Measuring The Impact Of Agriculture Programs On Diets And Nutrition

Author : Leroy, Jef L.,Ruel, Marie T.,Olney, Deanna K.
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 4 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 2020-08-27
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Measuring the impact of agriculture programs on diets and nutrition by Leroy, Jef L.,Ruel, Marie T.,Olney, Deanna K. Pdf

Agriculture holds tremendous potential to improve nutrition. Traditionally, agriculture investments focused on producing enough food to allow people to meet their caloric needs and on generating employment and income. In the last decade, the understanding of how agriculture can contribute to nutrition has shifted from the implicit assumption that increased productivity and income would automatically improve nutrition to the acknowledgement that explicit nutrition goals and actions are needed to improve nutritional outcomes (1–4). This has led to increased commitments and investments in nutrition-sensitive agriculture programs and accompanying research to study these programs’ impact on nutrition outcomes. Guidance on how to make agriculture more nutrition-sensitive was also developed and included recommendations to target the first 1,000 days of a child’s life (from conception to 2 years of age) and to focus on reducing stunting (5–7). These developments coincided with the global commitment to achieve the World Health Assembly target of reducing child stunting by 40 percent by 2025 (8).

Author : Jef L Leroy
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2022
Category : Electronic
ISBN : OCLC:1373356353

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Measuring the Impact of Agriculture Programs on Diets and Nutrition by Jef L Leroy Pdf

Author : Olney, Deanna K.,Gelli, Aulo,Kumar, Neha,Alderman, Harold,Go, Ara,Raza, Ahmed,Owens, Jessica,Grinspun, Alejandro,Bhalla, Garima,Benammour, Omar
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 109 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2021-09-28
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Nutrition-sensitive social protection programs within food systems by Olney, Deanna K.,Gelli, Aulo,Kumar, Neha,Alderman, Harold,Go, Ara,Raza, Ahmed,Owens, Jessica,Grinspun, Alejandro,Bhalla, Garima,Benammour, Omar Pdf

Investments in social assistance programs (SAPs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are increasing. As investments increase, the objectives of these programs are expanding from focusing on reducing poverty to addressing other social issues such as improving diets and nutrition. At the same time, there is increasing interest in addressing all forms of malnutrition within the framework of food systems. Given the intersections between SAPs and food systems, we reviewed the effectiveness of SAPs (agriculture asset transfers, cash transfers, in-kind transfers, vouchers, public works and school meals programs) for reducing all forms of malnutrition across the lifecycle within a food systems framework. As several programs included multiple treatment arms, each representing a unique program design, we used study arm as the unit of analysis and assessed the proportion of study arms with positive or negative program impacts on diet and nutrition outcomes among men, women and children. The majority of the studies included in this review were from evaluations of agriculture asset, cash and in-kind transfer programs. There was clear evidence of positive impacts on women’s and children’s diet-related outcomes. Very few studies assessed program impact on women’s nutritional status outcomes. However, there was some evidence of impacts on increasing body mass index and hemoglobin concentration (Hb) with in-kind transfer programs. Among children, several study arms across the agriculture asset, cash and in-kind transfer programs found positive impacts on increasing height-for-age Z-score (33%-45% of study arms) and weight-for-height Z-score (33%-50% of study arms) and decreasing the prevalence of wasting (43%-60% of study arms). Cash and in-kind transfer programs also found positive effects on reducing stunting prevalence in 33% and 45% of study arms, respectively. Lastly, a few study arms assessed program impact on increasing Hb with some evidence of positive impacts in in-kind and school feeding programs. There was a paucity of relevant evidence of the effectiveness of voucher and public works programs on diet and nutrition outcomes, for men’s outcomes and on micronutrient status. Several challenges remain in understanding the potential for SAPs to improve diet and nutrition outcomes within food systems including the heterogeneity of program and evaluation designs, populations targeted by the programs and included in evaluations and indicators used to assess impact. Addressing these challenges in future evaluations is important for informing program and policy actions to improve the effectiveness of SAPs within food systems for improving diet and nutrition outcomes across the lifecycle.

Author : Ruel, Marie T.,Quisumbing, Agnes R.,Balagamwala, Mysbah
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 80 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2017-10-27
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Nutrition-sensitive agriculture by Ruel, Marie T.,Quisumbing, Agnes R.,Balagamwala, Mysbah Pdf

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.

