Agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan on Sunday called for moving from “food security” to “nutritional security” through steps such as getting nutrient-rich minor millets like ragi, besides introducing bio-fortified varieties of crops into the food basket.
“The Food Security Act will ensure that all needing social protection against hunger will be able to get the needed calories. However, we have to attend to other nutritional problems such a protein hunger and hidden hunger caused by the deficiency of micro-nutrients such as iron, zinc, iodine and Vitamin-A,” Prof. Swaminathan observed while addressing the convocation of the University of Agricultural Sciences Bangalore here.
Nutritional securityAccording to him, nutritional security involves both food and non-food factors such as attention to balanced diet and ensuring clean drinking water as well as sanitation. He stressed the need for promoting bio-fortified nutritional gardens having nutrient-rich vegetables and crops.
Mr. Swaminathan suggested that a year between 2018 and 2020 should be observed as the “international year of bio-fortified and under-utilised crops”.
Learning from the Californian experience, India should promote nutrient-rich minor millets like ragi, he said.
Expressing concern over ragi being described as a “coarse cereal” due to “colonial hangover”, Mr. Swaminathan said there was nothing coarse about ragi. Instead, it is a “climate-smart nutrient cereal,” he remarked. “The future belongs to the countries with grains and not guns. Because you can purchase guns, but not grains,” Mr. Swaminathan added.
