Sustainable Agriculture Systems and Technologies

1Agriculture and Nutritional Security in India

Shubhi Patel¹, Anwesha Dey¹, Rakesh Singh¹, and Ramesh Chand²

¹ Department of Agricultural Economics, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

² Department of Plant Pathology and Mycology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

CONTENTS

• 1.1 Introduction
• 1.2 Growth of Agriculture in India
  • 1.2.1 Role of Agriculture in Nutrition
• 1.3 Dynamics of Under Nutrition in India
  • 1.3.1 Trends Over Time
  • 1.3.2 Association with Socioeconomic Indicators
• 1.4 Institutional Interventions to Cope Up with Malnutrition
• 1.5 Policy Implication
• 1.6 Conclusion
• References

1.1 Introduction

India is a young nation with the advantage of demographic dividend. Demographic dividend is accompanied with economic growth, provided, good health, education, and employment opportunities exist (Bloom and Williamson 1998; Ross 2004). At present conditions, India will sustain demographic dividend for 37 more years and thus, the health of children is an important aspect as it tells about the past and also the future of the workforce (UNICEF 1998). In 2020, India ranked 94 out of 107 countries in Global Hunger Index, third economy out of 181 in GDP (PPP) and 131 out of 189 countries in Human Development Index. The level of hunger in India is categorized as serious (Global Hunger Index 2020). The child wasting rate is 17.3%, child stunting rate is 34.7%, ...