Agriculture for Nutrition and Health: Value Chains for Enhanced Nutrition

Summer Allen

Markets, Trade and Institutions Division, IFPRI

Photo credit: Summer Allen, IFPRI

Purpose

Inadequate nutritional intake can have widespread short- and long-term health and nutrition consequences.

There are many constraints to adequate nutritional intake: production constraints, preferences, processing/storage, consumption practices, information, prices.

Integration of nutrition objectives in agricultural value chains can support dietary goals for undernourished populations

Goals

Leverage value chains for nutrient-rich (high-value) foods to increase production and consumption among poor households (especially women, infants, and young children).

Development of new approaches and tools to:

• Analyze value chains using a “nutrition lens”

• Address information asymmetries in nutrition among the value chain participants

• Establish public-private partnerships that can support sustainable market interventions

Support of CG-wide research

Supported 5 seed grants and advisory:

• Vegetable seed provision in Bangladesh (AVRDC)

• Dairy markets in Kenya (ILRI)

• Biofortified yogurt in Bangladesh (IDS, ILRI)

• Dried fish in Bangladesh (WF)

• Fruit value chains in Peru (ICRAF; Bioversity)

MTI offers expertise:

Conducting field research over a range of topics

Analyzing the collected data and evaluating impact

Food Safety in Value Chains

IFPRI program on aflatoxins has been ongoing since 2009 (Aflacontrol)

Agreement from many partners (CIMMYT, ICRISAT, IITA, ILRI) that mycotoxins are a key area for food safety and trade in Africa and an important research area for A4NH.

Building upon this work, a few projects related to food safety are being pursued.

Projects are done through partnerships both internal and external to the CG system.

Maize Value Chains - Kenya

Increased concern regarding linkages between aflatoxin and health outcomes.

Activities:

Evaluation of aflatoxin prevalence in home-grown maize stocks and marketed flour;

Testing of various drying techniques to reduce contamination (partnership with ACDI/VOCA);

Demand analysis for improved drying techniques;

First RCT to experimentally assess impact of aflatoxin exposure on child development

Partnerships Possible with Maize Value Chains

Texas Office of the State Chemist and local millers:

Build capacity of commercial millers for testing

3rd party verification by Aflatoxin Proficiency Testing for Eastern and Central Africa (APTECA);

Univ of Western Michigan: Consumer response to new product attributes, discounts and marketing

Dairy Value Chains - India

India is the largest producer of milk in the world (75 million rural families); Challenged by quality issues

Evaluation of food safety practices

Assessment of the impact of information on consumer choices

Experiments analyze uptake for certified milk (pasteurized and certified milk sold at a premium)

Integration of Nutrition in Value Chains

Integrated and pursued in various MTID research projects

Includes partnerships with institutions, NGOs, and universities

Relies upon close coordination with local nutritionists or nutrition-focused groups

Allows work with self-help groups and local development organizations that strengthens their outcomes using a value chain approach

Nutritious Food Consumption- Bangladesh

• Partnership with GAIN, Banchte Shekha, and DATA

• Understanding the determinants of young women’s decision-making power in food purchasing and cooking decisions

• Nutritional messaging and cooking “contests” (using competitiveness as driver).

• Analyzing learning and behavioral change.

Photo credit: Berber Kramer, IFPRI

Pulse Value Chains-India

Working with local NGOs (iKure; PRADAN) and McGill University

Increase pulse productivity and household nutrition

Provide nutrition training and health camps as well as seeds

Photo credit: Srivardhini K Jha

Vegetable Value Chain- India

Working with local NGOs (eKutir) and McGill University

Creating markets for vegetable production in both rural and peri-urban areas

Providing entrepreneur training

Photo credit: Summer Allen, IFPRI

Moving Forward with VCN

Additional piloting of nutrition tools for use in VCN survey instruments

Creating typologies that inform opportunity-based targeting.

Additional projects are in planning stages or under consideration (groundnuts, animal-source foods, pulses, bio-fortified crops)

If interested in projects related to VCN, contact Summer: s.allen@cgiar.org) or Alan de Brauw (a.debrauw@cgiar.org)