Download or read book Irrigation nutrition linkages Evidence from northern Ghana written by Mekonnen, Dawit Kelemework and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2019-12-11 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We analyze the linkages between irrigation and nutrition using data from irrigators and non-irrigators in Northern Ghana. The results show that (i) there is a modest difference in the overall household dietary diversity score between irrigators and non-irrigators, (ii) there are significant differences in the consumption of animal source foods between irrigators and non-irrigators, (iii) there are significant differences in the consumption of fruits and vegetables as well as sugar and honey between irrigators and non-irrigators, and (iv) the sources of food consumption differ between irrigators and non-irrigators. The analysis shows strong association between households’ nutritional status and their access to irrigation, with evidences suggesting that the irrigation-nutrition linkages play out both through the income and production pathways in Northern Ghana.

Download or read book Exploring small scale irrigation nutrition linkages written by Choufani, Jowel and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2021-12-28 with total page 4 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The evidence on the potential for agricultural interventions to contribute to improved nutrition has grown considerably over the past decade (Ruel et al., 2018). Numerous studies have explored both positive and negative effects of agriculture on nutrition and health (Ruel and Alderman, 2013; Herforth and Harris, 2014; Masset et al., 2012; Hoddinott, 2012). However, as an important and growing component of agriculture, smallscale irrigation has not yet been given the attention it deserves. The Innovation Laboratory for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI) set out, among others, to fill the evidence gap on irrigation-nutrition linkages. Domènech (2015) describes several potential pathways through which irrigation can influence food security, nutrition, and health outcomes, including 1) a production pathway, 2) an income pathway, 3) a water supply pathway, and 4) a women’s empowerment pathway. To illustrate these pathways, we adapted the agriculturenutrition framework of Herforth and Harris (2014) to include irrigation (Figure 1), while also noting a fifth, negative pathway that links irrigation to water pollution and disease via the application of fertilizers and pesticides and via supporting vector-borne diseases, such as malaria or schistosomiasis, respectively (Passarelli et al., 2018).

Download or read book Irrigation nutrition Linkages written by Dawit Mekonnen and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Investments in irrigation for global food security written by Ringler, Claudia and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2017-01-10 with total page 4 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What will it take to achieve a level of irrigation investment sufficient to support sustainable agriculture for improved food security and nutrition? Climate change and all the resulting uncertainties are sparking new interest in raising investments in irrigation to enable more stable food production. In order for these investments to pay off, they need to be targeted and ideally should be accompanied by the following: 1. Support for smallholder irrigation systems whenever feasible. 2. Improvements in water-use efficiency 3. Economic incentives to conserve water resources 4. Linkages with other sectors. 5. Linkages between irrigation and nutrition

Download or read book The Impact of Irrigation on Nutrition Health and Gender written by Laia Domenech and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2013-04-11 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agriculture in Africa south of the Sahara (SSA) is still largely rainfed. SSA also exhibits the lowest crop yields for major staples in the world, largely due to low use of irrigation and fertilizer. Rainfed agriculture poses growing production risks with increased climate variability and change. At the same time, smallholder irrigation in the region developed rapidly over the past decade, albeit starting from very low levels. In addition to largely demand-driven irrigation development by smallholders, there is a significant push by donors for large-scale irrigation development, as well as some push for smallholder irrigation. There has also been a long-standing debate about whether irrigation in SSA should be large scale or small scale to achieve its potential. However, given the potentially high rewards, but also high possibility of failure, the assessment of irrigation potential must go beyond large scale versus small scale to integrate concerns regarding environmental sustainability, resource use efficiency, nutrition and health impacts, and women’s empowerment. The hypothesis underlying this review paper is that how irrigation gets deployed in SSA will be decisive not only for environmental sustainability (such as deciding remaining forest cover in the region) and poverty reduction, but also for health, nutrition, and gender outcomes in the region. The focus of this paper is on the health, nutrition, and gender linkage. We find that to date, few studies have analyzed the impact of irrigation interventions on nutrition, health, and women’s empowerment, despite the large potential of irrigation to affect these important variables. Irrigation interventions may have differential effects on different members in the household and in the community, such as irrigators, non-irrigators, children, and women. Measuring and understanding such differences, followed by improving design and implementation to maximize gender, health, and nutrition outcomes, could transform irrigation programs from focusing solely on increased food production toward becoming an integral component of poverty-reduction strategies.

