Food
based approach can prove effective in improving access and availability of
nutrients from foods required for daily life where most of the people depend on
agriculture for their livelihood. A study on feasibility of Farming Systems for
Nutrition (FSN) approach was undertaken from 2013 to 2018 in a few villages of
Koraput district, Odisha state and Wardha district, Maharashtra state in India.
Interventions were done to increase crop diversity, intercropping of pulses and
cereals, promotion of seasonal vegetables and fruits along with nutrition awareness. The endline survey showed increase in production
diversity leading to improved household dietary diversity. This paper
demonstrates the impact of FSN interventions on household nutrient intake. The
results show that the intake of nutrients like protein, vitamin C, iron and
calcium increased significantly in Koraput and all the nutrients including
energy and vitamin A increased significantly in Wardha. The evidence shows that
Farming System for Nutrition approach improves individual nutrient intake which
in the long run can address the problem of undernutrition.
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