Highlights About 29% of households in Rwanda have grown an iron-biofortified bean variety. Formal delivery approaches of iron-biofortified beans increase adoption speed. Diffusion via social networks is a major driver of rapid adoption of iron-biofortified beans. Women farmers disadopt iron-biofortified bean varieties more slowly than do male farmers.

Zinc deficiency is a severe public health problem in Bangladesh. We examine the effects of nutritional information on rural consumers' willingness-to-pay (WTP) for two ways to increase zinc intake through rice, the main staple croplow-milling that gives rice grains a distinctive light brown color (a visible trait) and sets it apart from the culturally preferred high-milled white rice grain and biofortification of rice with increased zinc content (an invisible trait), which is also low-milled to retain maximum zinc content. Results of our economic experiments suggest that with nutritional information, consumers are willing to pay a premium of 4.6% for zinc biofortified rice compared to non-biofortified rice, when milled at the same level. However, results confirm the strong preference for high-milled rice by Bangladeshi consumers who discounted low-milled rice by 8%-10% even after receiving information on the nutritional benefits of biofortified or low-milled rice. We find that consumers' WTP for the two high-zinc-low-milled rice types (biofortified and non-biofortified) is positively correlated with being a female, more educated, belonging to households engaged in non-farm activities and with children under 5 years of age. Results point to the importance of nutritional awareness campaigns for increasing zinc biofortified and low-milled rice consumption and guiding the targeting strategy for such campaigns. Given the consumer preference for high-milled rice, this study also points to the need for exploring the rice fortification strategy to address the challenge of malnutrition.

This article presents the evolution of the biofortification program in Nigeria over the last decade and the role of interdisciplinary research in informing cost-effective, efficient, and inclusive development; implementation; and scaling of this program. Launched in 2011 to improve Nigeria’s food systems to deliver accessible and affordable nutrients through commonly consumed staples, the Nigeria biofortification program was implemented through an effective partnership between the CGIAR and public, private, and civil society sectors at federal, state, and local levels. By the end of 2021, several biofortified varieties of Nigeria’s 2 main staples, namely cassava and maize, were officially released for production by smallholders, with several biofortified varieties of other key staples (including pearl millet, rice, and sorghum) either under testing or in the release pipeline. In 2021, the program was estimated to benefit 13 million Nigerians consuming biofortified cassava and maize varieties. The evidence on the nutritional impact, consumer and farmer acceptance, and cost-effective scalability of biofortified crops documented by the program resulted in the integration of biofortified crops in several key national public policies and social protection programs; private seed and food company products/investments, as well as in humanitarian aid.

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