SHGs Nutri Champions - NUTRI-GARDEN campaign 25th June 2020 – 15th July 2020 (माझी पोषण परसबाग विकसन मोहीम)

SHGs Nutri Champions - NUTRI-GARDEN campaign 25th June 2020 – 15th July 2020
(माझी पोषण परसबाग विकसन मोहीम)

Francois, a french writer has said , "To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art." A square meal is one which balances all aspects of nutrition including carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals and vitamins.
Health and nutrition is a very important component of the Dashasutri followed by the self help groups of MSRLM. However much to our dismay during the visit of the World Bank team in 2016 we discovered that the meals of most of the women and their families were devoid of all the five components which made a meal complete.
The National Sample Survey 2011-12
indicates that household per capita consumption of fruits and vegetables is 160 g/person/day for rural India and 184 g/person/day for urban India which is much lesser than the WHO benchmark of 400g/person/day.
According to the National Family Health Survey 2015-16, approximately 38% of children under five years are stunted, 21% are wasted, 35.8% are underweight, 19% of adults (15-49 years) are obese and 53% of women in the age group of 15-49 years are anaemic. Therfore the problem of malnutrition or excess nutrition encompasses all age groups.
High cost is the biggest hindrance to getting a regular supply of fruits and vegetables as also other issues like availability of land, water, labour and other resources like seeds and manure. There is also a general lack of awareness among the women about the methodology for creating and managing nutri gardens. To ensure regular supply of fruits and vegetables, MSRLM Umed developed the half acre circular or square models including smaller versions with the support of the Rajmata Jijau Mother-Child Health & Nutrition Mission.
The main purpose is to provide the family with fresh vegetables and fruits on a daily basis. The circular garden with seven rings and pathways is designed in such a way as to include a variety of green and leafy and other vegetables and fruits. It also includes medicinal plants like tulsi, aloe vera and also manure pit.
Consistent efforts made by the team since 2016 has ensured that the idea of making a nutri garden near their house or field has grown and is embedded into the minds of all SHGs.
MSRLM has been able to develop over one lakh nutri gardens during the last few years.
Among the many interventions being implemented on the ground, development of nutri-gardens at the level of individual household and community, has been very successful in terms of its adoption by community members and it's positive impact on the health and nutrition status of the members of rural households.
We therefore decided to conduct a 20 day campaign from 25th June 2020 to 15th July 2020 with a target of 28000 Individual nutri – gardens.
Today, the world is facing the critical challenge of COVID-19 outbreak and India is no exception to the situation. Since the detection of the first individual of SARS-CoV-19 (Coronavirus 2) infection in India, the number of individuals with the infection has been increasing exponentially. Maharashtra has most number of active cases of COVID-19 and to curb the further spread of COVID-19, various departments of the state government and civil society organizations are working on the frontline with all possible measures.

The COVID-19 pandemic situation has taught us all about the significance of one’s immunity to fight the SARS-CoV-19 (Coronavirus 2) infection. Strong immunity can be attained by consuming nutritious food. Having access to fresh, residue-free vegetable on daily basis can be a good way to add nutrition in the food of rural households. However, the pandemic has caused shortage in supply of vegetables for consumption purpose.
To resolve this situation the state team came up with the idea of conducting 20 days’ campaign of developing individual nutri-gardens in SHG households in 27 districts, 266 blocks, 10640 villages.
They capitalized on the strength of the well-trained community resource persons to disseminate knowledge and information and to motivate the SHGs. Such was the spirit of all the women in the SHGs that all districts have achieved the targets and many achieved more than two or three times the allocated numbers. Wardha, Yawatmal and Hingoli districts are the top three districts which have achieved phenomenal success in the campaign. Together all districts have created 92281 Nutri-Gardens which is way higher than the 28000 planned by us. All this without any investment from the government and only due to the " Do It" spirit of the women and our teams The only support given was effective online training to develop the layouts for nutri gardens along with details to make preparation and follow up on the sowing processes.
The campaign not only ensured better use of land but will also be ensuring an inexpensive, regular and handy supply of fresh vegetables, which are basic to nutrition. The villagers will save almost Rs.60 crores which they would have spent on purchasing vegetables and fruits. Additionally they would also be earning upto Rs.90 crores by sale of vegetables and fruits grown in their nutri garden.
This simple low cost sustainable approach is not less than a silent revolution in times of Covid 19. It will develop a habit to consume vegetables and also promote dietary diversification due to the development of nutri-garden. Four to five species of vegetables will be regularly available in the village throughout the year. Additionally there is a scope of creating new nutri enterprises.
The Nutri garden development campaign showcased the tremendous strength of community institutions and community cadre as SHG federations and community cadre throughout the state participated proactively in the campaign activities during the 20 days of the campaign.
The campaign has concluded however the work related to food, health, nutrition and sanitation will continue to take place in the field. MSRLM will now focus on sustaining the nutri gardens developed during campaign to ensure that households have access to nutritious vegetables for consumption throughout the year. MSRLM will also focus on ensuring diet diversification and incremental income source for SHG households in upcoming time.
The work built during campaign will be supplemented by behavior change communication practices in the field especially in the domain of Mother, Infant and Young Children Feeding (MIYCF) practices.
Convergence with MGNREGS for the promotion of Nutrigardens will give it a new life.
Thus Nutri-gardens have become a game changer in transforming rural lives. Prevention is certainly better than cure and good nutrition is the only remedy that can boost our immunity . After all nutritious food is our best medicine!