Effect of Farming Systems for Nutrition on Nutritional Intakes: A Study of Two Regions in India

In nutrition insecure regions of rural India, farming systems with focus on nutrition (or FSN) can prove effective in improving access and availability for nutrient intake. In 2017, a few villages in Koraput and Wardha were involved to increase their crop diversity, intercropping of pulses and cereals, promotion of seasonal fruits and vegetables and nutrition awareness. About 75-80 percent of households voluntarily agreed to involve, for whom the reported dietary habits were recorded in 2014, before the FSN interventions and in 2017, after the interventions. This study reports the findings from reported dietary changes for the two years. Household food consumption is converted into its nutrient content and normalized by the demographic composition of the households. The intake of micronutrients like vitamin A, vitamin C, iron and calcium show larger improvements compared to calories and proteins. This is partly because the intervention focused more on dietary quality than in improving energy dense food. The changes are more apparent in Wardha as their nutrient intakes and dietary diversity were low in 2014. Households in Koraput benefitted substantially from the newly introduced schemes for clean cooking fuel and sanitation thereby improving hygienic environment that would enable improved nutrient absorption.