Research study "Nutrition-sensitive agriculture: A pillar of improved nutrition and better health" - Study completion workshop

January 9, 2013

A study named "Nutrition-sensitive agriculture: A pillar of improved nutrition and better health", conducted by Detlef Virchow, executive manager of FSC at that time, was completed in a two-day’s workshop on January 9 and 10. The international team of 26 authors, contributing to the study, met at the castle of Hohenheim to discuss the conclusions. The study was appointed by GIZ and addresses various forms of nutrition insecurity at the household, community and national levels. The study provides an overview of the cross-cutting themes relevant to nutrition-sensitive agriculture (conceptual discussion, plant breeding, gender, production and processing, home and community gardens, urban agriculture and market integration) and presents examples from eight countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, Egypt, Malawi, Mongolia, the Philippines and South Africa. Despite the fact that nutrition-sensitive agriculture as a system is just emerging and therefore has not been integrated as such in the agricultural and nutrition concepts and strategies of most countries, the examples derived from a wide range of very different countries and cross-cutting topics do reveal a variety of possibilities and opportunities for incorporating nutrition objectives into agriculture and food systems. They also show how agricultural and related food security policies and interventions can be designed and implemented in a manner contributing to an adequate, well-balanced diet of the population. The study was financially supported by the Sector project "Agricultural Policy and Food Security" of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).