Engaging the Community to Reach One Billion with Nutritious Crops
This blog post was originally published on the MacArthur Foundation website
A novel idea requires input and buy-in from many communities of interest to gain acceptance and to successfully expand over time and reach a greater number of people. This includes the everyday staple food crops bred naturally by HarvestPlus and its partners to provide essential micronutrients. Agriculture and health scientists must be convinced the concept is feasible, and then apply their expertise to improve the seeds and build evidence of their impact. Governments must be persuaded that these new, micronutrient-rich crops will improve people's lives and livelihoods. Most importantly, farmers – who are also mothers and fathers – must be open to innovation, because biofortification won't grow, literally or figuratively, without them.