Agriculture and Nutrition Resource Review

Analyzing data collected from a 2012 baseline data of the Feed the Future population-based survey in Ghana and the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index, this article examines the relation between women’s empowerment in agriculture and the nutritional status of women and children. The authors’ analysis reveals that nutritional status is impacted differently across the various domains of women’s empowerment. 

This interview with Acting Assistant to the Administrator, USAID Bureau for Food Security, Richard Greene discusses why the US Government is working on global nutrition, what Feed the Future is doing differently, and how the Feed the Future initiative, the Global Health Initiative and USAID’s Food for Peace program are working together to improve nutrition in vulnerable areas.

The paper emphasizes the necessity of a world food system and outlines a collaborative agenda for associated program implementers and partners to achieve it within the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Agroecology applies ecological concepts and principles to the design and management of sustainable food systems, potentially strengthening resilience among smallholder farmers and their agroecosystems. This paper emphasizes the interplay between food system variables and illustrates agroecology's power to affect livelihoods and nutrition.

This blog from the Gender-Nutrition Idea Exchange highlights the impacts gender participation have on nutrition-related decision making, food safety and risk mitigation among value chains. The authors used data collected during an analysis of 20 livestock and fish value chains in Africa and Asia to better understand the division of labor and how they impact decisions across value chains.

Günter Hemrich, a Senior Strategy and Planning Officer with the FAO, continues discussions around the link between food systems and nutrition prompted by the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2). The blog post features resources related to agriculture, food systems, nutrition, and strategies for creating linkages across sectors. 

The Chicago Council is calling on U.S. leadership to leverage agriculture for nutrition in its report that describes nutrition as an integral component of achieving global food security. This report outlines four recommendations focused on education, partnerships, policy, and research to improve nutrition practices and both leverage and strengthen agriculture and food systems. Resources include two short video presentations along with the longer report.

This policy brief focuses on the roles various cross-sectoral actors can play in combatting micronutrient malnutrition. Approaches to improve nutrition status include targeting agricultural inputs, household consumption, and value chains. The brief summarizes these approaches within the context of South Asi, and provides resources for further related research.

This nutrition program design tool includes a reference guide and a workbook to assist program design teams in their creation of strategies to incorporate community-based approaches to nutrition practices. This updated version of the tool incorporates developments within nutrition programming, including nutrition-sensitive interventions.

This working paper emphasizes the necessity of incorporating a systems lens when approaching nutrition programming. The paper defines a systems approach within the context of nutrition programs, examining the intersection of food, health, and care in nutrition outcomes.  

This interview features a 4 minute interview with Dr. Hazel Malapit, A4NH’s Gender Research Coordinator, discussing why women’s time is an important pathway between agriculture and nutrition. 

The 2015 Global Food Security Symposium focused on leveraging food systems for improved health outcomes. This event examined global malnutrition and how food systems can affect improved nutrition around the world. Presentation topics from this event feature food security, malnutrition, and nutrition-focused innovations.

Integrating Gender and Nutrition within Agriculture Extension Services (INGENAES) is a global initiative funded by USAID through Feed the Future. The slides from this event share the initiative’s established program goals that were created as a result of conversations with various agriculture, gender, and nutrition workers. 

This event featured the CARE Pathways Program’s gender integration framework, and focused on how agriculture programs can apply the framework within their own projects. Event resources include extensive tools and guidance for gender integration, outcome mapping, program design, as well as strategies for measuring and monitoring results throughout program development.

This webinar featured two Feed the Future activities, the Integrated Improved Livelihoods Program (IILP), and The Rwanda Dairy Competitiveness Program II (RDCP). The webinar discusses these Feed the Future programs’ strategies for improving household nutrition, and program implementers’ lessons learned. 

The April Ag2Nut community call featured two new toolkits from CARE and Land O'Lakes for gender in agriculture, food security, and nutrition. The event explored new thinking in this important area, as well as the application and complementarities of the two toolkits.