Nourishing India: In the Hunger Spot
Cargill partners with World Food Programme to reduce severe malnutrition in rural villages
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Cargill’s growing food business in India is concentrating its corporate responsibility efforts on malnutrition and its underlying causes through a series of projects called “Nourishing India.”
Nourishing India is a multi-pronged program that addresses food insecurity in India. It comprises multiple initiatives addressing micronutrient deficiency, distribution and delivery. In addition to partnering with CARE and WFP, programs include fortifying edible oil, partnering on food bank networks and school feeding programs. |
January 2012 – In the hunger hot spot of India’s central state of Madhya Pradesh, Cargill recently began a $3 million, two-year project with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the state government. The aim is to reach 766 villages and more than a million people, establishing a model for future projects to improve child nutrition.
The infant mortality rate in India is 50 per 1,000 children, but the rate in Madhya Pradesh – the second largest state in the country – is 72 per 1,000. Cargill is partnering with World Food Programme (WFP) to develop a model in the state to improve childhood nutrition.
Buildings called Angawadi Centers are constructed in rural villages to serve young children, pregnant women and nursing mothers by providing day care, pre-school and community kitchen services. The Indian government has established programs to improve these centers by maintaining water pumps and building latrines, and WFP is working to identify gaps and further develop existing structures.
From educating local teachers about nutrition to providing seeds for kitchen gardens, WFP is working with residents in these rural villages to better equip them to reach permanent, sustainable change to improve nutrition for 1 million people in the region. Learn more about Cargill and WFP’s project in Madhya Pradesh in the Nourishing India: In the Hunger Spot article (PDF).
