Agriculture–nutrition linkages in Tajikistan: Evidence from household survey data
Agriculture–nutrition linkages in Tajikistan: Evidence from household survey data

Author: Takeshima, Hiroyuki

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2018-11-15

Total Pages: 35

ISBN-13:

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In Tajikistan, the poorest country in the Central Asia region and one of the poorest in the world, food consumption patterns remain inadequate for a significant share of the population. Undernutrition and child stunting, among other outcomes, remain prevalent. At the same time, overnutrition and obesity are becoming increasingly serious. Using pooled cross-section datasets collected in 2007 and 2015 from farm households in Khatlon province (the major agricultural area in Tajikistan), we investigate how key agricultural production practices (APPs) (household-level production diversification, land productivity, and production scale) are associated with household-level and individual-level nutritional outcomes, including dietary diversity and children’s and women’s anthropometric outcomes. We find that, in rural Khatlon, these APPs are positively associated with various nutritional outcomes at the household level. Furthermore, applying the methodologies of Lee (1979), Maddala (1983), and Björklund and Moffitt (1987), we find that a different set of factors affects the unobserved returns and costs of these APPs, which are heterogeneous across households, and that, importantly, adoption of these APPs is partly driven by the expected returns. However, despite the positive gross returns, diversifying farm production or raising land productivity is costly among small and resource-poor farms. Improving their access to land and agricultural capital, as well as improving overall land productivity, with particular support to women, may be critical for enhancing their nutritional outcomes by exploiting agriculture’s linkages to such outcomes.

Agriculture-nutrition linkages, cooking-time, intra-household equality among women and children: Evidence from Tajikistan
Agriculture-nutrition linkages, cooking-time, intra-household equality among women and children: Evidence from Tajikistan

Author: Hiroyuki Takeshima

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2019-11-07

Total Pages: 46

ISBN-13:

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Household-level agriculture-nutrition linkage (ANL) tends to be strong in a rural subsistence setting with limited access to the food market. In such a context, markets for food processing services also may be imperfect, and consequently a household’s time-investments in cooking may become important. Using the primary data in Tajikistan, we show that longer periods of time dedicated to cooking by women in the household often significantly enhance household-level ANL. Furthermore, an increase in the diversity, scale, and efficiency of household production, as well as longer cooking time, can also reduce intrahousehold inequality in nutritional outcomes among women and children. These effects are stronger in areas with lower nighttime light intensity and for households with lower values of cooking assets. In a context where household-level ANL is strong, ANL may also depend on households’ self-production of complementary inputs, including cooking services. This dependence reveals both unique opportunities for and vulnerabilities of ANL for the rural poor.

Nutrition-sensitive agriculture diversification and dietary diversity: Panel data evidence from Tajikistan
Nutrition-sensitive agriculture diversification and dietary diversity: Panel data evidence from Tajikistan

Author: Takeshima, Hiroyuki

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2024-04-09

Total Pages: 48

ISBN-13:

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Nutrition-sensitive agricultural diversification continues to receive interest among developing country stakeholders as a viable option for achieving dual goals of poverty reduction and food/nutrition security improvements. Assessing the effectiveness of this strategy is also essential in countries like Tajikistan. We attempt to enrich the evidence base in this regard. We assess the linkages between household-level agricultural diversification and dietary diversity (both household- and individual-levels) using unique panel samples of households and individual women of reproductive ages in the Khatlon province. Using difference-in-difference propensity-score methods and panel fixed-effects instrumental variable regressions, we show that higher agricultural diversification together with greater overall production per worker and land at the household level leads to higher dietary diversity, particularly in areas with poor food market access. Typology analyses and crop-specific analyses suggest that vegetables, fruits, legumes/nuts/seeds, dairy products and eggs are particularly important commodities for which a farmer’s own production contributes to dietary diversity improvement. Furthermore, decomposition exercises within the subsistence farming framework suggest that nutritional returns and costs of agricultural diversification vary across households, and expected nutritional returns may be partly driving the adoption of agricultural diversification. In other words, households’ decisions to diversify agriculture may be partly driven by potential nutritional benefits associated with enhanced direct on-farm access to diverse food items rather than farm income growth alone. Our findings underscore the importance of supporting household farm diversification in Tajikistan to support improved nutrition intake, especially among those living in remote areas. In a low-income setting with limited local employment opportunities that is vulnerable to a wide range of external shocks, this will likely continue to be one of the most straightforward and realistic paths to improving household’s nutrition resilience.

