Biofortificados.com

More than two billion people globally do not get sufficient essential vitamins and minerals - or micronutrients - in their diets. Micronutrient deficiencies - also known as hidden hunger - result in impaired physical and cognitive development, disease and even death. Women and children are particularly at risk given their higher biological needs for micronutrients and lower access to micronutrient-rich food, such as animal source food and fruits and vegetables.

One proven and cost-effective solution to tackling hidden hunger is biofortification - the process of using conventional plant breeding methods to improve the micronutrient content of key staples. Both supply push and demand pull interventions are needed to scale biofortified staples.  There is also a need for technological solutions to effectively link supply and demand to bring the nutritious foods to all. We are proposing to develop one such technological solution: Biofortificados.com which we will pilot and scale in Colombia.

Low income families, especially those in rural areas of developing countries - rely on staple crops such as corn, rice and wheat to meet their caloric needs.  These households often don't cannot access nor afford nutritious foods (such as animal source foods and fresh fruits and vegetables) nor  fortified foods sold in urban markets. As a result of their staple food-based diets these households suffer from micronutrient (vitamin and mineral) deficiencies, resulting in limited cognitive and physical growth and development for children, higher likelihood of illnesses and hence lower productivity for adults, and significant economic losses to many developing countries. Globally one in three people are at risk of micronutrient deficiencies.

One proven and cost-effective solution to alleviating micronutrient deficiencies is biofortification - the process of using conventional plant breeding methods to improve the micronutrient content of staples WHILE also ensuring high yield and climate resilience. Grown by an estimated 10 million households globally, scaling of biofortified staples could significantly improve micronutrient intakes of the all consumers, especially the poorest. Both supply push and demand pull mechanisms, as well as technological solutions - such as the Biofortifcados.com proposed here - are needed to scale biofortified crops to improve food systems. 

We propose to develop a web-based portal - called Biofortificados.com- that will not only link value chain actors but also provide them with information to minimize their costs and maximize their revenues, as well as the quality of the nutritious, staple crops that is moving along the value chain. 

The users and uses of this portal include the following:

1. Small-scale producers will use the portal to find out (a) when/where and how they can procure seeds of biofortified crops amd (b) when/how/with which other inputs to plant/grow/harvest/store the biofortified crops so as to get the highest yield and quality in terms of micronutrient content.

2. Food processors will use the portal to find out where and when they can procure the quality and quantity of raw ingredients they need to process food. 

Direct linkage of small-scale producers and food processors will reduce the transactions costs, as well as uncertainties in demand and supply, especially if the agreements for procurement are made prior to planting decisions are made.

HarvestPlus Colombia Program has been developing and delivering the seeds of biofortified crops in Colombia, while also providing agronomic training to small-scale producers and implementing demand creation and awareness campaigns about biofortified crops, targeting all actors in the food system.

This idea for this web-based portal - biofortificados.com - was born as a result of small-scale producers' demand for timely information on from where and when to procure biofortified seeds;  when/how/ with what other inputs to plant and harvest for maximum yield and quality; and if they have surplus produce  whom to sell.

At the same time food processors expressed demand for including biofortified ingredients in their product lines to improve the nutritional quality of the food they process. However given the small-scale nature of biofortified crop production - processors experienced high transactions costs in procuring the quality and quantity of raw ingredients they need.

 Biofortificados.com aims to link these three nodes in the value chain (biofortified seed sellers - small-scale producers of biofortified crops and processors of foods made with biofortified raw ingredients) and provide them with the timely and accurate information they need to maximize their profits while producing nutritious foods.

The aim of the solution proposed here - Biofortificados.com - is to provide a platform linking three nodes in the value chain: (1) biofortified input (seed) providers, (2) small-scale producers of biofortified crops, and (3) processors of foods made with biofortified raw ingredients, so as to provide small-scale producers and food processors with timely and accurate information on where/when/ what quantity and quality they can access the input they need; and for seed providers and small-scale producers to have an indication of the quantity and quality of produce they should target for early in the season.

We use existing technology to leverage a new product in Colombia that is bifortified crops. Additionally we make available to the farmers all the knowledge and scientific development behind biofortification.

Full time staff: 2 people

Part-time staff: 5

We are pioneers and global leaders in biofortified crop research and development and have extensive experience in the biofortified crop value chain.

• We work with the different agricultural secretariats in the country to connect more producers.
• We work with different producer associations to focus training and distribution of biofortified crop seeds.
• We have several projects with the WFP to include biofortified crops in their value chain.

Currently we have not developed a business plan and are supported by specific projects and donations.

We seek alliances with members of the development area to implement a fully functional market place that allows traceability of products. The different faculties of MIT would be an excellent ally.