Food consumption score, dietary diversity and how they are impacted by household level characteristics- insights from two blocks of Purulia district
Student name: Ms Smita Chakravarty
Guide: Dr Nirupam Datta
Year of completion: 2017
Host Organisation: Society for Promotion of Wasteland Development (SPWD)
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Mr Hardeep Singh
Abstract: The study reported FCS and FCS-N from 12 villages located within Joypur and Jhalda-II blocks of
Purulia district, West Bengal. Households represented a mix of acceptable and borderline FCS.
Though majority of households fall in the acceptable category, 41% of the households fall in the
borderline category. Results also show inadequate vitamin-A, protein and hem-iron intake indicating
a possibility of nutritional insecurity. High intake of cereals further indicate a risk of households to
develop NCDs such as type-II diabetes. Most households fail to grow more than a single crop
throughout the year due to heavy reliance on rains, lack of irrigation facilities, undulating terrain and
poor soil quality. The absence of institutional support in the form of agricultural inputs or safety nets
further makes subsistence agriculture difficult. Ordinary linear regression was computed to
understand the relationship between FCS and household characteristics. FCS was found to have
significant relationships with household size, gender of the household head and social group (SC, ST).
Keywords: Food security, FCS, dietary diversity, household-level characteristics, West
Bengal
