Mamoni Das, Daisy Das, Mousumi Gogoi, Deeptimayee Mahapatra and Jwngsar Baro
Abstract
Modern agricultural technology has not only made farming less labor-intensive but also aided to increase earnings. The use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and seedlings with high yields has improved and favored monoculture. Traditional or native food crops are hence slowly approaching extinction. Growing ethnic or traditional crops is becoming less common, despite their nutritional and therapeutic benefits. These crops are abundant in micronutrients and can be very helpful in treating the nationâs micronutrient deficiencies. The NFHS-5 figures make it clear that there is a double burden of malnutrition in India. Thus, the goal of this case study was to encourage homes to adopt nutri-gardens in certain villages of Assam. The results showed that malnutrition is common in the research area, and that only 26% of the individuals reached the minimum dietary diversity level (more than or equal to 5 food groups). A total of 15 farm households that were willing to develop nutri-gardens were chosen, and the average Dietary Diversity Score was discovered to be 4.08. The households that adopted nutri-gardens consumed more GLVs, roots, tubers, and other vegetables which resulted in increased dietary diversity score (5.71) for them. Furthermore the physical signs of anemia among children and adult women were improved. Thus, it was determined that the implementation of nutri-gardens can contribute to household food and nutritional security as well as aid in the preservation of traditional food crops.