Presented by Dr. R.V Bhavani

1. Leveraging Agriculture
for Nutrition and Health
R V Bhavani
8 August, 2019

2. Undernourished Population and Dependence on Agriculture
The National Family Health Survey - NFHS-IV (2015-16) shows:
Population largely dependent on agriculture and allied activities
Census 2011: 68.8 % of the population is in rural areas
 Agriculture and allied activities engages more than half the workforce
Small & marginal holdings account for 85% of operational holdings

3. Knowledge & Evidence
WASH: an
important nutrition-
sensitive intervention
to enhance
agriculture’s
impact on nutrition
Agriculture
Food
Income
Women’s
empowerment
Women’s
health/nutrition
Nutrition
Prices
Women’s caring
capacity
What are the direct linkages between agriculture and nutrition?

4. Research on Food & Nutrition Security
• Reports on State of Food Insecurity; Policy Analysis; Action Research: CFB,
empowerment of women farmers...
• Portfolio of studies under LANSA (2012-2018)

5. Evidence of Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture
• NSA: What have we
learned so far?
• Ruel et al. (2018) Global
Food Security 17:128-153
• “Agriculture should focus
on improving dietary
diversity and high quality
diets as precursor to better
nutrition outcomes”
• Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture envisages
mainstreaming the nutrition dimension in agriculture
to address the problem of malnutrition, a key
Sustainable Development Goal.
• Evidence that interventions such as home gardens,
introduction of livestock, poultry and aquaculture
may improve production diversity, animal ownership
and women’s empowerment, leading to beneficial
effects on intermediate nutritional outcomes such
as dietary diversity and consumption of nutrient-rich
crops.

6. Feasibility and scope of a Farming System for Nutrition (FSN)
approach to improve the nutritional status of small holder
farmers
FSN: Design that mainstreams nutritional criteria in
the selection of components of the farming system:
integrates nutritious crops, trees, agro-forestry,
poultry, livestock and fisheries
─ tailor-made to address the location specific
nutrition needs of rural families
Integral elements: Attention to gender and age
dimensions; Nutrition Literacy

7. Farming System for Nutrition (FSN)
Farming
System
Profitability
Stability
SustainabilityProductivity
Nutrition
How to design location-specific
farming system for nutrition (FSN) to
improve household diet diversity &
lead to better nutrition outcomes?
Participatory approach:

8. Study Locations
• 7 villages (658 households) in Koraput district, Odisha; 5 villages
(556 households) in Wardha district, Maharashtra
• Purposively selected; agro-ecologically different; tribal population
• Dependent on agriculture; Commercial in Wardha / Subsistence in
Koraput
• Study Period: Mid 2013 to March 2018
• High levels of undernutrition and micronutrient deficiency

9. Food Consumption Pattern
172.5
95.6
9.4
16.8
16
14.3
11.2
76.7
86.2
50
63.5
1.4
2.3
33.8
51.6
15.8
52.5
150.4
0 50 100 150 200
Sugar and Jaggery
Fats and Edible Oils
Milk and Milk Products
Fruits
Other Vegetables
Roots and Tubers
Green Leafy Vegetables
Pulses and Legumes
Cereals and Millets
Koraput
Wardha
AverageConsumptionas%ofRDI

10. Agriculture – Nutrition - Approach
Less area & productivity
of sorghum, finger
millet, wheat
Demand for
consumption
Increase in productivity
and area
Less diversity and
low productivity of
pulse crops
Consumption less
than RDI
Scope for diversification
Increase in area and
productivity
Minimum area
under tubers
Consumption less
than RDI
Option of
Biofortified crops
(OFSP)
Minimum cultivation
of Vegetables
Consumption less
than RDI
Prevalence of
anaemia
Cultivation of
different groups of
vegetables
Livestock used for
cultivation/source
of money
Consumption less
than RDI
Access to sources of
animal protein

11. FSN Interventions in Land Holding Farming Households

12. Existing farming systems practices & FSN Interventions
(Koraput)
Components of
farming system
Details Cropping system Primary
purpose
Kharif Rabi
Crop Low land Paddy Fallow commercial and
consumption
Medium land Paddy/ vegetables Fallow consumption
Upland Millet/maize/rice Fallow consumption
Homestead /backyard vegetables Fallow consumption
Animal husbandry Cattle/ Backyard free
range poultry
/Sheep/goat
Cultivation and
source of money
Green gram &
Black gram
Finger millet
Maize + Pigeon pea
OFSPNutrition garden of
fruits & vegetables
Fishery
Finger millet; if
irrigation available

