For food fortification to succeed, producers must achieve a minimum critical size that provides the financial and technical resources necessary to absorb the additional costs of fortification in their production processes.

 

This challenge is common across many fortified food value chains worldwide. Products such as salt, maize, rice, and wheat frequently face financial instability, suboptimal production practices, and limited access to resources, all of which hinder their ability to meet regulatory standards and produce high-quality fortified foods.

 

There is a growing consensus on the need to consolidate efforts, enhance collaboration among producers, leverage synergies, and capitalize on economies of scale to improve the structure of these value chains.

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In this context, cooperatives stand out not just as a widespread business model but as an especially effective solution for food fortification. By uniting producers, cooperatives enhance production processes and streamline the procurement of nutritional inputs, crucial for effective food fortification.​ The aggregated volumes and increased bargaining power achieved through cooperatives ensure that fortification processes can be implemented more efficiently and at a scale that individual producers might not manage alone. This collective approach not only strengthens market presence but also makes nutritional enhancements more viable and impactful across food value chains, thereby safeguarding the health of communities and enhancing the nutritional quality of food products.