Calendar - 2013 · 2020-01-13 · Agricultural Bio-diversity and Food Security Contemporary advanced agricultural production systems supported by intensive research and state sponsorship

HAN Foundation is a professional development organisation working towards bringing significant changes in the lives of the Dpoor through innovative themes. DHAN's core philosophy is mothering development innovations. DHAN is always on the lookout for emerging new opportunities for the poor; design a theme around the issue, experiment for few years to evolve a scalable and adaptable community organisation model in different contexts, and then consolidate the experience to launch it as a programme.

DHAN's Community Banking Programme is building on the self- help and collective action of the poor. It has an emphasis on creating access to microfinance services that include savings, credit, and insurance to poor women through their own self-managed institutions. These institutions would help address their other development needs. The Tankfed Agriculture programme aims at rebuilding the small scale water reservoirs spread across the countryside for benefiting small and marginal farmers. The experimentation projects and activities are on making rainfed agriculture more remunerative; making information technology to serve the poor; and democratising the Panchayats through local action. The salience of the programmes of DHAN are placing high quality human resources to work with the poor, organising them into self-managed organisations to avail their entitlements and run their services on a cooperative and self-help basis. DHAN always works in collaboration with individuals and organisations including the government and philanthropies.

DHAN's works are spread over 12,406 villages in 66 Districts of 12 Indian States including Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Assam, Bihar and Union Territory of Pudhucherry. Through the development programmes, over one million poor families have been organised into nearly 45,525 primary groups of poor women, small and marginal farmers, landless laborer, fisher folk, and other disadvantaged sections of the society. These primary groups have been further networked into 303 independent Federations owned and managed by the community themselves. About ninety percent of the members are women.

DHAN Foundation

DHAN (Development of Humane Action) FoundationVaidyanathapuram East, Ellis Nagar, Madurai 625 016.

Tel: +91 452 2610794 / 805 Fax: 2602247 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.dhan.org

Calendar - 2013

Food and Nutrition Security

DHAN Foundation

Will that hunger return?Which nearly killed me yesterday?" - Kural: 1048

One may sleep even in the midst of fire, But by no means in the midst of poverty. - Kural: 1049

Though written 2000 years ago, the views expressed in these couplets by

Thiruvalluvar, a Tamil sage poet are still relevant today. The revelations

of Thirukkural on poverty and suffering of poor holds true even at this

age of rapid growth and advancement in all spheres of life. United

Nations estimate reveals that 870 million people do not have enough to

eat and 98 per cent of them live in developing countries. Under-nutrition

contributes to the deaths of about 5.6 million children under five in the

developing world each year. It can lead to poor school performance and

dropout, it threatens girls' future ability to bear healthy children and it

perpetuates a generational cycle of poverty.

Thiruvalluvar does not stop with portraying only the issues of poverty and

hunger, he writes on what is to be done to alleviate poverty and hunger.

Strong is the strength of enduring hunger,But stronger still is the strength of relieving it. – Kural 225

Wiping out the hunger of the have-nots,Is the treasury the haves have deposited their wealth. – Kural 226

Unaware of the joys of giving, The hard-hearted waste their wealth hoarding it. - Kural 228

The growing hunger and malnutrition is a single major challenge for the

entire humanity. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that every

nation has committed to achieve by 2015 call for halving the proportion

of people who suffer from hunger. It also calls for partnership and shared

responsibility among all the stakeholders including governments,

donors, NGOs, civil societies and corporate to share knowledge,

resources, expertise to tackle the issues of hunger and malnutrition.

DHAN Foundation's overarching goal of poverty reduction lays high

emphasis on enabling the poor and vulnerable communities to enhance

their social capital. With the strength acquired from their institutions, the

poor households gain visibility in the larger society, earn control and

ownership over the processes and outcomes of various development

interventions around which they were organised. The interventions such

as microfinance, water, and rainfed farming development are seen as

means of building sustainable livelihoods, which would in turn eliminate

the hunger and mal nutrition.

DHAN Foundation observed the year 2011 as the 'Year of Livelihoods'

and 2012 as the 'Year of Advancing Livelihoods'. All the institutions in

DHAN Collective starting from primary groups at the village or hamlet

level to supra-people's organisations at the national level worked

tirelessly to understand the existing livelihoods of over one million poor

families with whom DHAN is working. Each Regional Resource Centre of

DHAN identified the issues and opportunities in the existing livelihoods,

potential activities that can be transformed into livelihood enterprises.

