1) To what extent do you think should AEAS be involved in broader development issues, going beyond providing and facilitating access to knowledge, information and technologies?
Response: It will certainly be nice if AEAS can go beyond facilitating access to knowledge, information and technologies to issues such as sensitivity to gender and nutrition. However with the current syllabus of for training agriculture extension workers this may not be possible. A team of AE workers to include a social scientist in the team would help. Extension workers as it is have enough on their hands and may not be able to cope with more. Some sensitisation would help.
2) What specific challenges have you encountered that hinder AEAS from addressing gender inequalities and promoting nutrition?
Response: In India as well as perhaps other countries, human nutrition is not taught as a separate subject. In earlier years this subject was included. But now it is not. Consequently, the nutrition knowledge of agriculture scientists in general, (including the extension workers) is rather poor. They are unable to appreciate the need of making cropping pattern nutritionally sensitive and environmentally sustainable. Also their mind set tends to be male centric and women are invariably left out of extension activities. This is now to some extent changing in India.
3) Do you know any examples of AEAS successfully addressing gender inequalities and supporting improved nutrition outcomes? What factors, including specific approaches and tools, led to success?
For last over 20 years, the respondent (a nutrition scientist) is associated in honorary capacity with Dangoria Charitable Trust, - a non profit NGO, and is working in the villages of Medak district of the South Indian state of Telangana (previously, Andhra Pradesh), on issues of health, nutrition, gender and livelihood. Our effort has been to persuade small and marginal farmers (mostly latter) to divert a small piece of their land to growing nutritionally important crops like vegetables (including green leafy vegetables), fruits, pulses and millets. Organic methods like vermi composting and use of botanical pesticides and water conservation are taught. Health, nutrition, sanitation education for behavioural change are important part of our effort since no technology can succeed without social engineering. Though women are the major target, family approach is used. To start with only men used to come for centralised training. But now we send invitation letters in the name of the women and let them bring their husbands. Even illiterate women enjoy getting letters in their name and get someone to read them out to them. This plus improved transportation from villages by way of shared auto rickshaws , and now mobile phones (which most women possess) has made a vast difference and now women come, often with their children. Apart from agriculture related technologies, cooking demos with nutrition education form part of both centralised as well as decentralised hands on training. DCT has a food processing centre and value addition to farm produce is also taught. ( www.dangoriatrust.org.in)
Impact is assessed through acceptance of technologies, Knowledge, Attitude, Practice (KAP) surveys and household food consumption surveys done initially and finally. Impact on KAP is very good. Food consumption pattern of the household shows significant increase in the consumption of GLV, but not the other vegetables. 25-50% of home-grown vegetables are sold due to high market price, and home grown veggies (other than GLV) replace what is normally purchased from the market. However in the non-intervention villages, there is significant decline in the consumption of vegetables, suggesting that the home- grown vegetables, at least prevent the slide in vegetable consumption due to price rise.
Back yard poultry with high egg-yielding breeds have improved household egg consumption markedly.
Our attempt has been to promote two ways agriculture - keep growing crops like paddy and sugar cane which they grow for income, but also develop some homestead gardens on small patches of quarter acre or less for nutrition gardens. Home consumption rather than marketing is the mantra. BYP needs very little space or investment and recurring cost.
See the following publications:
- Bamji MS, Murty PVVS, Vishnuvardhan Rao M, Satyanarayana G. With technical support from N.Venkateshan. Diversification from agriculture to nutritionally and environmentally promotive horticulture in a dry-land area. Sight and Life, 25: 38-42, (2011)
- Murty PVVS, Vishnuvaradhan Rao, Bamji MS. Impact of enriching the diet of women and children through health and nutrition education, introduction of homestead gardens and backyard poultry in rural India. Agric. Res. 5(2)210-217 (2016).
4) What do you think the role and main activities should be of a global forum such as the GFRAS Nutrition Working Group in helping AEAS to become more gender-sensitive and able to contribute to improved nutrition?
GFRAS should continue to emphasise that agriculture is not only for income and export but also to ensure household and individual food security. Insist on syllabus of agriculture degree to have a course in human nutrition and importance of gender sensitivity. Both farmers and farm women need training in marketing skills. For pull towards profitable marketing role of middle man should be reduced and remunerative procurement price should be given. As it is farmer is hit if she/he produces more and there is glut or produces less. Cost of production has gone up. Resistance to biotechnology including genetic engineering and GM foods should go.
Dr. Mahtab S.Bamji