Nutrition and Food Security

This is an essential component of the holistic rural development model Tarayana promotes. Since the inception of the Foundation, the Field Officers have been providing necessary support, guidance, and facilitation in promoting backyard gardens for every household in the respective sites. This initiative complements the tremendous effort made by the Department of Agriculture under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests to make the village's food self-sufficient. Support is provided in inputs, capacity building, and market facilitation. COVID-19 provided opportunities for farmers to utilize their barren lands as the vegetables and fruits available in the country became scarce. The Foundation has conducted studies to determine the cause of undernutrition among pregnant women and under-five children, formulated programmas to address these based on the findings, and implemented them in target communities.

Promotion of homestead nutrition gardens is carried out in the rural villages through which farmers are supported with solar greenhouses, solar fencing to address human-wildlife conflict, and training on mulching, drip irrigation, vermicomposting, etc to add value. Farmers are supported with post-harvest activities such as food processing and where necessary, marketing support is also rendered.