Nutrition-sensitive agriculture: new term or new concept?

Abstract

Background: Within the post-2015 agenda discussions of the United Nations, sustainable development goals (SDGs) are being drafted. In this context, nutrition-sensitive agriculture has been introduced. Nutrition-sensitive approaches in general are not new. They refer to improving or at least avoiding harm to the underlying and basic causes of malnutrition presented in the UNICEF conceptual framework. In order to answer the question of whether nutrition-sensitive agriculture is only a new term or also a new actionable concept with a comprehensive definition, framework, and political will, a questionnaire-based survey with representatives from 18 agricultural ministries of various countries was conducted on the basis of a literature review. Furthermore, the Final Communiqué of the Berlin Agriculture Ministers' Summit 2014 was analyzed as an indication of political commitment following the steps of the qualitative content analysis of Mayring. Results: Care was considered less than food security and health in the responses to the questionnaire and was not mentioned at all in the final communiqué. In the survey and the communiqué, mainly health aspects related to food safety and water issues were mentioned. However, the most mentioned aspect regarding food security was diversification/diversity. Because of the small sample size of the survey, the findings cannot be generalized. Nevertheless, together with the analysis of the communiqué, the results give some valuable insight into the interests of agricultural politicians for nutrition-sensitive agriculture and indicate that nutrition-sensitive agriculture has rarely been discussed from a systemic perspective. This is confirmed in the criticism expressed that an opportunity to address nutrition in a multisectoral approach that considers all underlying causes of malnutrition-food insecurity, poor health, and lack of care-was missed during the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2). Conclusions: In conclusion, nutrition-sensitive agriculture seems to be more of a term than a concept at the time of this study. To make ICN2 count in coming years and comprehensively address nutrition through a SDG, a systemic approach and true cross-sector collaboration are needed.

Crossing Sociological, Ecological, and Nutritional Perspectives on Agrifood Systems Transitions: Towards a Transdisciplinary Territorial Approach

“…"Nutrition-sensitive agriculture" is another approach that has been developed recently to address the challenge of ensuring the production of a diversified range of affordable, nutritious, culturally appropriate and safe products in sufficient quantity and quality to meet the dietary requirements of populations in a sustainable manner [26]. However, it appears more as a political term used in international institutions' discourses than as an "actionable concept" that could orientate food systems transitions [27].…”

Labeling Nutrition-Sensitive Food Chains: A Consumer Preference Analysis of Milk Products

“…At a time when hunger is manifested among 821 million undernourished people ( 1 ), agriculture for nutrition has increasingly become a key intervention area for the second Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 2) ( 2 ). This reflects a gradual shift from contemporary food systems, which mainly focus on increased calorie production, to nutrition-sensitive agriculture, which builds upon value-added systems that deliver a healthy diet to consumers ( 3 , 4 ). With this, the number of people facing food deprivation is expected to reduce in a more sustainable manner ( 5 ).…”

“…Whereas, the impact of agriculture on nutrition is often questioned ( 6 , 7 ), inclusion of a food value chain perspective can further strengthen the effectiveness of nutrition-sensitive agriculture ( 8 ). A nutrition-sensitive value chain approach is one that “explicitly incorporates nutrition objectives and indicators into agriculture and addresses the utilization dimension of food and nutrition security” ( 3 ), thereby underpinning chain activities or processes that consider the nutritional status of food as a consumer benefit ( 9 ). As such, a value-chain contribution to nutritional outcomes is possible because value-chain approaches provide opportunities to retain and add nutritional value or prevent loss along the food chain ( 10 , 11 ).…”

“…As such, consumers need information about the nutritional state in which food is produced, stored, distributed, and retailed before a purchase or consumption decision is made. Nutritional value, once communicated as a credence attribute, builds trust among consumers to confidently ascertain whether nutrition objectives were holistically considered along the entire value chain ( 3 , 38 , 39 ). This reasoning is similar to other approaches (e.g., fair trade, animal welfare, free range or organic), which also illustrates the process of food production ( 37 , 40 , 41 ).…”

Linkages between health and agriculture sectors in Ethiopia: a formative research study exploring barriers, facilitators and opportunities for local level coordination to deliver nutritional programmes and services

“…Promotion of nutrition-sensitive agriculture can contribute to improved dietary diversity and increased income (from agricultural activities) can facilitate the purchase of nutritious food and health services [7]. However, intra-sectoral political commitment to nutrition-sensitive approaches is often limited in agriculture [8].…”