Biofortified food can lead India from food security to nutrition security
Prime Minister addressed the nation from the Red Fort to mark India’s 75th Independence Day. He emphasised the need to ensure “poshan” (nutrition) to the country’s women and children.
PM announced that, by 2024, rice provided to the poor under any government scheme– PDS, mid-day-meal, anganwadi– will be fortified. We presume that the nutrition experts of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) have been consulted in arriving at the decision.
Development of biofortified crops in India
Scientists at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) have been developing biofortified crops in India with a view to eradicating malnutrition amongst the poor sections of the society.
They had developed 21 varieties of biofortified staples including wheat, rice, maize, millets, mustard, groundnut by 2019-20.
These biofortified crops have 1.5 to 3 times higher levels of protein, vitamins, minerals and amino acids compared to the traditional varieties.
These varieties are not genetically modified–they have been developed through conventional crop breeding techniques.
National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute in Mohali has also developed biofortified coloured wheat (black, blue, purple) that is rich in zinc and anthocyanins.
Farmers from Punjab and Haryana have been roped in to multiply the production of this wheat variety. This points towards the beginning of a new journey, from food security to nutritional security.
‘Kuposhan Mukt Bharat’- need of the hour
15.3 per cent of the country’s population is undernourished.
India has the highest proportion of “stunted” (30 per cent) and “wasted” children (17.3 per cent) below five years of age.
Other factors like poor access to safe drinking water and sanitation (especially toilets), low levels of immunization and education, especially of women, contribute equally to this dismal situation.
About 50 per cent of the rural population does not have safe and adequate drinking water within premises.
About 15 per cent of schools lack access to basic infrastructure (electricity, drinking water and sanitation).
The average annual school dropout rate at the secondary level (Class 9-10) is 18 percent.
These indicates that India is at a critical juncture with respect to nutritional security and will not be able to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of eliminating all forms of malnutrition by 2030 in the business-as-usual scenario.
Suggestions
One cannot tackle the multi-dimensional problem of malnutrition just by biofortification. India needs a multi-pronged approach to eliminate the root cause of this complex problem.
That approach should include the following initiatives:
Improve female literacy
- There is a direct correlation between mothers’ education and the wellbeing of children.
- Children with mothers who have no education have the least diversified diets and suffer from stunting and wasting and are anaemic.
- Only 12.5 per cent women (in age group 15-49 years) were found to have completed school education (Class 12) in 2018.
Supportive policies
- Innovations in biofortified food can alleviate malnutrition only when they are scaled up with supporting policies.
- This would require increasing expenditure on agri-R&D and incentivising farmers by linking their produce to lucrative markets through sustainable value chains and distribution channels.
- The government can also rope in the private sector to create a market segment for premium-quality biofortified foods to cater to high-end consumers.
- For instance, trusts run by the TATA group are supporting different states to initiate fortification of milk with Vitamin A and D.
National awareness drive
- Branding, awareness campaigns, social and behavioural change initiatives, such as community-level counselling, dialogue, media engagement and advocacy, especially amongst marginalised communities, can promote consumption of locally-available, nutrient-dense affordable foods among the poor and children.
- On the lines of the “Salt Iodisation Programme” launched by the government in 1962 to replace ordinary salt with iodised salt, can play an important role at the individual and community levels to achieve the desired goals of poshan for all.
Road ahead
Targeted programmes for improving the educational status of girls, particularly at the secondary and higher educational levels, need to be promoted.
Childcare knowledge and information on holistic nourishment should be compulsorily included in the school curriculum.
Innovative strategies that integrate education and nutrition programmes hold great importance in combating the malnutrition problem.
Focus on Enhancing the mid-day meals.
- Mid-Day Meal Scheme seeks to provide daily meals to 10 crore children in almost 12 lakh schools in classes 1 to 8 across government and government-aided schools.
- Invest on social welfare- Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh are the best examples of how social welfare program can achieve good nutrition indicators.
- Availability of improved data collection on stunting and obesity.
- Strengthening and expanding various nutrition schemes for adolescent girls is a must.
- There should be improved access to public healthcare for poorer communities.
- Strengthening and use of MGNREGA scheme at a large scale to ensure better food security.
- Leveraging science to attack the complex challenge of malnutrition, particularly for low-income and vulnerable sections of the society can be a good intervention which can be promoted by branding, awareness campaigns, social and behavioral change initiatives. This can promote consumption of locally-available, nutrient-dense affordable foods among the poor and children.
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