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Interaction between agriculture, nutrition, and food science in Nepal

I.H. Khan. Central Grain Analysis Laboratory, Kathmandu, Nepal

Abstract
Introduction
Agriculture
Food science and technology
Nutritional status
New perspectives
Conclusion
References

Abstract

Agricultural production is not keeping pace with the population increase. Post-harvest losses of food grains and perishable foods like fruits and vegetables are thought to be around 10-15 and 20 35 per cent respectively, and whatever is saved loses some of its qualitative value due to faulty storage and processing practices. Food availability, specially among weaker sections of the population, is below normal requirement and undernutrition in terms of protein/calorie, iron, carotene, and iodine deficiency is rampant in Nepal. Increased food production is possible through increased exploitation of abundant water resources and greater application of agricultural inputs and technologies. Increase in agricultural production will increase food availability and improve economic status, the two most important prerequisites of nutritional improvement. Application of food science and technology will not only help in increasing food availability per unit area through high food value giving seed selection, but will also help to conserve, reduce food waste, and improve the quality of produced food. Nutritionists have to draw the attention of agriculturists and food scientists to the nutritional needs of the population and work with them for the quantitative and qualitative fulfilment of nutritional needs. To sum up, agriculture, food science, and nutrition jointly offer great hopes for nutritional improvement.

Introduction

Nepal is predominantly a mountainous country with a total land area of 140,000 km² of which about 14.1 per cent are currently under cultivation. According to the Nepal census of 1971, the population was 11.3 million. Agro-climatically the country is divided from north to south into a sparsely populated mountain area with an alpine climate, a hill region accommodating about two-thirds of the population producing one-third of the total tropical and subtropical foods, and a flat terai region extending from west Bengal to western Uttar Pradesh in India, where one-third of the people live and produce two-thirds of the tropical foods. Due to variation in rainfall from east to west, the country is further subdivided into four development regions, each containing mountains, hills, and terai.

About 90 per cent of the population are engaged in farming and related fields contributing 62 per cent of national production and 80 per cent of the export value. Thus basic information shows that agriculture is responsible not only for the food supply, but it contributes heavily to economic development.

Agriculture

Food Production

The population has been increasing at 2.12 per cent, but food production increased by only 0.79 per cent annually during the period 1964/65 to 1978/79, showing that food availability was decreasing. It is extrapolated that cereal grain production will increase at the rate of 1 per cent provided present increased production efforts are maintained, but the population will increase at a 2.4 to 2.5 per cent rate. The National Planning Commission (1980) has outlined the reasons for low agricultural productivity.

1. Low irrigation facilities due to under-exploitation of abundant water resources.
2. High rate of soil erosion due to a high rate of deforestation;
3. Reduction in anticipated application of agricultural inputs like fertilizer, improved seeds, etc.
4. Lack of co-ordination between agricultural extension, agricultural credit, agricultural input, and cooperatives.
5. Under-exploitation of available technologies to boost production.

Agriculture was for the first time officially related to food and nutrition by the National Planning Commission when it modified its long-term policies in the following directions.

To increase production of food grains, fruits and vegetables, and livestock products to fulfil the required food and nutritional needs of the growing population.
To increase agricultural production so as to generate the capital requirement for economic development and to maintain an export requirement.
To provide raw material for agro-based industries and to increase employment opportunities.
To increase agricultural production at a higher rate in the hill region to remove disparity between regions.

Food Availability

Total food-grain production is partly accounted for by post-harvest losses, seed, and feed requirements, etc. The remaining available food when divided by population gives the total availability of food grain for consumption; this was 179 kg per head per year in 1964/65, but decreased to 138 kg during 1979/80. The total estimated consumable available foods in the hill region during 1979/80, computed against the population of the same year, shows that the per capita calorie availability per day was only in the average range of 1,759 kcal. Considering the economic variation and distribution disparity between communities and within families, certain parts of the population must be trying to survive below their normal metabolic requirement. This short supply of food must be the leading causative factor of undernutrition. Disturbed by this problem, the National Planning Commission (19801 has very clearly specified as the first and foremost objective of the sixth agricultural plan that present-day estimated availability of 2,181 calories and 56.6 grams of protein must be increased to 2,266 calories and 59.8 grams of protein by 1985. This drastic change in policy clearly shows the realization of the importance of nutrition in overall national development, and heavy reliance on agriculture and food science to solve this problem.

