Food security is a situation that exists when “all people, at all times have physical social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their requirements and food preferences for an active and healthy life”.
Although, nutritional security falls within the ambit of the broader food security paradigm, we have achieved food security but nutritional security is yet to be achieved. Nutritional security demands the intake of a wide range of foods that provide the essential, needed nutrients.
We need diversity in our food intake in terms of cereals, vegetables, fruits, milk, meat and other food items to provide us with all the essential nutrients like vitamins, fats, proteins, carbohydrates and minerals like calcium, iron, manganese required for the growth and development of our bodies. Thus food security has to be complimented with nutritional security if we are to take the benefits of food security to the fullest.
The lack of adequate nutrients in our food intake adversely affects our health and the individual becomes prone to various types of deficiency diseases. The findings of National Health Policy 2017 presented by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India, had highlighted the negative impact of malnutrition on the productivity of population, and its contribution to mortality rates in the country.
The major nutritional problems are protein energy malnutrition (PEM), deficiency of vitamin A (VAD) and iron (IDA) and iodine deficiency disorders (IDD). India ranked 10th spot among countries with the highest number of underweight children, and 17th for the highest number of stunted children in the world. Malnutrition affects chances of survival for children, increases their susceptibility to illness, reduces their ability to learn, and makes them less productive in later life. It is estimated that malnutrition is a contributing factor in about one- third of all deaths of children under the age of 5.
Such type of children ultimately becomes a burden for their families, for the society and ultimately the country as they are not able to perform to their full potential. This also takes a toll on the country’s economy and more input is needed providing health services and creating necessary infrastructure for them.
Considering the importance of nutritional security, the Government of India has also started various programmes through it’s various agencies and institutes. The Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) as an apex body has also taken the lead in ensuring nutritional security for all through its Krishi Vigyan Kendra network located in almost every district of the country. Special emphasis is being laid on growing kids, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers through some of the programmes mentioned below:
Bio-fortified Varieties: Bio-fortification is the process by which the nutritional quality of food crops is improved through agronomic practices, conventional plant breeding or modern biotechnology. It differs from conventional fortification in that bio-fortification aims to increase nutrient levels in crops during plant growth rather than through manual means during processing of the crops. In case of iron, World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that biofortification could help curing the 2 billion people suffering from iron deficiency-induced anemia.
Biofortification thus presents a way to reach populations where supplementation and conventional fortification activities may be difficult to implement and/or limited. Some examples of biofortification include iron-biofortification of rice, beans, sweet potato, cassava and legumes, Zinc-biofortification of wheat, rice, beans, sweet potato, maize and carotenoid-biofortification of sweet potato, maize and cassava; and amino acid and protein-biofortification of sorghum and cassava.
Rice being staple food of half of world’s population has been enriched with Vitamin A to make it Golden Rice. The Golden Rice has been a success in regions where vitamin A deficiency is endemic. The latest version of Golden Rice contains genes from a common soil bacterium Erwinia and maize, and contains increased levels of beta-carotene which can be converted by the body into vitamin A.
Similarly, several new biofortified varieties of different crops have been developed and released for use by the farmers. This makes biofortification as an upcoming strategy for dealing with deficiencies of micronutrients in the developing world.
Protected Cultivation: In cold arid regions like Ladakh, where the extreme cold condition does not permit the growing of crops in winter season, hence food and nutritional security becomes a challenge. In such a scenario various protected cultivation technologies like poly houses, trenches, low tunnels, polyenches have been developed and are being popularized by KVKs which enable the farming community there to produce nutritionally rich vegetables even during winter months when outside temperature falls down to -35 degrees Celsius.
POSHAN: The government of India also has been putting in efforts to get rid of this menace of malnutrition and hunger in the country. The Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India has come up with the POSHAN Abhiyaan or National Nutrition Mission. POSHAN is a government of India’s flagship programme to improve nutritional outcomes for children, pregnant women and lactating mothers. The POSHAN Abhiyaan directs the attention of the country towards malnutrition issue and addresses it in a mission-mode. KVKs along with the line departments organize special awareness and training programmes for the women and in service functionaries of the states to promote the concept of Nutritional Thali, a thali containing the required food items to provide us with the adequate nutrients.
Nutri-Sensitive Agriculture Resources And Innovations (NARI): India has abundance of locally available vegetables, fruits and different types of food grains that are nutrient rich. All these can be grown in vegetable gardens to cater to the nutritional requirements of children, adult, women and aged. The main objectives of NARI include to link agriculture to nutrients to make nutri-sensitive agriculture, to raise awareness of women and rural youth about it and kitchen gardening. The main activities under NARI are conducting demonstrations and trainings on nutrient rich crops and varieties, fortification of locally available food resources, skill development through trainings and to focus and promote value addition of fruits, cereals and vegetables and nutri-sensitive agriculture by involving schools, Integrated Child Development Centers (ICDS) by promoting the concept like nutritive thali, nutrition calendar etc.
Knowledge Systems and Homestead Agriculture Management in Tribal Areas (KSHAMTA): ICAR has started an initiative that involves a focused programme in 125 districts of the country where tribal population is twenty five percent or more. The programme is called the Knowledge Systems and Homestead Agriculture Management in Tribal Areas (KSHAMTA). The initiative is to grow food what one wants to eat. The focus of these programmes is to convene programmes on nutritionally enriching foods and to give scientific interventions on agricultural and allied sectors like livestock and fisheries. KSHAMTA also provides for the mapping of entire food system of village and suggesting what they should eat.
Value Addition and Post Harvest Processing: The level of food processing and value addition in the country is very low as compared to other developed economies of the world. Agricultural production in the country is subjected to huge post harvest losses of produce and its productivity. India is the world’s second largest producer of fruits & vegetables after China, but hardly 2% of the produce is processed. In spite of a large production base, the level of processing is low (less than 10%). Approximately 2% of fruits and vegetables, 8% marine, 35% milk, 6% poultry are processed. To focus on this aspect, ICAR through its KVKs is also focusing on dissemination of post harvest technology and skill development of farmers, farm women, rural youth and farmer organization on various post harvest management strategies will be conducted through VATICA. Advice and technical help to be provided to farmers and youths interested in setting up their own enterprises related to post harvest processing.
Nutri-Cereals: Millets are one of the oldest foods known to humanity. These millet crops are called as ‘Nutri-cereals’ as they provide most of the nutrients required for normal functioning of human body. Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, GoI has declared millets as ‘Nutri- Cereals’ for production, consumption and for trade and commerce. Millets are gluten free and non-allergenic and non acid forming foods. Millet consumption decreases triglycerides and C- reactive protein, thereby preventing cardiovascular disease, hydrate our colon to keep us from being constipated. All millets are rich in dietary fibre and have water absorbing and bulking property. It increases transit time of food in the gut which helps in reducing risk of inflammatory bowel disease, and acts as detoxifying agent in the body.
Organic Milk: Focusing on organic food products, besides organic cereals, fruits and vegetables; organic milk is another achievement in ensuring nutritional security of all. This organic milk taken from the livestock fed on a totally organic feed contains all the essential minerals needed for development of bones and joints. It is free of any harmful pesticides, synthetic hormones and antibiotics due to the farming standards that have been adhered to.
The present era is witnessing a greater thrust on ensuring nutritional security for all and for this many interventions have been made along with the necessary policy support. The only thing is their awareness, proper implementation and execution.
The author is Director Extension/SAMETI, SKUAST-Kashmir
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author.
The facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing in the article do not reflect the views of GK.