Undernutrition, Agriculture and Public Provisioning

Using quantitative techniques, this volume provides empirical evidence on the crucial role of public provisioning of food, water, sanitation and health care in reducing undernutrition among women and children in India. The linkages are cogently explored and connected to the sustainable development goals. Key data comes from recent large secondary sources at district, household and individual levels and the econometric methodologies are clearly explained. Taken as a whole, it highlights the effects of public provisioning on malnutrition and identifies the relative importance of agricultural growth in resolving the nutrition problems in rural and semi-urban areas of India. This edited volume will be valuable reading for advanced graduate students, researchers and practitioners in development economics, development studies, and nutrition and public health.

Swarna Sadasivam Vepa is a research consultant and visiting professor at the Madras School of Economics (MSE), India. She teaches graduate courses in Indian economic development and development economics. She has taught agricultural economics, microeconomics and macroeconomics courses to undergraduate and graduate students. Recently, she worked as a full-time research consultant on social inclusion at the Centre for Economic and Social Studies, Hyderabad, and as a full-time consultant on the Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia project of UK AID. Her research interests include dryland agriculture, food security, nutrition, social inclusion and gender issues. Brinda Viswanathan, PhD, is Professor at the Madras School of Economics, Chennai, and teaches courses in Indian economic development, development economics and quantitative economics for post-graduate students. Her research interest is in the broad area of development economics and applied econometrics. She regularly contributes as a resource person for workshops and training programmes for college teachers, PhD students and government officials on statistical and econometric techniques and evidence-based policy-making for India's development.

1. Introduction: Nutritional Wellbeing of Women and Children in India 2. Child Underweight, Agricultural land productivity and Public Provisioning 3. Child Nutrition: Linkages to Agriculture 4. Women's BMI in Rural India: A comparison of Farm and Non-farm Households 5. Nutrition Opportunity Index: An assessment of Indian Children 6. Nutritional status of Women Across Social Groups 7. Access to Milk and Milk Products and Child Nutrition 8. Conclusions: Are we on the right path to achieve better nutrition?