Author : Aberman, Noora-Lisa,Meerman, Janice,Benson, Todd
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 82 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2018-02-22
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780896292864

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Agriculture, food security, and nutrition in Malawi: Leveraging the links by Aberman, Noora-Lisa,Meerman, Janice,Benson, Todd Pdf

Although the Malawian food supply is shaped largely by trends in smallholder food crop production, Ma­lawi’s decades-long focus on improving smallholder productivity has only moderately improved food secu­rity and nutrition outcomes. Country statistics indicate an estimated 36.7 percent of rural Malawian house­holds failed to access sufficient calories between 2010 and 2011. During the same period, 47 percent of children under the age of five years were esti­mated to be stunted in their growth. These indicators imply that some Malawian diets are lacking in terms of quantity (total calories consumed), and most are lacking in terms of quality (sufficient calories derived from nutrient-dense foods, such as meat, fish, eggs, dairy, legumes, fruits, and vegetables). Good nutrition requires both enough total calories (quantity) and enough vitamins and minerals per calorie (quality). How can Malawi better leverage its smallholder agriculture sector to improve nutrition? This report provides a series of primary and secondary data anal­yses that examine different aspects of this question.

Author : Derek Headey,William A Masters
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 46 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2019-10-17
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Agriculture and undernutrition through the lens of economics by Derek Headey,William A Masters Pdf

Agricultural development has historically focused on poverty reduction and food security but is now increasingly asked to help improve nutrition. Despite this strengthened nutritional mandate, agricultural policies and programs have struggled to develop effective, scalable and cost-effective approaches for reducing undernutrition. This study was therefore undertaken to assess more the more strategic issue of how to re-design agricultural development strategies for greater nutritional impact. To do so we review the literature on agriculture-nutrition linkages through an economic lens, focusing on systemic agriculture-nutrition linkages that go beyond the much-explored question of how a farm family’s agricultural activities affect their own household members’ food consumption or nutrition outcomes. To that end we structured this review around three types of linkages between agriculture and nutrition: (i) agricultural income effects (including income stability); (ii) relative food price determination (including the shadow prices involved in consuming one’s own production); and (iii) agricultural livelihood characteristics (encompassing the many neglected dimensions of agricultural activities and rural livelihoods that influence nutrition and health). For each of these literatures we reflect upon relevant economic theory, methodological challenges, and key empirical evidence. We conclude with a brief discussion of the implications of these findings for developing more nutrition-sensitive agricultural development strategies.

Author : National Research Council,Institute of Medicine,Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources,Food and Nutrition Board,Committee on a Framework for Assessing the Health, Environmental, and Social Effects of the Food System
Publisher : National Academies Press
Page : 444 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2015-06-17
Category : Medical
ISBN : 9780309307833

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A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System by National Research Council,Institute of Medicine,Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources,Food and Nutrition Board,Committee on a Framework for Assessing the Health, Environmental, and Social Effects of the Food System Pdf

How we produce and consume food has a bigger impact on Americans' well-being than any other human activity. The food industry is the largest sector of our economy; food touches everything from our health to the environment, climate change, economic inequality, and the federal budget. From the earliest developments of agriculture, a major goal has been to attain sufficient foods that provide the energy and the nutrients needed for a healthy, active life. Over time, food production, processing, marketing, and consumption have evolved and become highly complex. The challenges of improving the food system in the 21st century will require systemic approaches that take full account of social, economic, ecological, and evolutionary factors. Policy or business interventions involving a segment of the food system often have consequences beyond the original issue the intervention was meant to address. A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System develops an analytical framework for assessing effects associated with the ways in which food is grown, processed, distributed, marketed, retailed, and consumed in the United States. The framework will allow users to recognize effects across the full food system, consider all domains and dimensions of effects, account for systems dynamics and complexities, and choose appropriate methods for analysis. This report provides example applications of the framework based on complex questions that are currently under debate: consumption of a healthy and safe diet, food security, animal welfare, and preserving the environment and its resources. A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System describes the U.S. food system and provides a brief history of its evolution into the current system. This report identifies some of the real and potential implications of the current system in terms of its health, environmental, and socioeconomic effects along with a sense for the complexities of the system, potential metrics, and some of the data needs that are required to assess the effects. The overview of the food system and the framework described in this report will be an essential resource for decision makers, researchers, and others to examine the possible impacts of alternative policies or agricultural or food processing practices.

