Unequal Harvests: Disparities in Land Allocation, Yield Efficiency and Nutrition Output
Department of Community Medicine and Centre for Nutrition Research, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Corresponding Author: Saha P, Doctus Journal of Public Health.
Abstract
Agricultural productivity is usually measured in tonnes per hectare, a metric that says nothing about the nutritional value delivered to the households that farm the land. Using block-level data from 34 administrative units, we recalculated output in terms of protein and micronutrient yield per hectare and compared it with landholding distribution. Smallholdings below one hectare produced 18% lower tonnage per hectare but 26% higher micronutrient yield per hectare, driven by mixed cropping and pulse retention for household consumption. Consolidation policies evaluated only on tonnage therefore risk reducing local nutritional availability while appearing to improve productivity.
Keywords
Food Security; Land Distribution; Micronutrient Yield; Smallholder Farming; Nutrition Policy; Agricultural Productivity
How to Cite
Saha P, Rahman M and Dutta N. “Unequal Harvests: Disparities in Land Allocation, Yield Efficiency and Nutrition Output”. Doctus Journal of Public Health 2.3 (2026): 14-29.
Copyright and Licence
© 2026 Saha P. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.