Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

This member contributed to:

    • Based on your own knowledge and experience in the area of improving nutrition through food and agriculture programmes:

      1.    If you were designing an agricultural investment programme, what are the top 5 things you would do to maximize its impact on nutrition?

      Some of the main items to be done:

      • Ensure the overall objective and the goals of the programme touches on nutrition,
      • Ensure the problem statement identifies a nutrition problem that it want to contribute towards,
      • Ensure there is at least one specific objective on nutrition. The objective should be SMART.
      • Ensure there are specific / clear activities on nutrition that are indicated in the work plan. The activities should also have specific outputs,
      • Ensure there are clear budget  lines for the nutrition activities and human resource,

      2.    To support the design and implementation of this programme, where would you like to see more research done, and why?

      • There is need to link the ALREADY done agricultural research to nutrition. The bigger challenge is that most agricultural research done does not (yet) directly benefit the small scale farmers, while they contribute a significant amount in food production all over the world. It may be benefiting the large scale farmers, or sitting in shelves. There is need to translate the successful researches into a language that rural small scale farmers understand and can implement.
      • There is need to support the production of traditional crops, including vegetables. I know this has already been echoed many times, but there is need to practically implement this at community level.
      • Nutrition education is another area that needs research. Which are the best ways of communicating and successful implementation of Behaviour Change Communication? Especially in food choices, cultural factors affecting food consumption etc
      • In pastoral regions, there is need for strong research in the traditional milk and meat preservation techniques that are safe and acceptable, to be used in different regions. This is a grey area, that needs specific clarifications to assist in implementation of livestock programs that have an end objective of improving food security and nutrition- this has been a clear gap even in the horn of Africa, and has been raised severally.

      3.    What can our institutions do to help country governments commit to action around your recommendations, and to help ensure implementation will be effective?

      • There is need to build nutrition capacity in agricultural institutions. (so that nutrition is no longer seen as a ‘health’issue, but also an agricultural and food security issue),
      • Support development of ag-nutrition specific tools (e.g food consumption tools) that will assist the agriculture sector ‘understand’ what improved nutrition means in an agricultural setting,
      • Disseminate these tools as well as guidelines.
      • Share case studies of where these have been done and lessons learnt/ recommendations for further improvement. This will give the country governments more confidence in linking agriculture to nutrition,
      • Ensure agriculture-nutrition linkages are well embedded in country processes and policies e.g caadp, food and nutrition security papers and legislation.
      •  

      Thanks,

      Angela Kimani

      Nutritionist

      FAO- Sub-Regional Emergency Office for Eastern and Central Africa

      United Nations Office, UN Avenue, Gigiri, 2nd level, Block P

      P.O. Box 30470-00100;  Nairobi, Kenya