ASCI-CEDSI

NUTRITION SMART VILLAGES /PANCHAYATS

Background of Assam
Assam is situated in the North-East of India and is the largest North-eastern state in terms of
population while second in terms of area. Assam covers an area of 78,438 km2 (30,285 sq
miles). The state is bordered by Bhutan and the state of Arunachal Pradesh to the north;
Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur to the east; Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, and
Bangladesh to the south; and West Bengal to the west. Assam is India’s gateway to the
Northeast and acts as a vital link for trade with Southeast Asian countries.

The climate of Assam is typically ‘Tropical Monsoon Rainforest Climate', with high levels of
humidity and heavy rainfall. People here enjoy a moderate climate all throughout the year,
with warm summers and mild winters.

As per the Census 2011, the total population of Assam is 3.12 Cr. Thus the population of
Assam forms 2.58 percent of India in 2011. Assam has total population of 31,205,576 in
which males were 15,939,443 while females were 15,266,133. The total area of Assam is
78,438 square km. Thus the population Density of Assam is 398 per square km which is
higher than the national average of 382 per square km.

According to National Family Health Survey IV, the health profile of Assam shows that
about 29.8% children below the age of 5 years are underweight. Besides, 35.7% children
between the age group of 6-59 months are anaemic and about 25.7% women have body
mass index (BMI) below normal.

In Assam, agriculture makes the highest contribution to its domestic sectors, accounting for
more than a third of Assam's income and employs about 69% of the workforce. Assam has
the single largest tea growing area in the world, constituting around one-seventh of the
global tea production.

Background of the organization:

Agriculture Skill Council of India (ASCI) is functioning under the aegis of National Skill
Development Corporation (NSDC), Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship
(MSDE), Govt of India, with a vision to develop the skills in India, as per the global
standards, with the support of different stakeholders. ASCI is working towards building the
capacity around the Agriculture and allied sector in India. ASCI is working with a vision to

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create a sustainable industry aligned ecosystem for robust skill and entrepreneurship
development in agriculture and allied sector.
ASCI is contributing towards nation building through Skill Development in Agriculture and
allied sector especially at times when country's agriculture is experiencing stagnant growth,
exodus of quality manpower to other sectors, climate changing with increased variability in
production parameters challenging the competitiveness of Indian Agriculture.

Awards & Accolades

 MSDE/ NSDC ranking (2017-18, 2018-19 & 2019-20) - ASCI was recognised as 1st,
3rd and 1st Best performing SSC in 2017-18, 2018-19 & 2019-20 in MSDE/ NSDC
ranking.
 Best Training Facilitator Award in Organic Agriculture (March 2018) - ASCI
Recognized as “Best Training Facilitator in Organic Agriculture” at Organic Forum by
ASSOCHAM.
 Best Sector Skill Council in 6th Skill Development Summit (July 2018) - ASCI
recognized as “Best Sector Skill Council” in 6th Skill Development Summit organized
by Indian Education Summit.
 Indian Achiever’s Award- Skill Development (August 2018) - ASCI received “Indian
Achiever’s Award - Skill Development” organized by CSR Times in Aug 2018.
 Best Sector Skill Council award – ASSOCHAM Skill Summit (FY 2015-16, 2016-17,
2017-18 & 2018-19) – Agriculture Skill Council of India was awarded Best Sector
Skill Council award for four consecutive years (FY 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 &
2018-19) at ASSOCHAM Skill Summit.

Why to choose us as PIA

 166 + NSQF aligned job roles covering agri and allied sectors
 ASCI has developed 53 Participant’s hand books and 47 facilitator guides till date
 ASCI have trained and assessed more than 11 lakhs under the different schemes
including PMKVY both Short Term Training(STT) and RPL programme
 Multilingual assessments - ASCI is conducting assessments in 13 languages pan
India
 Works in Pan India covering 29 States & 4 UTs covered under training in Agri and
Allied Field
 Currently on Skill India Portal 862 Training Centres have been affiliated for imparting
quality training under various schemes pan India (545 Govt TC and 317 Private TC)
 9773 Trainers trained and certified under ‘Train the Trainer’ Programs till date

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 Over 900 Assessors (associated with India’s 6 leading Assessment Agencies)

certified through Training of Assessors (TOA) Programme.
Problem back ground:
In the 1950s, soon after the independence, per capita income in Assam was little higher than
that in India, it is much lower today. In 2022-23, Assam's per capita income (at current
prices) is estimated to be Rs 1,18,504, as compared to India's per capita income of Rs
1,70,620. Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) as high as 31.9% (Source-NFHS), Assam continues to
be one of the bottom five states of the country. Various studies suggest that 1% loss in adult
height due to stunting contributes to 1.4% loss in productivity and stunting may reduce IQ by
5-11 points. Our government has been struggling in providing accessible to health and
nutrition for the underprivileged section of the rural society despite of several initiatives and
public spending’s on strategies to promote healthy living. One reason for such
disappointment is definitely economic in nature, either there is insufficient fund allocation to
initiate such global strategic initiatives or the curse of poverty that ruins the poor homes with
hunger and inadequate nutrition. Burdened with economic liabilities, lack of awareness and
access on available government facilities and schemes makes the situation worse.

