This introduction is given on behalf of the GeoNutrition consortium who are involved in a number of projects all aimed at improving the micronutrient status of people in low income countries http://www.geonutrition.com. Food production has increased and needs to increase further, but undernutrition of micronutrients (e.g. iron, zinc, selenium) and other essential components of diets is also occurring. The high prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies (MNDs) is a huge development challenge. For example, deficiencies of Fe and Zn caused the loss of 862,000 and 117,000 disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in Ethiopia in 2013, or 5.4% of total disease burdens.

Biofortification efforts using agronomic and genetic approaches for crop and human nutrition can help boost micronutrients in diets, but our hypothesis is that their success is affected by soil conditions which affect micronutrient bioavailability. It is therefore important to identify the factors that affect micronutrient supply and to use the understanding it to determine the limiting factors for nutrient supply. However, many plant-based genetic approaches pay little consideration to the environmental, and particularly soil aspects of bioavailability. We have developed the concept of GeoNutrition, defined as how soil conditions affect the nutrient content of smallholder-grown crops, and consequently diets and human biomarkers of nutrient status. In order to assess GeoNutrition, data and soils, climate, crop composition, dietary intakes and human micronutrient status all need to be collected in areas of interest. This is now possible using rapid methods for collecting and analyzing multivariate data and establishing the relationships between these different data layers.

A number of research projects are now active in GeoNutrition, which concentrate on developing soil-crop relationships and “hidden hunger” of micronutrients. We have shown that human MND risks are widespread and linked to soil type. For example, biomarker and food supply data show that selenium (Se) and Zn deficiency risks exceed dietary iron (Fe) deficiency risks for many groups. From collaborative research in Malawi, evidence that human Se and Zn deficiency is linked to soil type was obtained from: (1) soil and maize grain surveys; (2) cross-sectional studies on intakes and status from contrasting soil types; (3) continental-scale food systems analysis; (4) human biomarkers of status such as plasma Se concentrations.

Work on selenium and zinc mapping and prediction in Ethiopia and Malawi are ongoing in BBSRC and BMGF-funded projects, as a prelude to dietary intake studies, as well as biofortification trials and intervention studies. The latter will entail households receiving Zn-biofortified flour, Se-biofortified flour, or non-biofortified control flour.