Download or read book Linkages Between Agriculture and Nutrition written by Eileen T. Kennedy and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 1993 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conceptual framework for agriculture/nutrition linkages; Investment in agricultural research; Modernization and technological change in agriculture; Time allocation, nurturing behavior, and income-control linkages; Nutrition as an input into agriculture.

Download or read book Water for Food Security Nutrition and Social Justice written by Lyla Mehta and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-09-19 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is the first comprehensive effort to bring together Water, Food Security and Nutrition (FSN) in a way that goes beyond the traditional focus on irrigated agriculture. Apart from looking at the role of water and sanitation for human well-being, it proposes alternative and more locally appropriate ways to address complex water management and governance challenges from the local to global levels against a backdrop of growing uncertainties. The authors challenge mainstream supply-oriented and neo-Malthusian visions that argue for the need to increase the land area under irrigation in order to feed the world’s growing population. Instead, they argue for a reframing of the debate concerning production processes, waste, food consumption and dietary patterns whilst proposing alternative strategies to improve water and land productivity, putting the interests of marginalized and disenfranchized groups upfront. The book highlights how accessing water for FSN can be challenging for small-holders, vulnerable and marginalized women and men, and how water allocation systems and reform processes can negatively affect local people’s informal rights. The book argues for the need to improve policy coherence across water, land and food and is original in making a case for strengthening the relationship between the human rights to water and food, especially for marginalized women and men. It will be of great interest to practitioners, students and researchers working on water and food issues.

Download or read book Women s Empowerment and Nutrition written by Mara van den Bold and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2013-11-01 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many development programs that aim to alleviate poverty and improve investments in human capital consider women’s empowerment a key pathway by which to achieve impact and often target women as their main beneficiaries. Despite this, women’s empowerment dimensions are often not rigorously measured and are at times merely assumed. This paper starts by reflecting on the concept and measurement of women’s empowerment and then reviews some of the structural interventions that aim to influence underlying gender norms in society and eradicate gender discrimination. It then proceeds to review the evidence of the impact of three types of interventions—cash transfer programs, agricultural interventions, and microfinance programs—on women’s empowerment, nutrition, or both. Qualitative evidence on conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs generally points to positive impacts on women’s empowerment, although quantitative research findings are more heterogenous. CCT programs produce mixed results on long-term nutritional status, and very limited evidence exists of their impacts on micronutrient status. The little evidence available on unconditional cash transters (UCT) indicates mixed impacts on women’s empowerment and positive impacts on nutrition; however, recent reviews comparing CCT and UCT programs have found little difference in terms of their effects on stunting and they have found that conditionality is less important than other factors, such as access to healthcare and child age and sex. Evidence of cash transfer program impacts depending on the gender of the transfer recipient or on the conditionality is also mixed, although CCTs with non-health conditionalities seem to have negative impacts on nutritional status. The impacts of programs based on the gender of the transfer recipient show mixed results, but almost no experimental evidence exists of testing gender-differentiated impacts of a single program. Agricultural interventions—specifically home gardening and dairy projects—show mixed impacts on women’s empowerment measures such as time, workload, and control over income; but they demonstrate very little impact on nutrition. Implementation modalities are shown to determine differential impacts in terms of empowerment and nutrition outcomes. With regard to the impact of microfinance on women’s empowerment, evidence is also mixed, although more recent reviews do not find any impact on women’s empowerment. The impact of microfinance on nutritional status is mixed, with no evidence of impact on micronutrient status. Across all three types of programs (cash transfer programs, agricultural interventions, and microfinance programs), very little evidence exists on pathways of impact, and evidence is often biased toward a particular region. The paper ends with a discussion of the findings and remaining evidence gaps and an outline of recommendations for research.

