VP Venkaiah Naidu stresses on home-grown food security

While the country has succeeded in meeting the food requirements of the population, nutrition continues to be a factor that is severely lacking, said MS Swaminathan, the father of Green Revolution, at the meet.

With malnutrition being classified under three major nutritional deficiencies, namely calorie deficiency due to inadequate consumption of food; protein deficiency due to the inadequate consumption of pulses, egg, milk etc., and micronutrient deficiency – or hidden hunger – in a country like India where most of the population depends on agriculture for its livelihood and yet continues to be undernourished, leveraging it for nutrition will have a great potential to address food and nutritional security, he added.

Agriculture is our basic culture, and our core philosophy is of share and care, which our farmers are doing in the form of providing food, said the Vice President. “Malnutrition has risen for the first time in over a decade, and therefore, pol icy makers and politicians should focus more on the issue of malnutrition. Agricultural production should become more nutrition-sensitive and there should be a diversification of crop production to include millets and pulses, and not just concentrate on rice,” he added.

With one in five women in the reproductive age group estimated to suffer from chronic energy deficiency, while another 20 per cent are obese, he said that we need to address this problem on war footing, for which research is highly important.

Stressing on the key recommendations for promoting farming system for Nutrition in our country, the need for nutrition to be focussed as a goal for agriculture and allied sectors in the country was discussed.

Stating that it is important to promote Nutrition Literacy, Dr Ashok Dalwai, CEO, National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA), said, “Genetic gardens of Bio-fortified crops can be established to serve as an important tool for enhancing nutrition literacy for both producers and consumers. Genetic gardens can be established at the district or block-level within Nutri-farms scheme of the National Food Security Mission (NFSM).” 

On the occasion, speakers also spoke about the need to address hidden hunger through the promotion of backyard nutrition gardens and bio-fortified varieties. “Distribution for quality seeds for vegetables at the village level through the Self-Help Groups while simultaneously building their capacity on nutrition knowledge would have a positive impact on the dietary diversity at the household level,” said Dr RV Bhavani, of MSSRF.