KALABURAGI: It could be termed a holistic grassroots change, quite literally. Schools are setting aside space and time to grow ‘Nutrition Gardens’ tended to by students who finally consume the fruit of their labour. Today, Sneha loves the sambar served with the mid-day meal, and Savitri can look forward to a crisp salad of raw vegetables. The ‘Nutrition Garden’ concept has taken off in many villages of Aland taluk of Kalaburagi district, and a visit to the gardens transports one to a world of serenity. Little children, guided by school staff and teachers, dig up the earth and plant seeds and saplings and tend to them.
In the Higher Primary School of Gunj Babalad village of Aland taluk, one acre of land has been reserved for a gardening patch, while in Halli Salagar, vegetables are grown on half-an-acre of land. Sneha, a Class 8 student of Gunj Babalad Higher Primary School of Aland taluk, says students used to consume sambar with few or no vegetables, as the amount given to schools to buy vegetables for mid-day meals is meagre. “Ever since the Nutrition Garden came up in our school, we are getting abundant vegetables. The cooks use these vegetables in sambar and the taste has greatly improved,” says Sneha.
Another student, Savitri, said school authorities were planning to provide a salad of methi (fenugreek) leaves, radish and cucumber, to improve nutrition. Basavaraj, a Class 8 student of the same school, said students of Classes 7 and 8 spend some time cleaning the garden and collecting vegetables. “We are learning how to garden and it is also physical exercise for us,” says Basavaraj.
It was the low level of nutrition among children that prompted Deputy Director of the Horticulture Department Prabhuraj Hiremath to come up with this idea to improve their diet. Malnutrition is rampant among schoolchildren in the Kalyana Karnataka region, compared to other parts of the state. The Department of Public Instruction also found that children in these districts also suffer from anaemia, and decided to supplement their diet with eggs or bananas from December 1 to March 30.
Officials then chanced upon the concept of ‘Nutrition Garden’, where schoolchildren develop a patch of organic vegetables, which are used in the school kitchen for the mid-day meal. This system helps children get practical experience of farming, and also controls anaemia. The Horticulture Department has taken up this nutrition garden scheme under MGNREGA. The department is eyeing a target of developing Nutrition Gardens in 339 rural schools in the district this year and already 64 schools have started growing their own vegetables, while work is in progress at 122 schools.
Under the scheme, the Horticulture Department provides vegetable seeds free of cost to schools and provides technical know-how on vegetable cultivation. Rs 33,000 is available under MGNREGA for each school for the labour component and to provide seeds.Assistant Horticulture Officer of Aland Shankar Gowda said that Aland taluk is leading in implementing the Nutrition Garden concept in the district. Bidar district officials have sought information on starting the scheme, he said.
Headmaster Ningappa of the Government Primary School in Gunj Babalad village of Aland taluk said that methi, spinach, coriander, drumstick, brinjal, lady’s finger and other vegetables are grown in their school garden. They have also planted mango and sapota trees.
Chief Executive Officer of Kalaburagi Zilla Panchayat Dileesh Sasi said they plan to increase such gardens in schools that have abundant land and water. “We have found that it helps improve nutrition level, and inculcates the love of gardening in students. We will also introduce this in hostels run by the social welfare department from next year,” says Sasi.