2020 Global food policy report: Building inclusive food systems
2020 Global food policy report: Building inclusive food systems

Author: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2020-04-06

Total Pages: 110

ISBN-13: 089629367X

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Food systems are at a critical juncture—they are evolving quickly to meet growing and changing demand but are not serving everyone’s needs. Building more inclusive food systems can bring a wide range of economic and development benefits to all people, especially the poor and disadvantaged. IFPRI’s 2020 Global Food Policy Report examines the policies and investments and the growing range of tools and technologies that can promote inclusion. Chapters examine the imperative of inclusion, challenges faced by smallholders, youth, women, and conflict-affected people, and the opportunities offered by expanding agrifood value chains and national food system transformations. Critical questions addressed include: How can inclusive food systems help break the intergenerational cycle of poverty and malnutrition? \What can be done to strengthen the midstream of food value chains to improve rural access to jobs, markets, and services? Will Africa’s food systems generate sufficient jobs for the growing youth population? How can women be empowered within food system processes, from household decisions to policymaking? Can refugees and other conflict-affected people be integrated into food systems to help them rebuild their lives? How can national food system transformations contribute to greater dietary diversity, food safety, and food quality for all? Regional sections look at how inclusion can be improved around the world in 2020 and beyond. The report also presents interesting trends revealed by IFPRI’s food policy indicators and datasets.

Agriculture for improved nutrition: Seizing the momentum
Agriculture for improved nutrition: Seizing the momentum

Author: Fan, Shenggen

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2019-02-28

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 1786399318

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Agriculture's vast potential to improve nutrition is just beginning to be tapped. New ideas, research, and initiatives developed over the past decade have created an opportunity for reimagining and redesigning agricultural and food systems for the benefit of nutrition. To support this transformation, the book reviews the latest findings, results from on-the-ground programs and interventions, and recent policy experiences from countries around the world that are bringing the agriculture and nutrition sectors closer together. Drawing on IFPRI's own work and that of the growing agriculture-nutrition community, this book strengthens the evidence base for, and expands our vision of, how agriculture can contribute to nutrition. Chapters cover an array of issues that link agriculture and nutrition, including food value chains, nutrition-sensitive programs and policies, government policies, and private sector investments. By highlighting both achievements and setbacks, Agriculture for Improved Nutrition seeks to inspire those who want to scale up successes that can transform food systems and improve the nutrition of billions of people.

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2018
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2018

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2018-09-14

Total Pages: 278

ISBN-13: 9251305722

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New evidence this year corroborates the rise in world hunger observed in this report last year, sending a warning that more action is needed if we aspire to end world hunger and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030. Updated estimates show the number of people who suffer from hunger has been growing over the past three years, returning to prevailing levels from almost a decade ago. Although progress continues to be made in reducing child stunting, over 22 percent of children under five years of age are still affected. Other forms of malnutrition are also growing: adult obesity continues to increase in countries irrespective of their income levels, and many countries are coping with multiple forms of malnutrition at the same time – overweight and obesity, as well as anaemia in women, and child stunting and wasting.

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2020-07-01

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 925132901X

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Updates for many countries have made it possible to estimate hunger in the world with greater accuracy this year. In particular, newly accessible data enabled the revision of the entire series of undernourishment estimates for China back to 2000, resulting in a substantial downward shift of the series of the number of undernourished in the world. Nevertheless, the revision confirms the trend reported in past editions: the number of people affected by hunger globally has been slowly on the rise since 2014. The report also shows that the burden of malnutrition in all its forms continues to be a challenge. There has been some progress for child stunting, low birthweight and exclusive breastfeeding, but at a pace that is still too slow. Childhood overweight is not improving and adult obesity is on the rise in all regions. The report complements the usual assessment of food security and nutrition with projections of what the world may look like in 2030, if trends of the last decade continue. Projections show that the world is not on track to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030 and, despite some progress, most indicators are also not on track to meet global nutrition targets. The food security and nutritional status of the most vulnerable population groups is likely to deteriorate further due to the health and socio economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report puts a spotlight on diet quality as a critical link between food security and nutrition. Meeting SDG 2 targets will only be possible if people have enough food to eat and if what they are eating is nutritious and affordable. The report also introduces new analysis of the cost and affordability of healthy diets around the world, by region and in different development contexts. It presents valuations of the health and climate-change costs associated with current food consumption patterns, as well as the potential cost savings if food consumption patterns were to shift towards healthy diets that include sustainability considerations. The report then concludes with a discussion of the policies and strategies to transform food systems to ensure affordable healthy diets, as part of the required efforts to end both hunger and all forms of malnutrition.