Download or read book Is Reliable Water Access the Solution to Undernutrition A Review of the Potential of Irrigation to Solve Nutrition and Gender Gaps in Africa South of the Sahara written by Laia Domenech and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Interventions aimed at increasing water availability for livelihood and domestic activities have great potential to improve various determinants of undernutrition, such as the quantity and diversity of foods consumed within the household, income generation, and women's empowerment. However, current evidence on the topic is diluted across many different publications. This paper aims to connect the dots and review the literature available on the linkages between irrigation and food security, improved nutrition, and health. We conclude that the evidence remains insufficient to draw broad conclusions due to the low number of rigorous studies that can be used to assess the linkages. Based on the limited evidence, six factors that should be taken into account in irrigation development to address nutrition and gender gaps with a focus on Africa south of the Sahara are identified: (1) food security and nutrition gains should be stated goals of irrigation programs; (2) training programs and awareness campaigns should accompany irrigation interventions to promote nutrient-dense food production and consumption as well as minimization of health risks; (3) multiple uses of irrigation water should be recognized in order to improve access to water supply and sanitation and livestock and aquatic production; (4) women's empowerment and women's participation in irrigation programs should be promoted; (5) homestead food production should be encouraged; and (6) policy synergies between different sectors (agriculture, nutrition, health, water supply and sanitation, education) should be sought.

Download or read book Nutrition sensitive agriculture written by Ruel, Marie T. and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2017-10-27 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A growing number of governments, donor agencies, and development organizations are committed to supporting nutrition-sensitive agriculture (NSA) to achieve their development goals. Although consensus exists on pathways through which agriculture may influence nutrition-related outcomes, empirical evidence on agriculture’s contribution to nutrition and how it can be enhanced is still weak. This paper reviews recent empirical evidence (since 2014), including findings from impact evaluations of a variety of NSA programs using experimental designs as well as observational studies that document linkages between agriculture, women’s empowerment, and nutrition. It summarizes existing knowledge regarding not only impacts but also pathways, mechanisms, and contextual factors that affect where and how agriculture may improve nutrition outcomes. The paper concludes with reflections on implications for agricultural programs, policies, and investments, and highlights future research priorities.

Download or read book Meeting the nutrition and water targets of the Sustainable Development Goals written by Ringler, C. and published by Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE). This book was released on 2018-12-11 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Agriculture nutrition Linkages written by Eileen T. Kenedy and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Role of Smallholder Farms in Food and Nutrition Security written by Sergio Gomez y Paloma and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-01-01 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book discusses the current role of smallholders in connection with food security and poverty reduction in developing countries. It addresses the opportunities they enjoy, and the constraints they face, by analysing the availability, access to and utilization of production factors. Due to the relevance of smallholder farms, enhancing their production capacities and economic and social resilience could produce positive impacts on food security and nutrition at a number of levels. In addition to the role of small farmers as food suppliers, the book considers their role as consumers and their level of nutrition security. It investigates the link between agriculture and nutrition in order to better understand how agriculture affects human health and dietary patterns. Given the importance of smallholdings, strategies to increase their productivity are essential to improving food and nutrition security, as well as food diversity.

Download or read book Water Sanitation and Agriculture Linkages with Health and Nutrition Improvement written by Nicolas Gerber and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2010, the United Nations General Assembly recognized access to safe water and sanitation infrastructure a matter of human right. This right is reflected in Sustainable Development Goal 6, whose targets 1 and 2 point to universal access to safe and affordable drinking water and adequate sanitation by 2030, in a gender equitable way. Progress towards these targets has been recorded, building on successes achieved under the previous framework of the Millennium Development Goals (Target 7.c). These positive developments could be expected to spill over to other dimensions of human development, health and nutrition in particular. Yet, progress in either of these dimensions, particularly among young children (SDG target 2.2 on ending all forms of malnutrition), is not commensurate. In this paper, we advocate for a systemic approach to water management for improved health and nutrition. We focus on rural and peri-urban areas of the developing world, where multi-purpose water systems are particularly relevant. As competition for safe water resources intensifies, it is important to understand the trade-offs between specific uses and their implications for health and nutrition, based on the gender and age of individuals. We conduct statistical and econometric analyses of secondary, nationally representative data for four countries: Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana and India. These data sets have been routinely used to report on progress toward SDG 6 (availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all) and SDG 2 (ending hunger and achieving food security and improved nutrition for all). Our cross-sectional analysis reflects the positive association between access to improved sanitation infrastructure and long-term child nutrition outcomes (height-for-age and weight-for-age). On the other hand, the analysis fails to demonstrate a positive association between access to improved drinking water sources and the same child nutrition indicators. In the next step, we investigate the associations between multi-use water systems, especially around agricultural activities, and health and nutrition. To that end, we compile data from four household surveys we collected in the same countries, including indicators on the type of irrigation system. The regression analysis of this pooled dataset is complemented by an in-depth, context-specific analysis of behavior around drinking water use and irrigation practices. The analyses reveal a low correlation between water quality at the point of source and water quality at the point of use, drawing attention to behavioral issues around water use. Similarly, the prevalence of open defecation seems much more important to health and nutrition than the existence of sanitation infrastructure. Finally, irrigation is not per se a detrimental factor for drinking water quality or nutrition, but the integration of waste water irrigation in particular needs to be carefully managed in order to avoid adverse nutrition and health effects.

