Women must lead the fight against malnutrition
Rural women’s interdependence with agriculture points to solutions which coopt different cultivation practices
Nutrition has been a focal point of the human development efforts in India for the right reasons. However, for women, it attains special importance because of the intergenerational carry over of the impacts through children. The nutritional status of women can make or mar entire generations, thereby carving a deep furrow on the nation’s human resources pool over time. Since we celebrated the national nutrition month in September, it may be worth looking at the link between rural women, agriculture and nutrition.
Agriculture in India is significantly dependent on women. Women make up about 33% of cultivators and about 47% of agricultural labourers in rural India. Overall, the percentage of rural women who depend on agriculture for their livelihood is as high as 84%. But systemic barriers to finance, inputs, extension services and land rights have limited their potential and recognition as the mainstay of our agrarian ecosystem.
Juxtapose this with the findings of the National Family Health Survey 2015-16 which state that 26.7% of rural women are underweight and 54.2% anaemic. Clearly a majority of our women agricultural producers and workers are themselves victims of malnutrition.
However, these women can be co-opted in to the solution itself. One such evidence comes from the Pathways programme implemented by CARE India. Given financial support and choice in crop selection, women farmers preferred crops that would contribute to household dietary diversity while promoting food and nutrition security.
Making agriculture sensitive to nutritional needs isn’t a new concept. It had interested MS Swaminathan, the father of our Green Revolution. What is needed, however, is a realistic approach to achieving that goal. That is where the focus should be on enabling women. Making women participants in the financial aspects of the farm and family is both a cause and result of achieving success in this regard. Financial support specifically ensuring availability of institutional credit to women farmers is the key. These steps have broader connections to providing women with greater autonomy, participation and influence in household decision-making and the ability to exercise their choices which lead to better food security and nutrition outcomes.
Overall, rural women’s close interdependence with agriculture points to solutions which co-opt cultivation practices in addressing malnutrition. Already multiple models of nutrition-layered agriculture are being experimented with under the leadership of women land holders and their collectives.