9. LINKING NUTRITION WITH HORTICULTURE

The nutritional status and, to a great extent, the health of a community depends on access to a sufficient quantity and variety of agricultural food. Expanding and improving household-integrated horticulture production systems to promote nutrition and address changes in rural livelihoods were, therefore, important project outputs. Major strides were made in integrating nutrition in the project mainstream, with high-density mixed fruit orchards and multi-bed vegetable systems resulting in positive nutrition outcomes. More has to be done to implement the practical aspects, particularly of mixed fruit orchards but a good start has been made.

9.1. Horticultural production and consumption

The nutrition component was dovetailed into the total food chain starting from group and individual homestead garden production, including procurement from local markets, to domestic processing for home meal preparation. The links between the horticulture and nutrition component and the related activities were strengthened in collaboration with the Senior Horticulture Programme Development Expert and the Fruit and Vegetable Experts.

A variety of micronutrient-rich vegetables and fruits have been promoted through the horticulture production component of the project. These include leafy vegetables like Indian spinach and stem amaranth, carrot, country beans, red pumpkin, tomato, broccoli, garden peas, okra, onions and green chillies.

9.2. Horticultural production and nutrition availability

Vegetable garden-based production of improved vegetable varieties was an important project activity. The nutritional contribution of the vegetables produced in farm and homestead gardens was assessed using summer and winter vegetable yield information³⁸ in demonstration plots at 15 HDTC locations and discussions with the Vegetable Production Expert.

The yield availability per person was calculated using an average of six persons per household. Table 16 shows average yields of winter and summer vegetables at HDTC and farm levels. The daily average household and per capita availability of vegetables from the group garden and the per capita daily micronutrient supply are also given.

Sweet pumpkin, sweet potato, kang kong and broccoli were promoted. The Horticulture Cropping Systems Expert has recommended promotion of other vegetables such as squashes, taro, amaranthus and Indian spinach. Kang kong is a nutritious leafy vegetable well known to the farmers and can be grown almost round the year with a good yield.

Broccoli was also well received by the farmers. More nutritious than cauliflower, broccoli is a good source of vitamin A and other carotenoids such as lutein and xeaxanthin with marked nutritional benefits. One hundred grams of broccoli provides 700 µg of beta carotene, and 1 900 µg of lutein + xeaxanthin.³⁹ Broccoli is also a good source of vitamin C, with 100 g providing 109 mg. The National Research Council Committee on Diet, Nutrition and Cancer recommends increased consumption of Brassica genus vegetables as a preventive measure against cancer.

Yellow sweet potato was promoted as a source of beta carotene (1 810 µg/100 g⁴⁰). It also adds energy and bulk to the diet. Low-costing sweet potato can be processed into high-value sweet potato coconut bars and this was promoted by the project along with sweet pumpkin-coconut bar and halwa in the coastal regions of Barisal, Feni and Khulna.

The daily per capita availability of vegetables from the group garden was estimated to be about 201 g. The National Plan of Action for Nutrition (NPAN)⁴¹ recommends increasing the daily per capita vegetable consumption from the present level of 72 g to 215 g. Special efforts are being made at the national level in the 5^th Five Year Plan (1997–2002) for year-round production of major fruits and vegetables using appropriate technology. The Integrated Horticulture and Nutrition Development Project promoted the NPAN objective by increasing the supply of micronutrient-rich vegetables to reduce micronutrient malnutrition.

Among winter vegetables, carrot has the most vitamin A as beta carotene (3 230 µg) followed by tomato (708 µg) per capita. Tomato is one of the most common vegetables and nutritionally valuable because of its high content of vitamins A and C. It is also a primary source of lycopene (a carotenoid) and its consumption has significant association with low risk levels of digestive tract and prostrate cancers.⁴² Garden peas are not a good source of vitamin A but provide dietary protein, especially when dried.

Table 16. Horticultural produce⁴³ and nutrition availability from group garden

Among summer vegetables, stem amaranth (data shak) has maximum vitamin A (2 208 µg beta carotene), calcium (104 mg) and a little iron per capita. Indian spinach, on the other hand, is a packaged source of micronutrients including vitamin A (1 704 µg beta carotene), calcium (120 mg) and iron (6.0 mg) per capita.

Contribution to Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA)

Tomatoes are a good source of vitamin C, providing 80 percent of the RDA and a little over one-fourth of the RDA for vitamin A as beta carotene. Carrot is an excellent source of vitamin A and contributes twice the amount of the RDA (215 percent). Indian spinach provides nearly three-fourths of the RDA for vitamin A, and more than the RDA for vitamin C (130 percent). Stem amaranth also has adequate vitamin contributing to 92 percent of the RDA for beta carotene and about one-fourth of the RDA for calcium (see Table 17).

