BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR RURAL NUTRITION - AN ECONOMIC-EVALUATION OF ALGAL PROTEIN SUPPLEMENTS IN SOUTH-INDIA

This article evaluates the introduction of algal biotechnology as a nutrition intervention in rural south India in terms of its benefits, costs and acceptability to the tastes and income of rural households. Data were collected from a whole-village study, and developments in the theory of the economics of tastes are used to analyse the socioeconomic acceptance of algal supplements among the study households. The results indicate that the algal food supplement is highly cost effective in providing adequate protein and other micro-nutrients. However, the absolute deviation between actual and optimal intake of algal food increased with higher income class. Several policy implications for food and nutrition interventions in developing countries are derived.