**10. Constraints in agronomic biofortification**

The following difficulties arise while improving crop characteristics through agronomic biofortification: Micronutrients like iron, zinc, copper, etc. have relatively poor utilization efficiencies (1–5%), which restricts the absorption of applied micronutrients by plants.


The simplest approach of biofortification is the use of micronutrient-enriched fertilizers. But because of variations in mineral mobility, mineral accumulation across plant species, and soil compositions in the specific geographic location of each crop, the efficacy of agronomical biofortification is very varied. Agronomic approaches provide a short-term solution compared to breeding approaches.

## **11. Conclusion**

The success of agronomic biofortification depends on the bioavailability of micronutrients along the entire pathway from soil to plant, food, and the human body. Since there are few studies linking the use of micronutrient fertilizer to improved human health, the effectiveness and utility of agronomic biofortification to treat human micronutrient deficiencies. We recommend the creation of research and pilot-scale fertilization programmes to bridge the knowledge gap on the relationship between the application of micronutrient-enriched fertilizer to crops and dietary micronutrient intake and absorption in consumer's bodies. In the short term, agronomic approaches are the most important sustainable techniques of biofortification. Besides these challenges, biofortified crops hold a very bright future as these have the potential to remove micronutrient malnutrition among billions of poor people, especially in developing countries. It is well established that biofortification is a promising, cost effective, agricultural strategy for improving the nutritional status of malnourished populations throughout the world. The generation of biofortified food crops with improved nutrient contents such as increases in iron, zinc, Se, and provitamin A content are providing sufficient levels of these and other such micronutrients that are frequently lacking in the diets of the developing and developed world. To achieve this, collaboration between plant breeders, nutrition scientists, genetic engineers, and molecular biologists is essential. Besides these challenges, biofortified crops hold a very bright future as these have the potential to remove micronutrient malnutrition among billions of poor people, especially in the developing countries. The concept of biofortification should be viewed as the soil–plant–animal–human as a continuum rather than working on any one component in the food chain.