Author : Fan, Shenggen,Yosef, Sivan,Pandya-Lorch, Rajul
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 233 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2019-02-28
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781786399311

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Agriculture for improved nutrition: Seizing the momentum by Fan, Shenggen,Yosef, Sivan,Pandya-Lorch, Rajul Pdf

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.

Author : Hoddinott, John,Ahmed, Akhter,Quisumbing, Agnes R.,Rakshit, Deboleena
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 49 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2024-01-26
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Can gender- and nutrition-sensitive agricultural programs improve resilience? Medium-term impacts of an intervention in Bangladesh by Hoddinott, John,Ahmed, Akhter,Quisumbing, Agnes R.,Rakshit, Deboleena Pdf

There are few studies that rigorously assess how agricultural and nutrition related interventions enhance resilience and even fewer that incorporate a gendered dimension in their analysis. Mindful of this, we address three knowledge gaps: (1) Whether agricultural interventions aimed at diversifying income sources and improving nutrition have sustainable impacts (on asset bases, consumption, gender-specific outcomes and women’s empowerment, and on diets) that persist after the intervention ends; (2) whether such interventions are protective when shocks occur? and (3) whether these interventions promote gender-sensitive resilience. We answer these questions using unique data, a four-year post-endline follow up survey of households from a cluster-randomized controlled trial of a nutrition-and-gender-sensitive agricultural intervention in Bangladesh. We find that treatment arms that included both agriculture and nutrition training had sustainable effects on real per capita consumption, women’s empowerment (as measured by the pro-WEAI), and asset holdings measured four years after the original intervention ended. Treatment arms that included both agriculture and nutrition training (with or without gender sensitization) reduced the likelihood that households undertook more severe forms of coping strategies and reduced the likelihood that household per capita consumption fell, in real terms, by more than five percent between in the four years following the end of the intervention. The treatment arm that only provided training in agriculture had positive impacts at endline but these had largely faded away four years later. Our results suggest that bundling nutrition and agriculture training may contribute to resilience as well as to sustained impacts on consumption, women’s empowerment, and asset holdings in the medium term. These have implications for the design of future gender- and nutrition-sensitive agricultural programs.

Author : Ahmed, Akhter,Coleman, Fiona,Ghostlaw, Julie,Hoddinott, John F.,Menon, Purnima,Parvin, Aklima,Pereira, Audrey,Quisumbing, Agnes R.,Roy, Shalini,Younus, Masuma
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 54 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2022-04-06
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Increasing production diversity and diet quality through agriculture, gender, and nutrition linkages: A cluster-randomized controlled trial in Bangladesh by Ahmed, Akhter,Coleman, Fiona,Ghostlaw, Julie,Hoddinott, John F.,Menon, Purnima,Parvin, Aklima,Pereira, Audrey,Quisumbing, Agnes R.,Roy, Shalini,Younus, Masuma Pdf

A growing body of evidence indicates that agricultural development programs can potentially improve production diversity and diet quality of poor rural households; however, less is known about which aspects of program design are effective in diverse contexts and feasible to implement at scale. We address this issue through an evaluation of the Agriculture, Gender, and Nutrition Linkages (ANGeL) project. ANGeL is a randomized controlled trial testing what combination of trainings focused on agricultural production, nutrition behavior change communication, and gender sensitization were most effective in improving production diversity and diet quality among rural farm households in Bangladesh. We find that trainings focused on agriculture improved production diversity in terms of greater production of fruits and vegetables grown on the homestead, eggs, dairy, and fish; adding trainings on nutrition and gender did not significantly change these impacts. Trainings focused on both agriculture and nutrition showed the largest impacts on diet quality, with evidence indicating that households in this arm also significantly increased consumption out of homestead production for fruits and vegetables, eggs, dairy, and fish. Findings indicate that agricultural training that promotes production of diverse, high-value, nutrient-rich foods can increase production diversity, and this can improve diet quality, but diet quality impacts are larger when agricultural training is combined with nutrition training. Relative to treatments combining agriculture and nutrition training, we find no significant impact of adding the gender sensitization on our measures of production diversity or diet quality.

