Objectives: To review the impact of agriculture interventions on nutritional status in participating households, and to analyse the characteristics of interventions that improved nutrition outcomes. Design: We identified and reviewed reports describing 30 agriculture interventions that measured impact on nutritional status. The interventions reviewed included home gardening, livestock, mixed garden and livestock, cash cropping, and irrigation. We examined the reports for the scientific quality of the research design and treatment of the data. We also assessed whether the projects invested in five types of 'capital' (physical, natural, financial, human and social) as defined in the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework, a conceptual map of major factors that affect people's livelihoods. Results: Most agriculture interventions increased food production, but did not necessarily improve nutrition or health within participating households. Nutrition was improved in 11 of 13 home gardening interventions, and in 11 of 17 other types of intervention. Of the 19 interventions that had a positive effect on nutrition, 14 of them invested in four or five types of capital in addition to the agriculture intervention. Of the nine interventions that had a negative or no effect on nutrition, only one invested in four or five types of capital. Conclusions: Those agriculture interventions that invested broadly in different types of capital were more likely to improve nutrition outcomes. Those projects which invested in human capital (especially nutrition education and consideration of gender issues), and other types of capital, had a greater likelihood of effecting positive nutritional change, but such investment is neither sufficient nor always necessary to effect change.

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Background: Information is needed on dietary adequacy of Arctic indigenous populations in Canada. Extensive work has been completed on composition of Arctic food and food use, and dietary reference intakes are available. Objective: To complete the first comprehensive dietary adequacy assessment of three populations of adult Arctic indigenous people. Setting and subjects: Dietary assessment interviews were conducted with randomly selected indigenous adults during two seasons in 44 representative communities of Yukon First Nations (n 5 797), Dene/Métis, (n 5 1007) and Inuit (n 5 1525). Methods: Twenty-four-hour recalls were used to derive adjusted distributions of usual nutrient intakes in four age/gender groups for assessment of dietary adequacy for carbohydrate, dietary fibre, protein, n-3 fatty acids, n-6 fatty acids, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, selenium, zinc, vitamin A, riboflavin, folate, vitamin B 6 , vitamin C, vitamin D and vitamin E. Results: Nutrients with high prevalence of adequacy for most age/gender groups in all three cultures were protein, carbohydrate, n-3 fatty acids, iron, copper, zinc, manganese, selenium, riboflavin and vitamin B 6 ; some individuals exceeded the upper intake level for iron, zinc, selenium, vitamin A and vitamin D. Estimated average requirement nutrients of concern for adequacy were magnesium, folate, vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E; however, a few age/gender groups were exceptions. Prevalence of inadequacy for AI nutrients which may be undesirably high were fibre, n-6 fatty acids and calcium. Vitamin D was more adequate in Inuit women and men than for Yukon First Nations or Dene/Métis. Conclusions: Unique patterns of dietary adequacy exist among Arctic indigenous peoples. Local wildlife food sources and market food sources should be maximised for their nutrient contributions to Arctic diets.

Globally, many poor households rely on agriculture for their livelihoods, and this remains true even when livelihoods are diversified. Poor households are also most vulnerable to undernutrition, including lack of micronutrients. Over the last decades, a variety of organizations have aimed to harness agriculture for nutrition. Agricultural approaches have the potential to substantially impact nutritional outcomes in a sustainable way, but there is insufficient understanding of the evidence base for this potential impact and of how best to achieve this potential. This chapter aims to consolidate the available evidence linking agricultural interventions to nutrition outcomes. First, the chapter describes five pathways through which agricultural interventions can impact nutrition: consumption of own production; increases in income; reductions in market prices; shifts in consumer preferences; and shifts in control of resources. Second, we review four types of studies that provide insights about links between agriculture and nutrition: early studies of agricultural commercialization; studies of women in agriculture; studies of horticultural interventions; and studies of livestock and aquaculture interventions. Consistent themes include the importance of integrating well-designed behaviour-change communications and careful consideration of gender dimensions. Third, we present two case studies that show how well-designed interventions can successfully diversify diets and/or impact micronutrient intakes and nutritional status outcomes; the second case study illustrates impact at scale. The review yields lessons for design of future interventions and for evaluation design, and identifies critical areas for future work, which include investigations of cost-effectiveness, scaling up processes and sustainability.

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Long-term efforts to improve child nutrition through participatory agricultural interventions had a significant effect on child growth.

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