SFurtI Program

Overview

The Sustainable Flour Fortification Initiative (SFurtI, meaning “Energy” in Gujarati) was a community-based, market-linked flour fortification program I managed from 2016 to 2018 under the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition.

The program operated in 15 villages in Songadh block, Tapi district, Gujarat, reaching approximately 5,600 households with micronutrient sachets containing iron, folic acid, vitamin B12, and vitamin A. Each 1.25g sachet was designed for 5 kg of wheat, rice, or jowar flour.

SFurtI was a $200,000 multi-partner initiative. Partners included the State Government of Gujarat, BAIF (Bhartiya Agro Industries Foundation, India’s largest agricultural NGO), Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Sight and Life Foundation (Canada), and DSM (Dutch State Mines, Netherlands). Households received sachets through women’s Self-Help Groups, with a strong emphasis on community ownership, sustainability, and behavior change for regular consumption.

My responsibilities included end-to-end field management, partner coordination, community engagement, distribution system design, monitoring and evaluation through a custom Management Information System, communications strategy including a 12-piece IEC toolkit and multi-channel behavior change campaigns, and research.

Why fortification?

Tribal communities in Songadh experience high anemia and micronutrient gaps, alongside low and seasonal access to diverse diets, making fortification an effective, low-cost complement to dietary diversification and supplementation.

Evidence from India and other contexts supports wheat flour fortification’s cost-effectiveness and feasibility when designed around local consumption patterns and delivery systems.

Outcomes

These outcomes show how a community‑led fortification program increased use of micronutrients, empowered women, and created a practical model that can be scaled to other tribal areas.

01

Uptake and Consumption

Household coverage reached 70% within months, with 40% of consumers using regularly, alongside positive MSU clinical survey results and ongoing biomarker tracking and widely reported drops in lethargy and weakness.

02

Women’s Empowerment

SHG-led delivery achieved over 95% coverage within BAIF SHG households, while SFurtI Bens and Sakhis gained visibility and leadership, including Bens contesting panchayat elections.

03

Community-first Innovation:

A first-of-its-kind, community-based fortification model blended household and miller mixing, omnichannel outreach (churches, mandals, dairies, schools, Anganwadis, ASHAs), and an FSSAI-aligned sachet that does not change taste or color.

04

Scalability

With federation reach across the block and strong district administration backing—including the Collector’s public support—the program is positioned to expand to nearby villages and other tribal blocks.

Leadership & Recognition

Coalition leadership

Coordinated a multi-partner program involving government, university, NGO, and international partners, and secured District Collector endorsement to align health, administrative, and community systems for rapid implementation across 15 villages.

Training & capacity building

Created training modules and delivered classroom, refresher, and on-field trainings for team members, standardizing mixing, record-keeping, and outreach practices.

Promotional materials

Led design, field-testing, and finalization of a 12-piece IEC toolkit (posters, booklets, brochures, stickers), iterating visuals and translations with SHGs and partners for clarity and recall.

MIS design & monitoring

Designed and operationalized a program MIS capturing month-wise uptake, repeat use, stock, and cash flows; instituted village-level registers and monthly reviews to drive data-led course corrections.

Field monitoring

Conducted structured household visits, distributor reviews, and mixing demonstrations; analyzed non-compliance drivers and implemented micro-strategies (e.g., easier mixing, influencer outreach) to improve adherence.

Women-led delivery & recognition

Built a SHG-based distribution network achieving >95% coverage within BAIF SHG households and elevating women’s leadership, with Bens publicly recognized and contesting panchayat elections.

Scale readiness

Demonstrated government backing and federation reach, positioning the model for near-term expansion to additional villages and tribal blocks under Collector-supported scale-up.

Awareness and behavior change

Three-tier awareness model blended village meetings, hamlet/SHG meetings, and anganwadi sessions with mixing demonstrations, audiovisuals, wall painting, posters, and banners to maximize recall and comprehension for low-literacy audiences.

Non-traditional channels like churches, Ganesh mandals, and Garba events were used to reach men and extended families, normalize conversations, and tackle household gatekeeping on food decisions.

When households cited “mixing is complex,” the team simplified the protocol and launched a Buy–Eat–Repeat campaign with Anganwadi and ASHA support.

Field execution

SFurtI bens and sakhis recruited across villages, trained repeatedly in communication, recordkeeping, household follow-ups, and problem-solving for non-compliance.

Household-visit campaigns organized with 10–15 member teams, with checklists, time-allocation discipline, inventory control, and daily debriefs for continuous improvement.

Auto-campaigns and interactive audio–visual sessions staged across hamlets to refresh awareness between village meetings and sustain demand.

What was hard, and how we responded ?

Male household decision-makers initially blocked purchase and use, which required targeted male-only meetings to convert attitudes and unlock repeat consumption.

Mixing complexity reduced adherence; redesigning the mixing method and using demonstrations significantly improved ease-of-use and continuation.

Distance to far-flung hamlets lowered service frequency; buy-in from anganwadi centers, ASHAs, churches, and dairy cooperatives expanded last-mile contact and program visibility.

Millers’ participation fluctuated over time; keeping SHG-led distribution central while selectively integrating millers preserved control and community trust.

Community Opinion

“I am using SFurtI since more than three months; I got relief from limb-ache, swelling on legs, lethargy and weakness; I will regularly consume it and recommend it to others”

“When we started distributing SFurtI sachets, I had to go door to door to convince families. Now people come to my house asking for them. Seeing that shift, from doubt to demand, is what makes this work meaningful to me. I feel I am doing something real for my village's health.”

"Before SFurtI, nobody in the village came to me for advice. I was just another woman in the Self-Help Group. Through this program, I learned to speak in village meetings, keep records, and explain nutrition to families who had never thought about it. People started recognizing me. Other women in our group have even decided to contest the panchayat elections. SFurtI gave us sachets to distribute, but what it really gave us was a voice."

“At first, people in Agaswan were hesitant to mix SFurtI powder with their flour. But now, they ask for it themselves! Those who’ve tried it share how much stronger and healthier they feel, and their stories are inspiring others to do the same.”

"When I first brought the SFurtI sachet home, my husband said we did not need it and told me not to waste money on it. Many men in our village felt the same way. After the team held a meeting just for the men and explained what the powder does, he agreed to let me try. The mixing was a little difficult at first, but once they showed us the easier method, it became part of my routine. Now my husband reminds me to add it when I take flour to the mill."

Scalability and Relevance

The SFurtI model demonstrates that community-based flour fortification can achieve high and sustained uptake at low per-household cost when distribution is rooted in existing women’s networks and supported by real-time monitoring.

The approach is suited for semi-subsistence contexts where households mill grain locally, and it offers a practical complement to government-led fortification scale-up by demonstrating what community ownership and adaptive program design can achieve at the village level.

Partnerships with state health systems and safety net programs can mainstream fortified staples at scale, while SHG channels and village institutions maintain continuity for hard-to-reach hamlets and households not covered by formal programs. The program’s district administration backing and federation reach position it as a replicable model for other tribal blocks facing similar micronutrient challenges.

Kasim Saiyyad