The wealth of information generated at the grassroots level have been

analysed and interpreted at different levels. The existing experience and

knowledge in livelihoods were synthesised through a series of

knowledge building events.

With in-depth understanding on the livelihoods of member households,

DHAN intends to further deepen its development interventions to

address the issues of food and nutrition security in the poor households.

DHAN has decided collectively to observe the Year 2013 as the 'Year of

Food and Nutrition Security'. The 2013 Calendar produced on this

theme tries to visualise the current perspectives and practices on various

dimensions of Food and Nutrition Security.

Food and Nutrition SecurityFocus of the year 2013

Agricultural Bio-diversity and Food Securityontemporary advanced agricultural production systems supported by intensive research and state sponsorship Chave eroded agro-biodiversity at both farm and agro-ecosystem levels. There is, however, a growing realization

that crop varietal diversity, cultivated by small and marginal farmers has enormous public value for ensuring global food security, poverty alleviation, and building more resilient and sustainable farming systems. This could be achieved by strengthening farmers' efforts to improve, use and conserve crop varietal diversity.

An action research project - Revalorising Small Millets in Rainfed Regions of South Asia anchored by DHAN is working on raising the profile of small millets. It aims at conserving agro-biodiversity and increasing productivity of small millets. The project focusses on revitalizing indigenous knowledge and socio-cultural practices that augment cultivation, processing, storage, and utilization of small millets.

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12 National Youth Day

24 National Girl Child Day

25 National Tourism Day, National Voters Day

26 Indian Republic Day

30 Martyrs' Day

30 World Leprosy Eradication Day

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January 2013

February 2013

DHAN Foundation Vaidyanathapuram EastEllis Nagar, Madurai 625 016. Tamil Nadu, INDIATel: +91 452 2610794, 2610805Fax: 2602247 E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.dhan.org

Sustainable Livelihoods for Food and Nutrition Securityood and nutrition security is built on four pillars – availability, access, use and stability. Enhancing livelihoods of the Fpoor and vulnerable households brings them access to food and nutrition, also gives stability for their future

consumption. Building sustainable livelihoods needs reinforcing people's capacities and self-help by organising them, enhancing their capabilities and assets, improving their access to resources and markets, contextualising priorities and livelihood interventions.

With accumulated savings and loan from banks, SHGs promoted by DHAN have generated credit worth of `1,692 crore for livelihood

enhancement of their member households. Skill building and market linkages have helped over 42,500 people.

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4 World Cancer Day

20 World Day of Social Justice

21 International Mother Language Day

28 National Science Day

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February 2013

March 2013


Food and Nutrition Security for Childrenne in three of the world's malnourished children live in India. Malnutrition in early childhood has serious, long-term Oconsequences because it hinders motor, sensory, cognitive, social and emotional development. In addition to poor dietary

intake it is also influenced by access to health services, quality of care for the child and pregnant mother as well as good hygiene practices. Critical interventions needed for addressing childhood malnutrition are ensuring birth weight, providing nutritional supplements, bringing desired changes in behaviours related to feeding, sanitation and hygiene practices.

DHAN's Reproductive and Child Health programme has achieved significantly on the pre and post natal care of mothers, exclusive breastfeeding, initiating supplementary feeding from 4th month, adhering vaccination schedule, administering de-worming tablets and vitamin A solution, sanitation and personal hygiene to prevent chronic infections that lead to underweight.

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7 Vayalagam Movement Day

8 International Women's Day

15 World Consumer Rights Day

21 International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination & World Forestry Day

22 World Water Day

23 World Meteorological Day

24 World Tuberculosis Day

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15 16 17 18 19 2014

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March 2013

April 2013


Food and Nutrition Security for Womenomen are highly vulnerable to malnutrition, for social and biological reasons, throughout their life-cycle. Given Wthe long hours of working and shouldering multiple roles in poverty situation, they are at risk of under-nutrition.

Adolescent girls and pregnant mothers are at high risk of malnutrition, facing chronic energy deficiency, disorders attributed to iron and iodine deficiency, compromising the deposition of critical bone mass due to low calcium intakes. Women centred nutrition and reproductive health programmes are critical for breaking the cycle of malnutrition.

