Koraput’s kitchen gardens boost diet of pregnant women

Koraput: The Borigumma block administration has launched a ‘nutrition garden’ initiative to ensure that women have access to healthy and nutritious food during pregnancy, and their families have opportunity to earn some cash during this time of hardship.
Supported by funds from the MGNREGA and the Odisha Livelihood Mission (OLM), the government is helping families of pregnant women grow a nutrition garden comprising fresh, organic vegetables and green leaves in the backyard of their houses.
“It is the right of every woman to get a balanced and nutritional diet when she is pregnant. However, there are several instances of such women being deprived of the necessary food. This not only harms their health, they end up giving birth to underweight children. The nutrition garden scheme will ensure that pregnant women get a healthy diet,” said Pranay Ranjan Behera, block development officer, Borigumma.
The officer explained that the gardens would come up on two cents of land and will comprise two drumstick plants, three plants each of papaya and banana, two lemon plants and a few green vegetable plants. While the saplings, worth Rs 700, are being provided by the OLM, 24 mandays with daily wage of Rs 207 are being provided to the family of the pregnant woman to develop the garden under the MGNREGA.
“The total cost of each garden, including the building of two compost pits, has been pegged at Rs 6,156,” said Satyanarayan Sethi, assistant engineer of the block. The fruits of the garden will supplement the diet already provided to pregnant women by anganwadi centres, he added.
Based on the data provided by the health department, the block authorities have identified at least 1,000 beneficiaries in its 31 panchayats for the first phase of the initiative. Gardens have already been built in the backyards of the houses of at least 400 beneficiaries.
Apart from helping pregnant women, the project, launched in March, has provided employment for 24 mandays to families of these beneficiaries at the time of economic hardship caused by the Covid-19 lockdown.
“I am happy with the nutritional garden in my backyard. I am able to get fresh vegetables from my garden, which not only helps me get a nutritional diet but saves my expenditure on produce,” said beneficiary Manima Majhi of Narigaon village.