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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.
Sec. Social Movements, Institutions and Governance
Volume 8 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2024.1469126

'We need workable micronutrient data!': A qualitative study assessing the need for integrated micronutrient data to support evidence-based decisions by Indian food system stakeholders

Provisionally accepted
Rupinder Sahota Rupinder Sahota 1*Jaswant Singh Khokhar Jaswant Singh Khokhar 2Aakash Deep Aakash Deep 3Katherine P. Adams Katherine P. Adams 3Arindam Das Arindam Das 4E. Louise Ander E. Louise Ander 2,5Edward J.M. Joy Edward J.M. Joy 1,6*
  • 1 Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London, London, London, United Kingdom
  • 2 School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, United Kingdom
  • 3 Institute for Global Nutrition, Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, Davis, United States
  • 4 IIHMR University, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
  • 5 British Geological Survey, Keyworth, United Kingdom
  • 6 Sustainable Soils and Crops, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, United Kingdom

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Stakeholders in decision-making roles require that data are available, accessible and useable to ensure evidence-informed design, implementation and evaluation of programmes and policies to alleviate micronutrient deficiencies in India. This study determined the typical uses, data sources, priority and unmet needs, common challenges, and aspirations of key Indian food system stakeholders in relation to usage and interpretation of publicly available micronutrient data from health, nutrition, agriculture, and programme domains. A qualitative, descriptive study was conducted, with purposive sampling of stakeholders from state and national-level government, development agencies, non-governmental organisations, research institutes, private organisations, and academia. Data were generated through focus group discussions and semi-structured key informant interviews. Themes and sub-themes were identified using framework analysis with a deductive approach. Stakeholders emphasized the pressing need for consolidated, harmonized district-level data from health, nutrition, and agriculture sources to better understand the causes and sources of variation in micronutrient deficiencies, and to inform decision-making on supplementation and fortification programme planning, and policy evaluation. Biomarker data, nutrition dashboards and food consumption data were most used; data on food composition, program cost, and soil/crop micronutrient composition were not typically used, despite their relevance. A need for district-level data with further geographical and temporal (including seasonal) disaggregation, with improved accessibility was also identified. Current challenges include limited district-level data, outdated surveys, and data accessibility, while there is demand for customisable tools that integrate varied datasets, reflecting a shared vision for evidence-based decisionmaking and policy formulation.

    Keywords: India, Food system stakeholders, Micronutrients, nutrition data, Agriculture data, Dashboards, Qualitative, evidence-based decisions

    Received: 23 Jul 2024; Accepted: 16 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Sahota, Khokhar, Deep, Adams, Das, Ander and Joy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Rupinder Sahota, Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London, London, WC1E 7HT, London, United Kingdom
    Edward J.M. Joy, Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London, London, WC1E 7HT, London, United Kingdom

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.