Why in the news? 

The women from a Self-Help Group in Kanker district (Chhattisgarh), have spared 10 decimals of land for multi-layer farming to mitigate land degradation and under-nutrition, and to secure round-the-year incomes.

How does the relationship between Climate Change and Nutrition result in Food insecurity?

• Impact on Food Chain: Climate change affects food value chains, agricultural yields, nutritional quality, food access, and energy-intensive processes, exacerbating existing challenges in food security and nutrition.
• Lack of Access: The Rome Declaration on Nutrition highlights the global challenges in providing sufficient, safe, diverse, and nutrient-rich food for everyone, with approximately 800 million people lacking reliable access to food and two billion suffering from iron and zinc deficiencies.
• Disparities in Diets: Disparities in production systems and individual dietary choices lead to populations being unable to maintain balanced diets, contributing to malnutrition and the prevalence of non-communicable diseases.
• Results into Gender Disparities: Women are disproportionately affected by climate change and poor nutrition, but gender-just food systems, where women have equal rights and access to resources, contribute to resilience against shocks like drought.

Suggestive measures for reducing Emissions

• Plant-Based Diet: A diet higher in plant-based foods is more environmentally sustainable than one with more animal foods. Substituting animal products with plant-based meats and dairy alternatives can lower emissions.
• Mitigating CO2 Concentration: Higher atmospheric CO2 concentrations can lead to lower concentrations of protein, iron, and zinc in crops, highlighting the need to mitigate climate change impacts on food nutrition.
• Value-Chain Approach: Adopting a value-chain approach can optimize dietary choices while lowering emissions, benefiting communities at the household level.
  • For Example, Initiatives like the Millet Mission in Chhattisgarh aim to promote millet cultivation, showcasing its nutritional value, low water footprint, climate resilience, and potential to address both nutritional and environmental concerns.
• Scaling up diversified Food Production: Scaling up and decentralizing diversified food production systems can reduce emissions by promoting underutilized indigenous foods and improving resilience to climate change.
• Monitoring Emissions: Continuous and extensive monitoring of emissions linked to food production and distribution is necessary, with accessible assessment tools for local communities to actively participate in emission reduction efforts.

Conclusion: Crops grown in regenerative and sustainable systems tend to have higher levels of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other beneficial phytochemicals compared to conventionally grown counterparts. By prioritizing soil health and biodiversity, regenerative and sustainable agriculture systems government and farmers can collaboratively promote nutrient-dense foods that nourish our bodies and support overall health and well-being.

Mains PYQ:

Q Climate change’ is a global problem. How India will be affected by climate change? How Himalayan and coastal states of India will be affected by climate change? (UPSC IAS/2017)

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