Women and men have different access to resources and diverse responsibilities in earning income and raising families They also have different biological requirements for nutrients. These issues affect HarvestPlus activities and are integrated into the HarvestPlus Impact Pathway as follows:

Identify Target Populations
Micronutrient requirements are highest for women and preschool children because of their needs for reproduction and growth, respectively. For example, prevalence of iron deficiency for women is much higher than for men, and particularly high for pregnant and lactating women. HarvestPlus’ selection of target crop, nutrient, and country combinations is driven by the potential for DALYs saved through biofortification, expressed as a function of the current micronutrient status of women and preschool children and the current poor quality of their diets.

Set Nutrient Target Levels for Breeding
Nutritionists work with breeders to determine the micronutrient breeding targets for different biofortified crops. These targets are, by design, based on the estimated average requirements (EARs) of women of reproductive age and preschool children aged 3-5 years.

Nutrient Retention and Bioavailability Studies
To estimate the amount of nutrients that have to be added to crops to compensate for losses during storage and processing, HarvestPlus conducts extensive community-based surveys to determine how crops are stored, processed and cooked and the losses associated during each step. All household members are key informants in these studies and women’s practices, in particular, are considered given their primary role in food preparation, storage and processing.

Nutritional Efficacy in Humans
Consistent with setting nutrient target levels based on the EARS of women of reproductive age, the bioavailability and the efficacy of micronutrients in biofortified crops are tested in women of reproductive age (and preschool children) who suffer from micronutrient deficiencies.

Creating Demand for Biofortified Crops among Consumers
Women (mothers, grandmothers, older daughters) are the primary caretakers of children. Women are often farmers, influence food purchase decisions (often related to food production decisions, discussed in the next point below), they prepare meals, and strongly influence the intra-household distribution of food. Marketing and messaging related to HarvestPlus crops must be designed to convey to primary care takers, the consequences of micronutrient malnutrition deficiencies and how biofortified foods can help prevent this. The gender of the primary caretaker also influences the modality, timing, and vehicles for messaging. HarvestPlus recognizes that men also influence food purchase and production decisions, and intra-household distribution of food. Thus, messages are also developed to reach men, although sometimes through alternative channels and with different points of emphasis. This gendered aspect of marketing and consumer acceptance is determined as part of the detailed consumer acceptance and marketing studies that are conducted in HarvestPlus dissemination regions.

Simultaneously Securing Adoption of Biofortified Crops Among Farmers
The foods that members of farm households consume is strongly influenced by what foods they produce. To varying degrees across societies, women and men decide independently what to produce on separate plots under their respective control, and/or decide jointly (with varying degrees of influence) what to produce on plots which they cultivate together. In making crop selection and production decisions, research has shown that women farmers often are more influenced by the nutritional needs of their families, and men often are more influenced by the opportunity for earning income. Extension programs and messaging related to HarvestPlus crops take these context-specific—-and very different perspectives and roles between women and men—-into account.

Linking Consumers and Producers Through Marketing and Product Development
To link production and consumption of biofortified crops, and to ensure the profitability of the production of biofortified crops, it will be necessary to foster creation of markets and to develop new products based on biofortified crops (e.g. wheat flour mixed with boiled orange sweetpotato to make a cheaper, more nutritious bread). It is suspected that women wholesalers and women business owners will be more inclined than men to see the marketing opportunities directed at women customers. This supposition will be tested as market surveys are conducted in HarvestPlus target regions.