Food production and consumption in Bamyan Province, Afghanistan: the challenges of sustainability and seasonality for dietary diversity

Abstract

In Asia, high levels of malnutrition threaten the health and livelihoods of millions of households. This paper concentrates on linkages between agriculture and nutrition in Afghanistan where food and nutrition insecurity are increasing and agricultural sustainability is increasingly compromised by climate change. We explore seasonal patterns of food production and consumption in the remote and robust ecological environment of Shah Foladi, Bamyan Province. Analysis of qualitative data from household interviews in eight villages has provided a wealth of insights into the seasonality of diets. Even within a broadly homogeneous environment, households were found to be markedly heterogeneous in respect of their assets, production, market, finance and employment strategies. The so-called 'lean season' was found to vary accordingly. Nevertheless, a general lack of dietary diversity during much of the year is likely to cause micronutrient malnutrition, especially for the vulnerable groups of children, adolescent girls and women. Potential interventions are proposed which need to account for the local context in order to overcome the natural and political constraints. These strategies include agricultural innovation and multi-sectoral policy approaches. In the end, reducing national insecurity is a prerequisite for sustainable improvement in nutrition-sensitive agricultural development.

Viewpoint: Agri-nutrition research: Revisiting the contribution of maize and wheat to human nutrition and health

“…Dietary diversity is a proxy for nutrient adequacy ( FAO 2010 ) and is inferred from estimates of the nutrient content and frequency of consumption of foods from different food groups, elicited through individual and household surveys ( Zezza et al, 2017 , Ruel, 2003a , WFP, 2008 ). We are learning more of the gaps in rural and urban populations in terms of access to more diverse diets, i.e., those richer in fruits and vegetables, and about less-nutritious patterns of consumption of processed foods and beverages ( Penny et al, 2017 , Law et al, 2019 , Bren d’Amour et al, 2020 ), and the differential distributional impacts of temporal, spatial and socioeconomic dimensions of local food environments ( Duran et al, 2016 , Flores-Martínez et al, 2016 , Sibhatu and Qaim, 2017 , Bakker et al, 2018 , Poole et al, 2019 , Zanello et al, 2019 ).…”

Nutrition sensitive food systems in conflict affected regions: A case study of Afghanistan

“…It is argued that policies often developed at the central level are not reflective of provincial conditions. A systematic and multisectoral approach is needed to complement location-specific initiatives on food and nutrition (Poole et al 2016;Poole et al 2019). Prevalence of conflict has also weakened the ability to collect data and conduct research.…”

“…Prevalence of conflict has also weakened the ability to collect data and conduct research. A recent study which aimed to understand the factors affecting household level food and nutrition security in the Bamyan province of Afghanistan had to limit the scope of research study design due to physical insecurity arising from ongoing conflict in the province (Poole et al 2019). Insecurity and conflict result in low accountability of local and national systems.…”

“…Dietary diversity has been a major challenge in the country but there is evidence to show that multi-stakeholder coordination linking horticulture, gender, education, and nutrition could help (Alim and Hossain 2018;Poole et al 2019). Further, integrated and multi-stakeholder approaches in the form of public investment in infrastructure, energy, and communications technologies that are necessary for the development of viable local agribusiness and markets and integrated delivery of development services are also currently weak due to the fragile state of the country (Poole et al 2019).…”

Assessment of Food security situation in Afghanistan

“…Generally, Afghani people usually have a staple diet from wheat bread and tea. Approximately 70 % of rural households have low dietary diversity (Poole, Amiri et al, 2019). This national-level per person per day of food consumption was obtained in FAOSTAT from 1989 to 2018 for different grams of food items.…”