UPSC MAINS SOCIOLOGY SYLLABUS
Paper 2 – Section C – (ii) Rural and Agrarian transformation in India:
(a) Programmes of rural development, Community Development Programme, cooperatives, poverty alleviation schemes.
(b) Green revolution and social change.
(c) Changing modes of production in Indian agriculture .
(d) Problems of rural labour, bondage, migration.
INTRODUCTION
India may be the world’s second largest producer of food, but it has its second largest undernourished population. Further, more than half of women in India suffer from anaemia, which is one of the reasons for the high rate of low-birth weight babies. India ranked 107 out of 121 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2022 with its child wasting rate at 19.3 per cent, being the highest in the world. The very basic and grassroot level initiative of Kitchen Gardens can go a long way in solving the hunger and nutritional problem of India.
WHAT IS A KITCHEN GARDEN ?
Kitchen garden is the growing of fruits and vegetables at the backyard of house by using kitchen waste water. Otherwise called as Home garden or Nutrition garden or Kitchen gardening or Vegetable gardening.
RELEVANCE OF THE TOPIC
Kitchen gardens can be established and maintained on a small patch of land with minimum technical inputs; hence, these gardens provide the rural resource poor communities with a platform for innovations in supplemental food production as well as an opportunity to improve their livelihoods. The primary rationale behind this model is to help improve the nutrition status of small and marginal farmers and their families, providing them with an assorted mix of vegetables for a considerable stretch of the year. Kitchen gardens are cost-effective, practical and easily meet the balanced dietary requirements of rural households as well as add substantially to the family income. Besides, the major use of organic farming practices makes these gardens environment friendly as well.
ADVANTAGES OF KITCHEN GARDEN
- Supply fresh fruits and vegetables high in nutritive value.
- Supply fruits and vegetables free from toxic chemicals.
- Help to save expenditure on purchase of vegetables.
- Vegetables harvested from home garden taste better than those purchased from market.
- Effective utilization of kitchen waste water and kitchen waste materials.
- Exercise to the body and mind.
SCALING FOOD SECURITY
Kitchen gardens directly contribute to household food security by increasing availability, accessibility, and utilisation of food products. Food items produced in kitchen gardens add to the family nutrition substantially, which directly leads to reduction of food insecurity.
DURING THE PANDEMIC
In the midst of lockdowns and loss of livelihood communities across India came to create and maintain kitchen gardens, as a source of sustenance. People got different local vegetables; they bartered their surplus produce locally, to generate income.
CASE STUDIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
- A case study from Zimbabwe found that nutrition gardens have a positive impact on livelihood as they provide steady incomes and curb diet-related diseases.
- Another study revealed that the Mesoamerica region, which suffers from poverty and malnutrition, uses home gardens for basic food requirement as well as income generation thereby promoting food security.
- An initiative started in a remote border district of Mizoram for developing edible terrace gardens in schools and anganwadi centres has improved self-sufficiency in fruits and vegetables.
- Farmers in rural Odisha utilise backyard spaces to grow seasonal fruits and vegetables, which has led to increased participation by women, and an improvement in the economic conditions with the sale of excess produce.
GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES
The Government of India launched the National Nutrition Mission or POSHAN Abhiyaan with the objective of a multi-ministerial convergence mission to ensure attainment of a malnutrition-free India by 2022. The National Rural Livelihood Mission is promoting kitchen gardens as part of farm livelihood intervention strategy for National Nutrition Mission, to combat malnutrition by promoting healthy eating and improving agro-ecological practices. The Ministry of Human Resource Development has developed guidelines for school nutrition (kitchen) gardens in government and aided schools under the mid-day meal scheme.
CONCLUSION
With less dependent on chemical fertilizers, the produce from the kitchen garden makes it an environment friendly approach too. Moreover, the waste from the kitchen as well as animal waste is used for enriching the soil quality, making it eco-friendly and sustainable way of vegetable production.By taking this approach of sustainable way of organic vegetable production, family health as well as food security has been enhanced.
