Pearl millet is an important cereal grown in many harsh environments in the arid and semi-arid tropical regions of Asia and Africa. It is a significant source of dietary energy and nutritional security of poor farmer-consumers in several highly populated regions of India.

Lack of iron impairs physical growth, mental development, and learning capacity. In adults, it reduces the capacity for physical labor. Severe anemia, often induced by iron deficiency, increases the risk of women dying in childbirth.

Pearl millet, biofortified with iron, will be targeted to those populations in India that rely on it as a staple food crop. Spillover benefits to regions in Africa where pearl millet is also consumed on a smaller scale are expected.