Improving family nutrition

Food is the natural link between the agriculture and nutrition sectors, yet they are frequently seen as having different priorities and expertise. Agriculture traditionally focuses on reducing hunger through higher productivity and profitability, whilst nutrition largely addresses issues of quality and balance of diet to eliminate malnutrition and improve health.

In recent years, the definition of food security has expanded to include not only sufficient, but also appropriate food to meets the need of growth, activity and the maintenance of good health.  Globally, more than 180 million (33%) of pre-school children are malnourished, and malnutrition is a factor in more than half the deaths of children under five in developing countries, so productivity increases in agriculture are important for gains in child survival. Malnourished mothers tend to give birth to low birth weight babies, who in turn are susceptible to disease. Agricultural research can help break this cycle through facilitating more nutritionally-varied diets, contributing not just calories but also micronutrients e.g. Vitamin A, iron and iodine.

Insufficient intake of Vitamin A among children in developing countries is the leading cause of preventable severe visual impairment and blindness (over three million children under five in sub-Saharan Africa alone) and contributes to infections and even death.  In addition, pregnant women who are Vitamin A deficient, face increased risk of mortality and mother-to-child HIV transmission. DFID collaboration with the NGO BUCADEF in Uganda has resulted in widespread distribution of new varieties of the key food security crop (orange-fleshed) sweet potato, which not only have enhanced levels of beta-carotene to help reduce Vitamin A deficiency, but are also disease-resistant and higher yielding than existing local varieties

Similarly, fruit and vegetables supply essential micronutrients which help prevent non-communicable diseases, but their low consumption is a persistent problem in much of the developing world. This is partly due to issues of seasonality but also because whilst farmers are happy to grow small amounts for home consumption, they are reluctant to grow more because their highly perishable nature and traditional difficulties with storage or access to markets, means farmers are often forced to sell when they can, even for lower prices.

DFID research in Zimbabwe has identified packaging and processing techniques that extend shelf-life for over 25 species of African indigenous vegetables and produced a CD ROM to increase awareness about the nutritional benefits of vegetables and identify new markets.  As a result, government policy in Zimbabwe has changed and indigenous vegetables are now a national priority crop for horticultural research.  Researchers have produced an issues paper, downloadable from the Web, which reviews processes through which nutrients are commonly lost from food during processing and storage and gives policy recommendations on how these losses can be minimised.

Fish is a vital food for poor people as it is one of the main sources of low-cost protein, particularly critical for nursing mothers and babies.  Emerging DFID research on tilapia farming throughout Asia has shown that production intensification and use of cheaper plant oil, rather than fish oil and meal in fish feed, is resulting in declining levels of beneficial ‘omega’-3 fatty acid (essential for brain and eye development in children and a healthy heart in adults), in the final product. This has a huge potential negative impact on the health of millions of people throughout the region.

It is clear that greater co-ordination and lesson-learning is needed between the nutrition and agriculture sectors, with greater consideration of relevant issues in respective policy development and joint funding interventions. Policy-makers should also:

• recognise that increasing female income is more likely to have a beneficial effect on the health and nutritional wellbeing of a family, and so give greater consideration to issues of gender in accessing resources and family decision-making
• give greater attention to post-harvest technologies for minimisation of nutrient loss and reduced seasonal fluctuations in food
• consider implementation of a food chain approach to research which links producers, processors and consumers to anticipate potential barriers to impact before they arise
• recognise that positive interventions in one sector may have negative impacts in another, so proper systems or trade-off analysis between sectors will need to be undertaken at the outset.

Source(s):
'Working to improve family nutrition', in id21 Insights Health #5, May 2004
'Natural resource management and human health: the forgotten link?'

Funded by: UK Department for International Development

id21 Research Highlight: 14 May 2004

Further Information:
James Muir
Aquaculture and Fish Genetics Programme
Institute of Aquaculture
University of Stirling
Stirling FK9 4LA
UK

Contact the contributor: j.f.muir@stir.ac.uk

Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling. UK

Other related links:
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'Supporting local knowledge and protecting resources'

'Food systems and security: helping the poor to cope'

'Animal to human: controlling diseases which affect poor people in livestock'

'Gut reaction: simple steps to improve food safety and sanitation'

'Sustainable solutions to environmental and human health'

'Spreading the word'