HarvestPlus

What HarvestPlus does

HarvestPlus is a non-profit research and development organization founded in 2004 within the CGIAR system and hosted at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Washington, D.C. It develops and promotes biofortified staple crops — conventional plant-breeding lines enriched with iron, zinc, and vitamin A — targeting hidden hunger (micronutrient deficiency) among low-income smallholder farming households and school-age children across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Its technical core is crossing naturally nutrient-dense germplasm from CGIAR gene banks with locally adapted, high-yielding, climate-smart varieties, yielding a portfolio of 458+ released varieties spanning 13 crops in 41 countries.

The organization does not sell products directly. Instead, it operates a partnership-led go-to-market model: biofortified seeds flow through seed companies (e.g., JK Agri Genetics), agro-dealers, government extension services, NGOs/humanitarian programs (World Vision since 2007), farmer-to-farmer sharing for vegetatively propagated crops, and institutional channels including home-grown school feeding programs (e.g., AGRA partnership reaching 1.2 million children). Revenue is grant-based, sourced from governments (Canada, UK/FCDO, DRC), foundations (Bill & Melinda Gates, Rockefeller, Happel), and corporate partners (Cargill via the 2024 NutriHarvest multi-country project). The 2024 spin-off of HarvestPlus Solutions created a separate entity dedicated to delivery and scaling, and August 2025 saw the launch of the Neutral Mark authentication symbol to verify genuine biofortified products in the market. Supporting products include the Biofortification Hub knowledge repository, the Biofortification Priority Index (BPI) covering 128 countries, a Varieties Released database, and a peer-reviewed reach estimation methodology.

By 2025, HarvestPlus and partners report 651 million people eating biofortified food across 13 target countries, 25 million farming households with access to biofortified seed, and 1.9 million school children reached through biofortified school meals, with a stated goal of 1 billion beneficiaries by 2030. Its competitive position is anchored in two decades of peer-reviewed evidence (Copenhagen Consensus estimates USD 17 benefit per USD 1 invested; USD 15–20 per DALY saved vs. a World Bank threshold of USD 270), institutional endorsements from FAO, WHO, WFP, the African Union, and the World Bank, and recognition including the 2016 World Food Prize awarded to founding director Howdy Bouis.

Name

HarvestPlus

Legal name

HarvestPlus

Website

https://harvestplus.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

HarvestPlus is a non-profit CGIAR program that develops and promotes biofortified staple crops enriched with iron, zinc, and vitamin A to address micronutrient deficiency in smallholder farming households and school children across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Research and Nutrition Security Services

NAICS

Crop Production (111), Vegetable and Melon Farming (1112)

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Seed Production & Multiplication (Contract Growing, Foundation/Certified Seed) (AFABAFAK)

Keywords

• Biofortified food crops
• Micronutrient deficiency solutions
• Crop breeding research
• Nutrition security programs
• Staple crop development

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding and Development Aid: HarvestPlus operates as part of CGIAR and is primarily funded through grants from governments (Government of Canada, UK Government/FCDO), foundations (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Happel Foundation), and multilateral organizations. The organization does not generate commercial revenue but enables partners to commercialize biofortified crops and foods.
2. Partnership-based Scaling: HarvestPlus works through partnerships with public and private sector actors to scale biofortified crops. HarvestPlus Solutions serves as the global partner dedicated to delivering and scaling HarvestPlus innovations. Revenue generation occurs through value chain development rather than direct product sales.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

HarvestPlus is a non-profit research and development program that develops and promotes biofortified staple food crops enriched with iron, zinc, and vitamin A through conventional plant breeding. The organization works through CGIAR partnerships to breed nutrient-dense varieties of wheat, rice, maize, beans, pearl millet, cassava, sweet potato, and other staples, and scales them via seed companies, governments, NGOs, and food processors to combat hidden hunger affecting more than 2.5 billion people globally.

Product overview

HarvestPlus operates as a global biofortification program within CGIAR/IFPRI, developing and promoting nutrient-enriched staple crops. The organization does not offer a unified software product but rather a portfolio of biofortified crop varieties (iron beans, zinc wheat, zinc rice, vitamin A maize, vitamin A orange sweet potato, vitamin A cassava, iron pearl millet, zinc maize) and knowledge/analytical tools including the Biofortification Hub (knowledge repository), the Biofortification Priority Index (analytical tool for investment decisions), a Varieties Released database, and the Neutral Mark symbol for product authentication. The core offering consists of biofortified seeds and the enabling ecosystem of knowledge resources, market development tools, and partnership frameworks to scale biofortification globally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Neutral Mark Symbol
• HarvestPlus Biofortification Hub
• Biofortification Priority Index (BPI)
• Varieties Released Database
• Biofortified Crops Global Reach Map

