Zinc-biofortified milk: a proof-of-principle flagship for Improving zinc status in women through agronomic biofortification of forages in Nigeria
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Zinc deficiency is widespread in Nigeria, driven by low dietary zinc density. While supplementation and industrial food fortification have demonstrated benefits, these approaches face persistent challenges related to cost, compliance, reach, and long-term sustainability, particularly in rural and peri-urban settings. Agronomic biofortification has emerged as a promising approach to improving micronutrient density in crops; however, evidence of analogous pathways in animal-source foods remains limited, especially in African contexts. Milk represents a particularly promising vehicle for zinc delivery because it is widely consumed across socioeconomic groups and produced locally by smallholder households. Enhancing the zinc content of milk at the production stage through
enrichment of the forage base, therefore, offers a novel, nutrition-sensitive pathway to improve
diets without requiring changes in consumption behavior. Implemented in Nigeria, the pilot will
integrate agronomy, animal physiology and nutrition, food science, and human nutrition to generate rigorous evidence across three sequential stages: production of zinc-dense forages through optimized fertilizer formulations, confirmation of zinc transfer from forage to milk across a lactation period, and laboratory-based retention studies alongside a human efficacy study among women of reproductive age. The evidence generated will inform future investment decisions and provide
foundational scientific evidence for advancing biofortification strategies in animal-source foods.
Palabras clave
biofortification, nutrition, micronutrients, food consumption, zinc, milk