Homestead vegetable production for enhancing dietary diversity and food security in hill region

Abstract

Hill and mountainous eco system are highly fragile due to geological, top o graphical, climatic and demographic reasons, rugged terrain, less resource, fragmented farm and several other complexity of hill eco systems. Cereal based crop ping system is prevalent in hill regions. The present availability of food especially cereals, may be enough for consumption of all people, but it is not possible for all to consume nutritious diet. Fruits and vegetable availability can not meet the population needs to achieve dietary recommendations. The strenuous physical activities, limited food in take, imbalanced diet, emphasis on staple crop production create mal nutrition especially among children and women who are the back bone of hill farming. Low nutritional status makes women more prone to certain ailments. The strenuous physical task allocated to women combined with limited food in take, exacerbate mal nutrition. Majority of rural women in Uttarakhand are suffering from Chronic Energy Deficiencies (CED) and their in take of micro nutrients is lower than Recommended Dietary Allowances. There fore, women re quire high quality nutrients as their work load and energy expenditure is more. One of the feasible path ways to wards the improved nutritional status of hill community with special emphasis on women, is to diversify and intensify production system through a sustain able eco system approach. It will improve the food basket qualitatively and quantitatively in hill region. In Hill region of Uttarakhand, climatic conditions are very much favorable for growing many diversified crops round the year. Agriculture related interventions typically aim at improving nutrition by increasing food production and family income. Therefore, a project was designed under National Mission for Himalayan Studies to improve nutritional level of women in high hills of Uttarakhand through nutrition sensitive agriculture interventions. Home stead vegetable cultivation by developing a nutri-gar den in the limited avail able land or roof gardening for fam ily consumption is an afford able nutrition intervention for rural community as well as urban people irrespective of their avail able land re sources and socio-economic status. Home stead vegetable gardening has resulted in enhanced in take of vegetables. Vegetables are the most affordable source of micronutrients especially for small land holders but there is a need in hill region to recognize its both economic and nutritional importance. Focusing on nutrition helps to build the resilience of rural households.