The writer of this article had the privilege of participating in an important discussion on nutritional status in South Asia and the doable. Once the main malady afflicting the region was poverty in plenty; now it is malnutrition. While countries of this region take pride in agricultural performance, especially in boosting food production, they stand relatively pale in performance pertaining to nutrition. Policy makers in these countries are now engaged in hair-scratching exercises on how to improve nutritional status of the young population. In Bangladesh at the moment, at least five research and action-research projects are being carried out - with obvious overlapping in research objectives - in finding ways and means to improve nutritional status.
A Public Forum was organised recently in Chennai, India by Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia (LANSA). Led by MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), the purpose of the forum was to build awareness on how agriculture has a reflection on nutrition and health. Obviously, the focus in the forum was on women and children in the South Asian region who are believed to suffer from acute nutritional deficiency. However, what sprang out unequivocally was that there is a serious need for a multi-dimensional approach to address the problem of malnutrition in South Asia which is also critical to achieving Zero Hunger Challenge for the region. The clarion call was to uphold "stronger linkages between agriculture and nutrition, health and sanitation and waste management playing the key role, while bringing in technology and innovation in the loop." This writer intends to present some of the highlights from the forum which, he deems, are relevant for Bangladesh on two main grounds. First, despite nutritional improvement over time, child malnutrition (especially stunting) is one of the most acute in Bangladesh. Second, empirical evidences from Bangladesh and elsewhere tend to argue that increase in food production and income growth may not be the main answer to the nutritional malaise.
Prakash Shetty (CEO, LANSA) while laying out the programme's focus and challenges, considered South Asia as a region of fast economic growth through improved agriculture. He reckoned that researchers under the umbrella of LANSA should be able to produce credible policy prescriptions so that research uptake becomes easier.
Stuart Gillespie, one of the LANSA's Research Directors, came up with the information that out of three million people who die globally, 45 per cent is due to malnutrition and that 40 per cent of these people live in South Asia. It is disheartening to note further that the highest number of malnourished reside in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan despite their high dependency on agriculture and significant economic growth. Three emerging challenges that he mentioned were governance (agricultural sector) and coherence (multi-sectoral and policy levels); women empowerment; and diet diversity as well as production diversity. Another Research Director Dr VP Singh touched upon an important but unsearched observation -- evidence from LANSA's study in Koraput and Wardhathat show that two-thirds of population in those areas are having haemoglobin and various vitamin deficiencies allegedly caused by soil nutrients where crops are grown.
Prof M S Swaminathan - the first World Food Prize winner -- while chairing the panel discussion emphasised on food-based approach through bio fortification rather than a drug-based approach to malnutrition. In other words, the approach should be preventive rather than curative. He said that mitigating the three aspects -- calorie hunger, protein hunger and micronutrient (hidden hunger) in unison will help solve the problem of hunger. Mahendra Dev from Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Studies explained that there are several disconnects between agriculture and nutrition. While crediting projects for significant results in reducing underweight in children in India, he indicated the role of agriculture with a growth of 4.0 per cent during the 11th five year plan.
Emeritus Professor of Development Studies at Oxford University, Barbara Harris-White pointed out that 50 per cent of the under nutrition situation is due to contaminated water causing a decrease in 7.0 per cent GDP -- attributable mainly to poor sanitation. Open defecation in Tamil Nadu is high, she observed, and waste can be converted to fertilizer for biogas production or even new technologies like mobile septic tanks used to deal with sanitation issues. Jeff Waage, LCIRAH Chair, iterated that the problem of malnutrition needs to be faced with interdisciplinary research and a cooperative approach. "Polices should focus on diet, non-communicable diseases, and betterment of poor dietary quality," he said, adding that increasing obesity will also need policy support. Post-harvest technology, fortification and processing, public and private sectors are critical while formulating such policies. Soumya Swaminathan argued that non-food factors like access to health facilities have contributed to the poor status of under-nutrition in India. Alarming rates of obesity among tribal population have led to the prevalence of diabetes and hypertension. Tuberculosis (TB), she said, follows under-nutrition with a decrease in one unit of Body Mass Index (BMI) amounting to about 1.4 units risk levels of TB.
CGIAR chair, John McDermott was the last speaker in the panel and wrapped up the discussion by saying that agriculture is fundamentally about improving diets and that is very important to reduce under-nutrition. Improved diet quality by adding food groups can make a big difference to the poor. An important contribution is the pathways by which agriculture can improve nutrition by linking water and sanitation, gender and social protection.
Abdul Bayes is a Professor of Economics, Jahangirnagar University. Abdulbayes@yahoo.com
From poverty in plenty to malnutrition
Abdul Bayes | Published: October 31, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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