Author : Quisumbing, Agnes R.,Sproule, Kathryn,Martinez, Elena M.,Malapit, Hazel J.
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 70 pages
File Size : 50,7 Mb
Release : 2020-05-14
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Women’s empowerment in agriculture and nutritional outcomes: Evidence from six countries in Africa and Asia by Quisumbing, Agnes R.,Sproule, Kathryn,Martinez, Elena M.,Malapit, Hazel J. Pdf

Although women’s empowerment and gender equality are associated with better maternal and child nutrition outcomes, recent systematic reviews find inconclusive evidence. This paper applies a comparable methodology to data on the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), a recent internationally-validated measure based on interviews of women and men within the same household, from six countries in Africa and Asia to identify which dimensions of women’s empowerment are related to household-, women-, and child-level dietary and nutrition outcomes. We examine the relationship between women’s empowerment and household-level food security and dietary diversity; women’s dietary diversity and BMI; and child-related outcomes, controlling for woman, child, and household characteristics. We also test whether women’s empowerment has differential associations for boys and girls. We do not find consistent associations between dimensions of empowerment and food security and nutrition outcomes across countries, but some patterns emerge. Overall empowerment scores are more strongly associated with nutritional outcomes in the South Asian countries in our sample compared to the African ones. Where significant, greater intrahousehold gender equality is associated with better nutritional outcomes. However, different domains have different associations with nutritional outcomes, suggesting that tradeoffs exist: higher workloads are associated with more diverse diets but lower women’s BMI and child anthropometric outcomes. Identifying the overlap between the top contributors to disempowerment and those most strongly related to nutrition outcomes can inform the design and implementation of nutrition-sensitive agricultural programs.

Author : Fan, Shenggen,Yosef, Sivan,Pandya-Lorch, Rajul
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 4 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2019-02-04
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780896295995

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Agriculture for improved nutrition: Seizing the momentum: Synopsis by Fan, Shenggen,Yosef, Sivan,Pandya-Lorch, Rajul Pdf

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, Agriculture for Improved Nutrition: Seizing the Momentum reviews the latest findings, results from on-the-ground programs and interventions, and recent policy experiences from countries around the world that are bringing agriculture and nutrition 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. 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.

Author : Michele Ver Ploeg
Publisher : DIANE Publishing
Page : 160 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2010-02
Category : Health & Fitness
ISBN : 9781437921342

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Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food: Measuring and Understanding Food Deserts and Their Consequences by Michele Ver Ploeg Pdf

The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 directed the U.S. Dept. of Agr. to conduct a 1-year study to assess the extent of areas with limited access to affordable and nutritious food, identify characteristics and causes of such areas, consider how limited access affects local populations, and outline recommend. to address the problem. This report presents the findings of the study, which include results from two conferences of national and internat. authorities on food deserts and a set of research studies. It also includes reviews of existing literature, a national-level assessment of access to large grocery stores and supermarkets, analysis of the economic and public health effects of limited access, and a discussion of existing policy interventions. Illus.

Author : Johnson, Nancy L.
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 7 pages
File Size : 45,6 Mb
Release : 2021-11-24
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Natural resource tenure and governance for human nutrition and health: Linkages and priorities for agricultural research and development by Johnson, Nancy L. Pdf

Rapid transformations are occurring in food systems around the world with significant economic, health, and environmental implications. As part of this change, the focus of agricultural production needs to transition from quantity of food production to quality of diets. This brief begins by summarizing evidence from nutrition-sensitive agriculture and explaining how resource tenure and governance issues relate to the production of nutrient-rich foods. The brief then explores the importance of resource tenure and governance issues for diets and health in the context of food system transformation: this section focuses on supporting healthy diets in traditional food systems, meeting the global demand for nutrient-rich foods, and managing and mitigating disease risks in intensifying agricultural landscapes.

Author : Aberman, Noora-Lisa,Meerman, Janice,Benson, Todd
Publisher : Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Page : 62 pages
File Size : 54,9 Mb
Release : 2015-12-16
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Mapping the linkages between agriculture, food security and nutrition in Malawi by Aberman, Noora-Lisa,Meerman, Janice,Benson, Todd Pdf

Smallholder agriculture is the mainstay of Malawi’s economy. Its importance for livelihoods cannot be overstated. 94 percent of rural residents and 38 percent of urban residents engage in agriculture to some extent (Jones, Shrinivas, and Bezner-Kerr 2014), the vast majority as smallholder farmers with landholdings of less than one hectare. Smallholder crops are primarily maize—which accounted for nearly 80 percent of smallholder-cultivated land in 2011 —followed by cassava and other food crops (FAO 2008; IFAD 2011). These foods are grown for household consumption and for sale at local and regional markets. As such, the Malawian food supply, especially in rural areas where markets are thin with few buying or selling options, is shaped largely by trends in smallholder food-crop production