After a decade of intensive field experiments, Kalanjiam Reproductive and Child Health programme has evolved and accepted as a replicable model for caring the adolescent and maternal health. It has benefited over 383,000 women and adolescent girls so far.

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2 World Autism Awareness Day

7 World Health Day

18 World Heritage Day

22 International Mother Earth Day

23 World Book and Copyright Day

25 World Malaria Day

26 World Intellectual Property Day

28 World Day for Safety and Health at Work

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April 2013

May 2013


Microfinance and Food Securityood and nutrition security implies not just the availability of food but also enhancing the purchasing power of the Fpoor and vulnerable households. Limited by the seasonality of income, they need financial support to access

adequate and appropriate food in order to stay away from hunger and malnutrition. Creation of a separate line of credit for consumption in the SHGs thus provides financial safety-nets to the poor to obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious diet.

The SHGs of poor women, farmers and fishermen promoted by DHAN have so far provided `500 crore worth of credit for consumption

needs including food and healthcare.

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1 International Workers' Day (May Day)

3 World Press Freedom Day

11 National Technology Day

15 International Day of Families

17 World Telecommunication and Information Society Day

21 World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development

22 International Day for Biological Diversity

31 World No-Tobacco Day

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May 2013

June 2013


Food and Nutrition Security for Health Security ouseholds can be said nutritionally secure when they lead an active and healthy life. The food and nutrition security Hcan be achieved not just by dietary intake alone. Infections due to poor sanitation, poor health seeking behaviour,

lack of safe drinking water, lack of dietary diversity and poor access to healthcare can greatly influence the nutritional status of the poor and vulnerable people. Health security in the poor households is therefore intrinsically linked with their level of food and nutritional security.

DHAN's Sustainable Healthcare Advancement (SUHAM) initiative promotes community governed primary and secondary healthcare services benefiting over 120,000 poor families, low cost household level water treatment and storage devices ensure safe drinking water to 15,000 people.

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4 International Day of Innocent Children and Victims of Aggression

5 World Environment Day

8 World Oceans Day

12 World Day against Child Labour

14 World Blood Donor Day

17 World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought

20 World Refugee Day

23 United Nations Public Service Day, International Widow's Day

26 International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking & International Day in Support of Victims of Torture

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June 2013

July 2013


Water and Food Securityater is a key driver for achieving food security as the crop and animal husbandry uses the largest portion of Wavailable freshwater. Farmers' inability to access or control water will have an adverse impact on potential yields

and income, which in turn will affect their food and nutrition security. The need of the hour is augmenting capacities of traditional water harvesting structures, efficient use of harvested water, developing watersheds and river basins, promoting smarter ways of enhancing crop production and productivity with less water.

DHAN's water themes have helped stabilize cultivation in 75,000 hectares of land with increased water storage in over 2,000 rehabilitated tanks and ponds. Over 3,00,000 small and marginal farm families have been benefited from this initiative.

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6 International Day of Cooperatives

11 World Population Day

28 World Hepatitis Day

30 International Day of Friendship

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July 2013

August 2013


Rainfed Farming and Food Securityccording to United Nations, 500 million small farms worldwide, most still rainfed, provide up to 80 per cent of food Aconsumed in a large part of the developing world. Investing in those small and marginal rainfed farms is an

important way to increase food security and nutrition for the poorest. Rainfed farming needs to be supported through context specific, multiple and interrelated interventions across agriculture, livestock and horticulture by way of land development, organic matter build up, crop production enhancement and livestock development.

Soil and moisture conservation measures taken up in 61 Watersheds benefited 95,900 hectares of rainfed lands, which sustains the food and nutrition security of resource scarce rainfed farmers. In addition, 2,000 farmers have been supported to construct farm ponds to provide life-saving irrigation for their food crops.

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1-7 World Breast Feeding Week

9 International Day of the World's Indigenous People

12 International Youth Day

15 Indian Independence Day

19 World Humanitarian Day

23 International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition

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August 2013

September 2013


Climate Change and Food Securitylimate change may have significant long-term implications for the quality and quantity of water, posing threat on Cfarming by way of drought, floods, and pest and disease outbreaks. Also this will have adverse impact on livestock,

fishery and forestry based livelihoods, which are key determinants of food and nutrition security. Building the resilience of the people, who are more vulnerable to these changes through supporting their adaptations would help them mitigate its impacts on their food and nutrition security.

