PM Modi discusses about India’s drive against malnutrition at FAO’s 75th anniversary

Prime Minister Narendra Modi commemorated the 75th anniversary of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Friday by releasing a new coin of Rs. 75, saying FAO had seen India’s fight against malnutrition from close quarters.

PM Modi, in his address, firstly congratulated to those making constant attempts to eradicate malnutrition from the world, “In India, our farmers, agricultural scientists, Anganwadi and ASHA workers are leading the movement against malnutrition.”

He went on to highlight that lack of education, being devoid of information, non-accessibility to pure drinking water, lack of hygiene as the major reasons why India was not as successful in terms of results for its fight against malnutrition. PM Modi stated, “We are taking an important step in our fight against malnutrition as we are now encouraging the production of crops which are rich in nutritional substances like protein, iron, zinc etc.”

Regarding the issues of starvation and malnutrition during the Coronavirus pandemic, Modi iterated the free ration was being provided to 800 million poor people in the last eight months period.

Modi further spoke about the recently passed farm bills, which triggered massive protests from the farmers and criticism from the Opposition Parties, and said these laws are an “important step” to enhance the agricultural sector of the country and increase the income of the farmers.

He concluded his address by saying, “The empowerment of India’s farmers will further strengthen the country’s fight against malnutrition. I’m confident that the increasing coordination between India and FAO will give further impetus to this mission.”