Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

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    • Thanks for the opportunity to comment. The paragraphs below correspond to each question.

      1. There are inherent tensions already described in the paper in adapting a value chain approach for nutrition-sensitive agriculture. Identifying entry points for nutrition in value chains can provide win-win opportunities for private sector actors and the public than deliver benefits beyond the narrow interests of business.

      2.  (2.2) SPRING has used an adapted value chain approach that follows more closely the steps taken by development actors - from value chain selection, to end market and value chain analysis, identification and assessment of market-based solutions, and implementation of market facilitation activities. We have seen that adapting the approach can help identify convergence areas for value chains and nutrition.

      3. The framework presented in the discussion paper assumes that nutrition-sensitive agriculture can only be achieved through a food-based approach, or the supply and demand of nutritious foods through the income, own production and food market pathways. As already mentioned in Paragraph 10 of the paper, women’s empowerment and gender equality are critical, however they are important not only as mediators in these pathways, but on their own they have a direct effect on underlying drivers of nutrition in terms of time, energy and resources available for care of self and child. Since agricultural value chains provide employment and livelihoods, value chains influence whether mothers have control over these nutrition-sensitive resources.  In addition, commercial agricultural value chains typically introduce risks to environmental safety that can directly affect health status. A more comprehensive framework is needed that includes these critical operational elements, among others.

      4. The value chain approach is scalable however the question is whether value chains are sufficient to deliver high quality diets and population-level nutrition impacts when implemented on their own. A food system approach that takes in multiple food value chains, coordinated and integrated with other sectors that are also important for nutrition, such as social protection and water and sanitation, among many others, will be important to deliver results for nutrition at scale.

      Additional: Entry points for nutrition in value chains can be at multiple functions – input supply (e.g., seeds, irrigation, technology), service provision (buying down risk for new inputs), all the way to end market consumers (nutrition awareness, demand promotion). Cost-effective solutions will depend on the binding constraints identified through a nutrition-sensitive value chain analysis.