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COMPENDIUM, IEEC-2023   ( ISBN : 978-81-967860-4-5 )
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Theme- 6: Community based Farming System for Nutrition - Achieving Nutritional Security for the Farm Families and Community

Microgreens for nutritional security at the grassroots : Prospects of Community Based Organisations (CBOs)

Mridula N, Shameena S. and Neelofar Illiaskutty

Central Training Institute KAU, PO Mannuthy Thrissur
mridula.n@kau.in

Abstract

Following the significant shifts in lifestyle, income, increased information accessibility, and the disappearance of rural areas, urban agriculture (UA) has gained traction to ensure local food and nutritional security. Microgreens are a relatively new class of edible plants under UA that have gained popularity due to their excellent nutritional value that can help avert nutritional deficiency and chronic illnesses. A network of Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) for women in Kerala called Kudumbasree has been effectively tackling issues related to food security and nutrition through community farming, nutrition education, and the promotion of nutrient-rich crops. Given the recent elevated malnourishment rate among the people of Kerala, microgreen farming offers a community and homestead-based alternative toward nutritional security. In this light, a study including 150 voluntary Kudumbasree members from the three districts of Kannur, Thrissur, and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala was carried out. The results showed that the majority of the CBO members (60 percent) "have heard" about microgreens in general. They still required additional information regarding cultivation, harvesting, value addition, and marketing. Ninety percent of the respondents desired to participate in programs to learn more about microgreens. Seventy-four percent of the respondents expressed interest in growing microgreens at the household level and through Kudumbasree units' Neighbourhood groups (NHGs). Local microgreen cultivation has prospect as a sustainable entrepreneurial venture improving dietary diversity and tackling nutritional issues amid climate change and recent pandemic. To provide nutritional security at the grassroots level, interventions and policy changes are required to provide technical expertise, credit, and infrastructure, as well as to develop the value chain for microgreen marketing initiatives carried out by CBO members.

IEEC-2023 at RARI (SKNAU, Jobner), Jaipur, Rajasthan organised by Society of Extension Education, Agra, India