National campaign on Poshan Abhiyan and Tree Plantation on 17.09.2022 at KVK, Wyra

Malnutrition includes underweight and overweight which collectively are responsible for many health conditions than any other causes or diseases. Under nutrition causes 45.0% of deaths in children below five years mainly in low and middle-income countries due to lack of nutrient sufficient diets. The health consequences of overweight and obesity contribute to an approximately around 4.0 million deaths and about 120 million healthy life years are lost as disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) globally among adults as these under nourished children grown into adults. The poor diets are the second-leading risk factor for deaths and DALYs globally contributing to 18.8% of deaths among which 50.0% due to cardiovascular diseases. The infant mortality rate of Indian children is 34 with under-five mortality rate is 39 with 25% of new born children being underweight among other nutritional, immunization and educational deficiencies of children in India. Some signs of nutritional deficiencies include severe hair loss, burning sensation in the feet or tongue, slow healing of wounds, bone pain, irregular heartbeat and night vision deterioration. To overcome the micronutrient malnutrition in India, a national campaign on “Poshan Abhiyan and Tree plantation” was organised on 17.09.2022 to farmers, farm women and RAWE students in collaboration with ICAR – ATARI Zone X and IFFCO at KVK, Wyra. The program was attended by farmers, farm women, students, IFFCO personnel, Dr. U. Nagabhushanam, Principal Scientist, RARS, Warangal and KVK, staff including Dr. J. Hemantha Kumar, Programme Coordinator, Scientists Dr. Jessie Suneetha W, Dr. V. Chaitanya and Dr. K. Ravi Kumar. The need the for encouraging nutri garden at homes and on farm bunds was reiterated by speakers with distribution of vegetables seeds and plants to farmers and farm women as a well laid out nutri-garden can help to meet the entire requirements of fruits and vegetables for a family for the entire year. It is a low-cost sustainable approach for reducing malnutrition, increasing awareness of vegetable production increasing working hours and achieving food, nutrition and economic security. The nutrient dense plants consisting of minimum one tree (perennial) like drum stick, amla, guava, etc. and three green leafy vegetable can be an ideal source for improving the consumption of greens in diet. Also, biofortification is the idea of breeding crops to increase their nutritional value through conventional selective breeding or through genetic engineering. It differs from ordinary fortification as it focuses on making plant foods more nutritious when they are growing, rather than adding nutrients to the foods when they are being processed. This is an important improvement on ordinary fortification when it comes to providing nutrients as the rural poor rarely have access to commercially fortified foods. Biofortification is seen as an upcoming strategy for dealing with micronutrients in low and middle-income countries. Many of millets are native to India and are group of small grained cereal crops with rich nutrients. They are popularly known as Nutri – cereals as they provide most of the nutrients required for normal functioning of human body. They are rich in dietary fiber and the insoluble dietary fiber in millets is known as a “prebiotic” as it supports good bacteria in the digestive system. This type of fiber is important for adding bulk to stools to help keep regular bowl movement, reduce the chances of constipation and risk of colon cancer. The various type of millets includes pearl millet, finger millet, sorghum t, brown top millet, foxtail millet, barnyard millet, kodo millet, little millet, proso millet and pearl millet.