Download or read book Nutrition sensitive food systems in conflict affected regions A case study of Afghanistan written by Babu, Suresh Chandra and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on with total page 43 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The food systems approach can contribute to food security and reduced malnutrition levels by identifying key investments and policies throughout the food system, including production, processing, marketing, and consumption of food. However, in countries facing fragility and conflict, it has proven difficult to implement such an approach and achieve the desired results. This has been the case in Afghanistan, where high levels of malnutrition stem in part from an undersupply of nutritious food. Multi-sectoral approaches to promote nutrition sensitivity and achieve diet-based solutions have also had only limited impact. This paper reports on an analysis of the nutrition sensitivity of food systems in Afghanistan using multi-sector consultations and gap analyses to examine two key food and nutrition policies, the National Comprehensive Agriculture Development Priority Program and the Afghanistan Food Security and Nutrition Agenda. It highlights gaps in the policies and identifies investment priorities to make food systems more nutrition sensitive. The results show that instilling nutrition sensitivity into the operation of Afghanistan’s food systems can only be accomplished if certain key measures are incorporated into the food system. These include addressing the absence of knowledge in the population regarding healthy diets, the lack of sufficient food for vulnerable populations, weak irrigation systems, capacity constraints at individual and institutional levels, data challenges, and weak natural resource management. In addition, the above weaknesses are compounded by the continued violence and conflict-induced insecurity, weak government, and inadequate investments. Given the role of different sectors in contributing to improved nutrition, appropriate and effective multi-stakeholder coordination and collaboration is paramount to such efforts.

