Nutrition & Agriculture Linkages

The Association for International Agriculture and Rural Development Annual ConferenceJune 5th 2012Sally Abbott USAID/Washington

Our goal is to reduce child undernutrition by 20-30% in focus countries, measured by any one of four core indicatorsUnderweight (MDG 1c)Stunting Child AnemiaMaternal AnemiaGHI/FTF Nutrition Goal*

*Country-specific nutrition programs

Evolution of USAID Nutrition Approach1. Type of interventions

2. Age target

3. Measurement

4. Focus

5. Delivery systems

6. ScaleVertical, supplementation

Under fives

Nutrient-specific

Treatment

Health

PilotIntegrated, food-based

1,000 days

Diet quality and diversity

+Prevention

+Agriculture, social protection

NationalWith these new approaches we aim for a 30% reduction in undernutrition*123456

FTFGHIRice value chains Community gardens Agriculture extension workers Micronutrient supplements PlumpyNut IMCI Health systems alone are not enough Agriculture and economic growth alone are not enough

Revised Source: Ruel, SCN News 2008Determinants of nutritionNUTRITIONFood/nutrient intakeHealthAccess to food

Water, sanitation, and health services*Maternal and child care practices

What is USAID doing to link Agriculture and Nutrition?*Agriculture ProgramsHealth ServicesFeed the FutureGlobal Health InitiativeNutrition

including hygiene

Ways to improve nutrition through Agriculture

Fortification: meet micronutrient inadequacyi.e. wheat flour with iron, Salt with iodine, etc. Biofortification: breed (naturally and genetically) higher levels of micronutrients into staple foods i.e. orange fleshed sweet potato, zinc in wheat flour, iron in beans

Post Harvest Processing and Storage i.e. drying, fermenting, storage to reduce aflatoxin levels, etc.

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Enabling better nutrition through the value chain approachValue chain model illustrative examples*Develop communication strategies that promote Essential Nutrition Actions & create demand for fortified and diverse local foods- communicationIncreased production linked to school feeding programs- community Elimination of lean season via improved processing and storage- communityLink processors and traders to regional food aid programs- clinical & communityAccess to credit/financing for off-farm income-generating activities like artisanal fortification of local cereals & salt iodization- communityTransfer commercial farm skills to household gardens to increase food diversity- communityUse income to diversify food-basket- communityInvest in small ruminants for income and/or dietary supplements- communityAdvance a policy framework for the safe, sustainable production of commercially fortified cooking oil and soft wheat flour- policy Ensure that information used in decision making for crops to plant and household purchases reflect commercial farm and nutrition consideration- communityImproved nutrition knowledge and practices

Minimum acceptable diet: A summary indicator that measures the proportion of children 6-23 m who are receiving a minimally acceptable diet in terms of quality (i.e. micronutrient adequacy) and quantity (i.e. energy requirement) Womens dietary diversity: A simple food group diversity indicator that provides a proxy measure of the micronutrient adequacy of womens diets Household hunger scale: A culturally invariant 3 question scale to assess the proportion of households experiencing food deprivation

How will we measure progress?Advancing sound M&E*

*Additional Multi-sectoral Efforts to Address UndernutritionNutrition Collaborative Research Support Program (NCRSP) Scaling-Up NutritionComprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP)

Nutrition Collaborative Research Support Program (NCRSP)Aim: To determine which investments in agriculture-based strategies, policies, and health can be used to achieve:Large-scale, sustainable improvements in nutritional outcomesImprovement in dietary diversity, dietary quality, and improved infant and young child feeding Improved community capacity to combat undernutritionPartners:Lead: Tufts UniversityUSAID/UgandaUSAID/Nepal

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WHAT IT IS:Over 100 of our development partners involved (civil society, private sector, UN, donors)Coordination of these partners to encourage synergy of purpose and ensure complementarity of action based on countries requests

WHY WE ARE INVOLVED:GHI/FTF principles are aligned with SUNIncreases our leverage and alignment with partnersProvides concrete milestones to measure progress on scaling up nutritionFacilitates high-level dialogue/advocacy on nutrition in countries that can drive policies and programsProvides a barometer for country ownership: political leadership, inclusivity of process, country budgetary commitmentsUSAID is part of a multilateral partnership to scale up nutrition*

Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP)African leaders endorsed CAADP in 2003 as plan of action to put agriculture back onto development agenda.

Leaders committed to :increasing public investment in agriculture to at least 10% of national budgets achieving 6% annual growth rate in agriculture

CAADP comprised of four interlinking pillarsPillar I: Land management and water control systemsPillar II: Rural infrastructure and market accessPillar III: Food supply, hunger, and food emergency crisesPillar IV: Agricultural research and technology

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