Home / Health / Assam School Meals Get Fishy Boost!
Assam School Meals Get Fishy Boost!
13 Aug
Summary
- Fish powder initiative enhances nutrition for thousands of Assam students.
- The program significantly improved children's hemoglobin and growth parameters.
- Assam plans to expand the fish powder model to more districts via national schemes.
In Assam, an innovative initiative is transforming small indigenous fish into a nutritious powder for school meals. The Matsya Paripusti program, successfully piloted in Kamrup since 2023, processes fish like 'mua' and 'dorikona' into a whole-food powder rich in protein, calcium, iron, and omega-3 fatty acids. This initiative initially benefited approximately 7,000 children at 293 Anganwadi centers, achieving remarkable acceptance rates close to 95%.
Further interventions in Kamrup covered around 3,300 children across 55 Anganwadi centers and 43 lower primary schools over six months. Scientific assessments have reported marked improvements in participants' hemoglobin levels, anemia, nutritional status, and overall growth parameters. The findings, analyzed by WorldFish and submitted to the National Fisheries Development Board, support wider implementation.
The state government intends to extend this successful model to Darrang and Morigaon districts, integrating it into national schemes like PM-POSHAN and Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana. The program has also garnered recognition, recently winning the Karmashree Award, and its potential application for patients at the B Barooah Cancer Institute is currently under exploration.
