IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jfpoli/v82y2019icp3-12.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Leveraging agriculture for nutrition in South Asia: What do we know, and what have we learned?

Author

Listed:
  • Gillespie, Stuart
  • Poole, Nigel
  • van den Bold, Mara
  • Bhavani, R.V.
  • Dangour, Alan D.
  • Shetty, Prakash

Abstract

Despite significant improvements over recent decades, rates of undernutrition remain high in South Asia, with adverse impacts on morbidity and mortality. Overweight/obesity, among children and adults, is now an additional and major public health concern. While agriculture has the potential to improve nutrition through several pathways, this potential is currently not being realised in the region. The Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia (LANSA) research consortium (2012–2018) set out to improve understanding about how agriculture and related food policies and programs in South Asia (specifically in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan) can be better conceptualised and implemented in order to enhance impacts on nutrition outcomes, especially those of young children and adolescent girls. This paper provides a snapshot of the agriculture-nutrition nexus in the region, outlines the pathways through which agriculture can influence nutrition outcomes, elaborates on the objectives of the LANSA research consortium within this context, and highlights the core findings of the six papers that form the body of this Special Issue. The paper ends with five key lessons that have emerged from this research, during this decade.

Suggested Citation

  • Gillespie, Stuart & Poole, Nigel & van den Bold, Mara & Bhavani, R.V. & Dangour, Alan D. & Shetty, Prakash, 2019. "Leveraging agriculture for nutrition in South Asia: What do we know, and what have we learned?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 3-12.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:82:y:2019:i:c:p:3-12
    DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2018.10.012
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919218308352
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.foodpol.2018.10.012?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gillespie, Stuart & Harris, Jody & Kadiyala, Suneetha, 2012. "The Agriculture-Nutrition Disconnect in India: What Do We Know?:," IFPRI discussion papers 1187, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    2. Nisbett, Nicholas & Barnett, Inka, 2017. "Explaining the reduction in child undernutrition in the Indian state of Maharashtra between 2006 and 2012: An analysis of the policy processes," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 27-39.
    3. van den Bold, Mara & Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Gillespie, Stuart, 2013. "Women’s empowerment and nutrition: An evidence review:," IFPRI discussion papers 1294, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    4. Mysbah Balagamwala & Haris Gazdar, 2013. "Agriculture and Nutrition in Pakistan: Pathways and Disconnects," IDS Bulletin, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 44(3), pages 66-74, May.
    5. Monteiro, C.A. & Conde, W.L. & Popkin, B.M., 2007. "Income-specific trends in obesity in Brazil: 1975-2003," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 97(10), pages 1808-1812.
    6. Cavatorta, Elisa & Shankar, Bhavani & Flores-Martinez, Artemisa, 2015. "Explaining Cross-State Disparities in Child Nutrition in Rural India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 216-237.
    7. Gillespie, Stuart & van den Bold, Mara, 2015. "Stories of change in nutrition: A tool pool:," IFPRI discussion papers 1494, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    8. Maestre, Mar & Poole, Nigel & Henson, Spencer, 2017. "Assessing food value chain pathways, linkages and impacts for better nutrition of vulnerable groups," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 31-39.
    9. Johnston, Deborah & Stevano, Sara & Malapit, Hazel J. & Hull, Elizabeth & Kadiyala, Suneetha, 2015. "Agriculture, gendered time use, and nutritional outcomes: A systematic review:," IFPRI discussion papers 1456, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bonis-Profumo, Gianna & Stacey, Natasha & Brimblecombe, Julie, 2021. "Measuring women's empowerment in agriculture, food production, and child and maternal dietary diversity in Timor-Leste," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    2. Indu K. Sharma & Dirk Essink & Victoria Fumado & Ranjan Shrestha & Zefanya D. Susanto & Jacqueline E. W. Broerse, 2021. "Pathways to Improving Nutrition among Upland Farmers through Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture Interventions: A Case from Northern Laos," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-20, December.
    3. Mahbub Hossain & M. Niaz Asadullah & Uma Kambhampati, 2021. "Women’s empowerment and gender-differentiated food allocation in Bangladesh," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 739-767, September.
    4. Elena T. Broaddus-Shea & Bibhu Thapaliya Shrestha & Pooja Pandey Rana & Peter J. Winch & Carol R. Underwood, 2020. "Navigating structural barriers to the implementation of agriculture-nutrition programs in Nepal," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(3), pages 679-690, June.
    5. Jianxu Liu & Mengjiao Wang & Li Yang & Sanzidur Rahman & Songsak Sriboonchitta, 2020. "Agricultural Productivity Growth and Its Determinants in South and Southeast Asian Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-21, June.
    6. Poole, Nigel & Donovan, Jason & Erenstein, Olaf, 2021. "Viewpoint: Agri-nutrition research: Revisiting the contribution of maize and wheat to human nutrition and health," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    7. Relwendé A. Nikiema & Sakiko Shiratori & Jules Rafalimanantsoa & Ryosuke Ozaki & Takeshi Sakurai, 2023. "How are higher rice yields associated with dietary outcomes of smallholder farm households of Madagascar?," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(3), pages 823-838, June.
    8. Nisbett, Nicholas, 2019. "Understanding the nourishment of bodies at the centre of food and health systems – systemic, bodily and new materialist perspectives on nutritional inequity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 228(C), pages 9-16.
