CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute (CSIR-NBRI), Lucknow, UP, India. His area of specialization includes plant tissue culture, molecular biology, and genetic engineering. During his doctoral research, Dr. Tiwari made significant contributions, including the development of a groundnut-seed-expressed edible vaccine against cholera and rabies, for which he received the BioAsia Innovation Young Scientist Award in 2010. Additionally, he developed insect-resistant transgenic groundnut against the polyphagous foliage insect Spodoptera litura, earning him the 97th Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) Young Scientist Award in 2010. He joined DBT-NABI in July 2010 and presently serving as a Scientist-F. Dr. Tiwari's research focuses on the metabolic engineering of staple crops like banana and wheat, utilizing transgenic and genome editing. He is the pioneer in banana genome editing and developed nutritionally enriched banana. He has published over 55 research articles, delivered over 100 invited lectures, and supervised 7 PhD students and over 60 graduate/post-graduate trainees in various disciplines of plant biotechnology. He has edited one book and was elected as a fellow of the prestigious Plant Tissue Culture Association of India.
Dr. Baljeet Singh
Dr. Baljeet Singh is a distinguished scientist and researcher in the field of plant molecular biology and genome editing. With a strong academic background and extensive research experience, he has been at the forefront of innovative projects aimed at enhancing crop biofortification. Currently serving as a project scientist at the National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI), he is actively involved in a significant project titled "Development and Transfer of Technology from the Queensland University of Technology, Australia to India for Biofortification in Banana." In this capacity, he is focused on the molecular characterization of transgenic events and the development of biofortified banana through genome editing. Previously, Dr. Singh worked on a project centered around "Targeted editing of potato genome to develop variety-specific true potato seed (TPS)." He has completed a PhD on the genome-wide association mapping for micronutrients in tetraploid potato. With a diverse research portfolio, Dr. Singh has contributed to various crop nutrition related projects at the prestigious ICAR - Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla, India. Dr. Singh also excels in scientific writing, as demonstrated by a publication record that includes articles, reviews, and book chapters.
