In support of the state government of Rajasthan and the Indian Integrated Child Development Services, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) launched a project to pilot a production model for producing supplementary nutrition via self-help groups.
This decentralised approach centred on developing small-scale production facilities capable of producing only one MT of fortified take-home rations per day. The key takeaways from the project are:
- An SHG model has the potential to meet the supplemental nutrition demands of a state
- However, the success of SHG-run production units requires significant time, assistance, and external resources
- Given the challenges, an SHG production model needs a policy environment that is willing to create organisational structures to support and fund the model
- By connecting with an existing distribution network, the project gained quick, easy access to its target consumer, but did not have the ability to influence actual consumption