Pattern of crop diversification and its implications on undernutrition in India

This paper explores the pattern and extent of food crop diversification and its implications on nutritional indicators in India, using district-level data for the most recent period. The study relied on data from Land use statistics and the National family health survey, 2015-16. We estimated the Simpson index (Sd) for food crop diversification and undernutrition index for nutritional status. The association of crop diversification and nutritional status was analysed employing bivariate copula function. Our findings show striking regional differences in the extent of food crop diversification and nutritional outcomes. The results of the copula function indicated a significant inverse relationship between crop diversification and undernutrition. These findings suggest a need to promote diversification among food crops by introducing crop neutral policies to bridge regional gaps in nutritional outcomes.