Need to empower women to improve malnutrition for country to prosper: Secretary, Women and Child Development, Govt of Maharashtra

Oct 20, 2022

MUMBAI, 20 October 2022: Ms IA Kundan, Secretary, Women and Child Development Department, Government of Maharashtra today said that we need to empower more women to improve malnutrition and hidden hunger so that our country prospers. "If we have healthy mothers, we have healthy children and hence we build a healthy nation," she added.

Addressing the day-long workshop on 'Biofortification - A Pathway To Improve India's Nutritional Outcomes', organized by FICCI, jointly with GAIN, Syngenta foundation India and Harvest Plus, Mr Rajendra Jog, Country Director, Syngenta Foundation India said that biofortification of crop varieties in the food chain is considered the most cost-effective methodology to enrich the nutritional status of staple crops. The nutrients thus reach the target people in their natural form which will improve the health of malnourished people across the world, he added.

Ms Pritee Chaudhary, Regional Director, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Western Region Office said that awareness and biofortification should be a part of the curriculum. Also, the acceptability from the grower itself is needed to increase the use of biofortified crops as food in the country. She further said that we can improve the acceptability by increasing the yield, crop resistance, and lesser need for water along with a market to sell the produce.

The workshop provided a common platform to all stakeholders to outline the opportunities in eradicating malnutrition and deliberate on actions that are required at the policy and operational level to unleash the potential of biofortified crops in the country.

The workshop deliberated two key advantages of biofortification which includes its long-term cost-effectiveness, and its ability to reach underserved rural populations. An upfront investment in plant breeding yields micronutrient-rich biofortified planting material for farmers to grow at virtually zero marginal cost. Once developed, nutritionally improved crops can be adapted to new environments and geographies, multiplying the benefits of the initial investment.

The speakers highlighted that sustained and focused policy changes are needed to boost adoption by incentivizing farmers to grow nutrient enriched crops and provide a ready market for their produce. A robust, value-chain network of seed multiplication centers and sellers, farmers, and processors is imperative to ensure availability and last-mile delivery. The workshop was attended by delegates representing policymakers, agribusiness industries, and eminent scientists from national research institutions, research, and academia.