Strengthening agriculture-nutrition linkages to improve consumption of nutrient-dense perishable foods in India - existing evidence and way forward

Kiruthika Selvaraj,Ankita Mondal,Bharati Kulkarni

doi:10.21839/jfna.2021.v4.7201

Abstract

The triple burden of malnutrition in India is largely contributed by poor quality diets lacking adequate intake of nutrient dense perishable foods (NDPFs) - milk, eggs, fruits and vegetables. This is intriguing because India is one of the largest producers of NDPFs. This review examines possible reasons for this disparity. Poor post-harvest infrastructure, price volatility, unorganized supply chains, long-standing government policies favouring cereals and increasing consumer preference of convenience foods are identified as major reasons for the low intake of NDPFs. While nutrition-sensitive agriculture interventions appear promising to improve intakes of NDPF, stronger evidence is needed to scale up these interventions.

Highlights

Despite impressive economic progress in the last few decades, nationally representative data from India show the persistent triple burden of malnutrition in the form of coexistence of undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and increasing prevalence of obesity and chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases
We examine the disparity between availability and reported intakes of nutrient dense perishable foods (NDPFs) and discuss the existing evidence on the possible reasons for this disconnect
Our findings show that the consumption matches the requirement only in case of cereals and millets, whereas a wide gap exists in case of the NDPFs including vegetables, fruits and milk

Summary

Introduction

Despite impressive economic progress in the last few decades, nationally representative data from India show the persistent triple burden of malnutrition in the form of coexistence of undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and increasing prevalence of obesity and chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The National Family Health Survey-4 (NFHS-4) showed almost 20% prevalence of chronic energy deficiency (Body Mass Index (BMI) less than 18.5) in adults and around 38% prevalence of stunting in children under five years of age (International Institute of Population Sciences, 2017; WHO, 2017). The recent comprehensive national nutrition survey [CNNS(2016-18], which provided nationwide data on micronutrient deficiencies in children and adolescents (1-19 y) for the first time, shows that in many states, the prevalence of deficiencies of zinc, iron, vitamin A exceed levels indicative of severe public health problem. Tackling the burden of undernutrition and overnutrition, two seemingly contrasting forms of malnutrition, represents an enormous policy challenge. It has been recognized that countries need ‘double duty’ actions in terms of policies and interventions that can simultaneously reduce under nutrition and overnutrition (WHO, 2017)

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