Community Hunger 
                                                     Fighters: An Adult 
                                                     Nutrition Literacy 
                                                     Programme 
                                Rama Narayanan       (Experiences in integrating nutrition literacy 
                                                     as part of the Farming system for Nutrition 
                                       D.J.Nithya    Study under Leveraging Agriculture for 
                                                     Nutrition in South Asia) 
                           Akshaya Kumar Panda        
                                   Rupal D.Wagh 
             M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation 
                              Chennai, Tamil Nadu 
         
           Community Hunger Fighters: An Adult 
                Nutrition Literacy Programme 
         (Experiences in integrating nutrition literacy as part of the Farming 
           system for Nutrition Study under the research programme on 
              Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia) 
                                   
                                   
                             A Report 
                                   
                                   
              Rama Narayanan, D.J.Nithya, Akashya Kumar Panda and  
                            Rupal D.Wagh 
                                   
                                   
                            December 2018 
                                   
                                   
                                       
                     M S Swaminathan Research Foundation  
                   3rd Cross Street, Taramani Institutional Area,  
                               Chennai  
                             www.mssrf.org 
                                                            
         
       MSSRF / RR / 18 / 51 
        
        
        
       About the Report  
       This  report  is  a  documentation  of  process  of  nutrition  literacy  programme  undertaken  as  a 
       component of Farming System for Nutrition (FSN) study under LANSA in Wardha, Maharashtra 
       and Koraput, Odisha in 2015 to 2017.  
        
       Acknowledgement  
       This report is part of the research generated by the Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South 
       Asia (LANSA) research consortium, and is funded by UK aid from the UK government. The 
       views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK Government's official policies.  
        
       The authors are thankful to Dr.R.V.Bhavani, Program Manager, LANSA research consortium, 
       LANSA staffs, Chennai and the field investigators in Koraput and Wardha for coordinating the 
       activities of the literacy programme and data collection in the study locations. They are also 
       indebted to Ms. Shilpa Pandit for undertaking an assessment of the nutrition literacy programme. 
        
                     
                                                   
        
        Contents 
        I Background ................................................................................................................................................. 1 
        II Conceptualization of Adult Nutrition Literacy.......................................................................................... 2 
        III The Setting ............................................................................................................................................... 9 
        IV Implementation and Observations ......................................................................................................... 18 
        V Discussion ............................................................................................................................................... 64 
        References ................................................................................................................................................... 70 
         
         
        List of Tables 
        Table 1. Caste profile of study villages in Wardha ....................................................................... 10 
        Table 2. Population and literacy rate in Wardha ........................................................................... 10 
        Table 3. Caste profile of study villages in Koraput ...................................................................... 11 
        Table 4. Population and literacy rate in Koraput .......................................................................... 11 
        Table 5. Land holding pattern in Wardha and Koraput (% of households) .................................. 13 
        Table 6. Prevalence (%) of under-nutrition among children, adolescents and adults ................... 17 
        Table 7. Profile of selected CHFs in Wardha ............................................................................... 25 
        Table 8. Profile of selected CHFs in Koraput ............................................................................... 27 
        Table 9. Expectations of participants from the workshop ............................................................ 29 
        Table 10. Suggested dietary pattern across seasons by Wardha CHFs......................................... 33 
        Table 11. Suggested dietary pattern across seasons by Koraput CHFs ........................................ 33 
        Table 12. Agricultural planning according to land type and season by CHFs of Wardha ........... 39 
        Table 13. Agricultural planning according to land type and season by CHFs of Koraput ........... 39 
        Table 14. Future training needs of Koraput CHFs ........................................................................ 43 
        Table 15. Participants in the evaluation exercises ........................................................................ 45 
        Table 16. Method and Mode of Communication .......................................................................... 52 
        Table 17. Community endeavours in Wardha .............................................................................. 61 
        Table 18. Community endeavours in Koraput .............................................................................. 61 
         
        List of Figures 
        Figure 1. Study location .................................................................................................................. 9 
        Figure 2. Steps in implementation ................................................................................................ 21 
        Figure 3. Group work on identifying foods that they consume .................................................... 29 
        Figure 4. Role play in Koraput ..................................................................................................... 32 
        Figure 5. Participants drawing diversified crops that can be grown in field ................................ 36 
        Figure 6. Conceptual and operational framework for integrating nutrition literacy in Farming 
              Systems for Nutrition research ..................................................................................... 70