Agricultural Pathways to Improved Nutrition By Prabhu Pingali, Katie Ricketts, David Sahn Cornell University

1. Agricultural Pathways to Improved Nutrition
Prabhu Pingali, Katie Ricketts, David Sahn
PREPARATORY TECHNICAL MEETING
FAO Headquarters, Rome, Italy
13-15 November 2013

2. Agricultural Pathways to Improved
Nutrition
Prabhu Pingali
Professor of Applied
Economics
& Director, Tata-Cornell
Initiative for Agriculture
& Nutrition, Cornell
University
Katie Ricketts
Research Associate, Tata-
Cornell Initiative for
Agriculture and Nutrition,
Cornell University
David Sahn
International Professor of
Economics in the Division of
Nutritional Sciences &
Department of Economics,
Cornell University

3. Nutrition-Agriculture Pathways
Household food access (quality, quantity and diversity)
• Raising incomes
• Ensuring market availability of low-cost nutritious food
• Dietary diversity
Meeting individual dietary needs and ensuring nutrient
absorption/utilization
• Food choice and intra-household allocation
• Good health and prevent infection
Also, look at reverse causality, between health and
nutrition, and agricultural productivity.

4. Malnutrition is multidimensional
Focus on women and girls during childbearing years, and
infants/young children:
First 1,000 days from conception to 2 years old
• in utero: prenatal care; nutrient/prenatal supplements;
• ~ 6 months: promote exclusive breastfeeding
• 6 -12 months: weaning; public health measures
– water and sanitation; primary health care to avoid infection-nutrition
interaction (e.g., bed nets, immunization, ORT)
– education, women’s empowerment, and basic nutrition messaging
– safety nets and cash and conditional transfers??
• low income elasticity of nutrition outcomes
• possibly greater effect with conditionality, e.g., health care
Overall, limited direct role of food systems -- largely through
increased wealth, incomes and education

5. …as well as other nutrition problems
• Micronutrient deficiency
• Nutrition and cognition
• Emerging epidemic of chronic disease

6. A FRAMEWORK FOR CONSIDERING POLICIES THAT LINK FOOD SYSTEMS
AND AGRICULTURE TO NUTRITION OUTCOMES
Food system
classification
Characteristics
Subsistence systems • Little to no Green Revolution gains
• Low per capita income
• Low agricultural productivity
• High malnutrition
Intensive cereal crops
systems
• Green Revolution gains
• Low-medium per capita income
• Moderate agricultural productivity
• Persistent malnutrition
• Often poor market linkages
Commercial/export
systems
• Medium-high per capita income
• Higher opportunity for agricultural productivity
• High levels of nutritional inequality and coexistance of
undernutrition and overnutrition
6

7. 7
SUBSISTENCE SYSTEMS
Much of Africa and other regions that missed out on the productivity,
income, and food supply growth of the Green Revolution.
Characteristics Productivity Food value chains
• LITTLE TO NO GREEN
REVOLUTION GAINS
• LOW PER CAPITA INCOME
• LOW AGRICULTURAL
PRODUCTIVITY
• HIGH MALNUTRITION
• FOCUS ON NEGLECTED
STAPLES AND TRADITIONAL
CROPS: RESEARCH, EXTENSION
AND INPUTS
• TRADITIONAL AND NON-TRADITIONAL
CROPS
CULTIVATED BY WOMEN
• PROMOTION OF KITCHEN
GARDENS, BACKYARD
LIVESTOCK
• ACCESS TO LAND AND
PROPERTY RIGHTS
• BIOFORTIFICATION
• CONDITIONAL FOOD/CASH
TRANSFER PROGRAMS
• UPGRADING TRADITIONAL
MARKETS
• SMALL SCALE POST-HARVEST
STORAGE AND PROCESSING
• IMPROVING FOOD SAFETY
AND QUALITY

8. INTENSIVE CEREAL CROP SYSTEMS
Much of Asia and Latin America that experienced the productivity gains of the Green
Revolution suffer from sustained poverty, malnutrition, poor market linkages, and lack
of dietary and production diversity.
8
Characteristics Productivity Food value chains
• GREEN REVOLUTION GAINS
• LOW-MEDIUM PER CAPITA
INCOME
• MODERATE AGRICULTURAL
PRODUCTIVITY
• PERSISTENT
MALNUTRITION
• LABOR SAVINGS TECHNOLOGIES FOR
WOMEN
• FOCUS ON ACCESS TO INPUTS,
INCLDING WATER AND FERTILIZER
• INFORMATION AND EXTENSION
SYSTEMS..
• FINANCIAL SERVICES
• SUSTAINED CROP PRODUCTIVITY
GROWTH AND DIVERSIFICATION
TOWARDS MICRONUTRIENT RICH
FOODS.
• CONNECTING SMALLHOLDER
FARMERS TO GLOBAL
/DOMESTIC RETAIL CHAINS.
• EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN
IN CASH AND COMMERCIAL
CROP SALES
• DEVELOPMENT OF
COOPERATIVES
• EXPAND OPPORTUNITIES FOR
FOOD PROCESSING AND
FORWARD LINKAGES IN FOOD
SYSTEM TO CREATE
EMPLOYMENT OFF FARM

9. 9
COMMERCIAL/EXPORT-ORIENTED
SYSTEMS
COMMERCIAL/EXPORT-ORIENTED SYSTEMS
High-growth export-driven countries in Latin America and Asia that have
specializing farmers still need support transitioning to agriculture as a
global/domestic business.
Characteristics Productivity Food value chains
• MEDIUM-HIGH PER CAPITA
INCOME
• STILL LARGE OPPORTUNITY
FOR PRODUCTIVITY GAINS
• NUTRITION INEQUALITY
(UNDER-NUTRITION AND
EMERGING EPIDEMIC OF
CHRONIC DISEASE)
• GREATER ATTENTION TO
SUSTAINABILITY AND
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
• FINANCIAL SERVICES
• INPUT MARKETS AND
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
• DIVERSITY INTO HIGH VALUE
ADDED CROPS
• AGRIBUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT
• INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS
AND REGULATORY SYSTEMS FOR
SMALLHOLDER INTEGRATION
INTO FOOD VALUE CHAINS.
• STRENGTHENING OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE
PARTNERSHIPS TO
ENCOURAGE GENERAL RURAL
INVESTMENT,
• FORTIFIED FOOD PRODUCTS
• IMPROVED REGULATORY
ENVIRONMENT FOR FOOD SAFETY
• FOCUS ON SECTOR BEING THE
SOURCE OF FOOD AS A SOURCE
OF MODERATELY PRICED WAGE
GOODS FOR GROWING URBAN
MANUFACTURING AND
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT

10. Role of Health and Nutrition in
Agricultural Development
• For poorest populations in Africa and South Asia
• Health and well-being in rural areas lag far behind urban areas
• Productivity effects more serious where physical labor critical input
• Women are particularly vulnerable
- Employment patterns:
- women play a predominant role in the production of food crops ;
especially in Africa.
- Biological vulnerabilities:
- women have special vulnerabilities related to reproductive health
and they are adversely affected by health and nutrition risks.
- Life responsibilities:
- women have a set of unique responsibilities in the home,
particularly in terms of the care of children.