Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture
In recent years, much attention has been given to the connections between agriculture and nutrition in the development sector as a whole. These connections may seem obvious: we get nourishment from the food we eat, and we eat food produced by agriculture. However, the claim that agriculture interventions (e.g. home gardens) can improve nutrition has come under scrutiny, because of the lack of evidence to substantiate it (Masset et al. 2012; Girard et al. 2012).
At the same time, recent efforts have helped us to better understand these linkages and to begin to close the evidence gaps. Agriculture plays an indispensable role in development, and though it doesn’t automatically improve nutrition, its potential to do so is undeniable. The recent efforts have provided important frameworks for program design and for implementing agriculture interventions that aim to improve the nutrition of vulnerable populations. These frameworks for “nutrition-sensitive agriculture” interventions help us make sense of complex problems and identify pathways to solutions.
These “new ways” compel us to better understand the problem of malnutrition, to learn about the complexity of improving nutritional outcomes, to understand the role agriculture can play, and to collaborate across disciplines and sectors in order to design and implement interventions that can truly make an impact in improving the nutrition and well-being of the people we serve.
--- Cecilia Gonzalez, Understanding Agriculture-Nutrition Linkages
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- Also available in:
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- Español (es)
- English (en)
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- Abstract,Global Food Security, 2018 Highlights Nutrition-sensitive agricultural programs (NSAP) improve a variety of nutrition outcomes in both mothers and children. They are more effective when they include nutrition and health behavior chance communication (BCC) and women’s empowerment...
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