Eating Chapattis with Salt and Water: Bundelkhand’s Chronic Food Insecurity

Abstract

Food insecurity prevails when the availability of sufficient nutritious and safe food is threatened. This article examines conditions in Bundelkhand’s Banda district and analyses the reasons behind the conditions of food insecurity prevalent there. On the basis of household-level primary data, body mass index (BMI) and 24-hour dietary recall (24-HDR) have been used to measure the chronic and transitory dimensions of food insecurity. The overall sex specific prevalence of chronic energy deficiency (CED) shows that both males and females are passing through a critical situation with respect to their nutritional status, with females being more underprivileged. Nearly two-fifths of the households remain hungry and are consuming calories less than the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of 1,890 calories, with wasted children being the biggest sufferers of CED. Persistent drought conditions combined with the unavailability of assured means of irrigation and faulty implementation of government systems and services, have ensured that Banda district remains in a state of chronic food insecurity.

Keywords

Food insecurity India Bundelkhand Banda 24-hour dietary recall (24-HDR)body mass index (BMI)

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Census of India. (2011). District census handbook: Banda—Village and town directory (Series-10, Part XII-A). Directorate of Census Operations, Uttar Pradesh.

Dogra

(2016a, January 12). Bundelkhand drought. Mainstream. http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article6467.html

Dogra

(2016b, July 13). Benefits of MNREGA remain elusive even as drought peaks. The Wire. https://thewire.in/34590/benefits-of-nrega-remain-elusive-even-as-drought-peaks/

Hashmi

S. N. I.

, & Shakeel

(2012). Imbalances in foodgrains production in central Uttar Pradesh, India: Causes, effects and possible solutions. Caspian Journal of Applied Sciences and Research, 1(9), 92–101.

Jain

S. K.

(2009, April 29). Change in climate in Bundelkhand and challenges for life. www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/content/265039/change-in-climate-in-bundelkhandandchallenges-for-life/

Khongsdier

(2005). BMI and morbidity in relation to body composition: A cross-sectional study of a rural community in North-East India. British Journal of Nutrition, 93(1), 101–107.

Khongsdier

, Varte

, & Mukherjee

(2005). Excess male chronic energy deficiency among adolescents: A cross-sectional study in the context of patrilineal and matrilineal societies in Northeast India. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 59, 1007–1014.

Naeye

R. L.

, Burt

L. S.

, Wright

D. L.

, Blanc

W. A.

, & Tatter

(1971). Neonatal mortality, the male disadvantage. Pediatrics, 48(6), 902–906.

Quisumbing

A. R.

, Brown

L. R.

, Feldstein

H, S.

, Haddad

, & Pena

(1996). Women: The key to food security. Food and Nutrition Bulletin, 17(1), 1–2.

10.

Radimer

(2002). Measurement of household food security in the USA and other industrialized countries. Public Health Nutrition, 5(6A), 859–864.

11.

Shakeel

(2018a). Food security: Theorising the evolution and involution of the concept. The Arab World Geographer, 21(1), 58–82.

12.

Shakeel

(2018b). Measuring extent, depth, severity and levels of food insecurity in Banda district of Bundelkhand Region. IASSI Quarterly, 37(3&4), 462–481.

13.

Shakeel

(2018c). Recent trends in the debate on India’s national food security Act-2013: A review. Geography Environment and Sustainability, 11(2), 108–124.

14.

Shakeel

, Hussain

, & Hashmi

S. N. I.

(2017). Déjà vu of farmers’ suicide: A theoretical insight from India. The Arab World Geographer, 20(4), 330–346.

15.

Shakeel

, Jamal

, & Zaidy

(2012). A regional analysis of food security in Bundelkhand region (Uttar Pradesh, India). Journal of Geography and Regional Planning, 5(9), 252–262.

16.

Shakeel

, & Shazli

(2020). Coping strategies and struggle against food insecurity: The case of district Banda in Bundelkhand region, India. GeoJournal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-020-10155-x

17.

Siddiqui

P. I.

(2009, October 8). Forced to sell houses land and now wives. Bundelkhand Live. http://www.bundelkhandlive.com/web/forced-to-sell-houses-land-and-now-wives/

18.

Singh

S. P.

, & Shukla

(2010). Socio-economic outlook of Bundelkhand: Problems and prospects. The Indian Journal of Political Science, 71(3), 947–967.

19.

Smith

L C.

, Ramakrishnan

, Ndiaye

, Haddad

, & Martorell

(2000). The importance of women's status for child nutrition in developing countries. Research Report (International Food Policy Research Institute), 131. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/6289649.pdf.

20.

Steyn

N. P.

, Nel

J. H.

, Nantel

, Kennedy

, & Labadarios

(2006). Food variety and dietary diversity scores in children: Are they good indicators of dietary adequacy? Public Health Nutrition, 9(5), 644–650.

21.

Waldron

(1983). Sex differences in infant and early childhood mortality: Major causes of death and possible biological causes. In too young to die: Genes or gender? (pp. 64–83). United Nations.