DHAN has promoted a new theme – Climate Change Adaptation to pilot community-led adaptation measures, standardise and integrate the proven measures in the existing programmes within DHAN Collective. Construction of farm ponds, application of tank silt in resource poor soil, inland fishery and promotion of agro-forestry have emerged as potential activities for replication.

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1-6 World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden

1-7 National Nutrition Week

5 India Teacher's Day

8 International Literacy Day

15 International Day of Democracy

16 International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer

21 International Day of Peace

27 World Tourism Day

29 World Heart Day

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September 2013

October 2013


Entitlements for Food and Nutrition Securityccording to the Article 47 of Constitution of India, raising the standard of health and nutrition of the people is the Aprimary duty of the State. People's food sovereignty includes People's right to nutritious and culturally appropriate

food, accessible, sustainably produced by environmentally friendly and locally governed systems of production. Food and nutrition security is an entitlement of the poor and vulnerable people. This could be achieved only when their entitlement over access and management of land, water, seeds, livestock and biodiversity are protected.

People's Organisations promoted by DHAN facilitate their member households to access the State sponsored employment guarantee scheme, pension for the old age, destitute women and physically challenged, nutrition and health programmes meant for women and

children. The SHGs view access to credit as their entitlement. They have so far generated over ̀ 700 crore as credit from 210 branches of

30 commercial banks for their consumption and production needs.

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1 International Day for Older Persons2 Gandhi Jayanthi, International Day of Non-violence and DHAN Foundation Day5 World Teacher's Day 7 World Habitat Day9 World Post Day 10 World Mental Health Day, World Sight Day & National Postal Day11 International Day of the Girl Child13 International Day for Disaster Reduction15 International Day of Rural Women16 World Food Day 17 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 24 United Nations Day & World Development Information Day27 World Day for Audiovisual Heritage

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October 2013

November 2013


Social Security for Food Securityccessibility of food is still a major concern, particularly for the poor and vulnerable households. They are also more Avulnerable to sudden economic shocks and fluctuations in income due to the risks associated with their life, health

and productive assets, which have a direct impact on their food and nutrition security. The prosperity built by long years of development interventions could be swept away if any of these risk events occur. Hence, the social security program can mitigate the risks and insulate the households from food insecurity and malnourishment.

DHAN's micro insurance initiatives have helped cover the life, health, crop and livestock risks of over 600,000 poor families to the tune of

`3,700 crore annually with mainstream insurance agencies. Community managed mutual insurance products have been evolved to fill the

gaps in mainstream insurance products to serve the excluded.

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10 World Science Day for Peace and Development

14 World Diabetes Day & India's Children's Day

16 International Day of Tolerance & Kalanjiam Movement Day

19 National Integration Day

20 Universal Children's Day/ Child Rights Day

21 World Fisheries Day, World Television Day & World Philosophy Day

25 International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

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November 2013

December 2013


Heritage of Food and Nutrition Securityiven the diversity in soil type, climate and farming, food heritage and culture of the communities varies significantly and Ginfluenced by the locally available spices, herbs, vegetables, and fruits. Food as medicine is not something new to us;

the basics of using certain foods to treat some illnesses have been well documented in our ancient texts. Our ancient wisdom on the medicinal and nutritional value of food, which has been a part and parcel of our culinary practice, needs to be preserved and passed on to the future generations.

DHAN promotes production and consumption of largely ignored small millets such as kodo millet, little millet, finger millet, foxtail millet, proso millet and barnyard millet. These millets, also known as nutraceuticals are very rich in protein, crude fibre, iron, magnesium and calcium, which can alleviate the issue of malnutrition.

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1 World AIDS Day

2 International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

3 International Day of Persons with Disabilities

5 International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development

9 International Anti-Corruption Day

10 Human Rights Day

11 International Mountain Day

18 International Migrants Day

20 International Human Solidarity Day

23 Farmers' Day/ Kisan Divas

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December 2013

January 2014


Documents

Calendar - 2013 · 2020-01-13 · Agricultural Bio-diversity and Food Security Contemporary advanced agricultural production systems supported by intensive research and state sponsorship