Do we need to worry about the nutrition security of indigenous communities? Empirical Evidence from northeast India

Jamir, Chubbamenla; Ratna, Nazmun N.; Jagannath, Pratyaya; Longkumer, Moarenla. 2023. Do we need to worry about the nutrition security of indigenous communities? Empirical Evidence from northeast India. Poster. Presented at the CGIAR GENDER Conference 'From Research to Impact: Towards just and resilient agri-food systems', New Delhi, India, 9-12 October 2023. Government of Nagaland, India

The Hindu Kush Himalayan region is home to many indigenous communities, each with its own distinctive culture and traditions. Many cultures have evolved around agriculture and food and have rich food heritage and agricultural practices. Despite this, more than 30% of the population suffers from food insecurity, and around 50% face some form of malnutrition, with women and children suffering the most. In this study, we investigate the difference in the food consumption patterns and dietary diversity across rural and urban households of the Ao-Naga Community in Nagaland. Analyzing survey data for 404 female household heads in Mokukchong district, we have three preliminary findings. Firstly, rural households have higher Food Diversity Score (FDS) than urban households, with much higher consumption of traditional foods like organs and insects, which are good protein and nutrient sources. Secondly, household income has more impact on FDS among urban households than their rural counterparts, but there is a positive association between income and consumption of food away from home for both communities. Thirdly, although the meat consumption is higher for urban households in general, there is a positive association between female education and meat consumption in rural areas. Currently, we are analyzing the data to provide policy insights on how indigenous women’s agency can influence the preference for traditional food and thereby address the challenges for food and nutrition security among indigenous communities in northeast India.