Nutri-garden
With the growing population
and need to increase food production and buffer stocks, developing countries with
more hunger and high food scarcity, various counter strategies are required to
meet the growing demand and to avert food and nutritional insecurity. Household
nutritional gardens may prove to be an excellent strategy to fight the rural
malnutrition. The nutri-gardens not only address the food security and
malnutrition but also increases income and livelihood opportunities for
resource-poor families. The household nutritional garden is a small-scale
production system supplying plant and animal consumption items which are not affordable
to poor farmers. These nutri-gardens are located close to home for security,
maintenance and care. Generally family labour is involved and locally adapted
and plant and animal species are kept which involves very low capital input and
simple technology.
In India, food basket is
cereal dominated and main cause of malnutrition is non-availability of
different ingredients. Vegetables are a major part of nutritional gardens and
provide various vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, folic acid and dietary fibres.
The diversified household nutritional gardens are affordable and cost effective
solution to hidden hunger and malnutrition among the rural resource poor
farmers.