1Institute for Human Resource Development, Moi University, P.O. Box 3900, Eldoret, Kenya.
2Division of Agricultural Economics, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 110012.
*This paper is based on the first author's Ph.D. dissertation submitted to P.G. School, I.A.R.I., New Delhi (Musebe, 2000). The comments of the referee are gratefully acknowledged.
Despite disappearance of large scale famines in India, poverty and hunger persist. The incidence of hunger is more in the semiarid regions. The present study investigates the influence of socio-economic factors on food and nutrient intake and identifies target groups for prioritization for the improvement of nutritional status. The analysis showed that there was dependence on plant products in diets. Cereals constituted the major source of nutrients. They supplied 68 per cent of the energy, 68 per cent of proteins and 19 per cent of fats. The intake of foodstuffs varied across socio-economic groups. Diet diversification increased with increase in the income, land size, literacy and possession of milch animals. The undernourished population was highest among the landless, households with illiterate heads, the scheduled castes and tribes. The main policy measures for improving the household nutritional status include improved agricultural technologies, literacy, dairy enterprises and plans and programmes for increasing the purchasing power of the poor. Dairy enterprises should be given highest priority in diversifying agriculture and diets, and raising both income and nutritional status of households. Targeting the very poor, landless and the households with illiterate heads warrants special attention.
