NEW DELHI: In a significant initiative to reinforce the convergence of agriculture, nutrition, and public health, the centre on Monday launched a national mission, which aims to translate agricultural advancements into tangible health outcomes for the Indian people.
The national mission, SEHAT, Science Excellence for Health through Agricultural Transformation, was launched by Union Health Minister JP Nadda and Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
The mission, a joint initiative of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), will strategically align agricultural research and innovation with national priorities in nutrition, preventive and promotive healthcare, non-communicable diseases, farmer well-being, and One Health.
Speaking at the event, Nadda said, “India is currently facing a dual burden of disease, with persistent malnutrition on one hand and a rising prevalence of non-communicable and lifestyle diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, and cancer, on the other.”
He highlighted the central role of diet and nutrition in addressing these challenges and reiterated the call by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for reduced consumption of sugar, salt, and oil.
He noted that while ICAR can play a critical role in ensuring the availability of nutritious and appropriate food systems, ICMR’s role in validating these interventions through scientific evidence would be equally important.
Emphasising the need for convergence, he said many of the solutions to emerging health challenges lie within the agriculture sector.
The health minister underlined the need for a whole-of-government and whole-of-system approach, for which integration of science, policy, and implementation is required.
He said SEHAT represents a significant step in this direction and expressed confidence that such coordinated efforts would pave the way for a healthier and stronger India.
Emphasising the intrinsic link between agriculture and health, Chouhan noted that the foundation of a healthy nation lies in a well-nourished population.
Referring to wisdom from ancient Indian texts, he highlighted the importance accorded to a healthy body as the basis of overall well-being and national progress.
Describing the joint initiative as “unprecedented and historic,” he underscored that agriculture and health go hand in hand in addressing emerging public health challenges.
He highlighted the importance of generating scientific evidence to demonstrate the health benefits of specific crops and agricultural practices, noting that such validation would have far-reaching implications for improving nutrition and public health outcomes.
He said that what is consumed plays a critical role in determining health, and stressed the need to align agricultural production with nutritional requirements.
“The SEHAT mission would serve as a cornerstone in ensuring that the food produced is aligned with the health needs of the population,” he said.
He also highlighted the five priority pillars of the mission and underscored the need to promote organic and sustainable agricultural practices, which would contribute significantly to improving the health of citizens.
Chouhan noted that educating people about what to eat and what to avoid - particularly in the context of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and hypertension - is essential.
He remarked that with the right approach, food itself can become medicine.
The initiative embodies a structured convergence of the health and agriculture sectors, aimed at generating robust, evidence-based solutions to improve nutritional outcomes and strengthen public health.
The mission focuses on five priority areas of national significance, including the development and evaluation of biofortified and nutrient-dense crop varieties to address malnutrition; improve nutritional status, strengthening integrated farming systems to promote dietary diversification, enhance farm incomes, and build resilience.
It also focusses on addressing occupational health risks among agricultural workers through targeted, evidence-based interventions; advancing agriculture-enabled strategies for the prevention and management of non-communicable diseases through the promotion of functional foods and nutritionally superior crop varieties; and strengthening One Health preparedness through integrated surveillance, diagnostics, and research at the human–animal–environment interface.
