THE green revolution promised to fill the bellies of the world’s poor a generation ago, but it also left billions malnourished. The plant breeders who selected high-yielding crops largely forgot about nutritional value – and especially the trace elements and vitamins that are vital to health. Now they want to correct that mistake.
A global research programme branded HarvestPlus and backed by $25 million from the Gates Foundation was announced on Tuesday. It will develop “bio-fortified” crops such as iron-rich rice, wheat rich in zinc and sweet potato flush with vitamin A, and scour the world’s seed banks for nutrient-rich varieties…