    9. Cooper, Gregory S. & Rich, Karl M. & Shankar, Bhavani & Rana, Vinay & Ratna, Nazmun N. & Kadiyala, Suneetha & Alam, Mohammad J. & Nadagouda, Sharan B., 2021. "Identifying ‘win-win-win’ futures from inequitable value chain trade-offs: A system dynamics approach," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    10. Van den Broeck, Goedele & Mardulier, Myrthe & Maertens, Miet, 2021. "All that is gold does not glitter: Income and nutrition in Tanzania," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gillespie, Stuart & van den Bold, Mara & Hodge, Judith, 2019. "Nutrition and the governance of agri-food systems in South Asia: A systematic review," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 13-27.
    2. Mysbah Balagamwala & Haris Gazdar & Hussain Bux Mallah, 2015. "Synergy or Trade-Off between Agricultural Growth and Nutrition Women’s Work and Care," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 54(4), pages 897-913.
    3. Noora-Lisa Aberman & Terry Roopnaraine, 2020. "To sell or consume? Gendered household decision-making on crop production, consumption, and sale in Malawi," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(2), pages 433-447, April.
    4. Nigel Poole & Chona Echavez & Dominic Rowland, 2018. "Are agriculture and nutrition policies and practice coherent? Stakeholder evidence from Afghanistan," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(6), pages 1577-1601, December.
    5. Komatsu, Hitomi & Malapit, Hazel Jean L. & Theis, Sophie, 2015. "How does women’s time in reproductive work and agriculture affect maternal and child nutrition? Evidence from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ghana, Mozambique, and Nepal:," IFPRI discussion papers 1486, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    6. Kumar, Neha & Raghunathan, Kalyani & Arrieta, Alejandra & Jilani, Amir & Pandey, Shinjini, 2021. "The power of the collective empowers women: Evidence from self-help groups in India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    7. Rao, Nitya & Pradhan, Mamata & Roy, Devesh, 2017. "Gender justice and food security in India: A review," IFPRI discussion papers 1600, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    8. Johnson, Nancy L. & Balagamwala, Mysbah & Pinkstaff, Crossley & Theis, Sophie & Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela & Quisumbing, Agnes R., 2017. "How do agricultural development projects aim to empower women?: Insights from an analysis of project strategies," IFPRI discussion papers 1609, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    9. Rao, Nitya & Gazdar, Haris & Chanchani, Devanshi & Ibrahim, Marium, 2019. "Women’s agricultural work and nutrition in South Asia: From pathways to a cross-disciplinary, grounded analytical framework," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 50-62.
    10. Komatsu, Hitomi & Malapit, Hazel Jean L. & Theis, Sophie, 2018. "Does women’s time in domestic work and agriculture affect women’s and children’s dietary diversity? Evidence from Bangladesh, Nepal, Cambodia, Ghana, and Mozambique," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 256-270.
    11. E. Duncan & L. Ashton & A. R. Abdulai & T. Sawadogo-Lewis & S. E. King & E. D. G. Fraser & S. Vosti & J. Haines & F. Knight & T. Roberton, 2022. "Connecting the food and agriculture sector to nutrition interventions for improved health outcomes," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(3), pages 657-675, June.
    12. Diane Coffey & Ashwini Deshpande & Jeffrey Hammer & Dean Spears, 2019. "Local Social Inequality, Economic Inequality, and Disparities in Child Height in India," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(4), pages 1427-1452, August.
    13. van den Bold, Mara & Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Gillespie, Stuart, 2013. "Women’s empowerment and nutrition: An evidence review:," IFPRI discussion papers 1294, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    14. Genova, Christian & Umberger, Wendy J. & Peralta-Sanchez, Maria-Alexandra & Newman, Suzie & Zeng, Di, 2021. "The Impact of Smallholder Vegetable Production on Rural Vietnamese Children’s Nutrition Outcomes," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315293, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    15. Rafael M. Tassitano & Robert G. Weaver & Maria Cecília M. Tenório & Keith Brazendale & Michael W. Beets, 2020. "Clusters of non-dietary obesogenic behaviors among adolescents in Brazil: a latent profile analysis," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 65(6), pages 881-891, July.
    16. Gressel, Christie M. & Rashed, Tarek & Maciuika, Laura Aswati & Sheshadri, Srividya & Coley, Christopher & Kongeseri, Sreeram & Bhavani, Rao R, 2020. "Vulnerability mapping: A conceptual framework towards a context-based approach to women’s empowerment," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).
    17. Govil, Richa & Rana, Garima, 2017. "Demand for Agricultural Information among Women Farmers: A Survey from Karnataka, India," Review of Agrarian Studies, Foundation for Agrarian Studies, vol. 7(1), July.
    18. Janvier Mwisha-Kasiwa & Cédrick Kalemasi-Mosengo & Oasis Kodila-Tedika, 2023. "Understanding the link between gendered access to agricultural land and household nutrition outcomes in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 23/075, African Governance and Development Institute..
    19. Ruel, Marie T. & Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Balagamwala, Mysbah, 2017. "Nutrition-sensitive agriculture: What have we learned and where do we go from here?:," IFPRI discussion papers 1681, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    20. Hazem S. Kassem & Hamed Ismail & Yomna A. Ghoneim, 2022. "Assessment of Institutional Linkages and Information Flow within the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation: Case of Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-26, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:82:y:2019:i:c:p:3-12. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/foodpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.