The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Strive for nutrition security: Swaminathan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 19, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Strive for nutrition security: Swaminathan

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, JULY 18. Self-help groups, which have emerged a leading player in providing micro credit, should strive to achieve water, food and nutrition security, M.S.Swaminathan, agriculture scientist and chairman, M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), said today.

Participating in the inauguration of a two-day workshop on SHGs, Dr. Swaminathan said they could involve themselves in a number of activities, running "community food banks," "seed banks", and "fodder banks."

In times of drought or erratic rainfall, such activities would be of great help.

The groups could take care of the requirements of pregnant women and the old and infirm.

Community fodder banks could help to strengthen livelihood opportunities and the household food and nutrition security status.

The SHGs could also work in the areas of eco-farming, scientific water harvesting and integrated pest management. So far, they generally comprised women. Men could also be roped in for carrying out new activities. Also, the benefits of information, communication and technology should be made available to the SHGs.

Dr. Swaminathan wanted financial institutions, such as the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and the State Bank of India (SBI), to come to the help of the groups.

Urging the SHGs to become market-driven, he said they should become "economically, ecologically and socially" sustainable.

The workshop, `National Consultation on Job-led Economic Growth: Towards an Era of Sustainable Self Help Revolution,' is being held as part of the J.R.D. Tata birth centenary commemoration.

Praising the SHGs for repaying dues promptly, the SBI Chairman, A. K. Purwar, said the bank decided to lend financial assistance to two lakh SHGs this year.

The State Bank group would cover one million SHGs by 2008. Pointing out that the self-help group movement was largely confined to the southern states, he said this concept should spread to other parts, for which Dr. Swaminathan should take the initiative. Mr Purwar said the time had come for the grading of SHGs.

Ranjana Kumar, NABARD chairperson, said her organisation recently organised an interactive session between SHGs of Tamil Nadu and those of Rajasthan.

A similar session would be held for Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

Calling for a strong linkage between the SHGs and commercial banks, she said the corporate sector could make use of the groups' services to market its products. Already, a few companies were doing it.

M. Velayutham, MSSRF president, said the consultation on SHGs, covering 33 topics, would suggest a framework and operational guidelines.

P. Angel, president of a self-help group from Chokkalinga Pudur in Dindigul district, explained how her group grew in strength, from one activity to another.

Earlier, Ratan Tata, industrialist, visited stalls put up by participants and went round a `touch and smell' garden on the MSSRF premises for the visually-impaired children.

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