THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)
(a) to (e): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.
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STATEMENT IN RESPECT OF PARTS (a) TO (e) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION No. 34 TO BE ANSWERED ON 30TH NOVEMBER, 2021 REGARDING “NUTRITION SMART VILLAGE PROGRAMME”
(a) & (b): The Nutri Smart Village programme is implemented by ICAR- Central Institute for Women in Agriculture (CIWA) along with its 13 All India Coordinated Research Project on Women in Agriculture (AICRP-WIA) Centres in 75 villages located in 23 districts of 13 states of the country to strengthen the Prime Minister''s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment (POSHAN Abhiyaan).
(c) Important indicators taken for selection of villages are as under:
i. Nutritional status (Poor consumption pattern and low dietary intake): Identification of the nutrition issues based on data obtained by regular national monitoring and surveillance of the consumption pattern, dietary intake and nutritional status of the population conducted by Primary Health Centres.
ii. Accessibility of the villages: The villages should be located within 50 KMs radius from the implementing organization for regular monitoring.
iii. Prevalence of mono-cropping and low crop diversification: Scope for crop diversification increases the dietary diversity at household level with an aim to reduce incidence of malnutrition.
iv. Non-existence or overlapping of other nutrition-based programme by other government and non-government agencies.
v. Scope for conducting nutrition awareness programme: shall be conducted at individual as well as household levels through methods like trainings, demonstrations, health camps, Focused Group Discussions on issues like malnutrition, anemia, balanced diets, related health illness etc.
(d) A number of research studies have been undertaken by ICAR- CIWA and AICRP on Women in Agriculture establishing the agri-nutrition linkage. During X Plan period a project on “Sustainable Approaches for Nutritional Security” was carried out in which Nutri-gardens were promoted and assessment was done for the nutrition status of farm families. Also, during XII Plan period, project on “Nutritional Security and Health Promotion of Farm Families” was implemented to address the micronutrient deficiencies in operational villages.
(e) The AICRP on Women in Agriculture under its various projects like ‘Sustainable Approaches for Nutritional Security’ and ‘Nutritional Security and Health Promotion of Farm Families’ promoted homestead nutri-gardens in 65 villages involving 3250 farm families. The food and nutrient intake of families was studied and it was found that 60 per cent of farm families consumed greens cultivated from their nutri-gardens which helped in increasing the micronutrient intake and prevented the incidence of malnutrition. The expenditure pattern on food items in farm families were also assessed and it was found that there was a reduction in expenditure by 50 per cent on these food items. Under the projects, Nutri-gardens were also established in schools and villages, nutrition education awareness programmes were conducted in operational villages, low cost locally available food products especially millet-based nutri food products for management of undernutrition and obesity were formulated and promoted. The programme of Nutri Smart Villages has shown that people''s participation through agricultural interventions is essential to achieve the goal of Kuposhan Mukt Bharat.
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