How Lemons Have Helped Reclaim Nutrition & Support Livelihoods

Ensuring nutrition security remains a key development priority at the global level. The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2, Zero Hunger, aims to end all forms of malnutrition by 2030. Among the world’s resource-poor communities, especially in developing and underdeveloped countries, malnutrition continues to be a significant development challenge. Indigenous communities, in particular, are affected in a larger proportion compared to other sections of society.

A widely cited observation made about indigenous communities is that the indigenous people lag behind the non-indigenous population, in terms of health and social outcomes. In India, particularly among women, about 32% of tribal women are chronically undernourished when compared to the non-tribal women, which stands at 23%, according to data from 2019.

Even in Kerala, a state often praised for its health standards, Adivasi communities in the lower rung of social hierarchy experience a contradictory condition. Their situation is comparable to the disparities experienced by their counterparts in other states having poorer health indicators.

The situation in Wayanad

Wayanad, a district nestled in the Western Ghats with a substantial area covered with forest and hills, is home to eleven different Adivasi communities indigenous to the land. The region is ecologically rich, culturally diverse, in addition to hosting rich biodiversity. It is also one of the top three human-wildlife conflict hotspots in Kerala and is categorised as highly vulnerable to climate change impacts. According to the 2011 Census, Wayanad has an Adivasi population of 153,181, making up 18.8% of the district’s total population, which also accounts for nearly 35.8% of Kerala’s total Adivasi population.

Among Wayanad’s diverse Adivasi communities, the Paniyan and Kattunayakan communities suffer from high levels of malnutrition. Studies show that the nutritional status of Paniyan children (based on birth weight data) is among the worst within the district and among other Adivasi groups. Similarly, Kattunayakan households face chronic nutritional deficiencies, and 40.3% of individuals are underweight. Causes for this are identified as many, including their higher dependence on the forest by following a traditional livelihood system, and low dietary diversity.

Earlier, apart from small-scale cultivation of food grains and vegetables, the forest acted as a great source of food, including animal protein. Now, these conditions are impacted by extreme weather events and rising human-wildlife conflicts.

Data collected through direct fieldwork as part of an impact assessment of home nutrition gardens, conducted in 2024 and early 2025 among the Paniyan and Kattunayakan communities indicates this. An elderly woman, Onathi, from the Paniyan community said, “We used to collect leafy greens during the lean months, but due to changing rain patterns, we see many worms and insects in them, and hence inedible for us. Also, with more cases of human-wildlife conflict, we women folk are often unable to forage in the forest as we did in the past. Now, only the menfolk or both and women together are able to go into the forest to gather whatever food is available. Our food collection has reduced considerably.” This comment is an example of the lived reality experienced by the indigenous communities.

The decline in dietary diversity in the food basket highlights the urgent need for targeted interventions to bridge the nutrition gap, especially among the Paniyan and Kattunayakan communities.

The launch of home nutrition gardens

To address these challenges, M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) initiated the Homestead Nutrition Garden programme in the Cheeyampam 73 tribal hamlet in Wayanad. Beyond serving as a source of nutrition, homestead gardens are recognised as a sustainable development model that offers natural solutions for climate change mitigation. This programme aims to enhance nutrition security among the Paniyan and Kattunayakan families by promoting cultivation of food crops at the local homesteads.

The Cheeyampam 73 settlement is one among the intervention sites to implement homestead nutrition gardens. This settlement is located in one of Wayanad’s highest human-wildlife conflict-prone areas. This area is also highly susceptible to extreme weather events. As part of a state-led initiative to provide land to landless Adivasi families, 302 families of Paniyan and Kattunayakan received one to two acres of land each. Previously used as plantation land by the Kerala Forest Development Corporation, these plots contain coffee and pepper mainly, in addition to a number of different plantation trees of commercial value. This land offers limited food crop diversity, due to the lack of such plants.

Despite receiving land ownership, many families struggled to derive a sustainable livelihood from it due to several barriers, including water scarcity impacting both irrigation and domestic use, frequent crop raids by wildlife, lack of access to quality seedlings for farming, and minimal support for adopting modern agricultural practices. The region’s location at the southern tip of the Deccan Plateau makes it subject to intense summer heat, worsening drought risks.

During community consultations for the NABARD-supported WADI project, residents in the area expressed concerns about shrinking food baskets and biodiversity loss affecting their food access. It is in this context that, to tackle this problem, the homestead nutrition garden initiative was launched to help diversify homestead food crops.

A resilient crop for a changing climate and crop raid

Despite efforts to cultivate a range of crops consisting of tubers, vegetables, fruits, and leafy greens, farmers encountered many challenges such as animals eating their crops, water shortages, and densely cash cropped areas. However, one standout success was the lemon (Meyer lemon –Citrus limon) plant, a hardy perennial crop rich in Vitamin C. The plant thrived in the region’s dry climate with abundant sunlight. Its thorny branches deterred wildlife, and its minimal water needs made it ideal for the area’s conditions.

This positive story was shared among the communities by many of the residents, like the couple Gopalan and Saudamini who said, “Lemon is our success story at Cheeyampam. Monkey, elephant, or wild boar — none of them touch it because of the thorns. Our children enjoy lemon juice in the summer, and we also make pickles. Even relatives from other villages come to collect lemons. I’m proud of it and want to plant more.”

Farmers received two to three lemon saplings from MSSRF under the homestead nutrition garden programme in 2017, depending on the size of the land holding. Upon maturing, these plants yielded more fruit than needed for their household consumption. Surplus lemons were exchanged among community members, and some families began selling the produce in the market, especially during summer when the demand for lemons increased and prices spiked.

In total, 302 Adivasi families benefited from this programme. The homestead nutrition garden programme was completed by 2018 and the initiative covered all the families in Cheeyampam’s 73rd settlement. Later it expanded to other locations, but not in forest fringe villages.

About how lemon turned into an interesting alternative, Velichi, an elderly woman from the Adivasi community commented, “We were fed up with wildlife intrusion. We could not grow even bird’s eye chili. But lemon gives us hope. It doesn’t need much water and thrives in drought-like conditions. This year, I sold 10 kg [of lemon] for ₹100 per kg. It may seem small, but when income comes from an unexpected source, it matters a lot. The money we got from this was utilised for the purchase of food items.”

She shared another observation, “To secure our food plate, we have no choice but to diversify our land with food crops. We can no longer rely on food collection from the forest like we used to.”

The experience of the members of the Adivasi community in Cheeyampam 73, highlights how locally rooted solutions, such as the Homestead Nutrition Garden programme, can address complex challenges such as crop raids, extreme weather, and malnutrition. By promoting resilient crops like lemon, these gardens not only improve nutrition security but also help communities adapt to the growing threats of climate change and human-wildlife conflict.

More than just a source of nutrition, these gardens empower Adivasi families to reclaim their food basket, livelihoods and well-being. The local level progress of SDG 2, Zero Hunger, relies on thoughtful adaptation of a community-led model which holds promise for other regions facing similar challenges.