The Commercialisation of Biofortified Crops (CBC) Programme was launched in 2019 to address widespread hidden hunger in Africa and Asia by significantly expanding the reach of foods and food products made with biofortified staple crops.
These micronutrient-rich crops are developed through conventional breeding techniques (they are not genetically modified) to increase their density of iron, zinc, or vitamin A – all critical micronutrients for maintaining good health and human development. They are also bred with other traits demanded by farming families, including high yield, drought tolerance, and resistance to disease and pests.
Biofortified staple crops, foods, and food products can be practical, affordable, and natural sources of nutrition for billions of people.
The CBC Programme works with commercial value chain actors – including seed producers, farmers, aggregators, and processors – to catalyse commercial markets for biofortified seeds, grains and food products in six countries with pervasive levels of malnutrition: Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Tanzania. Our programme vision is to enhance food systems so that they are able to deliver nutrition cost-effectively and sustainably to all people.
The partnership brings together two leading actors in global nutrition. It combines the deep expertise of HarvestPlus in all aspects of biofortification with GAIN’s proven track record of working with fortification and food companies to create sustainable market models for nutritious food systems.