Agriculture and Nutrition are interrelated. Agriculture is the most direct route to improving the diet of a person ensuring year-round access to adequate, safe and diverse nutrient-rich food. Nutrition is a basic human need and a prerequisite to a healthy life. Food security is a matter of utmost importance for every country for sustaining the developments and for attaining the future growth of society, maintaining political stability and living beings as a whole. Food and nutrition security are two sides of the same coin, however, the ways of achieving these two are different. Food security can be achieved by increasing food production and consumption of staple food. Nutrition security implies physical, economic and social access to balanced diet, clean drinking water, safe environment, and health care for every individual. Nutritional issues in India are complex and require all sectors to play. In this context, this paper focuses on the role of nutrition extension strategy, and its role in delivering nutrition solution. Extension strategy was evolved with the sample objectives of creating opportunities for knowing, discussing and action upon, in order that most of the unsolved problems can be solved, finally effecting a positive in the behaviour and practice. Some nutrition extension strategies for enhancing nutritional security such as, coordination and management of cross-sectoral policy, capacity building and nutrition planning and implementation, increasing and diversifying food supply through agro-ecological zonal farming systems based on comparative advantage analysis. Increasing food processing, preservation capacity, food standard and quality control, promoting accessibility to affordable and nutritious foods through the development of support physical infrastructure, improving domestic market access, promoting good health through improved nutrition and preventive care practices, promoting proper food and nutrition practices through information, education and communication, Improving food security and nutrition through effective research and development programme. We hope that, these extension strategies may be promoting in the nutritional security, in near future.
Identified Strategies
- Coordination & management of cross-sectoral policy & data base management.
- Capacity building & decentralization of the food & nutrition planning & implementation.
- Increasing & diversifying food supply through agro-ecological zonal farming systems based on comparative advantage analysis.
- Increasing food processing, preservation capacity, food standard & quality control.
- Promoting accessibility to affordable & nutritious foods through the development of support physical infrastructure.
- Improving domestic market access & export competitiveness through market integration & private sector participation.
- Improving nutrition status & social equity through gender mainstreaming & affirmative action support.
- Strengthening disaster management, food reserve & food monitoring mechanisms.
- Promoting good health through improved nutrition & preventive care practices.
- Promoting good nutrition & healthy lifestyles through improved health care & sanitation practices.
- Promoting proper food & nutrition practices through information, education & communication.
- Improving food security & nutrition through effective research & development programme.
M. Thatchinamoorthy C