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(GIST OF KURUKSHETRA) The Role of Agriculture in Promoting Health and Nutrition

(OCTOBER-2024)

The Role of Agriculture in Promoting Health and Nutrition

Context:

The Indian government deserves praise for its visionary policies and initiatives aimed at aligning agriculture with public health goals. Programmes like the National Food Security Mission, Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana, and the promotion of biofortified crops and millets reflect a deep commitment to fostering a healthier, more resilient population.

Agriculture as a Source of Nutrient-Dense Foods

Agriculture is the basic propellant for the production of nutrient-rich foodstuffs, which are very important for maintaining health and well-being.
Nutrient-dense foods include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes, besides all foods of animal origin, which are powerhouses of the nutrients, vitamins, minerals, proteins, and good fats necessary for the proper functioning of the human body.
Such nutrition not only provides energy but also actively helps to boost immunity, prevent chronic diseases, and develop physical and mental growth in general.

Link Between Agricultural Practices and Dietary Diversity

Dietary diversity is inherent to India within the agricultural sector and has been one of the primary reasons for optimum nutrition in the general well-being of its population. With a long agrarian background and different agro-climatic zones in each region, the country grows a wide range of crops like cereals and pulses to vegetables, fruits, spices, and livestock products that contribute toward meeting a healthy diet. Most specifically, agricultural practice and dietary diversity have particularly been linked to food security and nutrition, which remain some of the major challenges in rural areas of India.
Diversified agriculture such as mixed farming and crop-livestock integration has been shown to bring better dietary diversity. Farmers growing a diverse portfolio of crops, including cereals, pulses, vegetables, and fruits, or rearing livestock tend to have more nutritionally diverse diets.
The NFHS-5 reports an improvement in the dietary diversity of households due to mixed farming practices, leading to improved nutritional status, especially among women and children.
Pulses, being one of the basic constituents of diet in India, are a rich source of plant-based protein, iron, and folic acid. The promotion of pulse cultivation in India through interventions like the National Food Security Mission has contributed to sustainable agriculture and improved nutrition.

Agricultural Policies and Public Health: A Crucial Intersection

Agricultural policies influence public health to a great extent, especially in countries like India, whose economy is based on agriculture and where agriculture provides food security. These policies influence the means of production and types of crops produced, thereby affecting food availability, access, and quality, hence nutrition and health status of millions of people.
In India, several governmental efforts are focused on aligning agricultural production with public health goals.
A glaring example is the National Food Security Act, which aims to provide subsidized grains to over 800 million people. The programme has significantly reduced hunger and undernutrition, thus ensuring that the vulnerable groups have access to staple foods.
Another very important initiative is the National Nutrition Mission or POSHAN Abhiyaan, which focuses on integrating agriculture with nutrition to address malnourishment conditions among children and pregnant women. Production and consumption of pulses, fruits, and vegetables will help to increase nutritional value in diets to fight India's ‘double burden' of malnutrition-undernutrition, and
The National Food Security Mission launched by the Ministry of Agriculture to promote the production of nutrient-dense crops by facilitating farming for pulses, millets, and biofortified varieties represents a progress toward making this national imperative a reality.
The FSSAI in the form of the Eat Right India campaign to address public health through emphasizing sustainable agricultural practices. This includes promoting organic farming, reducing injurious pesticides, and consuming locally produced foods to reduce exposure to contaminants and enhance nutritional quality.

Agriculture's Role in Combating Non-Communicable Diseases

Agriculture plays a critical role in the global response to NCDs diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and chronic respiratory diseases-that collectively account for 71% of all deaths in the world, according to the WHO. The kind of foods we produce and consume determines our health; hence, it places agriculture in a strategic position to provide the diversity of nutrient-rich crops needed to address these health challenges.
A shift in production and promotion toward healthy, nutrient-dense foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes, can reduce the risk of NCDs very significantly.
Diets rich in fruits and vegetables are abundant in vitamins, antioxidants, and fibre that have been associated with decreasing risks of heart disease, stroke, and certain kinds of cancer.
The World Health Organization recommends at least 400 grams per day of fruits and vegetables, but in many parts of the world, including India, access to these foods is limited due to farming practices that emphasize a few high-calorie, low-nutrient crops such as rice and wheat.

Challenges and Opportunities in Agriculture for Health and Nutrition

Agriculture’s role in promoting health and nutrition is plain, but it faces a complicated net of challenges and opportunities so one can form its future impact on global well-being.
The upward push of biofortification additionally presents an interesting opportunity. By growing crops which can be enriched with vital nutrients which includes nutrition A, iron, and zinc, agriculture can directly combat micronutrient deficiencies.
To promoting conventional and climate-resilient vegetation like millets and pulses, which aren't simply rich in nutrients but require fewer assets to grow.
Public-private partnerships and worldwide collaboration additionally provide a pathway to overcoming agricultural challenges.

Conclusion

Agriculture’s role in promoting health and nutrition is more vital than ever as we face a complex web of global challenges. With thoughtful innovation and sustainable practices, agriculture can be transformed into a powerful force to combat malnutrition and non-communicable diseases while ensuring food security for all.