New Delhi: The Indian Council of Medical Research and Indian Council of Agricultural Research on Monday jointly launched a national programme to integrate agriculture, nutrition and public health so that agricultural advances translate into improved health outcomes.
The “SEHAT – Science Excellence for Health through Agricultural Transformation” initiative was launched in the presence of Union Health Minister J P Nadda and Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the presence of senior policymakers, scientists and stakeholders.
Nadda said India has, over the past decade, moved from a reactive and curative healthcare model to a preventive, proactive and holistic approach.
“SEHAT is a direct outcome of this paradigm shift,” he said, while lauding the collaboration between ICMR and ICAR as a model of inter-sectoral convergence.
The minister said India has transitioned from dependence on imported technologies to indigenous innovations tailored to Indian needs and data.
He stressed that innovations in diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines must remain affordable, high-quality and home-grown.
Highlighting the country’s changing disease profile, Nadda said India is facing a “dual burden” of persistent malnutrition alongside rising non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cancer.
He underlined the role of diet and nutrition in addressing these challenges and reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for reducing the consumption of sugar, salt and oil.
“Many of the solutions to emerging health challenges lie within the agriculture sector,” Nadda said, adding that ICAR‘s role in ensuring nutritious food systems and ICMR‘s scientific validation of such interventions would be crucial.
Speaking at the launch, Chouhan termed the initiative “unprecedented and historic”, saying agriculture and health must go hand in hand to tackle emerging public health concerns.
He emphasised the need for scientific evidence to establish the health benefits of crops and agricultural practices, adding that aligning agricultural production with nutritional needs would have significant public health benefits.
“Food itself can become medicine,” Chouhan said, stressing the importance of awareness about healthy dietary habits, especially in tackling lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.
He said the SEHAT mission would promote organic and sustainable agricultural practices and contribute to the broader “One Health” vision linking human, animal and environmental health. PTI
