.Eliminating micronutrient deficiencies
By Dr
Umar Farooqi & Dr Mubarik Ali
THE
deficiency of micronutrients such as minerals and vitamins affects nearly two
third of the world population. It delays growth, makes a person susceptible to
illness, and decreases cognitive capacity. Vitamins are organic substances
facilitating essential biochemical reactions necessary for growth, vitality and
normal body functioning. The deficiency of vitamin A causes night blindness,
skin keratinisation and retarded growth in children.
About 250 million children are victim of vitamin A deficiency. The role of
minerals in human health is also important. For example, iron is a constituent
of haemoglobin. It is also a vital component of many enzymes and can promote
resistance to diseases and prevent fatigue. The iron deficiency is harmful at
all ages as it reduces human productivity.
The iron and iodine deficiencies are widespread in Pakistan with little efforts
to overcome the problem. According to the State of Food and Agriculture 2001,
‘the impact of nutrition on labour productivity, health and education
ultimately filters through higher level of economic growth.
Better nutrition leads to increased human capital and labour productivity
through improved health and education which results in economic growth. Greater
economic growth (usually measured in terms of per capita GDP) provides better
nutrition through increased public and private spending on health, education and
food consumption’.
Spending on nutritional improvement is now perceived as an investment in human
capital and its returns are extended from present to future. Better nutrition
now has become a human right.
In Pakistan, on average, more than one kilogram of food per person is consumed
daily. The per capita daily intake of cereals is 434 grams (g), fruits 47g, and
of vegetables 134g, making vegetable-cereal ratio at 1:3.2.
In low income families, the corresponding consumption of cereals, fruits and
vegetables is 438g, 38g and 130g, respective, thus making vegetable cereals
ratio as 1:3.4. This indicates the consumption of vegetables is 33-35 per cent
below the minimum recommended level of 200g per day. Further lower consumption
of vegetables may be expected in rural areas and urban slums.
Equally important is the composition of vegetables consumed. Leafy vegetables,
rich in vitamin A and iron, constitute only 17.4 per cent of the total intake.
The fruit-types, relatively low in micronutrients constitute the major share of
vegetable consumption (although their per capita consumption is also low).
Strategies to overcome micronutrient deficiencies include medicinal approach,
vitamin and mineral supplementation, food fortification and dietary
diversification.
Fruits and vegetables are generally low in energy and protein contents but rich
in fibre, mineral elements, vitamins and water. Vegetables are naturally rich in
vitamins and minerals as 17 different types of minerals and 15 vitamins are
abundantly present in them. They are also economical and efficient source of
micronutrients. Vegetables are comparatively cheaper source to deal with
micronutrient deficiency-related diseases like night blindness, skin diseases,
kidney stones, hemorrhaging swollen gums, heart diseases, anaemia and, cancer of
the lungs, breast and prostate. Dark green leafy vegetables are rich in iron
content. The best natural sources of vitamin A are carrots, spinach, green
chillies, pumpkins, tomatoes and mustard.
Citrus fruits, green chillies, cauliflower, mustard, cabbage, turnips and
tomatoes are rich in vitamin C, necessary for proper assimilation of iron. For a
normal adult man, a balanced diet should consist of two or more servings of
protein-rich foods and three or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day.
Evidence signifies the effective role of vegetables in eradicating micronutrient
deficiency problem.
It is also important to know about the consumers’ response to the changes in
prices of vegetables and household income. A study conducted in 2005 revealed
that the price elasticity of vegetables is greater in both high and low-income
groups. This implies that consumers are highly responsive to changes in the
prices of vegetables (i.e., one percentage change in vegetable prices will bring
more than one percentage change in consumption), and cheaper availability of
vegetables will generate at least equal impact on both the income groups.
Moreover, income elasticity of vegetables is also close to one, signifying that
10 per cent increase in household income will generate 9.9 per cent rise in
demand for vegetables.
Based on the above facts, it can be concluded that the increased consumption of
vegetables can affectively help in alleviating the micronutrient deficiency. We
believe that dietary diversification induced through higher vegetable
consumption will balance the diet by enhancing the supply of essential
micronutrients leading to improved health, enhanced cognitive ability, and
increased efficiency of the working class. All these are reflected in improved
productivity of our labour force normally considered as an indicator of rural
development.
Recent studies have shown that a 10 per cent increase in the share of fruits and
vegetables in diet increases the rural workers productivity by 4.6 per cent. It
is imperative that policy practitioners and planners in agricultural research
must pay due consideration to increased production of vegetables through
allocating more funds and manpower in research and extension to achieve the
objective of cheap availability of vegetables, especially for the poor.
Increased vegetable cultivation will mitigate micronutrient deficiencies from
two perspectives. First, as vegetables provide 2-3 times more income to the
farmers than widely cultivated cereal crops, it will substantially increase the
consumption of micronutrients through high nutrient income elasticity.
Second, at consumers’ end, the increased vegetable supplies will decrease
their prices, which will also enhance the consumption of micronutrients through
nutrient price elasticity.
Keeping in view the complexities of the vegetable sector in terms of
researchable issues in so many vegetables, the present level of resource
allocation (funds and manpower) to vegetable research and development are meager
as compared to what is being allocated to enhance the production of cereals in
the country.