Bio fortification: A Plausible Antidote to Hidden Hunger

Context:

  • A dip in India’s ranking in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) has rightly created a stir in the country. The continued focus on calories and the ignorance of nutritional aspects of food are responsible for the distressed state of the food and nutrition system in our country.
  • According to our own Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (2016-18) and SRS (2018) data, 7% of our children are still stunted, 17.3% wasted, and 33.4% underweight.Lack of proper food is not only a development issue but is also a crucial economic issue for any country.

The Real Problem is Malnutrition:

  • Three out of the four indicators used by the GHI index to rank countries deal with nutrition. These indicators go beyond just meeting calorie requirements—in simple words, a balanced diet with all the nutrients, including micronutrients. The real problem is malnutrition, and not lack of food. Removing hidden hunger, and not Just Hunger, is the Mantra.
  • Researchers have established that in general diets in developing countries are deficient in vitamin A, zinc, and iron, resulting in increased mortality, morbidity, and health and development costs.
  • In India, only 9.6% of the children between 6-23 months of age are able to get minimum Acceptable Diets.This means that children of comparatively economically well-to-do families, too, suffer from malnutrition—that too, during the most crucial phase of their mental and physical development.

Various Options Available and their Limitation

  • Food supplements, such as Micronutrient-Rich capsules or food products fortifiedduring processing, appear to be the fastest solution.
  • However, besides the low purchasing power of the poor, constraints like lack of better infrastructure, efficient technology, and a reliable distribution systemmake it an unattainable option.
  • The next option could be the Implementation of efficient information, education, and a communication programmemotivating consumers to change their food habits in favour of nutrient-rich foods. Again, this is a costly and time-consuming option.
  • Consumption of Diversified Dietsmay appear to be a sustainable option to control malnutrition, but this doesn’t seem to be possible in the short term as it will require a change in people’s food habits and preferences.

Bio Fortification – a Viable Solution:

  • Bio fortification, an agriculture-based approach to the development and dissemination of micronutrient-rich crops,offers a viable option to mitigate malnutrition and hidden hunger. It is simple and economical also.
  • It mainly targets poor and rural households, where home production and consumption of staple food crops is significant, and consumption of the marketed surplus is most likely to remain within the community.
  • Enriching staple crops with required micronutrients reduces people’s nutritional vulnerabilitybecause, during economic shocks, the poor tend to reduce their consumption of higher-value food commodities that are naturally rich in micronutrients.
  • With a one-time R&D Investment,bio fortified seeds could spread through the existing seed distribution systems.
  • Farmers, even with limited resources and market access, can grow bio fortified crops since they don’t need repeated purchases of seeds year after year—they can use a part of their produce as the seeds for the next year.

Measures needed to Augment the Adoption of bio Fortified Crops:

  • For farmers to grow the bio fortified crops, the nutrient-rich varieties should be economically remunerative.
  • The speed of adoption of the seed will depend upon the efficiency of the seed distribution system, and the support of public extension services.
  • For consumers to consume, besides taste, texture, and visual appearance, awareness about malnutrition, easy availability, and access of cereals at an affordable price are crucial.
  • It may be essential to understand that consumers’ acceptance influences farmers’ adoption decisions and vice-versa. Low acceptance by the consumers will lower market price for farmers, and low adoption by farmers will make the product unaffordable for the poor consumers.

Conclusion:

  • Recent initiatives of the government, like the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, POSHAN Abhiyan (National Nutritional Mission), and other schemes, namely, the Integrated Child Development Services, mid-day meal scheme, and the National Food Security Act are well-intentioned and have been able to provide food to people to survive.
  • However, the recent GHI ranking has reminded us that the need of the hour is to go beyond only hunger, and to solve the issue of hidden hunger. Here, bio fortification offers a reasonable option.
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