Nutrition is an integral constituent of food security. Food security exists when all people at all times have both physical and economic access to safe and nutritious food to maintain a normal and healthy life. Some of the most important and critical preconditions for achieving food security and the Millennium Development Goals – in particular eradication of extreme poverty and hunger – are stability of sustained food supply and proper utilization of foods consumed.
Undernutrition in children is a major nutritional problem in Asia. Low birthweight, a key indicator of child undernutrition, is strongly associated with undernutrition of mothers. Improvements in pregnancy outcome can be obtained by encouraging undernourished women to consume more of their normal diet, where possible, and providing appropriate energy supplements, ideally formulated from local foods. Asia has the highest prevalence of anaemia in the world. Vast numbers of women, particularly pregnant women, infants and children are affected. Low intakes of absorbable iron are the main cause of anaemia. Supporting the production and consumption of poultry, small livestock and fish would increase the intake of absorbable iron and other micronutrients. Prevalence of clinical vitamin A deficiency (VAD) however, is quite low. Populations with the highest prevalence of VAD consume low amounts of animal products and fruits rich in beta-carotene. Food-based strategies have good potential for preventing VAD. Significant progress has been made in understanding which food-based strategies are likely to be effective for improving vitamin A status and other nutritional problems. Food-based approaches need to be pursued more vigorously so that they become a larger part of the longer-term global strategy for alleviating problems of malnutrition.
Addressing nutrition issues through appropriate interventions in the agriculture sector has always remained a challenge. Agriculture and nutrition are linked in many ways. Increased attention to nutrition can enable the agricultural sector to better meet its own needs. It is essential to have a common goal or conceptual vision to guide both agriculture and nutrition in policy-making, strategy development and institutional innovation so that those commonalities can be realized for the benefit of people. While stressing food shortages and emphasizing the need and actions for increasing agricultural productivity and market supply, FAO has recognized the critical role of the agricultural sector in addressing food and nutrition security. The choice of interventions or mix of interventions that are most appropriate will depend on the actual nature and distribution of the malnutrition problem, its causes, and the type of resources that are available. It would not be wise to prescribe any single intervention in isolation. A mix of interventions involving concerned sectors should be the preferred choice.
This report provides a summary of the presentations and discussions of the workshop. It advocates for the integration of nutrition in agriculture and other development policies, programmes and projects to ensure convergence of basic nutrition, health, agriculture and other related interventions. I trust this publication will be useful to countries in the region in addressing nutrition issues in the agricultural sector.
He Changchui
Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative
FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
