Having concluded that the available scientific evidence suggests positive answers to all three of the above questions, this research program has organized an interinstitutional effort to explore CGIAR germplasm banks for mineral and vitamin dense varieties of staple food crops that may be useful parents in breeding programs.

The general objective of the study is to assemble a package of tools that plant breeders will need to produce mineral-and vitamin-dense cultivars. The target crops are rice, wheat, maize, cassava, and beans. The target micronutrients are iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), vitamin A, and (for cassava) iodine. For these crops and nutrients, this project is conceived as a pre-breeding study to determine

• the range of genetic variability available for exploitation by future breeding programs;
• the bioavailability of micronutrients contained in the grain (or seed of other storage tissue) of the best selections;
• the genetics and physiology/biochemistry of the selected traits; and
• screening protocols for use in later breeding programs.

• Improving Human Nutrition Through Agriculture: The Role of International Agricultural Research
  October 5-7, 1999
  IRRI, Los Baņos, Philippines
  Organized by IFPRI

• Media Advisory:
  Philippine Workshop to Examine Human Nutrition through Agriculture
  Can agricultural research play a bigger role?

• Howarth Bouis (IFPRI, Team Leader)
  
• Lawrence Haddad (IFPRI)
  
• Carol Levin (IFPRI)
  
• Marie Ruel (IFPRI)
  
• Christina Quintos (IFPRI, Program Assistant)
  
• Marianne Banziger (CIMMYT, maize)
  
• Stephen Beebe (CIAT, beans)
  
• Robin Graham (Waite)
  
• Carlos Iglesias (CIAT, cassava)
  
• Janet King (USDA), Ivan Monasterio (CIMMYT, wheat)
  
• Dharmawansa Senadhira (IRRI, rice)
  
• Ross Welch (USDA)

Core research partners:

• Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT)
  
• Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo (CIMMYT)
  
• International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
  
• Waite Agricultural Research Institute (University of Adelaide)
  
• Plant, Soil, and Nutrition Laboratory (USDA-ARS, Ithaca, New York)
  
• Western Human Nutrition Research Center (USDA-ARS, San Francisco, California)

• DANIDA
  
• U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
  
• Australian Council for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)