Opportunities for improving the synergies between agriculture and health: understanding the links between agriculture and health

"...At the moment, a lack of integration and coordination characterizes the relationship between the agriculture and health sectors. Traditionally, agricultural and health policies address specific goals within those sectors. Agricultural policies address conservation of the natural resource base, protection of farmers' livelihoods, basic needs of the poor including food security, and the context for regulations on, among other things, food safety and the sound use of pesticides. National public health policies are also sectorally driven and reflect the dichotomy in the health sector between preventive action and curative care... [A] conducive policy framework is essential for effective agriculture-health collaboration. This framework should be comprehensive, focus on strategic issues, be periodically reviewed and updated, and maintain criteria that recognize the bidirectional nature of the links. Not only are these policies important at the national level, but they should also be introduced at the level of international organizations and bilateral and multilateral development agencies." From text