Biofortification of staple crops could help to alleviate micronutrient deficiencies in humans. We show that folates in stored rice grains are unstable, which reduces the potential benefits of folate biofortification. We obtain folate concentrations that are up to 150 fold higher than those of wild-type rice by complexing folate to folate-binding proteins to improve folate stability, thereby enabling long-term storage of biofortified high-folate rice grains.

Ending all forms of hunger by 2030, as set forward in the UN-Sustainable Development Goal 2 (UN-SDG2), is a daunting but essential task, given the limited timeline ahead and the negative global health and socio-economic impact of hunger. Malnutrition or hidden hunger due to micronutrient deficiencies affects about one third of the world population and severely jeopardizes economic development. Staple crop biofortification through gene stacking, using a rational combination of conventional breeding and metabolic engineering strategies, should enable a leap forward within the coming decade. A number of specific actions and policy interventions are proposed to reach this goal.

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Insufficient dietary intake of micronutrients, known as "hidden hunger", is a devastating global burden, affecting two billion people. Deficiency of folates (vitamin B9), which are known to play a central role in C metabolism, causes birth defects in at least a quarter million people annually. Biofortification to enhance the level of naturally occurring folates in crop plants, proves to be an efficient and cost-effective tool in fighting folate deficiency. Previously, introduction of folate biosynthesis genes GTPCHI and ADCS, proven to be a successful biofortification strategy in rice and tomato, turned out to be insufficient to adequately increase folate levels in potato tubers. Here, we provide a proof of concept that additional introduction of HPPK/DHPS and/or FPGS, downstream genes in mitochondrial folate biosynthesis, enables augmentation of folates to satisfactory levels (12-fold) and ensures folate stability upon long-term storage of tubers. In conclusion, this engineering strategy can serve as a model in the creation of folate-accumulating potato cultivars, readily applicable in potato-consuming populations suffering from folate deficiency.