Quantifiable outcome

• 651 million people eating nutritious biofortified food across 13 target countries
• +11 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CargillcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2024Multi-year NutriHarvest project partnership targeting smallholder farmers in India, Kenya, Tanzania, and Guatemala. The 36-month initiative aims to increase access to nutritious food, build farmer capacity for improved livelihoods, and deliver over 17 million nutritious meals across target countries. Cargill provides funding and supply chain expertise.
• Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Partnership to accelerate commercialization of biofortified crops and foods and reach hundreds of millions more people. Launched the Commercialisation of Biofortified Crops Programme in 2019, initially targeting three countries each in Africa and Asia.
• International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCrop development partner for zinc rice breeding and development. Partnered with Bangladesh Rice Research Institute to develop and release multiple zinc rice varieties including the world's first variety BRRI dhan62 in 2013.
• International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCGIAR breeding partner for biofortified maize and wheat. Jointly developed zinc wheat varieties like Akbar-2019 with HarvestPlus.
• International Potato Center (CIP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCGIAR partner for vitamin A orange sweet potato biofortification. Partner awarded World Food Prize alongside Howdy Bouis in 2016.
• Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational research partner that released the world's first zinc rice variety (BRRI dhan62) in 2013. Together with HarvestPlus and IRRI, nine zinc rice varieties have been released. Nearly 470,000 farming families growing zinc rice by 2020.
• JK Agri GeneticscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIndian seed company working with HarvestPlus and ICRISAT to adapt and commercialize Dhanashakti iron pearl millet and BHU-31 zinc wheat varieties. Since 2017, BHU-31 reached over 25,000 farmers and Dhanashakti reached 70,000 farmers.
• Shais FoodsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorZambian food company CEO Miriam Chipulu started working with HarvestPlus in 2016 to procure and blend vitamin A maize in their popular Full Pack Cereal Blend. Sources maize from hundreds of smallholder farmers trained with HarvestPlus support.
• British Standards Institution (BSI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to develop publicly available standards (PAS) for zinc-, iron-, and vitamin A-biofortified grains. Vendors worldwide can use these standards to show best practice and compliance, instilling confidence in high-quality biofortified products.
• Precision Development (PxD)coreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership to pilot mobile outreach reaching 100,000 Pakistani farmers with information about zinc wheat through SMS messages and a voice-activated info line.
• World VisioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHumanitarian partnership thriving since 2007, bringing benefits to thousands of people in Africa and Asia through the ENRICH program and other collaborations.
• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduced joint brief on biofortification summarizing research evidence and implementation lessons. FAO distributed brief to all staff to encourage adoption and scaling through national policies and programs.
• World Food Programme (WFP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWFP added biofortification to its Local and Regional Food Procurement Policy in 2019. In 2022, WFP and HarvestPlus produced a joint brief to advance integration of biofortified crops and foods in WFP programs and procurement.
• African Development Bank (AfDB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIncluded biofortification among priority interventions in Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Action Plan 2018-2025. Appointed Howdy Bouis as African Leader for Nutrition champion.
• World BankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHarvestPlus engaging on integration of biofortification in loan programs, including the Multisectoral Nutrition and Health Project (PMNS) in DRC.
• AGRAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with support from Rockefeller Foundation to integrate biofortified vitamin A maize and iron beans into school feeding programs produced by local smallholders in Kenya, Tanzania, and Malawi, targeting 1.2 million children.
• ICRISATcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCGIAR partner for pearl millet biofortification. Jointly with HarvestPlus developed and commercialized iron pearl millet varieties in India.
• IITAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCGIAR partner for cassava biofortification. One of the CGIAR centers that signed on as breeding partners for biofortified cassava.
• Alliance of Bioversity International and CIATcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCGIAR partner for bean biofortification. Bean researcher Steve Beebe coined the term 'biofortification' at a meeting in 2001. The organization continues as a key partner in biofortification scaling.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• CIP (International Potato Center): CGIAR partner that pioneered vitamin A orange sweet potato biofortification alongside HarvestPlus, with shared World Food Prize recognition. Operates one of the original biofortified crop programs that HarvestPlus scales globally.
• CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center): A CGIAR research center that jointly develops and releases biofortified zinc wheat and vitamin A maize varieties with HarvestPlus. Operates the same breeding pipeline for staple crops in the Global South and shares the global mandate to scale nutrient-enriched staples.
• IITA (International Institute of Tropical Agriculture): CGIAR partner for biofortified cassava, maize, and yam breeding, working alongside HarvestPlus in West Africa. Shared operating geographies, donor base, and smallholder-focused delivery model.
• IRRI (International Rice Research Institute): CGIAR partner that co-developed the world's first zinc rice varieties with HarvestPlus and BRRI across Asia. Operates the parallel biofortified rice breeding pipeline that HarvestPlus distributes through national systems.
• Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT: CGIAR partner where the term 'biofortification' was originally coined. Jointly develops iron bean and tropical biofortified crop varieties with HarvestPlus and runs parallel breeding programs targeting smallholder farming households.
• ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics): CGIAR partner that co-developed iron pearl millet and sorghum biofortification with HarvestPlus. Comparable mandate to deliver nutrient-dense crops to smallholder farmers in semi-arid regions of Africa and Asia.

Broad incumbents

• Nutrition International (formerly Micronutrient Initiative): Global nutrition organization that co-funded the original vitamin A orange sweet potato pilot in Mozambique with CIAT/IFPRI (precursors to HarvestPlus). Competes for nutrition grant funding while operating complementary supplementation and fortification programs.
• GAIN (Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition): Global nutrition non-profit and explicit HarvestPlus commercialization partner. Operates a broader portfolio (food fortification, workforce nutrition, policy) but overlaps directly on biofortified crop commercialization.
• AGRA (Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa): Pan-African agricultural development organization partnering with HarvestPlus in Kenya, Tanzania, and Malawi to integrate biofortified crops into school feeding. Adjacent mission on smallholder productivity with partial overlap in biofortification delivery.

Emerging players

• World Vegetable Center: Research-for-development organization breeding improved vegetable varieties for nutrition-sensitive agriculture in Asia and Africa. Comparable R&D model on nutrient-dense crops that complements HarvestPlus's staple-crop focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HarvestPlus
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/harvestplus
• Facebookfacebook.com/HarvestPlusNutrition
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/harvestplus
• Instagraminstagram.com/harvestplus

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HarvestPlus