Innovative matrix for applying a food systems approach for developing interventions to address nutrient deficiencies in indigenous communities in India: a study protocol

Abstract

Background Indigenous communities retain knowledge of the land and food resources rooted in historical continuity within their region of residence. Food systems research can be leveraged to identify strategies to encourage sustainable use of complex multi-species agroforestry systems by indigenous communities contributing to nutritional needs while simultaneously preserving the ecosystems and their benefits to society. Till date, the analyses of food systems have predominantly focused on high income countries often overlooking the alternatives (dietary and production) that would be most relevant to low and middle income countries (LMIC). Thus, innovative methodological approaches are needed to comprehensively characterize diverse food systems in LMICs with special reference to indigenous communities. Design This protocol paper describes a food systems approach that will be employed to understand diverse and dynamic food systems of vulnerable tribal communities of Jharkhand, India and leverage their agroforestry systems to improve dietary diversity, nutrition status and address food security. Four tribal groups namely Santhal, Ho, Munda and Sauria Paharia of Godda, West Singhbhum and Khunti districts of Jharkhand would be studied. This will be an exploratory cross-sectional study design, along with a longitudinal component to capture seasonality in dietary intake and agricultural diversity. A mixed methods approach will be used based on a conceptual framework on drivers of food systems, food supply chain, food environment (both wild & cultivated, and market food environments), as well as consumer behaviour and maternal and child health outcomes in tribal communities. The quantitative surveys will be conducted on socio-economic, demographic profile of households, their availability of, access to and utilization of food environment and nutritional status of reproductive age group women and children under 5 years. Qualitative enquiries will examine barriers and facilitators to increase sustainable production, procurement and consumption of indigenous foods. The final outcome would be development of interventions to promote indigenous food consumption. Discussion By utilizing a combination of value chain analysis and ‘Optifoods linear programming software’ that will use above information on indigenous community, dietary intake, nutritional status and food environment, evidence based interventions promoting indigenous food systems aimed at addressing food and nutritional security of tribal communities will be developed.

Food Environment Typology: Advancing an Expanded Definition, Framework, and Methodological Approach for Improved Characterization of Wild, Cultivated, and Built Food Environments toward Sustainable Diets

“…The objectives of this concept paper were addressed on the basis of the following: (1) multiple literature reviews; (2) extensive field observations carrying out food environment research in diverse socio-ecological contexts in low-, middle-, and high-income countries by the study team; (3) interactions with field experts during workshops, symposium, and conferences on the topic of food environments; and (4) classroom experiences teaching graduate students on the topic of food environments. Collectively, our study team has carried out food environment research in a range of low-, middle-, and high-income countries including rural and tribal communities in Asia (China [39][40][41][42][43], India [44][45][46], Nepal [28], and Myanmar [47]), Africa (Kenya [48], Senegal [49], and Tanzania [50]), and North America (Waskaganish, Quebec [51] and Flathead Reservation, Montana [22,36,[52][53][54][55][56]). Our field work in these communities have included mixed-methods to capture the key elements of the food environment types and how consumers interact with those environments.…”

Traditional Food Environment and Factors Affecting Indigenous Food Consumption in Munda Tribal Community of Jharkhand, India

“…Both these blocks comprise of hilly terrain with forest cover and plain lands, and have a predominantly higher population of Munda tribe, in comparison to other blocks. Using probability proportional to size sampling, a total of eleven villages from Murhu and Torpa blocks were selected for the study, details of which are reported elsewhere ( 35 ). Out of these villages, qualitative enquiries were conducted in nine villages until theoretical saturation was achieved (i.e.…”

“…A cross-sectional mixed-method study was conducted using both qualitative enquiries and quantitative estimates, to explore the traditional food environment of the Munda tribal community, including the types of food environments (wild, cultivated, and built) that they interface with, the types of indigenous foods (IFs) that are accessed, their nutritional attributes as well as the factors influencing the consumption of these foods. This work was part of a larger study documenting the role of IFs consumed by tribal groups of Jharkhand and assessing their contribution to food security and dietary diversity among women and children ( 35 ). The data collection was conducted between June 2019 and January 2020; multiple visits were conducted to capture the diversity of foods that were consumed during different seasons.…”

“…IFs with no secondary data on nutritional values, were collected from field sites and sent for analysis to a food testing laboratory accredited with National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). The food sample collection was carried out following the standard protocol developed as part of the larger study ( 35 ) and nutrient analysis was conducted according to standard reference procedures in consultation with the NABL accredited laboratory. The parameters analyzed included energy, protein, carbohydrate, fat, dietary fiber, vitamin A (as beta-carotene), vitamin C, vitamin B1, B2, iron, calcium, zinc, folate, and phosphorous.…”

Agroforestry diversity, indigenous food consumption and nutritional outcomes in Sauria Paharia tribal women of Jharkhand, India

“…This study was part of a larger project that examined IF consumption by tribal groups of Jharkhand and its contribution to dietary diversity and food security among women and children. A detailed description of the larger project and its methodological approaches are reported elsewhere (Ghosh-Jerath et al, 2019). In the present paper, we report the socio-economic, demographic, dietary profile, agroforestry diversity, IF consumption, nutrient intake and nutritional status of Sauria Paharia women.…”