For rural Indian women, access to affordable and nutritious food is a daily struggle. With limited income and resources, providing a healthy meal for their families can be a daunting task. According to a report, 76 percent of Indians living in rural regions cannot afford a nutritious diet.
Food affordability is a crucial issue that affects millions of families in India, especially those living in rural areas. For these women, finding ways to provide low-cost meals meeting the nutritional needs of their families is a top priority.
The importance of low-cost meals cannot be overstated. They not only ensure that families have enough to eat but also help them to stretch their limited budgets. The lack of affordable food options can lead to malnutrition and other health problems.
Therefore, it is essential to address the issue of food affordability and support rural Indian women in providing healthy and low-cost meals for their families.
What is Food Affordability?
Food affordability refers to the ability of individuals or households to access food that is both nutritious and reasonably priced. It means that people have enough income to purchase the food they need without sacrificing other essentials such as rent, utilities, or healthcare. Let’s understand the food affordability definition with an example.
A family in a low-income rural area may struggle to afford fresh fruits and vegetables, which are often expensive. To make ends meet, they may resort to buying cheaper, less healthy options, leading to nutritional deficiencies and health problems. In this case, food affordability would mean having access to affordable, nutritious foods without compromising their financial stability.
The number of individuals who cannot afford the cheapest type of healthy food has increased by 112 million since 2019, according to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) 2022 study. Additionally, 1.5 billion people worldwide—most of whom reside in Southern Asia (1.3 billion), Sub-Saharan Africa (894 million), and Southeast Asia (347 million)—cannot afford to eat diets that are adequate in nutrients.
India and Food Affordability Index
The Global Food Affordability Index (GFAI) is a tool that measures the affordability of food in different countries. It helps policymakers, businesses, and consumers to understand the factors that influence food prices and identify strategies to improve food affordability and accessibility for all.
India has a score of 57.2, placing it 71st out of 113 countries in the Global Food Security Index 2021. India’s score increased from 54.5 in 2012 to 57.2 in 2021, an increase of only 2.7 points. India again performed poorly on the 2022 Global Hunger Index, ranking 107 out of 121 nations. According to reports, India was home to over 973 million of the three billion people who in 2020 were unable to purchase a nutritious meal. This represents 70.5% of the nation’s population.
India has consistently performed poorly on the Global Food Security Index (GFSI). The main reasons for this poor performance are high levels of poverty and malnutrition, lack of access to clean water and sanitation, inadequate agricultural infrastructure, and insufficient government policies to support food security.
To address these problems, India needs to increase investments in rural development, improve access to credit and technology for small farmers, promote sustainable agriculture practices, and expand social safety nets to support vulnerable populations.
It also needs to focus on improving education and awareness around nutrition and health and ensuring the availability and affordability of nutritious food to all, especially in rural areas. By taking these steps, India can make significant progress toward achieving food security for all its citizens.
Benefits
The benefits of food affordability are many and significant, both in general and from an Indian perspective. When food is affordable, it helps to ensure that people have access to enough food to meet their basic nutritional needs, which is essential for good health and well-being. It also helps to reduce poverty and promote economic development by providing a stable source of income for farmers and food producers.
From an Indian perspective, food affordability is particularly important for women, especially those living in rural areas. In rural India, women often bear the primary responsibility for providing food for their families. They are also more likely to suffer from malnutrition and other health problems due to poverty and lack of access to nutritious food.
Improving food affordability in these areas can positively impact women’s nutrition and fitness, by enabling them to provide healthy and balanced meals for their families, and also ensuring that they have access to nutritious food for themselves.
Managing Resources
Low-cost meals that are nutritious and easy to prepare can be particularly beneficial for women who have limited time and resources. By promoting the use of locally available ingredients and traditional cooking methods, it is possible to create low-cost meals that are both tasty and nutritious. This can help to reduce the prevalence of malnutrition, particularly among children and women, and improve overall health outcomes.
Also, good nutrition is essential for women’s hormonal health, as hormones are influenced by a range of factors including diet, stress, and lifestyle. Additionally, women’s nutrition is one of the most important issues to address to prevent stunting in children. Malnutrition in mothers can have long-term effects on the health and development of their children.
By prioritizing women’s nutrition and promoting healthy eating habits, it is possible to improve the health and well-being of both women and their children and promote sustainable development.
Food Affordability and the Future
Improving food affordability is critical for promoting the health and well-being of rural women in India and the overall population. By providing access to nutritious and affordable food, women can better provide for their families and avoid malnutrition and other health problems. This, in turn, can positively impact the overall economy by promoting productivity and reducing healthcare costs.
Additionally, improving food affordability can contribute to the growth of rural communities and support sustainable development. By prioritizing food affordability and nutrition, India can improve the health and well-being of its citizens. It will promote economic development, and create a more prosperous and sustainable future for all.
Therefore, the government should work towards providing low-cost meals to women in rural India to improve their nutrition. This will promote healthy eating habits, and reduce the prevalence of malnutrition and related health problems.
India has already taken many necessary steps to provide nutritious food to the majority of its population. As the country moves forward, it should continue to focus its attention on this very crucial issue.
Working closely with the communities, Smile Foundation’s women empowerment programme, Swabhiman team organises low-cost recipe workshops where women are encouraged and guided on healthy meals which can be prepared easily with the available materials at home.
With an aim to impart nutritional knowledge among these women, these interactive sessions include live demonstrations of cooking healthy food with high protein value that is easily available and will also help to reduce the burden on out-of-pocket health expenses.