Food Security among Kandhas of Kandhamal, Odisha, India: A Mixed Method Study

Abstract

Given the global commitment to zero hunger and in the backdrop of Asian enigma, this paper looks into nutritional deprivation among Kandhas, a tribal community from Odisha, India. Based on fieldwork during a harvest period, the pervasive household-specific and nutrient-specific deprivation is intriguing. An inverse relationship between the number of nutrient deficiencies and the number of food groups consumed is observed. Food intake among pregnant and lactating mothers at homes is lower than that at Maa Gruha, a care facility. The fieldwork coincides with the initial days of a millets intervention and could serve as a baseline for future comparison.

Rapporteur’s Report on Odisha' s Tryst with Millets and Integrated Farming: Inclusive, Sustainable and Going Global

“…The paper titled "Food and Nutritional Security among Tribal Communities of Odisha" by Ravinder Ram uses unit level data from the 2011-12 round of National Sample Survey and against the binary dependent variable identified with a household that either satisfies or fails to meet per capita per day calorie, protein and fat requirements together (satisfies all three 1, otherwise fails 0) it rejects absence of relationship or suggests deprivation for those with lower income (monthly per capita expenditure, MPCE), being tribal, and are residing in rural regions. This echoes with recent observations of Samal and Mishra (2022) that people residing in rural and tribal regions are not only nutritionally deficient, but that they also have limited access to nutritionally health food that are grown in the region.…”