These factors make them prone to poor health along with conditions like malnutrition that
can change the course of their health trajectory determining the outcome of their health
potential. Owing to their conditions, their diet include only carbohydrate based foods with
limited or poor intake of legumes, vegetables, fruits and animal protein. These kind of diet
and food patterns with limited result in poor food and nutrition security especially for children,
pregnant women, lactating mothers and adolescents.

Rationale and situational analysis:

The pandemic of Covid-19 along with natural disasters of unprecedented magnitude have
resulted in serious threat to health, life and economic security of millions of populations in
the country. Basic food necessities and food security is challenged at this stage and thus
making vulnerable more subject to health status deterioration. This situation has led in raised
number of malnutrition and health deterioration. The vulnerable section of the rural society
especially the children and women have always been subject to ignorance and the current
situation is no different. The current statistics have revealed that there has been a significant
rise in SAM/MAM children. The NFHS-5 data for North East region reveals alarming
increase in stunting, wasting and underweight population.

Malnutrition, with its associated morbidity and mortality, is amongst the greatest scourges
brought by poverty, most especially amongst children. Rates of stunting amongst children

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are high in NE regions. The ASCI, with its development objectives of increased agricultural
productivity aims to contribute first millennium Development Goal addressing hunger,
malnutrition and poverty. Improve human nutrition should also thus to be seen as a
fundamental part of the ASCI overall objectives.

Malnutrition is amplified by poverty and the lack of access to resources (including land and
the commons) and often affects the poor disproportionately. Indeed, malnutrition is a
prominent pathway transmitting poverty from one generation to the next as it fits into a cycle
by increasing health care costs, reducing productivity, and slowly economic growth, all of
which, in turn, perpetuate a cycle of poverty and ill health.

Mutual benefits between agricultural livestock growth and improved health and
nutrition.
The reduction of malnutrition is a priority goal in development- but affected by health and
other services directly impinging upon children. But improved nutrition and health also
depends upon economic development.

In rural Assam, agriculture and livestock are the primary engine for economic growth and
food security. It is therefore important to interlink agriculture-livestock with nutrition and
health in the most optimal way. In advocacy term, the challenge is for the nutritional
perspective to be seen as part of benign cycle, so that agricultural-livestock growth promotes
improved nutrition and healthy population, but also improved nutrition and healthy
populations contribute to agriculture and livestock growth.

Objective:
The objective is to:
1. develop nutrition smart villages improving nutrition and health especially children and
women, through sustainably intensified and diversified integrated farming systems
that sufficiently improve food, nutrition, health and income security and conserve and
enhance natural resource base.

I. Nutrition Smart Villages:

An informed village that understands ‘nutrition’ in its practical terms and takes appropriate
steps to address them. It is a village where
 There is no hunger and food insecurity
 All families are aware about the importance of ‘First 1000 days- windows of
opportunities’, for healthy children and healthy mothers.

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 Community is aware of the linkages between agriculture, natural resources, WASH,

income and nutrition education with nutrition.
 An active village committee which promotes interconnections between agriculture,
natural resources, WASH, nutrition.
 Families have kitchen garden, growing seasonal produced food or market by creating
the demand for safe and environmentally friendly food products.

II. Health Program

 To assess the malnutrition under age six years aged children of marginalised
communities
 To provide nutritional supplements to the malnourished and children under the age of
five years. Pregnant women and lactating mothers.
 To provide medical assistance to malnourished children with the help of concerned
government health facilities and referral to district malnourishment centre
 To provide ANC and PNC with efficient functioning of Aganwadi centre
 To provide referral services to women and children
 Organize sensitization program at village and school among adolescent girls on
menstrual health and hygiene.
 Every family has access to safe drinking water
 Every family maintains safe sanitation and hand washing practices
 Communities are aware of the government schemes and entitlements and can
demand for their rights and entitlements.

Nutrition counselling – screening for undernutrition in children (6-36months), followed by

capacity building of mothers of malnourished children on infant feeding, hygiene and care
practices.

Sustainable evidence based nutrition sensitive interventions:

Sustainable Food and Nutrition Security (SFNS) is a multi-dimensional concept which
includes dimensions such as the availability of food through agricultural production, physical
and economic access to food, as well as adequate use and utilization of available food by
individuals, throughout the year. Any dysfunction within this system can lead to malnutrition,
including undernutrition, because it is caused by multiple factors such as poverty, mono-
cropping, inadequate diets, gender inequality, low education and poor health. In the long
run focussing on nutrition and health in isolation is not enough to address effectively and
sustainably. The interventions like WASH, agri-livestock livelihoods and preservation of

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natural resources must be brought together with nutrition and health care practices and
integrated into a multisector approach and convergence of government services and
programmes are required. This underline the need for a multi-sectoral response, which
includes both direct (nutrition specific) and indirect (nutrition sensitive) interventions.

