Enhancement of Food and Nutritional Security of Rural Poor through Tuber Crops

Abstract

The significance of tuber crops as a source of food, nutrition and income for farmers is well known; butthese are often overlooked in the debate about improving food security and tackling malnutrition. Thisstudy is a sub-component of a Farming System for Nutrition (FSN) underway in Koraput, Odisha andWardha in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, under the research programme on Leveraging Agriculturefor Nutrition in South Asia (LANSA). Tuber crops occupy an integral part of the food and agriculturalsystem of communities in these regions but the area under cultivation is very less and it is done in atraditional method. The overall aim was to promote and create awareness of nutrition sensitive agricultureamong the tribal poor through introduction of nutrient rich crop varieties both at field and in nutritiongardens followed by their upscale. The study was based on a detailed report of the baseline surveyrevealing prevalence of anaemia and vitamin A deficiency in these regions. In this context, the studyfocused on leveraging agriculture for nutrition through a farming system intervention where we introducedorange-fleshed sweet potato (Ipomoea batatasL.) (rich in Pro vitamin A) instead of traditional cultivar(white fleshed) in the fields as well as in backyard nutrition gardens. The results of this study will helpin the preliminary assessment of a nutrient rich sweet potato variety, its preference for adoption amongfarmers and as a source to address vitamin A deficiency in the country.