Member profile
Dr. Martine Rutten
Organization:
LEI-Wageningen UR
Country:
Netherlands
I am working on:
Economic analyses in the area of agri-trade, with particular attention to food security, nutrition and health
Dr. Martine Rutten
If you were designing an agricultural investment programme, what are the top 5 things you would do to maximize its impact on nutrition?
Answer:
1. I would first look at the population and its characteristics in terms of gender, age, disease burden so as to identify nutrition needs. I would also consider socio-economic status as that in the end determines whether there’s a market and whether government involvement is needed;
2. I would then look at the agricultural production capacity of the country, given the political context, trade context, climate, environment …and other potential factors that predetermine the feasibility of the particular investment that is considered;
3. I would make sure that part of the investment is channelled to reducing food waste along the food supply chain from producers, to consumers, in transport, and the various stages in between;
4. I would invest in education programmes, television commercials etc. that would show how the food item in question is good for you, and how it should be consumed to maximise its impact;
5. I would pay attention to price developments (in view of the strong food price volatility observed in the last couple of years and the impacts this has on producers and consumers) and invest in storage facilities so as to avoid food going to waste.
To support the design and implementation of this programme, where would you like to see more research done, and why?
Answer:
1. More research is needed in the area of food waste, where it appears and to what extent, how it can be reduced or prevented altogether. There’s limited data on global food waste and so little research done on potential impacts if we were to reduce it;
2. More research is needed in the area of interrelationships between agriculture, nutrition and health and economy-wide impacts and feedback effects (healthier labour force that is able to work longer and more productively, lower health care costs, improved well-being). This is largely due to these sciences operating largely independently from each other. It is changing, but slowly. Important questions are:
a. What are impacts of changes in trade policies in bilateral or multilateral context or other economic policies and/or shocks on nutrition and health? Are there tradeoffs (e.g. between potential economic gains/losses and health gains/losses) and how do we deal with those?
b. Or vice versa, if we were to eat healthily, what would this imply for our agriculture/production system? Trade? And again what are the economy -wide impacts?
3. More research is needed in the area of food and nutrition security in relation to food price volatility
4. More research is needed in the role of women in securing household food and nutrition security
What can our institutions do to help country governments commit to action around your recommendations, and to help ensure implementation will be effective?
Answer:
1. It should provide a platform for all stakeholders and stimulate them to come together and push for ways forward
2. Provide technical assistance where needed
3. Make available statistics on food and especially nutrition security for use in research
Dr. Martine Rutten
If you were designing an agricultural investment programme, what are the top 5 things you would do to maximize its impact on nutrition? Answer: 1. I would first look at the population and its characteristics in terms of gender, age, disease burden so as to identify nutrition needs. I would also consider socio-economic status as that in the end determines whether there’s a market and whether government involvement is needed; 2. I would then look at the agricultural production capacity of the country, given the political context, trade context, climate, environment …and other potential factors that predetermine the feasibility of the particular investment that is considered; 3. I would make sure that part of the investment is channelled to reducing food waste along the food supply chain from producers, to consumers, in transport, and the various stages in between; 4. I would invest in education programmes, television commercials etc. that would show how the food item in question is good for you, and how it should be consumed to maximise its impact; 5. I would pay attention to price developments (in view of the strong food price volatility observed in the last couple of years and the impacts this has on producers and consumers) and invest in storage facilities so as to avoid food going to waste. To support the design and implementation of this programme, where would you like to see more research done, and why? Answer: 1. More research is needed in the area of food waste, where it appears and to what extent, how it can be reduced or prevented altogether. There’s limited data on global food waste and so little research done on potential impacts if we were to reduce it; 2. More research is needed in the area of interrelationships between agriculture, nutrition and health and economy-wide impacts and feedback effects (healthier labour force that is able to work longer and more productively, lower health care costs, improved well-being). This is largely due to these sciences operating largely independently from each other. It is changing, but slowly. Important questions are: a. What are impacts of changes in trade policies in bilateral or multilateral context or other economic policies and/or shocks on nutrition and health? Are there tradeoffs (e.g. between potential economic gains/losses and health gains/losses) and how do we deal with those? b. Or vice versa, if we were to eat healthily, what would this imply for our agriculture/production system? Trade? And again what are the economy -wide impacts? 3. More research is needed in the area of food and nutrition security in relation to food price volatility 4. More research is needed in the role of women in securing household food and nutrition security What can our institutions do to help country governments commit to action around your recommendations, and to help ensure implementation will be effective? Answer: 1. It should provide a platform for all stakeholders and stimulate them to come together and push for ways forward 2. Provide technical assistance where needed 3. Make available statistics on food and especially nutrition security for use in research