Agricultural Pathways to Improved Nutri8on: Ge<ng Policies Right!
Prabhu Pingali Professor of Applied Economics & Director, Tata-‐Cornell Ini8a8ve for Agriculture & Nutri8on, Cornell University
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Tata-‐Cornell Agriculture and Nutri8on Ini8a8ve
• Persistence of under weight births & Childhood stun5ng
• Rising inequality in food & nutri5on access • Increasing incidence of obesity • Growing food safety concerns
2 TCi 2013©
Global Nutri8onal Challenges
3 TCi 2013©
The nature and magnitude of the nutri8onal challenge varies by the stage of structural transforma8on of a country
Structural Transforma5on: what is it?
Four inter-‐related processes define structural transforma5on: • A declining share of agriculture in GDP and employment
• A rural to urban migra5on that s5mulates the process of urbaniza5on
• The rise of a modern industrial and service sector • A demographic transi5on from high to low rates of births and deaths
TCi 2013©
Structural transforma8on: what is it?
TCi 2013©
Structural Transforma8on is a Historical and Universal Phenomenon
Low Productivity Agriculture
Commercialized Agriculture
Modernizing Agriculture
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
-1,000 4,000 9,000 14,000 19,000 24,000 29,000 34,000 39,000 44,000 49,000 54,000
Share of Agriculture (%#GDP)#
GDP (US$ per Capita)
Low Income
Lower Middle Income
Upper Middle Income
High Income
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
-1,000 4,000 9,000 14,000 19,000 24,000 29,000 34,000 39,000 44,000 49,000 54,000
GDP (US$ per Capita)
Share of Agriculture
(% GDP)
High Human DevelopmentMedium Human DevelopmentLow Human Development
TCi 2013©
Structural Transforma8on, Human Development, and Agricultural Performance
7 Webb P , and Block S PNAS 2012;109:12309-12314
Structural Transforma8on and Nutri8on
Global map of stun5ng
8
The first 1,000 days of life…
9
~9 months in utero
~6 months breasPeeding
Early childhood
Message: to impact child nutri5on and safeguard cogni5ve and physical development, targe8ng women and girls during childbearing years (ages 15-‐45) is essen8al.
TCi 2013©
‘window of opportunity’
10
11 TCi 2013©
So what does agriculture have to do with it?
12 Webb P , and Block S PNAS 2012;109:12309-12314
Effect of policy support for agriculture versus non-‐agriculture on the prevalence of stun8ng
13
Nutri8on is mul8dimensional
©Tata-‐Cornell Agriculture and Nutri8on Ini8a8ve (TCi), 2013
14 ©Tata-‐Cornell Agriculture and Nutri8on Ini8a8ve (TCi), 2013
For rural households, agriculture is central to food access
Agricultural policies are central for influencing: • Rural household
income (food affordability)
• Regional/local food supply (produc8vity and food diversity)
INCREASED MATERNAL HEALTH AND REDUCTION IN CHILDHOOD STUNTING
TCi 2013©
15 ©Tata-‐Cornell Agriculture and Nutri8on Ini8a8ve (TCi), 2013
Agriculture is only part of the equa8on, complimentary policies are essen8al
Complimentary policies for behavior change and environmental change are essen8al components: • Behavior (educa8on,
women’s empowerment, etc.)
• Water, sanita8on, and hygiene efforts
INCREASED MATERNAL HEALTH AND REDUCTION IN CHILDHOOD STUNTING
Food system classifica8on
Characteris8cs
Low produc5ve systems
• Li[le to no Green Revolu5on gains • Low per capita income • Low agricultural produc5vity • Low diet diversity • High under nutri5on & micronutrient malnutri5on
Modernizing Systems
• Green Revolu5on gains • Low-‐medium per capita income • Moderate agricultural produc5vity • Moderate diet diversity • Persistent micronutrient malnutri5on
Commercial/export systems
• Medium-‐high per capita income • Higher opportunity for agricultural produc5vity • High diet diversity • coexistence of under nutri5on and over nutri5on
16
One size does not fit all… contextualizing ag-‐nutri8on policies
TCi 2013©
17
Vicious cycles of low produc8vity systems…
TCi 2013©
Low diet diversity
High rela5ve price of non-‐staples
Poverty
Micronutrient malnutri5on
Low produc5ve staple crop systems
18
Low produc8ve agriculture: policy recommenda8ons
Context-‐specific focus
Specific policies
• Cereal-‐based intensifica0on strategies
• Produc0vity-‐focused investments for smallholder farmers
• Biofor0fica0on of staple crops • For0fica0on of staples
• Complimentary interven0ons
• Kitchen gardens for year-‐round access to micronutrient-‐rich foods
• Backyard livestock and poultry • Social safety net programs for the
most vulnerable
TCi 2013©
19
Modernizing systems and dietary change: how could the story go?
