Agricultural Pathways to Improved

Nutrition – Getting Policies Right!

Prabhu Pingali

Professor of Applied Economics

&

Director, Tata-Cornell Initiative for Agriculture & Nutrition

Cornell University

HH Incomes

HH Food Access

Individual Food

Intake

Individual Nutrition (e.g. stunting,

wasting)

Agricultural Interventions

Other Interventions (e.g. Health, Education)

e.g. relative

prices of foods

and non-foods,

diet diversity

e.g. gender

empowerment,

HH behavior,

demographics

e.g. sanitation

and hygiene,

health

conditions,

nutrition

practices

calorie

requirements

e.g. Ag productivity growth and

poverty reduction

e.g. food price effects, fortification,

bio-fortification

e.g. ag empowerme

nt, labor

e.g. food safety

Mediating Factors

Agriculture – Nutrition Pathways:

A Conceptual Framework

Source: BMGF Agriculture Division

Agriculture – Nutrition Pathways:A Conceptual Framework

HOUSEHOLD INCOME ALLOCATION OF FOOD

MICRONUTRIENT AND FOOD AVAILABILITY

NUTRIENT ABSORBTION AND UTILIZATION

Determined by:

• Distribution and consumption of food within the household.

• Household size, age, gender, and health status (pregnant women, young children).

Determined by:

• Access to clean drinking water.

• Toilet availability and sanitation.

Determined by:

• Spatial location of household (proximity to diverse food retailers).

• Agricultural diversification and livestock.

• Diversity in food production.

• Government interventions and safety-net programs.

Determined by:

• Smallholder agricultural productivity.

• Off-farm employment.

• Household labor allocation.

• Seasonality (labor, food production).

Relative food

prices and price

policy

Sector-specific

policies

Age, gender,

education

Extent and type

of agricultural

commercial-

ization

Access to inputs,

technology,

extension

services, or credit

Gender norms

and behavior.

INDIVIDUAL

NUTRITION

HOUSEHOLD FOOD ACCESSS(Quantity, quality and diversity of food)

INDIVIDUAL NUTRITION(Individual intake and absorption of

nutrient-dense foods)

Unique health

conditions

Necessary food

safety standards.

Individual

calorie and

micronutrient

needs

Me

dia

ting

Fac

tors

Me

dia

tin

g F

ac

tors

Women’s

empower

ment

Agriculture & Food Supply Policies

� Persistence of Green Revolution focus on staple grains

� Poor support for coarse grains, legumes, lentils, etc

� Lack of attention to high relative prices of micro-nutrient

dense food – horticulture, livestock products

� High costs of smallholder linkage to organized food

chains

4

What are the options for crop-

neutral intensification?

5

Food Based Interventions

� Promotion of bio –

fortified food – ex

ante assessment

and enabling

policies

� Impact of food &

cash based safety

net programs

6

From traditional extension to

community based behavior change

� Community participatory approaches to learning and

change

� Women as drivers of change

� Role of ICTs in scaling up behavior change messages

7

From agriculture & nutrition silos

to an agriculture-nutrition nexus

8

HH Income

Micronutrient and food access

Intra-household

food allocation

Nutrient Absorption

and Utilization

UN MDGs along the agriculture-nutrition

pathway

HH Income

Micronutrient and food access

Intra-household

food allocation

Nutrient Absorption

and Utilization

Agricultural Interventions

Other Interventions (e.g. Health, Education)

NREGA, NRLM, RKVY,

NHM

PDS, NFSM ICDS

MDM

NRHM

An Example from India:

Government interventions along the

pathway

ICDS,

TSM/WATSAN

Relevance of agriculture for the first

1000 days (from conception through

the first two years)?

Its about the nutrition & health of the

mother

Breaking silos and building

convergence across sectoral

interventions

� Setting clear and measurable goals (eg: Reduction in

child stunting by --% in –years)

� Goals and performance indicators need to cascade

down to the community level

� Convergence of disparate government interventions

happens at the community level and needs to be locally

managed.

� Frequent and transparent monitoring of progress towards

goals needs to be established

12

Rural change through women’s

empowerment

Women’s Self Help Group,

Wardha District, Maharashtra

Planning Sustainable Land

Use, Kunti, Jharkhand

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