1Department of Agricultural Economics, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi – 221 005, Uttar Pradesh
2Department of Genetics & Plant Breeding, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi – 221 005, Uttar Pradesh
Online published on 24 February, 2018.
Considering the prevalence of zinc deficiency of 48.1 per cent among under five years children in Uttar Pradesh. This study has assessed the health benefits of biofortified wheat in Uttar Pradesh by using disabilityadjusted life years (DALYs) method and is based on both primary and secondary data. The current burden of ZnD in Uttar Pradesh has been estimated to be 0.91 million DALYs lost, of which 888517 DALYs are from mortality and 24538 DALYs are due to morbidity. The comparative economics between biofortified and nonbiofortified wheat varieties has revealed that there is no significant difference in the cost of cultivation and other characteristics like cooking quality, taste, and appearance of the varieties. The zinc biofortification has been found to be cost-effective as the cost of saving one DALY ranges from 79 to 177. Zinc biofortification is a potential strategy to achieve the goal of nutritional security in the state of Uttar Pradesh as well as India.
Wheat biofortification, nutritional security, zinc deficiency, disability-adjusted life year method, Uttar Pradesh