Food science and technology

It is thought that at least 10 to 15 per cent of food grains and 20 to 35 per cent of perishable foods like fruits and vegetables do not reach the consumer's plate due to post-harvest losses. When these food-grain losses are computed against total production, 241,000 to 362,000 tonnes of food grains must have been lost in one year. At the same time there is an appreciable proportion of qualitative loss as well. Preliminary food contamination observations show that this is not only reducing the biological value of food, but also turning food into unseen poisons.

In the interaction between food science and technology during the improved rice varieties development programme, it was noted that the husk percentage in different varieties of rice varies (table 1) from 21 to 27.25 and on one-minute polishing the bran percentage varied from 4.3 to 10.22 (Bhandari 1979/80). Similarly the percentage of cracked grain is also a characteristic of each variety. When these varieties were milled in the Food Testing Laboratory mill, the milling yield varied from 66.3 to 74.18 per cent. This shows that the interaction between the agricultural production potential and food science and technology will not only make more food available, but that the higher economic return to the farmer in turn will encourage the farmer towards increased production. In another unpublished study of the Food Research Laboratory (1976) it was noted with concern that the milling recovery from a huller mill is only around 59 to 62 per cent whereas the average recovery rate from modern rice mills is 66.5 per cent. Similarly, application of food science and technology will help to increase food supply through improved agricultural and industrial by-products utilization.

TABLE 1. Husk, Bran, Rice, and Head Rice Percentage Recovery From Different Varieties of Paddy

1. Figures in italics represent highest values

It is known that a suitable combination of foods improve nutritional value. This knowledge when integrated with food science and technology, food availability, food preference, and food habits could produce products to improve the nutrition of the population.

Nutritional status

A limited number of studies on the extent of undernutrition have been made. The prevalence of oedema in children attending clinics in Kathmandu Valley was about 5 per cent (Van Dijk 1968). In another study in the same area about 20 per cent of children 10-24 months of age were found to be below 80 per cent of the Stuart Meredith reference median (Ziegler and Ziegler 1976). Another study by Pourbaix (1974) in 17 clinics and villages in different parts of Nepal showed that 71 and 19 per cent of the pre-school children surveyed were below 80 per cent of the Stuart-Stevenson reference medians for weight-for-age and weight-for-height respectively.

Another anthropometric survey (Brink et al. 1976) employed population-proportionate sampling throughout rural Nepal, excluding 14 town areas. In addition 486 children of well-to-do families of Kathmandu and Patan were selected for a "special group" survey. These children were included to gather information on families who can afford to feed their children well if they want to. There was a high proportion of normal children in the terai area (P < .001) and considerably more stunted children in the hiliy area (P < .001) (table 2). Prevalence of malnutrition in different age-groups showed that Nepalese children have reasonably good physical growth after birth, but a marked increase in stunting took place with increase in age. The highest percentage of wasting was found in the second year of life, reflecting the problem of transition from breast milk to external food. A much higher percentage of protein-energy undernutrition is a general problem of rural Nepal. Nearly 4 per cent of the children are wasted and stunted, and 50 per cent have a significant deficit in linear growth. In the case of the special group (table 3) less than one-fifth of the children have a significant deficit in linear growth and less than 1 per cent are severely stunted and wasted. It is significant that a growth pattern currently displayed by more affluent Nepalese is potentially attainable, and this should be the target for long-term nutritional programmes.

