EDN Issue 142 - Now Available
Published
2019-01-30
In this issue:
- Understanding Agriculture-Nutrition Linkages
- EIAC 2018 Topic Summaries
- Echoes from our Network: Intercropping Native Shrubs
- From ECHO's Seed Bank: Rollinia
- Books, Web Sites and Other Resources: Feed the Future Technical Briefs
Understanding Agriculture-Nutrition Linkages
By: Cecilia Gonzalez
Excerpt:
In recent years, much attention has been given to the connections between agriculture and nutrition in the development sector as a whole. These connections may seem obvious: we get nourishment from the food we eat, and we eat food produced by agriculture. However, the claim that agriculture interventions (e.g. home gardens) can improve nutrition has come under scrutiny, because of the lack of evidence to substantiate it (Masset et al. 2012; Girard et al. 2012).
At the same time, recent efforts have helped us to better understand these linkages and to begin to close the evidence gaps. Agriculture plays an indispensable role in development, and though it doesn’t automatically improve nutrition, its potential to do so is undeniable. The recent efforts have provided important frameworks for program design and for implementing agriculture interventions that aim to improve the nutrition of vulnerable populations. These frameworks for “nutrition-sensitive agriculture” interventions help us make sense of complex problems and identify pathways to solutions.