Target Crops

Rice

Rice is the staple food of more than half of the world’s population. In Bangladesh, eastern India and the Philippines, rice provides 50-80% of the calories people consume. Because poor Asians eat a lot of rice (62-217 kg/year), a small increase in nutritional value would have significant impact. Yet research on how this starchy staple could become a significant source of micronutrients has barely begun.

Who’s doing what?

As crop leader, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) leads research in genetics and breeding in collaboration with — and while building the capacity of — the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice). The International Food Policy Research Institute coordinates socioeconomic studies in collaboration with IRRI, BRRI and PhilRice. Other participants in Harvest Plus are the University of Adelaide in Australia, the University of Freiburg in Germany, the University of Tokyo and the National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences in Japan, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the National Institute of Nutrition in India and, in the USA, Michigan State University, Cornell University, the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, and the Plant, Soil and Nutrition Laboratory. A range of nongovernmental organizations will participate as the project progresses into farmer-participatory breeding and dissemination.

Objectives

These are the main objectives for biofortifying rice:

1. Understand the genetics of high micronutrient traits and formulate a breeding strategy for improving micronutrient density in rice grains.

2. Develop high-yielding, micronutrient-dense rice whose polished grains have 50-80% more iron and zinc — and many times more beta-carotene (or pro-vitamin A) — than existing popular cultivars, and are suitable, initially, for Bangladesh and the Philippines.

3. Measure the extent to which micronutrient-dense rice can alleviate iron and vitamin A deficiency, especially among women and children in Bangladesh, India, Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia.

4. Further strengthen collaborative research capacity in agriculture and health in Bangladesh, Philippines and other Asian countries.

5. Use transgenic techniques, including molecular marker-assisted selection for pyramiding genes, to engineer and breed rice rich in beta-carotene, iron and possibly lysine.

6. After satisfying appropriate biosafety protocols, transfer selected transgenic cultivars and lines to Bangladesh, the Philippines and other national partners for appropriate field-testing and dissemination.

7. Gather through socioeconomic studies information to facilitate the delivery of biofortified rice to farmers.

What we already know

Collaborative research involving several program partners shows iron density by dry weight in unpolished rice varying from 7 to 24 mg/kg, and zinc density from 16 to 58 mg/kg. Nearly all of the widely grown Green Revolution varieties have similar densities, with iron at about 12 mg/kg and zinc at about 22 mg/kg. The best lines therefore have twice as much iron and 2.5 times as much zinc as the most widely grown varieties. Lines vary in the nutrient density of grains and in how much is lost in milling.

Experimental japonica lines now produce beta-carotene, which the human body converts into vitamin A, with densities reaching 1.6 mg/kg. Work begun relatively recently at IRRI has transferred the beta-carotene trait into an indica background for cultivation in the tropics, so far achieving a density of 0.5-1.0 mg/kg. A rate of 2.0-2.5 mg/kg would save thousands of lives and substantially reduce the incidence of disability caused by vitamin A deficiency. Women who are pregnant or lactating, and young children, would be the prime beneficiaries.

Clearly, the potential exists for developing improved rice varieties with enhanced beta-carotene, iron and zinc in the grain. Because the poor in South and Southeast Asia eat a lot of rice, these added micronutrients would have a meaningful impact on human nutrition and health, especially for anemic women and children.

Strategies

IRRI, in partnership with national partners, is 1) screening germplasm for naturally occurring sources of micronutrients, 2) researching the genetics and mechanisms of mineral accumulation, 3) improving germplasm through conventional breeding and biotechnology, including specially developed molecular marker-assisted techniques, 4) developing breeding populations for participatory breeding, and 5) conducting socioeconomic studies on farmer and consumer acceptance of the resulting products.

The International Food Policy Research Institute is leading further socioeconomic studies (budgeted separately) that include 1) identifying hotspots of micronutrient deficiency and reviewing the nutritional situation of different socioeconomic groups, 2) analyzing the diet of each group to predict the potential impact of nutritional intervention through rice, and 3) identifying rice varieties favored by micronutrient-deficient groups for incorporating new traits.

HarvestPlus Publications

Rice Brochure
English (408 KB)
Español (107 KB)

Publications on Rice