13. Existing farming systems practices & FSN interventions
(Wardha)
Components of
farming system
Details Cropping system Primary purpose
Kharif Rabi
Crop Rainfed Cotton or
Cotton + pigeon pea
Fallow Commercial &
consumption
Soybean or soybean +
pigeon pea
Fallow/Bengal
gram
Commercial &
consumption
Irrigated Cotton or
cotton + pigeon pea
Fallow Commercial &
consumption
Soybean or soybean +
pigeon pea
Wheat/
Bengal gram
Commercial &
consumption
Homestead/ backyard/
community land
Fallow No use
Animal
husbandry
Backyard free range poultry
, Cattle, Sheep, goat
Cultivation & source
of money
Intercropping with pigeon
pea/ green gram/ black
gram; improved varieties;
Improved varieties of
wheat and bengal gram
Backyard poultry for
landless
Nutrition garden of
fruits and vegetables
Hybrid variety of
sorghum

14. Nutrition Awareness and Capacitating Local Men and Women
to be champions at the Community Level
• Understanding of balanced diet and dietary diversity
• Nutritive value of different foods and their source
• Food requirements at different stages of the lifecycle (emphasis on <5 yrs)
• Linking Ag to Nutrition
• Awareness & Access to Entitlements
• Training & Exposure visits
Community Hunger Fighters:
21 M+19 F

15. Increased availability
of food grains, pulses and vegetables
Increased farm income
Household food availability :
quantity and diversity
Dietary Diversity & Improved Intake
Farming System for Nutrition
Improved varieties
Introducing new crop
Crop intensification
Improved agriculture practices
Nutrition awareness
Change in the Nutritional
status
Endline
Survey

16. No. of farmers participating in FSN Interventions
(Total HH Wardha=556, Koraput=658)
Inputs & technical knowledge
Inputs & technical knowledge
Inputs & technical knowledge
Inputs (50%) & technical knowledge
Only technical knowledge
2013201420152016
2017
(Kharif)
13
203
236
416
405
25
101
143
172
223
Wardha KoraputTimeline: 2013-14 to 2017-18

17. consumption
pattern: end line survey 2017 Koraput
(n=155) Increased frequency of consumption of different food groups (daily or
twice/thrice a week)
 14% increase in average intake per day of Finger millet (70 g/CU/day
in baseline).
 Diversified pulse consumption (pigeon pea, green gram, black gram),
both as whole and dhal. 63 % increase in average intake per day (28
g/CU/day in baseline).
 Increased avg intake/day of vegetables (GLV 1.15 times); fruits (44%)

18. consumption
pattern: end line survey 2017Wardha
(n=158) Increased frequency of consumption of different food groups (daily or
twice/thrice a week)
 Sorghum consumption (entirely from home grown) increased from 6%
of HHs to 30%.
 Diversified pulse consumption (pigeon pea, green gram, black gram
and bengal gram), both as whole and dhal. Average quantity of per
day intake increased 1.5 to 2 times.
 Increased avg intake per day of vegetables (GLV 71%) & fruits (7 times)

19. Key findings
• Improved variety & package of practice; crop diversification
• Improved Dietary Diversity
 Increased average intake (quantity)
 Increased no. of items (diversity)
 Increased frequency of consumption
(daily or twice/thrice a week)
• Greater understanding (94% of HH) and
practise (69% of HH) of nutrition sensitive agriculture

20. Uptake & Innovations
• Cultivation of vegetables in fields – on the bunds
• New crop combinations (e.g. OFSP in cashew plantations, sorghum with black
gram/pigeon pea/black gram)
• Spread of FSN interventions from 5 to 16 more villages in Wardha and from 7 to 18
more villages in Koraput;
• Village-level processing
• Farm men and women as spokespersons at different forums:
“Through FSN we are now doing different crop
combinations of cotton with pigeon pea/green
gram/black gram as well as are growing micronutrient rich
varieties of wheat and sweet potato in fields and different
groups of vegetables in nutrition gardens and are including
the produce in our daily diets. ” Balakrishna Pethe Farmer,
Borgaon village, Maharashtra - Block level consultation
May 2017

21. Advocacy of FSN Approach
• NITI Aayog recommended that ICAR promote
FSN approach through KVKs (Jan 2018)
• Advocacy in four states: AP, Bihar, Mah, Odisha
• Policy analysis for scope for NSA in existing
policies in these states and at national level
• Promotion through KVKs in AP, Odisha, Mah