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Availability of Food and Nutrients in India: The Food Balance Sheet Approach ICAS-VI, Rio de Janeiro, October 23-25, 2013. Ankush Agrawal Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India. Background. Concerns regarding food and nutrition security
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Availability of Food and Nutrients in India: The Food Balance Sheet ApproachICAS-VI, Rio de Janeiro, October 23-25, 2013 Ankush AgrawalIndian Institute of Technology Delhi, India
Background • Concerns regarding food and nutrition security • Global Hunger Index: 67/81 (severity of hunger in the country ‘alarming’) • Agricultural growth in the past: unstable in general although improved during recent period • Climate change: high dependence on monsoon • It is not just the overall production but the availability pattern too is an important determinant of the welfare of the poor • Nearly 43% of the children in the country are underweight • Nutrition deficiency among the adults • Important to have a reliable information base of nutritient production and availability
Objectives • Alternative food balance sheets for India • The food balance sheet is a comprehensive picture of the pattern of a country's food supply during a specific period • Estimates of availability of macro- and micro-nutrients in India. Specifically, trends and composition of nutrients • Consistency of the nutrient availability worked out in this paper with the food balance sheets prepared by the UN • Also, FAO food balance sheets do not provide estimates of micronutrients • Largely a supply side view
Methodology (1) • We group the food items in the following three categories • Field crops: foodgrains, nine oilseeds, and sugarcane • Animal and dairy foods • Horticultural crops: fruits, vegetables, and nuts • Physical production and availability • Nutrient production and availability
FAO estimates and the present study • Difference in nutritive values • Nutritive value of different food items vary perceptibly across countries • Dietary energy: the nutritive value used by FAO is lower for 69 and higher for 37 food items in the Indian case • Ambiguity on • Data sources, edible portion, ‘estimates made by the FAO staff’ • Corrections for processing • The reliability of estimates for India, being based on few samples from processing industries, is questionable • FAO estimates include tea, coffee, and spices but this study does not
Methodology (2) • Nutrients considered • Macronutrients: energy and protein • Micronutrients • Vitamins: B1, B4 and C • Minerals: Calcium, phosphorous, and iron • Sodium • Units • Energy: Kcal; other items: unit of weight (gms or mg) • Study period: 1990-91 to 2010-11 • Three year averages
Data • Data Sources • Food production; Seed, feed, and wastage; Imports and exports: Ministry of Agriculture of the Government of India • Minor difference with the FAO figures • Nutritive values of food items; edible portions: Gopalanet al. (1989) and other studies • Compatibility and related issues • Units of measurement (eggs, coconut, etc) • Variety (pulses)
Indices of growth for population and production of foodgrain, oilseeds and sugarcane
Physical Production and Availability(per capita per day) • Field crops • Foodgrains: decline in production and availability • The decline is mostly on the account of rice • Production of pulses and coarse cereals too declined • Animal and dairy foods • Production as well as availability increased steadily • Horticultural crops • Fruits: increase (banana, citrus, papaya and sapota) • Vegetables: increase (all except sweet potato and tapioca) • Nuts: stagnant
Nutrient Production and Availability (1) • Macronutrients • Dietary energy • Production: 2800 Kcal per capita • Availability: 2400-2500 Kcal per capita • Poverty line (2300) and RDA (2480) • Dietary energy available from cereals has declined though the same has been compensated by animal and dairy foods, and horticultural crops • Protein • Production: marginal increase (86 grams per capita to 89) • Availability: 73 grams to 76; RDA (58) • Increase mostly on the account of animal and dairy foods
Nutrient Production and Availability (2) • Micronutrients • Vitamins • No increase in availability of B1 and B4, availability of C increased • Availability higher than the RDA • Minerals • Availability of iron is stagnant • Increase in calcium, phosphorous, and sodium • Present availability of iron barely equals the RDA requirement
Sources of Nutrients: Micronutrients • Not much change is apparent in the composition during the last 20 years (hence 2009-10 figures)
Alternative Estimates of Availability Horticultural Crops ~90 Kcal
Dietary energy, protein and fat consumptionThe BRICS countries
Conclusion • The availability of macro- and micro-nutrients during the last two decades merely kept pace with the population growth • Dietary energy: stagnant • Protein: marginal improvement • Vitamins: B1 and B4 declined, C improved • Minerals: improvement, Iron: stagnant • However, ensuring food security to the masses in India is more a distributional or an access issue than the availability at the national level • Sources of nutrients • Shift from cereals • Compared to FAO, our estimates are slightly higher • Need for systematic studies on post-harvest losses, food processing, and stocks
Thank you Comments and Suggestions
Availability of dietary energy, protein & fatsper capita per day