Preface
Mountains and hills are often regarded as ecologically more fragile than fertile plains. Its shallow soil, slopes with steep and differing elevations which are also limited and unsuitable for mass agricultural production, poor infrastructure, coupled with occurrence of extreme climatic events make people living in mountain areas particularly vulnerable to food insecurity. While the broad issue of food security has generally received attention of the researchers, the particularities in mountain, hill and similar regions remained neglected. In spite of the relevance and gravity of the issue of vulnerability of hill and mountain people to food insecurity, detailed and concise data on food and nutrition insecurity for specific mountain areas are rare. The available data often refer to the national level or are rather estimates, aggregates or extrapolations for mountain areas. This reflects, to some extent the lack of awareness and attention to mountain nutrition among development professionals, researchers, planners and policymakers. Case studies on complex food systems in these areas are needed to facilitate depiction of current trends and challenges regarding vulnerability of mountain people to food insecurity and thus, provide detailed information to the policymakers for the formulation of effective policies and appropriate interventions. The hills and forested tracts of India are also by and large dwelling places of tribal groups and the tribal inhabiting in these poorly resource- endowed areas are under-nourished or food insecure. The average calorie intake in mountain States of India tends to be slightly lower than the national average, particularly in Manipur, Meghalaya, and Nagaland. In Meghalaya, the average calorie intake is lowest among all the Indian hill and mountain States. Meghalaya is the only mountain State where the prevalence of stunting among children under 5 years of age (45.0%) is significantly higher than the national average of 41.2% (National Family Health Survey, 2015-16). However, there appears to be no information separately for the indigenous hill tribes of Meghalaya. The present study attempted to investigate the food insecurity and the vulnerability to food insecurity of indigenous hill tribes of Meghalaya, so that, effective policies and programmatic activities could be formulated to reduce their vulnerability to food insecurity. Along with documenting the present situation in the terms of food availability, accessibility, and utilization across the hills of Meghalaya, the study also explored the significance of local/ethnic plants in local food system of indigenous hill people so that it can be supplemented with food security schemes to minimize their vulnerability to food insecurity. Preface This study would not have been completed without the support, encouragement, co-operation and assistance of several organizations and persons. I would like to put on record and sincerely thank Indian Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi for considering and providing necessary financial assistance to carry out the Impactful Policy Research in Social Science (IMPRESS) project. It is my proud privilege to express a deep sense of gratitude and sincere appreciation to Dr. Rishiraj Dutta, Head of Capacity Development, Geospatial Information Department, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, Bangkok, Thailand for his keen interest, ardent guidance and providing all the necessary expertise and help in preparation of various maps used in the study. I would also put on record my deep sense of gratitude to Prof. M. K. Awasthi, Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, India; Dr. Ajitabh Bora, Defense Research Laboratory, DRDO, Tezpur, Sonitpur, Assam, India; Prof. Ram Singh, Central Agricultural University (Imphal), Umroi Road, Umiam (Barapani) Meghalaya, India; Prof. V. K. Singh, Dean, Faculty of Management Studies, Gurukula Kangri deemed to be University, Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India and Prof (retd.) K. C. Talukdar, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam, India, for their experienced and fervent guidance, keen interest, constructive suggestions, valuable criticism and constant encouragement throughout the course of this investigation and in the preparation of the manuscript. I am also grateful to Pro- Vice Chancellor, North Eastern Hill University,
About The Book
This book is an outcome of the Impactful Policy Research in Social Science (IMPRESS) project, "Mapping the Vulnerability of Indigenous Hill People of Meghalaya to Food Insecurity," funded by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi. It provides a comprehensive analysis of food insecurity and vulnerability among the indigenous hill tribes of Meghalaya, offering a data-driven foundation for developing effective policies and targeted programmatic activities. Beyond documenting the current landscape of food availability, accessibility, and utilization, the book highlights the vital role of local and ethnic plants in food system of indigenous hill people.
About The Author
Dr. Deepak Bhagat is Professor and Head in the Department of Agribusiness Management and Food Technology, North Eastern Hill University, Tura Campus, Meghalaya. He did his Ph.D. from Gauhati University, Guwahati and MBA (Agribusiness) from Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat. He is deeply involved in various academic and professional bodies. He has seven books and five edited books to his credit. He has more than 50 research papers in national and international refereed journals. He also has more than 46 research papers in edited books. He has successful completed four external funded research projects. He has presented papers in seminars and conferences of national and international level. The field of interest of Dr. Bhagat is Agribusiness, Agri-Supply Chain Management, Food Insecurity and Food Sovereignty under Mountain Specificities. He is engaged in teaching and research for over eighteen years. He is also in the editorial board of national and international journals.
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