Page 131 - IJPS-10-2

International Journal of
Population Studies Child malnutrition in rural India

suitable way to improve nutrition and health status, which Funding
is in line with the strategies of FAO’s Plant Production
and Protection Division (2012). Thus, an increase in crop None.
diversification among the rural households leads to an Conflict of interest
increase of food supply and diversity, which is an critical
factor in the maintenance of children’s nutritional status. The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The authors
Therefore, an improvement in agricultural productivity also declare that they have no pertinent non-financial or
can help reduce the problem of malnutrition in rural areas financial interests to disclose.
where the majority of the population is economically Author contributions
dependent on agriculture (Gulati et al., 2012).
In India, the problem of child malnutrition remains Conceptualization: All authors
a persistent issue. To tackle this problem, the Indian Formal analysis: Kanchan Paira
government has implemented various policies and Investigation: Kanchan Paira
programs, such as the ICDS, Mid-Day Meals Scheme, Methodology: All authors
and, recently, the Poshan Abhiyaan, which are intended Writing – original draft: Kanchan Paira
to address the nutritional needs of children and women. Writing – review & editing: Moatula Ao
Notwithstanding the policies and program, a multi-pronged Ethics approval and consent to participate
strategy involving increased agricultural production and
diversification of crop cultivation is a tactic that should be The authors declare that the present work was conducted
attempted to address the malnutrition issues prevalent in after taking consents and permissions from the study
the rural regions. participants. The authors declare that they have informed
the study participants during field study about the research
5. Conclusion work and consent have been taken before the recording

The prevalence of child underweight, stunting, and wasting of responses and also before the measurement of child
were found to be at 35.5%, 36%, and 22.5%, respectively, anthropometry.
in the study area. The study found that household crop Consent for publication
diversification is significantly associated with child
malnutrition, as children belonging to households which Consent has been taken from study participants to publish
practice higher crop diversification were less likely to their data.
be malnourished. Other factors that could significantly
influence the nutritional status are birth order, caste, Availability of data
mother’s age, type of house, and farm size of households. The authors declare that all the necessary and pertinent
In India, promoting agriculture-oriented policies that aid data related to the present work will be participants that
in improving the nutritional status of children through the the information will be used for available as per requests.
promotion of crop diversification is necessary to improve
food security and nutrition since agriculture is the backbone References
of the Indian economy, providing livelihood, food supply, Acharya, S.P., Basavaraja, H., Kunnal, L.B., Mahajanashetti, S.B.,
and income sustenance to the rural population. Promoting & Bhat, A.R.S. (2011). Crop diversification in Karnataka: An
crop diversification should be regarded as important as economic analysis. Agricultural Economics Research Review,
improving reproductive and child health because it ensures 24(1):351-357.
the supply of diverse kinds of food items at the household https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.119408
level and ultimately improves the nutritional status of the
children. Hence, endorsing agriculture-nutrition-based Adedokun, S.T., & Yaya, S. (2021). Factors associated with
policies is a win-win tactic beneficial for enhancing the adverse nutritional status of children in sub-Saharan Africa:
Evidence from the demographic and health surveys from 31
agricultural sector and simultaneously improving the countries. Maternal Child Nutrition, 17:e13198.
nutritional status of children.
https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13198
Acknowledgments Aneja, B., Singh, P., Tandon, M., Pathak, P., Singh, C., & Kapil, U.
The author is thankful to the respondents from Jhargram (2001). Etiological factors of malnutrition among infants in
district in West Bengal, India for their cooperation and two urban slums of Delhi. Indian Pediatrics, 38(2):160-165.
support during the field survey. Anuja, A.R., Shivaswamy, G.P., Ray, M., & Singh, K.N. (2022).

Volume 10 Issue 2 (2024) 125 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.0324