Sustainable integrated farming system – Developing home based nutrition gardens

focussing on integrating crops-trees-bird-livestock so that all the resources are optimally
used to increase dietary diversity, economic, consume safe food, and increase income
through marketable surplus. An emphasis has been given on cultivation of millet in the
villages for better nutrition. Different fruit plants such as mango, amla, pear, guava,
pomegranate, pineapple, papaya, ber etc. will be planted in the villages, school and
Aganwadi centre to provide year round fruits in the locality.

Nutritive sensitive microplanning – supporting communities to prepare village

development plans that are inclusive, especially catering to the needs of the families with
undernourished women and children, sensitized families then plan the use of their resources
to maximise food production, maintain personal and environment hygiene and demand
entitlements.

Linking agri-livestock towards nutrition security – facilitating PLA (participatory learning

for Action) based meeting cycles and sensitising communities on the immediate and basics
causes of malnutrition. The knowledge and skills acquired through the meetings support the
community to plan, take actions, and evaluate the status of food security in the village in
terms of availability, access, utilisation and stability.
Five key elements and linkages:
 Linkage between agriculture, backyard Livestock, birds and nutrition
 Plantation of different fruit trees in villages, schools and Aganwadi centre to provide
year round nutrition.
 Linkage between natural resources and nutrition
 Linkage between WASH and nutrition
 Linkage between nutrition education and practices
Linkage between income generation, market and nutrition.

Strengthen institutions- support village institutions, SHGs, panchayat health committees,

and local committees to be informed, skilled and able to monitor the good practices, make
services providers accountable and help people access their rights.

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The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG):

The SGDs are being addressed in the proposed interventions.
a. Zero hunger,
b. Good health and well being
c. Gender equality
d. Climate Action
e. Life on land
f. Clean water and sanitation

METHODOLOGY

1. Identify gaps (Base line survey, PRA and FGD) and potential CBOs to collaborations
2. Screen children between age group of 6 to 36 months
3. Sharing screening status and address child care practices through community
meetings and nutrition camps
4. Support mothers to start nutrition garden and backyard livestock
5. Sensitise community on Linking agri-livestock towards nutrition security to practice
6. Initiate behaviour changes
7. Support household level agriculture back yard livestock & WASH planning to improve
dietary diversity and WASH practices
8. Facilitate village development plan, and strengthen linkages with government
schemes.

Outcomes of the project:

i. Nutritional security in 10 villages covering 500 households.
ii. Enhancing the livelihood of 500 households through adoption climate resilient
practices.
iii. Building the capacity of 500 households on improved cultivation and animal
husbandry practices.
iv. Enhancing the entrepreneurial capacity of youth. Villa

Tentative Budget: (Rs. In crore)

IOC contribution Community contribution Total

Rs. 2.20 crore Rs. 0.35 crore Rs. 2.55 crore

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Methodology

Total villages = 10
Number of Village coordinator (VC) – 05
1 VC facilitating 2 villages (total average households per village 50)
These VC will be selected from the community working with CEDSI-ASCI.
These 05 VC will be females who are 12th or graduates interested to volunteer.
These VC will be trained on nutrition, kitchen garden practices and backyard livestock
production management practices. These Trained VCs will be facilitating different mentioned
activities with every household in the village especially focusing on small marginalised
farmers.
Activities will be carried out by village coordinators
1. Training program of farmers
2. Support to the Aganwadi centre
3. Bio-sand filter (including School and Aganwadi centre)
4. Training in water quality testing and installation of biosand filters
5. Water testing kit Base line survey
6. Identification of SAM/MAM children
7. Identification of status health and nutrition status
8. Status of food behaviour
9. Handholding support to improve agronomic practices
10. Handholding support to have Nutrition kitchen garden in every household and in
primary schools and Aganwadi centre
11. Nutrion garden kit will be provided
12. Agriculture inputs will be provided (quality seeds/ Nutrition based crop management,
post-harvest management)
13. Providing seed storage bin
14. Mobilization and sensitization of communities
15. Sensitization program on health & nutrition in villages and school
16. Sensitization of adolescent on menstrual health and hygiene
17. Millet cultivation (Rs. 100/kg X 1 bigha/HH X 500 HHs)
18. Rearing of poultry/fish/goat/pig
19. Setting up of Kitchen garden demo plot in village, school and Aganwadi centre
20. Tree plantation (fruit)

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https://villageinfo.in/assam/lakhimpur/naobaicha/pahumora.html

Lakhimpur district in Assam

Pohumara panchayat

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