Shock Waves
Shock Waves

Author: Stephane Hallegatte

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2015-11-23

Total Pages: 227

ISBN-13: 1464806748

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Ending poverty and stabilizing climate change will be two unprecedented global achievements and two major steps toward sustainable development. But the two objectives cannot be considered in isolation: they need to be jointly tackled through an integrated strategy. This report brings together those two objectives and explores how they can more easily be achieved if considered together. It examines the potential impact of climate change and climate policies on poverty reduction. It also provides guidance on how to create a “win-win†? situation so that climate change policies contribute to poverty reduction and poverty-reduction policies contribute to climate change mitigation and resilience building. The key finding of the report is that climate change represents a significant obstacle to the sustained eradication of poverty, but future impacts on poverty are determined by policy choices: rapid, inclusive, and climate-informed development can prevent most short-term impacts whereas immediate pro-poor, emissions-reduction policies can drastically limit long-term ones.

Dietary assessment
Dietary assessment

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2018-06-11

Total Pages: 172

ISBN-13: 9251306354

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FAO provides countries with technical support to conduct nutrition assessments, in particular to build the evidence base required for countries to achieve commitments made at the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) and under the 2016-2025 UN Decade of Action on Nutrition. Such concrete evidence can only derive from precise and valid measures of what people eat and drink. There is a wide range of dietary assessment methods available to measure food and nutrient intakes (expressed as energy insufficiency, diet quality and food patterns etc.) in diet and nutrition surveys, in impact surveys, and in monitoring and evaluation. Differenct indicators can be selected according to a study's objectives, sample population, costs and required precision. In low capacity settings, a number of other issues should be considered (e.g. availability of food composition tables, cultural and community specific issues, such as intra-household distribution of foods and eating from shared plates, etc.). This manual aims to signpost for the users the best way to measure food and nutrient intakes and to enhance their understanding of the key features, strengths and limitations of various methods. It also highlights a number of common methodological considerations involved in the selection process. Target audience comprises of individuals (policy-makers, programme managers, educators, health professionals including dietitians and nutritionists, field workers and researchers) involved in national surveys, programme planning and monitoring and evaluation in low capacity settings, as well as those in charge of knowledge brokering for policy-making.

Effects of weather and food market risks on household agriculture-nutrition linkage: Micro-level insights from India
Effects of weather and food market risks on household agriculture-nutrition linkage: Micro-level insights from India

Author: Takeshima, Hiroyuki

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2023-01-27

Total Pages: 30

ISBN-13:

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Agriculture-nutrition linkages in developing countries remain complex and continue evolving as weather and market risks intensify due to climate change and other geopolitical and socioeconomic factors. Knowledge gaps remain regarding the exact interrelationship among these dimensions of agriculture-nutrition linkages. This study aimed to partly fill this knowledge gap by assessing how the associations between home production of various food groups and household/individual level nutritional outcomes are affected by weather anomalies and price risks of these food groups in the market, using panel data from India. Our results indicate that, generally, the associations between home production and nutritional outcomes are greater under more normal weather, with rainfall and temperature during the production season being closer to the historical median, potentially because of greater productivity realized and sufficient harvest that can be consumed throughout the year. The associations are also greater when households face greater market price fluctuations of food commodities conditional on the distance to the market, potentially because such price risks lead to reduced food purchases from the market. These effects generally hold not only during the average month but also during the lean month, indicating robustness against seasonality. These results also hold more consistently in remote areas than in areas closer to the market. Overall, our results suggest that efforts to promote nutrition-sensitive agriculture in developing countries should also consider evolving patterns of weather risks and agrifood market price risks to improve their effectiveness.