The National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), India together with FAO organised a workshop on August 24, 2021 titled, “Development of Training Package for Integrating Nutrition into Extension Advisory Service (EAS) training Programmes in India”. This is a part of FAO’s project on, “Strengthening Capacity for Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture and Food Systems’’.

The inaugural session included addresses by Dr. P. Chandra Shekara, Director General - MANAGE, India and Mr. Tomio Shichiri, FAO Representative in India; and attended by Mr. Vinay Singh, Food Security and Nutrition Expert, FAO India Dr. Veenita Kumari, Deputy Director (Gender Studies), MANAGE, faculty and consultants from the selected institutions in India.

The workshop was attended by 29 participants both in physical as well as virtual mode. Participants included faculty and representatives from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)- National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) ;National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR); Action for Food Production Regional Office (AFPRO); Extension Education Institute (EEI); Krishi Vigyan Kendra - Medak, Telangana; M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF); Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU); Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA); Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture; National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM) and Institute of Home Economics - University of Delhi,

Led by FAO, this one-day consultative workshop was primarily aimed at, integrating nutrition objectives, and addressing malnutrition in Agriculture Extension and Advisory Services (EAS) in India. The results of an online survey conducted to assess the capacities and learning needs of the agriculture officers for nutrition in India were shared. Feedback was also received on the training package proposal for Mid-Senior Level (MSL) and Field-Level Staff (FLS) of EAS to integrate nutrition into the EAS programmes in India.

The workshop saw active participation from experts and was widely appreciated for taking the initiative to promote nutrition-sensitive agriculture and food systems in the Indian context. The workshop also succeeded in receiving feedback from experts and organizations engaged in Nutrition, Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture and Rural Advisory Services (RAS) in India’’ on the proposed training package.

The workshop proceedings highlighted the need for re-packaging and sequencing training topics based on existing themes.  Additional topics suggested were in terms of soft-skills specific to nutrition-sensitive agriculture, locally available nutritious crops, location-specific bio-fortified crops and policy advocacy. Participants in the workshop emphasized the need to introduce the concept of Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture (NSA) at Diploma level courses since field staff in EAS are mostly Diploma holders. The workshop also generated discussions relating to the inclusion of   food security and nutrition in EAS activities, as the EAS service provider is potential channel for delivering nutritional knowledge and skills to rural communities to improve their nutrition and health.

The day ended with a summary of key takeaways from the workshop by Mr. Vinay Singh, FAO-India and concluding remarks delivered by Dr. P. Chandra Shekara, Director General – MANAGE.