Download or read book Agriculture Nutrition and Gender Linkages ANGeL Baseline Study written by Tauseef, Salauddin and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2017-06-09 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 1.1 Background Bangladesh has made commendable progress in domestic food production through public investments in agricultural research and extension, public and private investments in irrigation, and liberalization of agricultural input markets. In the early 1970s, Bangladesh was a food-deficit country with a population of about 75 million people. Today, the population has more than doubled, and the country is nearly self-sufficient in rice production, which has tripled over the past three decades. However, Bangladesh’s performance in improving child and maternal nutrition has been less satisfactory. Despite its success in reducing child stunting, the rate of stunting in Bangladesh (36 percent in 2014) remains high (NIPORT 2015). Bangladesh also continues to struggle with deficiencies in micronutrients such as iron, zinc, iodine, and vitamin A. Such deficiencies reflect poor diets that are rice-dominated, monotonous, and lacking diversity (Ahmed et al. 2013). Anemia (in part due to iron deficiency) is estimated to affect 26 percent of nonpregnant, non-lactating women, whereas 42 percent suffer from iodine deficiency. About 28 percent women of reproductive age are underweight (NIPORT 2015). In preschool children, the rates of anemia, iodine, and vitamin A deficiencies are 33 percent, 40 percent, and 20 percent, respectively (ICDDR,B 2013). Therefore, government policies and strategies underscore the importance of strengthening the linkage between agriculture and nutrition. Agriculture provides a source of food and nutrients, contributes to income, and affects food prices. Exploring agriculture and nutrition linkages in Bangladesh using data from a multi-round district level panel, a study finds that rice yields are associated with earlier introduction of complementary foods to young children, as well as increases in their weight-for-height (Heady and Hoddinott 2016). Agriculture can also have effects on women’s health, nutrition, empowerment and time allocation, which can have important consequences for their ability to care for family members. Given these links, agriculture has the potential to be a strong driver of nutrition. However, that potential is not being fully realized in Bangladesh because, traditionally, nutrition and agricultural policies have been uncoordinated. Low status of women and gender gaps in health and education contribute to chronic child undernutrition (Smith et al. 2003) and food insecurity (von Grebmer et al. 2009), even when other determinants of food security, such as per capita incomes, improve. According to an IFPRI study, women are key actors within the food system, but are historically disempowered in Bangladesh in terms of leadership in the community, control of resources, and control of income (Sraboni, Quisumbing, and Ahmed 2014a). The lack of women’s empowerment weakens the links between agriculture and nutrition. Despite increases in 2 women’s participation in agriculture in Bangladesh in recent years (Asaduzzaman 2010), women face persistent obstacles, particularly due to social and economic constraints, which limit their further inclusion in agriculture. Women have limited control over agricultural assets, as well as limited mobility to go to markets to sell agricultural produce, often relying on husbands and sons to take produce to market. 1.2 Motivation for the Study IFPRI research in Bangladesh, using data from a nationally representative household survey conducted by IFPRI, reveals that women’s empowerment plays a key role in improving household food security and dietary diversity of children, women, and other household members (Sraboni et al. 2014b; Malapit et al. 2015). The study also shows that agricultural production diversity is associated with dietary diversity (Sraboni et al. 2014b). Further, IFPRI research in Bangladesh shows that nutrition behavior change communication (BCC) training imparted to women and men in rural households leads to significant improvements in child nutrition and complementary feeding practices (Ahmed et al. 2016; Menon et al. 2016). Motivated by research-based evidence, IFPRI researchers developed a concept note to strengthen the agriculture-nutrition-gender nexus in Bangladesh and presented it to the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in June 2014. Based on the concept note, an inter-ministerial committee of the Government of Bangladesh approved a pilot research project entitled, “Orienting Agriculture Toward Improved Nutrition and Women’s Empowerment”, also known as “Agriculture, Nutrition, and Gender Linkages”(ANGeL), for implementation by the MOA, with technical assistance from IFPRI and Helen Keller International (HKI), and an evaluation led by IFPRI. The Minister of Agriculture officially launched the pilot project in October 2015. The project is jointly funded by the Government of Bangladesh and USAID. 1.3 The Baseline Report As part of the evaluation of the ANGeL Project, IFPRI carried out a baseline survey of project participants and a comparison group of households just before the start of project interventions. This report presents the results of the ANGeL baseline survey. It is organized in nine sections. Section 2 describes the salient features of the ANGeL Project. Section 3 presents the progress of the ANGeL Project to date. Section 4 describes the baseline survey. Section 5 gives a profile of the survey households. Section 6 provides the land tenure status of sample households and findings on agricultural production and practices. Section 7 presents patterns of food consumption and nutrition. Section 8 provides findings on women’s empowerment. Section 9 summarizes the main findings and provides conclusions.

Download or read book Irrigation and Soil Nutrition written by Donald Cronin and published by . This book was released on 2019-06-14 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Irrigation refers to the controlled application of water to agricultural crops and plants to ensure healthy growth and production. A soil is considered ideal for agriculture if it can sustain and yield crops of high quality. To ensure this, the soil must be sufficiently irrigated and provided the essential nutrients required for plant growth. Ensuring suitable soil pH, internal drainage, thriving population of a range of microbes that support growth are some other considerations of a good agricultural practice. These can be achieved by strategic use of nutrients in the form of fertilizers, organic matter and the judicious use of water. This book presents the recent developments in this domain with an emphasis on irrigation water management and good agricultural practices to improve crop health and soil fertility. From theories to research to practical applications, studies related to all contemporary topics of relevance to this field have been included in this book. It will prove to be immensely beneficial to professionals and students in this field.