Biofortified pearl millet cultivars offer potential solution to tackle malnutrition in India

Govindaraj, Mahalingam; Virk, Parminder K.; Kannati, Anand; Cherian, Binu; Rai, K. N.; Anderson, Meike S.; and Pfeiffer, Wolfgang H. 2020. Biofortified pearl millet cultivars offer potential solution to tackle malnutrition in India. In Quantitative Genetics, Genomics and Plant Breeding, ed. Manjit Kang. Chapter 20, Pp. 385-396. http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/11497

Dietary deficiency of micronutrients (iron, zinc, vitamin A), leading to micronutrient malnutrition or hiden hunger, has been recognized as a widespread food-related health problem, affecting more than 2 billion people worldwide (White and Broadley, 2009; Stein 2010; fao,2015; Darnton-Hill and Mkparu, 2015). This is primarily attributable to lack of affordability and access to diversified diet, such as fruits, vegetables and livestock products. As a consequence, women, children and infants, belonging to the poorer section of society are malnourished. In particular, deficiencies of iron and zinc are widespread, leading to numerous adverse health consequences , as they play a vital role in various physiological body functions.