  Citation: Kiran, A.; Wakeel, A.; Mahmood, K.; Mubaraka, R.; Hafsa; Haefele, S.M. Biofortification of Staple Crops to Alleviate Human Malnutrition: Contributions and Potential in Developing Countries. Agronomy 2022, 12, 452. https:// doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12020452 Academic Editor: Andrea Ertani Received: 20 January 2022 Accepted: 8 February 2022 Published: 11 February 2022 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). agronomy Article Biofortification of Staple Crops to Alleviate Human Malnutrition: Contributions and Potential in Developing Countries Aysha Kiran 1 , Abdul Wakeel 2, * , Khalid Mahmood 3 , Rafia Mubaraka 4 , Hafsa 1 and Stephan M. Haefele 3, * 1 Department of Botany, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan; aysha.kiran@uaf.edu.pk (A.K.); hafsaamin202@gmail.com (H.) 2 Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan 3 Rothamsted Research, Harpenden AL5 2JQ, UK; khalid.mahmood@rothamsted.ac.uk 4 Department of Geography, University of Koblenz-Landau, 56070 Koblenz, Germany; rafiamubaraka@yahoo.com * Correspondence: abdulwakeel77@gmail.com (A.W.); stephan.haefele@rothamsted.ac.uk (S.M.H.) Abstract: Micronutrient malnutrition is a global health challenge affecting almost half of the global population, causing poor physical and mental development of children and a wide range of illnesses. It is most prevalent in young girls, women, and pre-school children who are suffering particularly from the low consumption of vitamins and micronutrients. Given this global challenge, bioforti- fication has proven to be a promising and economical approach to increase the concentration of essential micronutrients in edible portions of staple crops. Produce quality and micronutrient content can be further enhanced with the use of micronutrient fertilizers. Especially developing countries with a high percentage of malnourished populations are attracted to this integrated biofortification, combining modern agronomic interventions and genetic improvement of food crops. Consequently, maize, rice, wheat, beans, pearl millet, sweet potato, and cassava have all been biofortified with increased concentrations of Fe, Zn, or provitamin A in various developing countries. Today, there are several large-scale success stories in Africa and Asia that support the research and development of biofortified crops. In this review, we summarized what has been achieved to date and how edi- ble crops can be further improved by integrating agronomic and genetic strategies to upgrade the nutritional status of children and adults around the world. Keywords: micronutrients; developing countries; agronomic biofortification; genetic biofortification; malnutrition; hidden hunger 1. Introduction Mineral micronutrient deficiencies in humans are widespread globally, especially among women and children. Micronutrients are needed in the human diet in minute quan- tities, yet it is estimated that over 3 billion people suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, resulting in deleterious impacts on human health [1–5]. The prevalence and devastating im- pacts of micronutrient deficiencies are exacerbated in areas where cereal grains constitute a large portion of the diet, dietary diversity is low, and/or supplementation/fortification pro- grams are lacking [1,2]. Micronutrient deficiencies impair growth, cognitive development, and immune function, with often lifelong consequences [6]. Therefore, this ‘hidden hunger’ poses many burdens on human health, economic growth, and constrains efforts to alleviate poverty. With a continuously growing population and changing diets, food demand is increasing drastically but our space for agriculture is limited leading to intensive use of natural resources and often poor-quality agricultural produce. Agricultural interventions to enhance the nutritional value of edible and forage crops feeding livestock could help to improve human nutrition, especially in developing countries. Agronomy 2022, 12, 452. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12020452 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy