This publication provides a list of food system-based intervention options to improve nutrition and a set concrete entry points for maximizing the impact of each intervention. Developed through leveraging different expertise in FAO, it is a key resource to assist professionals involved in different areas - from breeding to production; from food transformation and packaging to transportation and trade; from marketing and value chain to food safety; from food labelling to consumer education - to u nderstand the linkages with nutrition, and to increase their contribution for a world free from malnutrition in all its forms.
A growing number of governments, donor agencies, and development organizations are committed to supporting nutrition-sensitive agriculture (NSA) to achieve their development goals. Although consensus exists on pathways through which agriculture may influence nutrition-related outcomes, empirical evidence on agriculture’s contribution to nutrition and how it can be enhanced is still weak. This paper reviews recent empirical evidence (since 2014), including findings from impact evaluations of a variety of NSA programs using experimental designs as well as observational studies that document linkages between agriculture, women’s empowerment, and nutrition. It summarizes existing knowledge regarding not only impacts but also pathways, mechanisms, and contextual factors that affect where and how agriculture may improve nutrition outcomes. The paper concludes with reflections on implications for agricultural programs, policies, and investments, and highlights future research priorities.
Despite the lack of literature and inconsistencies in research aims and methods, it is evident that dietary intake has been shifting from traditional food consumption patterns to diets that are heavily reliant on imported and increasingly processed foods in Fiji. Availability of food items varies depending on location, however there is evidence of food environments with high availability of energy dense, nutrient poor foods, in both rural and urban locations. Food environments around vulnerable populations, for example schools, are of concern, with 80 percent of the outlets surveyed within 400 m school zones selling sugar-sweetened beverages. While the process of developing policies that support a healthy diet is enabled by Fiji’s whole-of-government commitment to improving food nutrition security, there are competing priorities and points of incoherence that deter this, particularly relating to economic growth. A range of specific policy measures have been introduced in Fiji by different government sectors that influence all facets of the food system. However, capacities required to develop and deliver policies are limited across government, primarily by the allocation of resources and technical expertise. This reduces the effectiveness of existing policy measures to support healthy diets, and the progression of new measures. A range of gaps and opportunities exist among the policy measures identified, and entry points lie throughout the food system and associated policy environment to improve dietary behaviour in Fiji.
Traditional and indigenous food systems have existed for centuries and were in balance with local food supplies, globally. However, between the mid 20th and early 21st century the green revolution dramatically altered food production, which in turn affected the inclusivity of traditional production systems within food systems and subsequently, traditional dietary intakes. This change was accompanied by lifestyle changes and spurred a global nutrition transition. Today the world faces a global syndemic of obesity, undernutrition, and climate change. A new call to action to create food systems that nourish people and sustain the planet is needed. Traditional and indigenous food systems have long been recognized as systems that can both support good human nutrition as well as maintain a balance with nature. There is an underutilized knowledge base around traditional and indigenous food systems. This includes the knowledge of nutritious species, traditional culinary preparations, and cultural practices. Greater agricultural production of underutilized species can result in more sustainable agricultural and food systems which can also help improve livelihoods and food security. Traditional and indigenous cultural practices with respect to both land and water management, as well as culinary practices, contribute to both sustainable food production and consumption. These practices require a greater evidence base in order to be incorporated into public health nutrition initiatives related to improving dietary quality, such as food-based dietary guidelines for example. An increased focus on the importance of local, traditional, and indigenous food systems and nutrition could therefore help countries to improve human nutrition and, ideally, help mitigate the global syndemic of obesity, undernutrition, and climate change. This Research Topic will focus on documenting diverse local food systems and promoting elements within them that can help improve nutrition and health – both human and planetary - in various ways including the livelihood development of knowledge holders.
Home Grown School Feeding (HGSF) programmes have seen a considerable growth around the world in recognition of their crucial role as boosters of children's health and educational outcomes, as well as of countries' overall growth potential through stimulating economic activities and developing markets through local procurement. School feeding programmes have been implemented in Ethiopia for 20 years. The scope of this report is to present the results of a 2019 baseline study of a HGSF programme implemented by the Government of Ethiopia. The impact evaluation, whose results are presented in this publication, was designed to capture the impacts of the HGSF programme on farm production, food security and schooling. The evalutation is based on a post-test-only, non-equivalent control group design, and on two rounds of data collection: the first took place in June – July 2019 at the end of the school year, while the second was planned forthe same period in 2020, but did not materialize owing to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Ending malnutrition in all forms is a global development priority. Investment in nutrition can yield high returns in terms of reduced health costs, increased productivity and improved human resources capacity and economic growth (Covic & and Hendriks 2016; Shekar et al. 2017). Nutrition policy-making and program interventions in developing countries fail to bring together several sectors that contribute to nutrition improvement. Since food systems influence the type of food produced, understanding relevant drivers of a country’s food system with an emphasis on nutrition can help to end malnutrition (Per Pinstrup-Andersen 2012a; HLPE 2017; Babu and Kataki 2003). In this paper, we adopt a food systems perspective to review Myanmar’s current food system. With the help of a review of the literature and two national consultative stakeholder workshops, we examine Myanmar’s current food system. This is a crucial step since it identifies gaps existing in the current policies/ strategies being implemented. After the review, we developed an AIT (analyze gaps, identify priority investment areas, and track progress) operational framework that can be used to increase the nutrition-sensitivity of a food system. Applying this framework to Agriculture Development Strategy (ADS), this paper presents an analysis of the gaps that need to be addressed to make ADS nutrition-sensitive, provide priority investment areas, and a tracking system which monitors the progress of these investments.
Plants growing in the natural environment battle with a variety of biotic (pathogens infection) and abiotic (salinity, drought, heat and cold stresses etc.) stresses. These physiological stresses drastically affect plant growth and productivity under field conditions. These challenges are likely to grow as a consequences of global climate change and pose a threat to the food security. Therefore, acquaintance with underlying signalling pathways, physiological, biochemical and molecular mechanisms in plants and the role of beneficial soil microorganisms in plant’s stress tolerance are pivotal for sustainable crop production. This volume written by the experts in the stress physiology and covers latest research on plant’s tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses. It elaborates on the potential of plant-microbe interactions to avoid the damage caused by these stresses. With comprehensive information on theoretical, technical and experimental aspects of plant stress biology, this extensive volume is a valuable resource for researchers, academician and students in the broad field of plant stress biology, physiology, microbiology, environmental and agricultural science.
This report, prepared by FAO and the OECD with inputs from ERIA, IFPRI, IFAD, and WTO, has been submitted to the G20 Presidency of Japan in response to the Presidency’s request for background notes on Sustainable, Productive and Resilient Agro-Food Systems: value chains, human capital, and the 2030 Agenda.
Food starts with soils, and as the target date to accomplish the SDGs grows closer, it is more urgent than ever to reverse soil degradation and tackle its effects on agrifood systems. This booklet aims to review the role of soil fertility in producing sufficient, safe, and more nourishing food for healthier plants, animals, and people. It also offers recommendations for solutions that can provide a more nutritious agrifood system for enhancing human health and wellbeing while protecting the environment. Soil fertility and nutrition involve processes at scales ranging from molecules to the entire planet. Our interventions in these processes may exacerbate the global challenges we face but can also be modified to solve them. This booklet contributes to understanding processes related to soil fertility from the perspectives of food production and food security, and the environmental and climate change impacts associated with fertilizer misuse and overuse. The booklet also outlines the main areas of opportunity and the way forward to solve the nutrient imbalance prevailing in our current agrifood systems.
Traditional foods, diets and food systems play an important role in people’s nutritional status. As the best products of traditional food systems, geographical indication (GI) foods have a great potential to contribute to healthy diets and curb non-communicable diseases. This paper presents five case studies around the world on the nutritional potential of registered GI foods and explores the link between the production processes and the nutritional composition of the final products. The nutritional characteristics of these foods can be largely attributed to their unique ingredients and production procedures, which are linked to their geographical origins.The paper also discusses the development of GI specifications to maintain and improve nutritional values, the role of GI foods in healthy diets, and the determination of food composition. Finally, suggestions on how to leverage GI foods for healthy diets are provided.
