The Hindu : Opinion / Leader Page Articles : Ensuring nutrition

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Saturday, Aug 14, 2004

Opinion

Opinion - Leader Page Articles

Ensuring nutrition

By C. Gopalan

What we need is not merely a Second Green Revolution but a food and agricultural policy with a nutrition orientation.

THE ANNOUNCEMENT by the United Progressive Alliance Government that agriculture will receive the highest priority is most welcome. It is to be hoped that this signifies a recognition of the need for a new direction to our food production and agricultural policies.

A "Second Green Revolution" is mentioned as being the new objective. The Green Revolution brought about a significant improvement in the production of wheat and rice, and contributed to the "freedom from hunger." It also had some drawbacks, notably the neglect of "quality foods" such as pulses, green leafy vegetables, and horticultural products. As a result, there has been no significant improvement in the nutritive quality of diets in households across the country.

The time has come to raise our sights. The objective should not be just "freedom from hunger" but "freedom from undernutrition." What we need is not merely a "Second Green Revolution" but a Food and Agricultural Policy with a nutrition orientation, which will result in the balanced augmentation of not only conventional foodgrains but also of pulses, green leafy vegetables, fruits, milk, poultry, and fish. Such a policy can ensure that diets in households across the country are balanced and nutritious.

Unlike in most other countries, including our Asian neighbours, large sections of India's population subsist on vegetarian diets. Such diets, predominantly based on cereals, are bound to be deficient in a whole range of micronutrients and phytonutrients. A wholesome and nutritious vegetarian diet has to be based on not just cereals, but also on pulses, vegetables (especially green leafy vegetables) and milk. Therefore, it is important to achieve a balanced production of these essential foods so that the habitual diets fulfil basic nutrient needs.

Market forces, rather than nutritional considerations, determine the pattern of food production. The production of nutritious foods should be remunerative to the farmer. It is, therefore, important in the national interest that (through price support and other necessary incentives) a nutritional orientation to food production is ensured, and the farmer's legitimate interests are protected. This is the challenge for policy-makers.

The emphasis on "quality foods" should not be allowed to minimise the urgent need for continued augmentation of production of staple foodgrains such as wheat and rice. The seemingly abundant current buffer stocks should not lull us into a sense of false security. Foodgrains production estimated at 208 million tonnes in 2001 is expected to increase to at least 266 million tonnes by 2010. Achieving this is going to be a formidable task in the present context of shrinkage of land holdings, and shortage of water and electric power. New imaginative strategies will have to be unveiled and new technologies of proven safety harnessed.

A major distortion of the Green Revolution has been the relative neglect of pulses and legumes. At one time, pulses were less expensive than cereals. The per caput availability of pulses, unlike that of foodgrains, has declined in recent years. The near-absence of pulses in the diets of poor households in India today has resulted in the decline of the protein quality of diets. According to the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), there has been a steep decline in consumption of pulses even among the well-to-do sections. It is known that pulses play a crucial role in regulating lipid levels in vegetarian diets. Whether the sharp increase in diabetes among the middle class is related to the decline in pulses consumption must be investigated. The answer does not consist in fortification of cereals with lysine, but in overcoming the current bottlenecks to augmentation of pulse and legume production. Pulses are not merely a good source of lysine (which cereals are deficient in) but also a good source of nutrients, which are generally low in cereal-based diets. Legume cultivation, as part of crop rotation, is also beneficial to the soil. Agricultural pricing policies to make pulses cultivation attractive to farmers have to be in place. There is an urgent need for a Technology Mission for boosting the production of pulses and legumes.

A few years ago, there was considerable expansion of soyabean cultivation, especially in Madhya Pradesh. While the soyabean meal was being largely exported, soya oil was available for local consumption. Unfortunately, for various reasons, soyabean cultivation seems to have now languished. Soyabean is a nutritious product. Soya flour can be mixed with whole-wheat flour to make a number of food products. Soya oil is not only a good source of monounsaturated fatty acids but also a good source of essential fatty acids, particularly n-3 fatty acids. Imaginative new strategies for promotion of soya cultivation need to be explored.

Although India is the world's third largest producer of horticultural products (next to Brazil and the United States), the per caput daily availability of fruits and vegetables (60 gm and 75 gm respectively) falls far short of the minimum requirement. Given our natural biodiversity and with the application of new tools of biotechnology, it should be possible to substantially augment the overall production of horticultural products.

Vegetables and fruits are good sources of micronutrients and of several phytonutrients, which have now been shown to promote health and prevent disease. It is generally wrongly assumed that the problem of micronutrient deficiencies can be solved through the distribution of pills, tablets or capsules. The importance of vegetables not just from the point of view of prevention of micronutrient deficiencies but also of prevention of diseases and overall maintenance of health has not as yet been adequately recognised. For instance, the role of certain fruits and vegetables in the prevention of cancer is now being increasingly acknowledged.

Taking note of the new knowledge with regard to the wholesome effects of fruits and vegetables, the U.S. Recommended Dietary Allowance for fruits and vegetables has been raised to 450 gm a day — that in a country where several other sources of micronutrients are available from non-vegetarian diets. The Indian Council of Medical Research had recommended a minimum intake of 50gm of leafy vegetables, 60gm of other vegetables, and 50gm of roots and tubers for a low-cost balanced diet. The actual intake falls far short in most households.

At present, there is insufficient focus on cultivation and marketing of low-cost, locally-acceptable green leafy vegetables, yellow vegetables and fruits. As a result, these are not available at affordable cost throughout the year.

Currently, about 25 per cent of horticultural products are lost due to poor post-harvest management. With improved harvesting practices, and better packing, storage and processing facilities, these losses can be minimised.

Simple technologies for dehydration of green leafy vegetables have now been developed in a number of centres. Since there are marked seasonal fluctuations in vegetable production, it is important to ensure that the surplus production in good seasons becomes useful in tiding over the shortfall during the lean seasons.

Simple local-level technologies for preservation and processing of green leafy vegetables could create income-generating jobs for women in the countryside. With an assured off-take of such processed products for state-sponsored operations, including mid-day meals in schools, such programmes will become economically viable.

There is an imperative need for a Technology Mission charged with the task of promotion, storage, preservation, consumption and utilisation of green leafy vegetables.

Milk has been traditionally valued as a nutritious food item, more so in India than in other Asian countries. The current milk production has to be considerably increased to meet minimal requirements. Milk intake in poor households as per the NNMB data is barely 95 gm, far short of even the modest Recommended Dietary Allowance requirement of 150 gm.

India is now facing the double burden of undernutrition arising from poverty at one end of the socio-economic spectrum and chronic degenerative ailments such as obesity and diabetes related to overnutrition at the other. The change in food production policies suggested above will help address nutrition problems at both ends of the spectrum.

That the Departments of Food, Agriculture and Public Distribution are now unified should facilitate coherent policies on farm-to-home operations involved in the production of foods and their consumption.

(The writer is an eminent nutrition scientist.)

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