Mahalingam Govindaraj, an Indian Scientist Wins Award for Fortifying Millet

Mahalingam Govindaraj, a Telangana-based agriculture scientist, has won the prestigious 2022 Norman E. Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application for developing a variety of pearl millet rich in iron and zinc. Dhanashakti, the world's first biofortified pearl millet or bajra variety, was released for cultivation in 2014.

World Food Prize Foundation said in a statement on August 30 that "Govindaraj is recognized for his outstanding leadership in mainstreaming biofortified crops, particularly pearl millet, in India and Africa." Govindaraj also directed the development and dissemination of high-yielding, high-iron, and high-zinc pearl millet varieties for over a decade, which contributed to better nutrition for thousands of farmers and their communities.

Govindaraj is currently a senior crop development scientist at Harvest Plus, an organization that promotes the production and consumption of biofortified staples. Biofortification is a selective breeding process used to increase crop productivity and micronutrient content.

The award was established in 2011 in honour of Norman E. Borlaug, whose work as a young scientist in Mexico in the 1940s and 1950s was critical in the fight to end global hunger and poverty. The $10,000 award, endowed by the Rockefeller Foundation, is presented every October in Iowa, US, to recognize the work of an individual scientist under the age of 40.

During the Green Revolution, which began in the mid-1960s, India adopted high-yield dwarf wheat varieties developed by Borlaug, allowing the country to become self-sufficient in food production. "It is an honour to receive an award named after Dr. Borlaug, who has been an inspiration to me and whose footsteps I have followed while disseminating new varieties to farmers," Govindaraj told.

"[Since] the release of Dhanashakti in 2014, we have released approximately ten biofortified pearl millet varieties in India and West Africa." Farmers are now being sold these seeds by the private sector." He went on to say that, in addition to millets, biofortification technology- early work on which was led by Howarth Bouis in 2003- is being adopted for other staples such as rice, wheat, maize, cassava, and corn.

According to the World Food Prize Foundation, 200 grammes of Dhanashakti can provide women with more than 80% of their RDA of iron, compared to 20% in regular varieties of pearl millet. More than 9 million Indians are expected to consume biofortified millets by 2024, resulting in improved nutritional standards. Since 2019, farmers in West Africa have also adopted new biofortified varieties.

The first biofortified food crop, a Vitamin A-enriched sweet potato, was released in 2004, according to Harvest Plus. Hundreds of biofortified varieties of 12 different staple crops have been released or are in the testing phase in more than 60 countries since then.

Biofortification is now used as one of several methods to combat hidden hunger or micronutrient deficiency around the world. Other strategies include encouraging dietary diversity, fortifying food after harvest, and providing vitamin, iron, and folic acid supplements to specific groups such as pregnant women and lactating mothers.