Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Population and health
statistics (population size,
incidence rates,
disability weights,
duration of outcomes,
life tables)
DALYs lost in the
status quo
Food consumption
and food composition
data
Impact of
biofortification
(DALYs saved)
MN intakes in the
status quo
Increased
MN intakes
Dose-response
function
DALYs lost
with biofortication
Data on biofortication
eorts (MN content,
coverage rate, processing
losses, bio-availability)
Recommended level
of MN intakes
Reduction
of intake gap
of MN
Reduced incidence
rates of health
outcomes
Figure  6.3 Parameters entering the DALY calculation for micronutrient deficiencies.
Notes : Gray shaded boxes with text in italics indicate where (potentially different) data or assumptions enter the
DALYs calculation; MN = micronutrient.
Source:  Stein (2006) and Meenakshi et  al. (2010).
literature on general micronutrient interventions, Fiedler et al. (2008, 373) found “enor-
mous variation in the estimated costs of these programs due to differences in program
structure, delivery systems and a host of country-specific factors, differences in the
studies' objectives, designs and costing methodologies.”
Although sensitivity analyses in many of the biofortification case studies show that
results are fairly robust to smaller variations of key parameters, what affects the suc-
cess of biofortification most is the reach of the biofortified crops. This is probably
intuitive:  biofortiication can have the biggest impact when the crops are consumed
in greater quantities by deficient populations in many countries (or in countries with
big populations like India or Brazil). In such cases, economies of scale can be exploited,
making biofortification a cost-effective intervention. This is not to say that biofortified
crops cannot also benefit smaller groups of beneficiaries who suffer from micronutri-
ent malnutrition, but to offset the breeding and dissemination costs—and thus to make
biofortification an economically viable intervention—achieving maximum coverage is
paramount.
This points to several implications. First, only biofortification of crops that are eaten
by a large number of deficient people is likely to be cost-effective, so that knowing the
dietary patterns of the malnourished in target regions is important before biofortifica-
tion efforts are started. Second, once elite lines with micronutrient-rich traits are devel-
oped, the germplasm should be disseminated widely across countries to facilitate further
development and adaptive breeding into popular existing and promising new varieties.
Finally, once biofortified varieties are adapted and introduced, their large-scale dissemi-
nation at national levels should be a top priority.
Where there are potential acceptance issues (e.g., because of a more intensive
color of the crops due to a higher carotene content, or because the crops were devel-
oped through genetic engineering), dissemination efforts may require additional
 
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