RAS question
Biofortification refers to:
Correct answer: (A) Breeding crops to increase their nutritional value.
Biofortification means breeding or developing crops so that their nutrient content and nutritional value are increased.
Explanation
Biofortification is about improving the crop itself, not processing food after harvest. Crops are bred or developed through conventional breeding, agronomic practices or genetic modification to raise nutrient content. The ICAR-supported Indian Farming article frames the same idea as the development of biofortified crops with enhanced micronutrients and says ICAR targeted crops such as rice, wheat, maize, pearl millet, sorghum and minor millets for nutritional enrichment. That is why option A fits: it links crop breeding with higher nutritional value. Indian examples include iron-rich pearl millet Dhanashakti, zinc-rich wheat WB-02 and protein-rich maize Pusa Vivek QPM-9.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Making food in laboratories describes lab-grown food or cellular agriculture, whereas biofortification improves nutrient content in crops themselves.
- (C) Preserving food using radiation is food irradiation, a preservation method, not a way of breeding or developing nutritionally enriched crops.
- (D) Adding chemicals to food is fortification after production, while biofortification raises nutrient value through the crop-development process.
Concept
This tests the Science and Technology concept of agricultural biotechnology and nutrition security. It recurs in RAS because ICAR-led crop improvement, micronutrient deficiency and food-security interventions connect science with public policy.