Bangladesh is self-sufficient in cereals, yet a significant part of the population suffers from hidden hunger caused by malnutrition, and more than half lacks a balanced diet. Citing various sources, Dr Surajit Saha Roy of the Agriculture Information Service said the 2018 survey put poverty at 21.8 per cent and extreme poverty at 12.9 per cent, while 31 per cent of children under five are stunted (BDHS 2019). About 41 per cent of under-fives suffer zinc deficiency.

Rice supplies 77 per cent of calories and 50 per cent of protein in the Bangladeshi diet, at about 367 grams per person a day. Zinc takes part in some 300 enzymes; deficiency causes loss of appetite, taste and smell, hair loss, digestive problems, weakened immunity and more. Adult men need 11 mg a day and women 8 mg. Meat, eggs, milk, nuts and shrimp are good sources but beyond the reach of the poor.

BRRI has developed six zinc-enriched rice varieties, BINA one rice variety and BARI one zinc-rich wheat variety. They contain 22 to 27 mg of zinc per kilogram of rice, against 15 mg in ordinary rice; eating 400 grams of such rice a day provides 9 to 10 mg of zinc.

BRRI released the world's first zinc-enriched rice, BRRI dhan62, in 2013, followed by BRRI dhan64, 72, 74, 84 and BRRI dhan100 in February 2021. BINA developed BINA dhan22 and BARI released BARI Gom33 in 2017.

• Aman: BRRI dhan62 (19 mg/kg, 3.5-4.5 t/ha), BRRI dhan72 (22.8 mg/kg, 5.7 t/ha, up to 7.5), BINA dhan22 (26 mg/kg, 6.1 t/ha, up to 6.5).
• Boro: BRRI dhan64 (24 mg/kg, 6-6.5 t/ha), BRRI dhan74 (24.2 mg/kg, 7.1 t/ha, up to 8.3), BRRI dhan84 (27.6 mg/kg zinc, 10.1 mg/kg iron, 9.7% protein, 6-6.5 t/ha, up to 8), BRRI dhan100 (25.7 mg/kg, 7.7 t/ha, up to 8.8).
• BARI Gom33 wheat yields 3.95 t/ha with 50 to 55 mg of zinc per kg, about three times rice.

In 2019-20, BRRI dhan74 and 84 covered 57,245 and 2,829 hectares in Boro, and their area has grown since.

Yet zinc-enriched rice cannot be found in markets. Auto rice mills grade paddy only as coarse or fine, then polish and sell it as Miniket, Nazir, Chinigura or Basmati; there is no Miniket variety. BRRI dhan28 is polished into "Miniket" and BRRI dhan49 into "Nazir", and polishing strips most vitamins and minerals. A large mill needs about 96 tonnes of paddy a day, so single varieties are hard to keep separate.

The article calls for consumer awareness, penalties for selling rice under false names, honest variety-wise buying by traders, commercial cultivation and mechanisation. For example, if 500 hectares of BRRI dhan74 in an upazila produce 3,000 tonnes, traders could buy 2,000 tonnes and sell it as BRRI dhan74, with help from DAE sub-assistant agriculture officers.

Source: Amader Shomoy. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.