Work under this programme area focuses on leveraging of agriculture for nutrition and health through research, implementation and demonstration at the community level and advocacy with different stakeholder groups. The 6-year research programme Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia (LANSA), led by MSSRF, which ended in early 2019, was given an A+ rating by the funding agency UKAid. The communication received in August 2019 says: ‘LANSA opened space for nutrition-sensitive agriculture deliberations among policy makers, practitioners and academics throughout the region. Evidence from LANSA research has been widely cited in academic and public discourse, raising awareness around the subject.’ During the year, a series of meetings were held with the National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (TB) and the Central Leprosy Teaching and Research Institute to develop joint proposals on leveraging agriculture to improve dietary diversity and thereby resilience against diseases such as TB and leprosy. Work on promotion of a Farming System for Nutrition (FSN) approach as a pathway to addressing the problem of malnutrition in India continued during the year.
Promotion of the FSN Approach through Krishi Vigyan Kendras: Three Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) under the Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU), Andhra Pradesh, set up FSN demonstration models in their respective campuses. The KVKs are located in three different agroecological zones – Undi in West Godavari district (hilly), Reddypalli in Ananthapur district (semi-arid) and Rastakuntubai in Vizianagram district (coastal) – and they set up nutrition-sensitive crop and animal husbandry demonstrations in an area of 1 acre and nutrition gardens of fruits and vegetables on 2 cents of land at their campus. Project coordinator and home science subject matter specialist (SMS) from the three KVKs participated and shared the results of their work at a workshop in Lam, Guntur, on 10 January 2020. Following discussion and feedback, each KVK was requested to finalize its presentation and prepare a report, including the cost of setting up the demonstration and returns and details of nutrition awareness activities conducted. The lockdown because of the Covid-19 pandemic precluded field visits planned in March–April to witness the rabi demonstration by the KVKs.
ANGRAU identified three more KVKs – Amadalavalasa in Srikakulam district, Darsi in Prkasam district and Utukurin in YSR Cudapah district – for setting up the FSN demonstration in 2020–21, with support from MSSRF. An orientation workshop for the project coordinators and SMSs from these three KVKS was convened in Lam on 11 February 2020. Project coordinators/SMSs from Undi, Rastakuntubai and Reddypalli were also invited to participate in this workshop and share their experiences. The workshop was inaugurated by Prof. Damodara Naidu, the vice chancellor of ANGRAU; the deans of research and home science also spoke, indicating the university’s active support for promoting the FSN approach as a pathway to addressing the problem of malnutrition. Following explanation of the concept of FSN and group work, the three KVKs were asked to develop the plan for FSN demonstration on 1 acre of land and nutrition garden demonstration on 2 cents of land in the kharif season and share, for feedback. The KVKs will be setting up the demonstrations this year.
In the case of Maharashtra, a formal MoU was signed with the Maharashtra Council for Agriculture Education and Research (MCAER), Pune, in December 2019, for MSSRF to provide technical support for the promotion of the FSN approach by KVKs under the four agriculture universities in the state, in a project supported by UNICEF. Nineteen KVKs are included in the first phase: four KVKs each under Vasant Rao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani, and Dr. Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli; five KVKs under Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola; and six under Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri. In addition to setting up demonstration on campus, each KVK has also undertaken to promote the approach among households in an adopted village. A workshop was held with scientists from these KVKs at MCAER on 13 December 2019. Each KVK shared information about the kharif demonstration and other work done by them.
Research Products: Two impact briefs on the FSN study under LANSA were produced: evidence from the FSN study, and Nutrition Awareness under the FSN study. Two films were also produced for advocacy and sharing; the first, titled ‘Farming System for Nutrition: A Novel Approach to Address Malnutrition’, documents the results of the study, and the second, titled ‘Advocacy for a FSN Approach’, documents the advocacy efforts and the results thereof. Both films are available on MSSRF’s YouTube channel. A manual on nutrition awareness, for use by trainers and field practitioners, has also been developed.
Networking and Dissemination: We were invited to serve as the resource people on nutrition-sensitive agriculture at training workshops organized by North Eastern Regional Centre (NERC) of the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR) in May 2019; NIRD&PR, Hyderabad, in August 2019; and Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, in August 2019.
As a part of disseminating the concepts of nutrition-sensitive agriculture and the FSN approach among academicians and researchers, particularly students, MSSRF provided technical resource support to the Economics Department of Stella Maris College, Chennai, to curate a national seminar on ‘Pathways to Address SDG2 of Zero Hunger’ held at the college on 13–14 September 2019. Invited talks on the subject were delivered at conferences organized by AMET University, Chennai, in August 2019;Dharmamurthi Rao Bahadur Calavala Cunnan Chetty’s Hindu College, Pattabiram, in December 2019 and February 2020; International Consultation on Promoting Nutrition-Sensitive Approaches organized by Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives and Department of Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water, government of Odisha, in Bhubaneswar in October 2019; Nutrition Spectrum 2019 organized by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Northern Regional Workshop on POSHAN Abhiyan organized by Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in New Delhi in November 2019; Dhaka Global Dialogue organized by ORF in Dhaka in November 2019; and National Seminar on Doubling Farmers’ Income by 2020: Challenges, Opportunities and Way Forward organized by Career Point University in Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, in February 2020.