Agriculture for Improved Nutrition: The Current Research Landscape

Turner, Rachel; Hawkes, Corinna; Waage, Jeff; Ferguson, Elaine; Haseen, Farhana; Homans, Hilary Yvonne; Hussein, Julia; Johnston, Deborah; Marais, Debbi; McNeill, Geraldine; Shankar, Bhavani

doi:10.1177/156482651303400401

Cited by 61 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…1. For a more detailed analysis of the complex pathways linking agriculture and nutrition, including the different processes, actors, effects and lags, see [2, 12–14]. The package of interventions affects health and nutrition directly by improving diets and feeding practices through the behaviour-change communication and nutritional education.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving child nutrition and development through community-based childcare centres in Malawi – The NEEP-IE study: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Gelli

Margolies

Santacroce

et al. 2017

Trials

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BackgroundThe Nutrition Embedded Evaluation Programme Impact Evaluation (NEEP-IE) study is a cluster randomised controlled trial designed to evaluate the impact of a childcare centre-based integrated nutritional and agricultural intervention on the diets, nutrition and development of young children in Malawi. The intervention includes activities to improve nutritious food production and training/behaviour-change communication to improve food intake, care and hygiene practices. This paper presents the rationale and study design for this randomised control trial.MethodsSixty community-based childcare centres (CBCCs) in rural communities around Zomba district, Malawi, were randomised to either (1) a control group where children were attending CBCCs supported by Save the Children’s Early Childhood Health and Development (ECD) programme, or (2) an intervention group where nutritional and agricultural support activities were provided alongside the routine provision of the Save the Children’s ECD programme. Primary outcomes at child level include dietary intake (measured through 24-h recall), whilst secondary outcomes include child development (Malawi Development Assessment Tool (MDAT)) and nutritional status (anthropometric measurements). At household level, primary outcomes include smallholder farmer production output and crop-mix (recall of last production season). Intermediate outcomes along theorised agricultural and nutritional pathways were measured. During this trial, we will follow a mixed-methods approach and undertake child-, household-, CBCC- and market-level surveys and assessments as well as in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with project stakeholders.DiscussionAssessing the simultaneous impact of preschool meals on diets, nutrition, child development and agriculture is a complex undertaking. This study is the first to explicitly examine, from a food systems perspective, the impact of a preschool meals programme on dietary choices, alongside outcomes in the nutritional, child development and agricultural domains. The findings of this evaluation will provide evidence to support policymakers in the scale-up of national programmes.Trial registrationISRCTN registry, ID: ISRCTN96497560. Registered on 21 September 2016.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13063-017-2003-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving child nutrition and development through community-based childcare centres in Malawi – The NEEP-IE study: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Gelli

Margolies

Santacroce

et al. 2017

Trials

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…A recent scoping assessment of research on the agriculturenutrition nexus identified eight clear research gaps, one of which wasBgovernance, policy processes and political economy as it relates to the development of agriculture-for-nutrition policies and programmes, the ability to implement them (and scale up) and for them to achieve their stated goals once implemented. ( Turner et al 2013). Only six of 151 studies investigated this area (one of which was LANSA).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leveraging agriculture for nutrition in South Asia and East Africa: examining the enabling environment through stakeholder perceptions

et al. 2015

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South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are the two regions of the world with the highest concentration of undernutrition. The majority of the nutritionally vulnerable populations in both regions is dependent in some way upon agriculture as a primary source of livelihood. The agriculture sector and wider agri-food system is considered to be central to sustained progress in reducing undernutrition -and yet not enough is known about how to unleash this potential. Recent scoping assessments have also revealed a paucity of information on wider political, institutional and policy-related challenges relating to the agriculture-nutrition nexus globally. Contextualized research into policy processes and the political economy of agriculture and nutrition is needed to better characterize Benabling environments^for agriculture to benefit nutrition, and how these environments can be shaped and sustained. This study aims to contribute to filling this gap, by drawing upon evidence from a set of case studies in South Asia (India, Bangladesh and Pakistan) and eastern Africa (Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya). In synthesizing results across countries, while recognizing important nuance and detail, we conclude by highlighting four key issues to be addressed. First, improving knowledge and perception of undernutrition and its links to agriculture, on the part of agricultural policymakers and programme managers. Second, generating system-wide incentives for decisions and actions to become more pro-nutrition. Third, developing transparent systems of accountability for nutritionrelevant action throughout the agriculture sector, through linking timely and actionable data and evidence with incentives. And fourth, cultivating and strengthening leadership and capacities at different levels, underpinned by adequate financing.

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“…A crucial grant for LCIRAH was awarded by DFID in 2011 to map current and planned research on agriculture for improved nutrition and to analyze key research gaps . This was a modest scoping exercise, but it allowed LCIRAH to develop, with new partners, a conceptual framework for Agri‐Health research and to identify key research needs.…”

Section: Expanding the Lcirah Research Platformmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating Agriculture and Health Research for Development: LCIRAH as an Interdisciplinary Programme to Address a Global Challenge

et al. 2018

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The multiple burdens of persistent undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies, along with the rapidly growing rates of overweight, obesity, and associated chronic diseases, are major challenges globally. The role of agriculture and the food system in meeting these challenges is very poorly understood. Achieving food security and addressing malnutrition in all its forms, a Sustainable Development Goal, requires an understanding of how changing food systems affect health outcomes and the development of new tools to design and evaluate interventions. An interinstitutional programme to address this interdisciplinary research challenge is described. Over the past seven years, the Leverhulme Centre for Integrative Research on Agriculture and Health has built a portfolio of successful and innovative research, trained a new cadre of interdisciplinary researchers in “Agri‐Health,” and built an international research community with a particular focus on strengthening research capacity in low‐ and middle‐income countries. The evolution of this programme is described, and key factors contributing to its success are discussed that may be of general value in designing interdisciplinary research programmes directed at supporting global development goals.

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Agriculture for Improved Nutrition: The Current Research Landscape

Cited by 61 publications

References 9 publications

Improving child nutrition and development through community-based childcare centres in Malawi – The NEEP-IE study: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Improving child nutrition and development through community-based childcare centres in Malawi – The NEEP-IE study: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Leveraging agriculture for nutrition in South Asia and East Africa: examining the enabling environment through stakeholder perceptions

Integrating Agriculture and Health Research for Development: LCIRAH as an Interdisciplinary Programme to Address a Global Challenge

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