Table 17. Micronutrient contribution of vegetables as percentage of RDA⁴⁹

Nutrition education played an important role in supporting the vegetable production programme. The food preparation demonstrations encouraged women farmers to cook horticulture-based nutritious food for household consumption. The excess yield is sold, providing some income. Encouraging women farmers and their households to eat more fruits and vegetables has been central to the project’s nutrition education strategy.

9.3. Fruit production and micronutrient supply

Several yellow, orange-coloured and vitamin C-rich fruits were promoted by the project. Yellow and deep orange-coloured fruits are a good source of beta carotene, the plant source of vitamin A, providing a wide range of carotenoids as well as phytonutrients and fibre that impart protective attributes to the human body.

Recent research⁵⁴ shows that regular consumption of a variety of vegetables and fruits can substantially reduce the risk of non-communicable ailments such as cardiac disease, diabetes mellitus, degenerative eye disease and certain types of cancer.⁵⁵

Table 18. Estimated production of fruits over a ten-year period/day/household (g)

A wide range and quantity of fruits rich in micronutrients (vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium, iron) can be produced over a ten-year period (see Table 18), contributing to both micronutrient food security and dietary diversity.

The estimated total fruit availability per person per day of 155 g is much higher than the current consumption of 34 g per person per day.

Figures 8 and 9 show that from the first year itself, the daily vitamin A supply⁵⁶ (beta carotene) from fruits is adequate for meeting each household’s and each person’s micronutrient needs.

The recommended beta carotene dietary allowance⁵⁷ for an adult is 2 400 µg. Papaya and drumstick leaves alone can furnish 97 percent of the RDA for beta carotene. Both can provide nearly twice the RDA in the second year. In subsequent years, mango and drumstick leaf will provide more than three times the RDA.

Figure 8. Daily vitamin A supply/household (µg)

Figure 9. Daily vitamin A supply per person (µg)

The daily per capita household and person supply of vitamin C from guava, papaya, lemon and hog plum over a ten-year period is shown in Table 19. The RDA for vitamin C is 40 mg and the four fruits can furnish over three times this. Only two of these fruits can meet the RDA for vitamin C.

Table 19. Vitamin C from guava, papaya, lemon, hog plum over a ten-year period

It is interesting that just one slice of guava of about 20 g can provide the RDA for vitamin C as 100 g of guava contains 212 mg of vitamin C.

³⁸ Data from Dr S.M. Monowar Hossain’s Report (2004) on vegetable yield during winter 2002–2003.

³⁹ Mangels. 1993. Carotenoid content of fruits and vegetables: an evaluation of analytical data. J Am Diet Assoc., 93: 284, 1993.

⁴⁰ Gopalan, C. 2004. Nutritive Value of Indian Foods (Reprint). Hyderabad, India/New Delhi, National Institute of Nutrition/Indian Council of Medical Research.

⁴¹ National Plan of Action for Nutrition 2000, Bangladesh.

⁴² Singh. J. 2001. Vegetable Crops: Nutritional Security. New Delhi, Indian Council of Agricultural Research.

⁴³ Data adapted from Monowar Hossain (2003) Assignment Report.

⁴⁴ 5 months, actual period of availability 2 ¹/2 months.

⁴⁵ Gopalan, C. 2004. Nutritive value of Indian Foods. Hyderabad, India/New Delhi, National Institute of Nutrition/ Indian Council of Medical Research.

⁴⁶ Available for 1 month only.

⁴⁷ Available for 1 ¹/2 months only.

⁴⁸ Yield from 65 farms.

⁴⁹ Recommended dietary allowance

⁵⁰ RDA for vitamin A is 2 400 µg (beta carotene) or 600 µg retinol

⁵¹ RDA for vitamin C is 40 mg

⁵² RDA for iron is 30 mg

⁵³ RDA for calcium is 400 mg

⁵⁴ FAO/WHO. 2003. Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases. Report of a joint Expert Consultation. Geneva, World Health Organization, Technical Report Series 916.

⁵⁵ IARC. 2003. Handbook on fruit and vegetable consumption and cancer prevention. Washington, DC, International Agency for Research on Cancer.

⁵⁶ In terms vitamin A availability, the bioavailability factor used for beta carotene is: 1 mcg beta carotene = 0.25 mcg retinol.

⁵⁷ Recommended dietary allowance for Indians (1992), Indian Council of Medical Research.