Role of Pulses in Enhancing Nutritional Status of Rural Poor: Micro-Level Evidence from Semi-Arid Tropics of India

Abstract

This paper has presented evidence on the role of pulses in enhancing the nutritional status of the rural communities in the semi-arid tropics (SAT) of India. The paper has used primary data from the ICRISAT VLS nutrition surveys (8 villages from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra) and the longitudinal panel micro-level data (for 6 villages of Telangana and Maharashtra) from 2009 to 2014. The study has revealed that there has been a decline in the area and production of pulses in the SAT villages of India, even though at the macro-level, pulses production has shown an increase. Pulses do contribute to the diversity in diets but the adequacy of protein from the pulses in the diet has not been analyzed in this paper. The regression analysis has indicated the importance and role of pulses in improving the nutritional status of the rural communities. The paper has concluded that there has to be a concerted policy and program action to reintroduce pulses into the cropping pattern in SAT-India and improve the consumption of pulses to the level that has a positive impact on human nutrition. Empowering women along the entire pulse value chain has been observed as one approach to enhance pulse productivity and consumption. Nutrition education, awareness generation and nutrition-sensitive agricultural interventions for pulses are the ways forward to reduce malnutrition in India.

Review of agriculture-nutrition linkages in South Asia.

“…The first study which used data from village-level studies by International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) found that the diets were dominated by cereals/carbohydrates; pulses were the major source of protein as meat and meat products (rich sources of protein) did not feature in the list of commonly consumed foods. The study reported a positive relation between the consumption of pulses and improved nutritional status in terms of BMI [32]. The second study used National Sample Survey (NSS) data between 1993 and 2009 and found more than moderate reductions in calorie intakes with dietary shifts.…”

“…Two studies focus on the dietary patterns and nutrition in India [32,33]. The first study which used data from village-level studies by International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) found that the diets were dominated by cereals/carbohydrates; pulses were the major source of protein as meat and meat products (rich sources of protein) did not feature in the list of commonly consumed foods.…”

Pulses in Rice Fallow: A Way towards Achieving Nutritional Security: A Review

“…Pulse consumption has an important role in the individual's nutritional status (Padmaja et al, 2016). Pulses are good source of vitamins, high iron content is makes them potent food for preventing iron deficiency, aneamia in woman and children.…”

Are Women in Rural India Really Consuming a Less Diverse Diet?

“…11 Second, we collect (and use) primary data on dietary consumption for both, women and households separately, which allows for accurate inference for both of these groups. Very few studies have computed DDS for both women and household using the same data set, especially in the Indian context (with the only exception being Padmaja et al 12 )Third, to our knowledge this is the first study to use detailed primary data to provide empirical evidence of the dietary gap faced by Indian women (especially in rural areas). Its importance is magnified in a context like India, due to the critical role of women in cooking and feeding practices.…”