Women farmers drive nutritional gains with zinc-enriched wheat cultivation

Pakistani women farmers are transforming their households’ nutritional health by cultivating biofortified zinc-enriched wheat after receiving awareness and training on its benefits.

With zinc-enriched wheat now a part of their diets, families in rural Sindh and Punjab are consuming more nutritious meals, which would help in addressing widespread deficiencies like zinc and improving overall well-being, experts and officials say.

Pakistan witnessed a bumper harvest of zinc-enriched wheat in the last cropping season, producing nearly 15 million metric tons. This milestone not only promises improved health outcomes for vulnerable communities but also strengthens food security nationwide. Efforts to empower women farmers with agricultural training and nutritional education played a pivotal role in this achievement.

Over 4730 smallholder farmers, including 3,135 women (66% of total), participated in training sessions held across nine districts during the 2024-2025 cropping season. These training programmes provided essential nutrition education and enhanced capacity of women farmers on modern farming techniques, seed procurement, use of inputs, crop management, prevention of harvest and postharvest losses, and nutritious product development.

For many women, these sessions marked the first time they were equipped with resources to improve yields of their crop empowering financially and nutritional outcomes of their families simultaneously.

One such farmer, Naseem from the Khanewal district, expressed her gratitude: “I learned about zinc-enriched wheat Akbar 2019 during a training session organized by HarvestPlus in my village. Following the key learnings from training, I cultivated zinc-enriched wheat variety Akbar 2019 and got a bumper yield of 2,400 kgs per acre last year, compared to 1,600 kgs of other conventional non-biofortified varieties in previous years”.

“This has not only boosted my income but also ensured my family consumes nutritious food daily. This year, I have increased my cultivation area for Akbar 2019.” Another farmer, Sultana Bibi from Burewala, said she received subsidized seed for zinc-enriched wheat and training on its cultivation. “This has increased my ability to grow nutritious crops with better yield, ultimately contributing to improve income and health of our family. We now save seeds for the next season and share our knowledge with neighbors to encourage the cultivation of zinc-enriched wheat.”

The benefits of cultivating zinc-enriched wheat go beyond individual households. Zinc is an essential nutrient for immune function, growth, and development. Its deficiency is linked to stunted growth and increased susceptibility to infections, particularly among children. By integrating biofortified crops into families’ diet, this can help addressing these deficiencies and enhance their quality of life. Empowering women with such trainings in the agriculture sector could be a game changer in Pakistan where gender disparities remain a significant hurdle. The country ranks 145 out of 146 nations on the Global Gender Gap Index 2024, highlighting the barriers women face in accessing economic and educational opportunities.