Question

Enumerate four objectives for improving the nutritional quality of different crops for the
health benefits of the human population by the process of “Biofortification”.

Answer 1

Biofortification is the process of breeding plants to improve the nutritional quality of plants by increasing the mineral content, oil content, vitamins, and protein content of plants. Some examples of biofortified plants are golden rice, biofortified beans-iron rich.

Step by step answer: Biofortification is the process adopted by farmers or breeders so as to achieve high nutritional value in the respective plant products. In this process, plants are breed just like animals in animal husbandry. Biofortification is done by both conventional and modern methods.
We obtain vitamins, oil, vitamins, and micronutrients from plants out of many other things. By breeding biofortified plants we obtain a good product rich in minerals, vitamins, and good fat. The objectives to improve the nutritional quality of plants by biofortification are:
1. By improving oil content and quality
2. By improving vitamin content and quality
3. By improving protein content and quality
4. By improving the quality of micronutrients and other minerals.
The conventional way of biofortification includes selective breeding. Selective breeding is a process in which breeders mate only those populations of a species that have certain additional advantages relative to the common population. This has both profitable and nutritional benefits. The modern technique is the use of genetic engineering in the crops. Genetic engineering alters the genome of crops for a positive effect and so a plant becomes GMO or a genetically modified organism.

Note: Biofortified plants play an important role in the world. One such example is a genetically modified rice crop. The yield is known as golden rice. This is nutritionally beneficial as compared to the staple rice. The rice gets its name from the bright yellow color it possesses, giving it a tint of golden. The rice has been proved beneficial for a person having a deficiency of vitamin A. Beta-carotene is the precursor for the synthesis of vitamin A, the rice has up to 23 times extra
The concentration of beta-carotene which is also the reason for its color.