ICRISAT Archival Report 2006 - The seedlings of success in the ...

in the rural Indian diet over the past 20 years and (2) investigate the effects of prices as well as individual and
household-level characteristics on iron intakes in rural India from 1983 to 2002.
Methodology: Using secondary data of the National Nutrition Monitoring Board (NNMB) and the ICRISAT
District Level Database, trends in dietary intakes for iron as well as major agricultural commodities in the Indian
population over the last twenty years will be analyzed.
1F.4. Nutrition orientation in agricultural research-ICRISAT perspectives (Asia)
Despite the considerable progress made in crop production in recent decades, many developing countries still
fall short of the goal of providing adequate food and nutrition. While some countries in south Asia achieved
food self-sufficiency through the green revolution, ensuring equitable access to food still eludes them. With
over two billion people globally subsisting on diets that lack the essential vitamins and minerals required for
normal growth and development, access to food and combating this “hidden hunger” continue to pose a serious
challenge in south Asia. The paper entitled, “ Food and nutrition security- perspectives on nutritional
orientation, access and strategies” presents a background of the challenge facing the global community - ie, food
and nutrition security, now one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). It analyses the prevailing food
production and availability scenario in south Asia, the nutrition orientation in agricultural research, and policies
to enable access to and affordability of food by the poor and vulnerable. This is discussed in the context of a
strategy to reduce malnutrition and enable rural households to improve family health in sustainable ways.
ICRISAT’s perspective on nutrition through biofortification of coarse cereals and legumes (eg, zinc and iron in
sorghum and millets; and vitamin A in groundnut) and minimization of aflatoxin contamination are highlighted.
Strategic approaches are discussed to broaden the interpretation of the MDG challenge on food and nutritional
security to include economic, physical and social dimensions not only at the national level but also at the
individual level of children, women and men.
1F.5. Livelihood insecurities in the SAT: Migration, risk behavior and impact of HIV on rural households in
Andhra Pradesh (Asia)
This thesis looks at issues related to livelihood insecurities in the Semi Arid Tropics (SAT); the risks and
vulnerabilities that hinder the growth process of households, with particular reference to sexual risk behavior
and HIV linkages of migrant workers. A livelihood comprises of the capabilities, assets and activities required
for people's means of living. In conditions of drought, migration is a major alternative livelihood strategy in the
marginal semi arid environments of rural India,. Recent reports by National AIDS Control Organization’s
sentinel surveillance indicate that the semi arid tropics fall under high prevalent zones in terms of HIV. It also
lists migrant workers as a high-risk group prone for the epidemic. Livelihoods can be destroyed by the impact
of HIV/AIDS when economically active people succumb to the disease and die. Consequently, children drop out
of school to cultivate the land and care for ill parents. This hampers the children's ability to acquire skills that
could make them employable in the formal sector. To pay for medicines, hospital care or other expenses due to
HIV/AIDS, a family may sell stocks of food, land or other property, farming tools, or send their sons and
daughters to the city to find work. This again leads to labor migration and hence leads to risk of infection again.
These impacts of the poverty-livelihood-HIV nexus are clearly documented in studies in Africa. However, in
India though there are sparse micro level information, an in depth analysis is yet to begin. Given the fact that
HIV has high prevalence in the Semi Arid Tropics and is increasing constantly, this study aims at understanding
the role of migration in the spread of the HIV epidemic in the rural SAT and aims to understand the
socioeconomic conditions of the rural households involved in this process of migration. This kind of
information is aimed at enabling policy makers to make informed decisions when it comes to planning for rural
development or disease control for that matter.
The broad objective of this thesis is to understand the role of migration in enhancing the risk behavior of
migrants and in the spread of the HIV epidemic among rural households in the SAT. The specific objectives are
to understand 1) to what extent the livelihood insecurities in Dokur lead to migration, 2) to understand the risk
behavior of migrant workers in the context of livelihood insecurities and 3) to map and analyze the patterns of
migration and risk behavior.
The area of study planned is from the high prevalence state of Andhra Pradesh. Samples will be chosen from
Dokur village in the heart of the rural SAT with high incidence of migration. Secondary data from Voluntary
Counseling and Testing Centre will also be analyzed to gain more insight.
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