Getting Biofortification Into the Public

Food Distribution System

Akhter Ahmed

International Food Policy Research Institute

First Global Conference on Biofortification

Washington, D.C.

November 9-11, 2010

Two Delivery Strategies

for Biofortification

The push strategy

supply oriented

focuses on seed supply and production of biofortified

crops

The pull strategy

demand oriented

focuses on creating demand for biofortified crops

Public food distribution system (PFDS) can stimulate

demand for biofortified crops

An ideal delivery mechanism

What Does a PFDS Seek to Achieve?

Make food available to poor households

Distribute food during emergency situations, such as

natural disasters

Provide incentive prices to food producers to encourage

domestic production

Stabilize market prices of food to prevent excessive price

rises

How Does PFDS Work?

Food Procurement

Food Storage

Food Distribution

Food subsidy

Safety netsDisaster

relief

Food Procurement

Government procures staple food grains from farmers

Provides price support for increased crop production,

farmer income

Use the supply oriented push strategy for pushing

biofortified crops into the farming system, particularly in

the major procurement zones of PFDS

Ensure adequate supply of biofortified seed in the

market and motivate the farmers to adopt the

production of biofortified crops

Food Storage and Stock Management

Adequate and modern storage capacity is needed for

maintaining the quantity and quality of stock of grains in

PFDS

Since grain reserves are costly to maintain, determining

the optimum level of grain reserves for PFDS storage is

very important

Stock rotation is an important element of PFDS efficiency

PFDS stocks of food grains must be rotated to

accommodate new stocks and to prevent losses

resulting from quality deterioration

Rotation needs outlets, such as food-based safety

nets

Food Distribution

PFDS usually operates through distribution outlets that

broadly fall into two groups:

Monetized (sale) channels

food is sold at subsidized prices through a network

fair price or ration shops

Nonmonetized (free distribution) channels

disaster relief operations

food-based safety net programs

Distribution Through Safety Nets

Food-based safety nets makes food available to poor

households that would not otherwise have access to

adequate food

Often combined with some welfare-related programs:

Midday Meal program in India distributes prepared

hot meals to children in school

Food-for-education program in Bangladesh

distributed free food grains to low-income families if

their children attended primary school

Both school feeding and food-for-education programs

provide immediate sustenance for the hungry, while

empowering future generations by educating today’s

children

Distribution Through Safety Nets

Vulnerable Group Development Program in

Bangladesh

Participants receive a monthly free ration of rice or

wheat in exchange for attending training for income

generation; basic literacy, numeracy, nutrition, and

awareness raising training; and making savings

deposits

Food-for-work programs

Food is used as wage payment to workers. They

play a dual role, providing employment to the poor,

and creating public assets such as rural roads.

Way Forward

PFDS can create an institutional demand for

biofortification. Will work especially well if

high volumes of biofortified crops are procured through

PFDS

the system targets the poor. As PFDS outlets, well-

targeted food-based safety nets will improve food

security of the poor and reduce their micronutrient

deficiency or hidden hunger

For enhancing the integration of biofortification into

PFDS, it is important that policymakers are made aware

of the benefits of biofortification