TABLE 2. Percentage Distribution of Children 6-71 Months of Age by Waterlow Categories(a)

1. Percentages based on weighted data.

TABLE 3. Age-specific Percentage Distribution in Waterlow Categories. Nepal Survey Population (NSP) and "Special Group" (SG)

If we accept criteria for the diagnosis of anaemia on the basis of a haemoglobin level of less than 100 grams per litre for children 6-23 months and less than 110 grams per litre for children 24-71 months, then anaemia is most prevalent in children in the 24-35 month age-group (table 4). In general anaemia is an important problem among rural children of Nepal and probably reflects iron deficiency due mainly to an inadequate dietary intake.

TABLE 4. Mean Haemoglobin Values^a for Rural Nepal and Percentage Below Normal for Age

1. Corrected for altitude.

New perspectives

Of the three basic needs of fellow human beings, shelter and clothing are still considered secondary. Food has always been the prime need and the centre of great social and political changes.

Malthus warned that while food supplies increase at an arithmetic rate, the population increases at a geometric rate and if this is true the population will outstrip available food supply. But even from neolithic days man was warned about this situation. Later, the increase in cultivable land, improved method of farming, application of fertilizer and irrigation, and lately the Green Revolution, has allowed production to keep pace with demand. Newer developments and understanding in the fields of nutrition and food science and technology reveal that purely vegetarian diets viewed against the increasing prevalence of obesity and hyperlipidoemia, can promise good health. Moreover, a vegetarian diet is about five times more economic to produce than one which includes animal foods. Further, newer knowledge in food science and technology promises to increase and improve the quality and availability of food through seed variety development, better processing and preservation techniques and by-product utilization.

Nutrition is still a young science and its sister subjects of food science and technology are even newer. The subjects of nutrition and food science and technology are closely linked and can even be regarded as different faces of the same coin. Existence of food science and nutrition is unthinkable in the absence of food that is the primary produce of agriculture. Certainly one cannot function in the absence of either of the others.

Ignorance and taboos restrict the consumption even of certain foods available at hand, while at the same time traditional foods related to religion and custom are contributing favourably towards improvement of nutrition. Evaluation of these traditional foods, and the application of food science followed by popularization for more frequent consumption can help improve nutrition.

Conclusion

Agricultural production is not keeping pace with population increase. Post-harvest losses of food grains and perishable foods like fruits and vegetables are thought to be around 10-15 and 20-35 per cent respectively, and whatever is saved loses some of its qualitative value due to faulty storage and processing practices. Food availability, specially for the more vulnerable sections of the population, is below the normal requirement, and undernutrition in terms of proteins and calories, iron, carotene, and iodine is rampant in Nepal. Increased food production is possible through increased exploitation of abundant water resources and greater application of agricultural inputs and technologies. Increase in agricultural production will increase food availability and improve economic status, the two most important prerequisites of nutritonal improvement. Application of food science and technology will not only help in increasing food availability and food value per unit area, but will also help to conserve food, reduce food waste, and improve the quality of food production. Nutritionists should draw the attention of agriculturists and food scientists to the nutritional needs of the population and work with them for the quantitative and qualitative fulfilment of nutritional needs. To sum up, agriculture, food science, and nutrition jointly offer great hopes for the nutritional improvement of the people.

References

Bhandari, R.C. 1979180. "Paper Presented at Seventh Summer Crop Workshop of the Department of Agriculture." Assistant Food Research Officer, Food Testing Laboratory, Central Food Research Laboratory, Babarmahal, Kathmandu.

Brink, E.W.; I.H. Khan: J.L. Spliter; N.W. Dtaehling; J.M. Lane, and M.Z. Nichaman. 1976. Bulletin of the world, Health Organization, WHO, Rome, 54: 311-318.

Central Bureau of Statistics. 1974. Nepal Census 1971. Village Line Listing. Nepal.

National Planning Commission. 1980. Sixth Plan (1980/85), Singha Durbar, Kathmandu.

Pourbaix, P.A. 1974. Nutrition Survey in Nepal. WHO Project, SEARO, 0097.

Van Dijk, I.J. 1968. "Assignment Report on Maternal and Child Health," WHO project, Nepal 0008. Unpublished document WHO/SEA/MCH/48.

Ziegler, H.D., and R.B. Ziegler. 1976. Personal communication.

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