TCi 2013©
Income increases
Increasing produc5vity for staples
Demand for non staples increases
Increases in cereal (calorie) supply and reduced cereal prices
Farmers diversify into new, developing markets for micronutrient and protein-‐dense foods
Food supply diversity increases
Agriculture commercializa5on con5nues
20
Modernizing food systems: stalled progress because of misaligned incen8ves and policies changes the story
TCi 2013©
Income increases
Increasing produc5vity for staples
Demand for non staples increases
Increases in cereal (calorie) supply and reduced cereal prices
Farmers diversify into new, developing markets for micronutrient and protein-‐dense foods
Food supply diversity increases
This link depends on policy and market environment
Agriculture commercializa5on con5nues
21 TCi 2013©
When policies and market incen5ves don’t enable farmers to meet a growing demand for non-‐staples, the the result is: • Limited supply of micronutrient and
protein-‐dense foods • Impacts for dietary diversity
availability • Sustained high rela5ve prices of non-‐
staples • Impacts for dietary diversity
affordability • Agriculture incomes lag behind
• Impacts on absolute food budgets
All too oden, poor policy and market environments halt or disable diet transforma8on…
Demand for non staples increases
Farmers diversify into new, developing markets for micronutrient and protein-‐dense foods
This link depends on policy and market environment
22
Modernizing Agricultural Systems: policy recommenda8ons
TCi 2013©
Context-‐specific focus Specific policies
Linking farmers to markets
• Investments in infrastructure • Investments in essen5al ins5tu5ons (credit, insurance,
land rights, etc.) • Investments in public-‐private partnerships
Strengthening demand for micronutrient and protein-‐rich foods
• Policies that establish product standards and be[er trading rela5onships
• Policies improving food safety
Suppor5ng agriculture as a business
• Upgrading tradi5onal markets and inves5ng in informal actors
• For poorest popula5ons in Africa and South Asia • Health and well-‐being in rural areas lag far behind urban areas • Produc5vity effects more serious where physical labor cri5cal input
• Women are par5cularly vulnerable -‐ Employment paCerns:
-‐ women play a predominant role in the produc5on of food crops ; especially in Africa.
-‐ Biological vulnerabili0es: -‐ women have special vulnerabili5es related to reproduc5ve health and they are adversely affected by health and nutri5on risks.
-‐ Life responsibili0es: -‐ women have a set of unique responsibili5es in the home, par5cularly in terms of the care of children.
Role of Health and Nutri8on in Agricultural Development
TCi 2013©
24
Complimentary policies
Behavior change: • Educa5on,
extension
Harnessing the power of women’s groups. • Nutri5on
messaging through women’s groups
Water, sanita5on, hygiene • Clean water technology
development • Sanita5on technologies
TCi 2013©
25
The con8nuing relevance of agriculture in all stages of development: key policy priori8es
Investments in enhancing of food supply • Investments in technology, research and development for produc5vity and
nutri5on enhancement • Investments in post-‐harvest technologies and infrastructure Agri-‐market investments • Investments necessary to connect farmers to markets • Policies aimed at opening up foreign direct investment in food value chains • Moderniza5on of extension • Broadening extension to include nutri5on messaging Investments in health and social environment • Investments in sanita5on (toilets) and access to clean water • Empowerment of women and incen5vizing women’s self-‐help groups Investments for food affordability and access • Rela5ve price changes • Con5nua5on of safety net programs that target vulnerable popula5ons
Thank you!
26
Website: tci.cals.cornell.edu Blog: blogs.cornell.edu/agricultureandnutri8on/
Thank you!
Top Related