Kamal Ghorui
Iron-rich rice, protein wheat and fortified millets part of push to tackle India’s hidden hungerNEW DELHI: With nearly 67% of Indian children and more than half of women suffering from anaemia, Indian agricultural scientists have developed 203 biofortified crop varieties enriched with iron, zinc, protein and vitamins in an attempt to fight malnutrition through everyday food staples.The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), in a new report released this year, said the nutrient-rich varieties developed between 2014 and 2025 include iron-rich rice, protein-rich wheat, zinc-enriched maize and fortified millets aimed at improving nutrition without requiring people to change food habits.According to figures cited in the report, 67.1% of children aged 6-59 months and over 57% women aged 15-49 years in India are anaemic, while the country continues to face a serious burden of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies. The report said India also faces widespread “hidden hunger” caused by deficiencies of essential micronutrients such as iron and zinc.The publication, Biofortified Crop Varieties: Sustainable Way to Alleviate Malnutrition, states that the crops were developed through conventional and molecular breeding methods to naturally increase nutrients such as iron, zinc, calcium, protein and vitamin-A.ICAR said India has so far developed 70 biofortified wheat varieties, 43 maize varieties, 18 pearl millet varieties and 16 rice varieties, along with nutrient-rich pulses, oilseeds, vegetables and fruits.The push for nutrient-rich crops comes amid the launch of the SEHAT (Science Excellence for Health through Agricultural Transformation) mission by Union health minister J.P. Nadda and Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, with ICMR and ICAR seeking to link agriculture with nutrition and disease prevention.The report argues that biofortified crops could offer a low-cost and sustainable alternative to supplements and food fortification programmes because nutrients are delivered through foods people consume daily.ICAR director general M.L. Jat said dietary risks now account for 54.6% of India’s disease burden and stressed the need to make the country’s agri-food system more nutrition-sensitive.Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said India had achieved record foodgrain production of 357.7 million tonnes in 2024-25, but added that improving nutritional quality was equally important for food security.
