New Fortified Potato Variety

Syllabus: GS3/Agriculture

Context

• Scientists at the ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI) have developed a new potato variety called ‘kufri jamunia’ that has higher levels of anthocyanins, vitamin C, and certain micronutrients than regular potatoes. 
  • The Central government has been promoting it to address hidden hunger.

About

• Hidden hunger remains a major public health challenge despite adequate calorie intake.
  • It occurs when people consume sufficient food but lack essential vitamins and minerals in their diet. 
• To address this challenge, scientists are increasingly developing biofortified crops with enhanced nutritional value.
  • Biofortification improves the nutrient content of crops through plant breeding, enabling food to naturally provide higher levels of essential nutrients. 
• ICAR-CPRI developed nutrient-rich coloured potato varieties, including Kufri neelkanth, Kufri manik, and Kufri jamunia. 
  • Kufri jamunia was released in 2024, the variety contains higher levels of ascorbic acid, anthocyanin, and carotenoids than Kufri manik and Kufri neelkanth. 
  • Its purple flesh indicates high antioxidant content and better nutritional quality including enhanced levels of zinc and iron. 

Biofortified Crops

• Biofortified crops are those that have been specially bred to have higher levels of essential nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, or amino acids, than their conventional counterparts.
  • This is done through traditional breeding techniques, genetic modification, or modern biotechnological methods. 

• Aim: To improve the nutritional value of crops, especially in regions where deficiencies in essential nutrients are widespread.
• Golden Rice has been genetically modified to produce higher levels of provitamin A (beta-carotene), aiming to reduce vitamin A deficiency.

Significance of biofortification:

• It is regarded as the most sustainable approach to alleviate malnutrition.
• It provides nutrients in natural form.
• Biofortified food is affordable as it does not involve any additional price.
• ‘Biofortified varieties’ are as high yielding as ‘traditional varieties’, thus no loss is incurred to the farmers.
• It does not require elaborate infrastructure facilities as required in ‘food fortification’.
  • Food fortification involves improving the nutritional content of food crops during the processing stage.
• It does not involve additional cost on preparing the enriched food grains.

Challenges

• Agronomic and Climatic Constraints: Biofortified varieties may not perform uniformly across different agro-climatic zones.
• Lack of Market incentives: Farmers may not get better prices for nutrient-rich crops, reducing motivation.
• Lack of demand: Without public awareness campaigns, market demand remains low.
• Weak integration with national nutrition schemes: Mid-Day Meal, ICDS, and PDS rarely include biofortified grains.
• Limited R&D investment: Compared to GM crops or hybrid seeds, biofortification receives less funding.

Way Ahead

• Strengthen seed distribution and farmer outreach.
• Integrate biofortified crops into government food schemes.
• Improve consumer awareness and market linkages.
• Invest in region-specific R&D and nutritional impact studies.

Source: TH