Agriculture and Nutrition Resource Review

Nutrition-sensitive agriculture, as explored in this article, seems to exist more as a term than as an actionable concept. The article examines results of a survey and related literature to determine interests of agricultural policymakers for nutrition-sensitive programs, and whether nutrition-sensitive agriculture remains limited in scope or encompasses a multisectoral approach. 

Men and women livestock holders are differentially vulnerable to climate change. This article proposes a gendered conceptual framework for understanding the impact of climate change on food security in pastoral, agro-pastoral, and urban livestock holding communities and proposes global health intervention strategies. 

Developing countries continue to make substantial progress against global hunger, poverty, and malnutrition, thanks in part to U.S. Government support through the Feed the Future initiative. This report summarizes Feed the Future activities worldwide in the previous year, features stories of those benefitting from activities, and reports impact data and results from Feed the Future programs.

This report details the progress and results of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement. Since its inception in 2010, 30 SUN country national budgets have been analyzed for nutrition-specific and -sensitive allocations. Of those countries, 25 were able to identify nutrition-sensitive agriculture allocations.

Pulses, including all kinds of dried beans and peas, are a cheap and nutritious source of protein and vital micronutrients that can benefit people’s health and livelihoods, particularly in developing countries. The United Nations has designated 2016 as the International Year of Pulses to promote their usefulness and encourage new and smarter uses of pulses throughout food systems.

FAO just released a manual for program planners of nutrition-sensitive agriculture programs covering the first phases of the programming cycle (situation appraisal, program design, and program review). This manual includes key questions, tips and references.

The 2015-2016 El Niño is anticipated to be the worst on record. This report provides a global analysis of the current and expected El Niño disasters and its impact on agriculture, food security, and nutrition. It will be updated regularly to capture response actions of governments, partners and FAO in countries most affected by the El Niño event. 

The International Livestock Research Institute in partnership with Evidence on Demand has developed a learning resource for 'non-food safety' experts to understand foodborne disease in the context of development. This resource covers food safety prevention starting at the farm and draws the connection to nutritional status. 

SPRING and Digital Green launched their Community Video for Nutrition Guide to help global agriculture and nutrition practitioners integrate community video for nutrition into their projects. The guide is based on experience implementing two proofs of concept in India and Niger over the past two years. This webinar included a demonstration of the guide, as well as practical experiences in using community video to promote nutrition behaviors.

Video highlights from this conference have been made available online. Presentations include “Sustainable Food Security and Nutrition: Demystifying Conventional Beliefs” and “Genetically Modified Crops: An African Perspective.”

This webinar highlighted the importance of an integrated nutrition-sensitive social protection system. Field examples are from Bangladesh, Zambia, Myanmar, and Nigeria.

What should be the role of agricultural colleges and higher education institutions in promoting nutrition sensitive agriculture? This online discussion shared experiences in integrating nutrition into agriculture curriculum.