Highlights
The Royal Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi and WFP in India have partnered to host symposiums on women farmers in India to provide insights for policy recommendations. The first symposium, titled Women in Agriculture Value Chain, took place on 30 April 2024, bringing together experts, academics, organisations, and government officials to discuss women’s challenges and contributions to the agrarian economy in India, particularly in relation to climate resilience and the Government of India’s efforts to empower women farmers.
Operational Updates
Social Protection and Supply Chain
The Department of Food and Public Distribution is piloting the smart fair price shops (FPS) initiative to modernise India’s Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), which provides subsidised food grains to 800 million people. The initiative aims to use predictive analysis for inventory management and offer additional services and commodities through these shops. WFP is collaborating with the government to pilot 15 smart FPS outlets in Gujarat and Karnataka to create accessible hubs for people to access food and essential goods efficiently.
The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-Bombay) and WFP organised a roundtable on preventing and reducing food losses and waste in agriculture-horticulture supply chains. The discussion included representatives from research institutions, civil society organisations, grassroots organisations, farmer associations, industry experts, and government agencies, focusing on food loss and wastage in agricultural supply chains, especially food grains, and issues in horticultural supply chains.
Nutrition and School Feeding
WFP has supported the production and distribution of fortified blended foods in Uttar Pradesh, with over 12 million people receiving nearly 96000 metric tonnes of products from 204 decentralized take-home ration units run by women’s micro-enterprises. In Rajasthan and Odisha, THR products have been distributed to pregnant and breastfeeding women, girls, and children. Training sessions were conducted for women micro-enterprise members in Uttar Pradesh and frontline workers in Rajasthan to strengthen nutritional education and protocols.
WFP expanded support for rice fortification in Maharashtra and Assam, providing training to over 400 officials and 600 grassroots functionaries in five states. Master trainers in Kerala were also trained to further enhance the capacity for rice fortification programmes, with over 700 food, nutrition, and health resource persons receiving training on rice fortification.
FAQ
Q: What is the focus of the symposiums hosted by WFP and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in India?
A: The symposiums focus on women farmers in India to provide insights for policy recommendations.
Q: What is the aim of the smart fair price shops initiative piloted by the Department of Food and Public Distribution?
A: The initiative aims to modernise India’s Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) and provide additional services and commodities through predictive inventory management.
Q: How has WFP supported nutrition and school feeding in India?
A: WFP has supported the production and distribution of fortified blended foods, as well as conducted training sessions for strengthening nutritional education and protocols.
Conclusion
Overall, the efforts of the Royal Norwegian Embassy, WFP, and various stakeholders in India are aimed at empowering women farmers, improving social protection and supply chain efficiency, and enhancing nutrition and food security in the country.
