The Role of Biotechnology for Food Consumers In Developing Countries By Howarth E. Bouis International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC Published In "Agricultural Biotechnology in Developing Countries: Towards Optimizing the Benefits for the Poor" by Qaim, M., A. Krattiger, and J. von Braun (eds.); Kluwer Academic Publishers, Chapter 11. (This paper examines various strategies such as plant breeding and biotechnology to improve micro-nutrient content of food crops including the beta-carotene as with Golden Rice... For more information and to get a copy of the original pdf file of this paper, write to the author at <H.BOUIS@CGIAR.ORG >... Reproduced with permission of the author... CSP) Abstract This paper assesses the potential benefits that biotechnology can provide food consumers in developing countries by examining the recent history of attempts to improve the micronutrient content of food crops, efforts that have used both biotechnology and traditional plant breeding. In developing countries, micronutrient deficiencies affect many of the poor, whose diets consist mostly of staple foods. Breeding to enhance the micronutrient levels in staple foods could help reduce this problem. Since trace minerals are also important for plant nutrition, related breeding may increase farm productivity at the same time. Plant breeding is more efficient than alternative interventions already in place for reducing micronutrient malnutrition. Identifying the appropriate combination of traditional and biotechnology tools should be based on cost-effectiveness considerations. The potentially enormous benefits to the poor in developing countries in relation to costs are so high that research in this area should be vigorously pursued. 1 INTRODUCTION In order to assess the potential benefit of biotechnology for food consumers in developing countries, this paper examines the recent history of attempts to improve the micronutrient content of staple foods, efforts that have used both biotechnology and traditional plant breeding. This concrete example will serve to illustrate several key generic issues associated with using biotechnology to breed for characteristics that benefit consumers. Biotechnology can, of course, be used to help solve a number of problems, but its potential usefulness depends on the context of a particular problem. It will be necessary, therefore, to discuss in some detail the context of breeding for improved micronutrient density. Taken together, mineral and vitamin deficiencies affect a greater number of people in developing countries than protein-energy malnutrition. Because trace minerals are important not only for human nutrition but also for plant nutrition, plant breeding has great promise for making a significant, low-cost, sustainable contribution to reducing micronutrient deficiencies, particularly mineral deficiencies. It may also have