Agricultural Diversity, Dietary Diversity and Nutritional Intake: An Evidence on Inter-linkages from Village Level Studies in Eastern India

Abstract

The linkage between agriculture and nutrition is complex and often debated in the policy discourse in India. The enigma of fastest growing economy and yet the largest home of under- and mal-nourished population takes away the sheen from the glory of economic achievements of India. In this context, the study has examined the food consumption patterns, assessed the relationship between agricultural production and dietary diversity, and analysed the impact of dietary diversity on nutritional intake. The study is based on a household level panel data from 12 villages of Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha in eastern India. The study has shown that agricultural production diversity is a major determinant of dietary diversity which in turn has a strong effect on calorie and protein intake. The study has suggested that efforts to promote agricultural diversification will be helpful to enhance food and nutrition security in the country. Agricultural programmes and policies oriented towards reducing under-nutrition should promote diversity in agricultural production rather than emphasizing on increasing production through focusing on selected staple crops as has been observed in several states of India. The huge fertilizer subsidies and government procurement schemes limited to a few crops provide little incentives for farmers to diversity their production portfolio.