PROGRAMME LESSONS:

INTEGRATING AGRICULTURE AND

NUTRITION EDUCATION FOR

IMPROVED YOUNG CHILD

NUTRITION

Presented by Dr Mercy Chikoko

on behalf of the

Nutrition and Food Systems Division,

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy.

Overview

• FAO research project to test Agriculture-Nutrition education impact

• FAO/Justus-Liebig-University (JLU) Technical Meeting, Rome

• Programme Lessons Integrating Nutrition Education and Agriculture for Improved Young Child Nutrition

2

Background: Building the Evidence

Base

• FAO Trials of Improved Practices (TIPs) had repeatedly confirmed that families could improve the diets of young children using local foods.

• IMCF project: 2011-2015.

• Objective : To study the effectiveness and impact of agricultural production/diversification and nutrition education on children’s dietary intake and nutritional status.

• Restricted randomized controlled trials, Malawi & Cambodia.

3

Malawi Cambodia

FAO Intervention Projects

4

Collaborative research

Institute of Nutritional Sciences, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany

Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Malawi

Mahidol University (supporting research in Cambodia)

FAO Approach1) Diversification of agriculture

– Not only staples, but variety, nutrient dense

– Marketing, storage & food processing, fuel efficient stoves

– Farmer field and business schools

– Junior farmer field schools

2) Community nutrition education & dietary counselling

3) Gender and women’s empowerment

4) Multi-sectoral approach

5) Work within existing structures (MOA, MOH, MOE)

6) Extensive community engagement

7) Advocacy and policy

FAO Approach

1) Diversification of agriculture

– Not only staples, … legumes, F&V, meat, fish

– Marketing, storage & food processing, fuel efficient stoves

– Farmer field and business schools

– Junior farmer field schools

2) Gender and women’s empowerment

3) Community nutrition education & dietary counselling

4) Multi-sectoral approach

5) Work within existing structures (MOA, MOH, MOE)

6) Extensive community engagement

7) Advocacy and policy

Cambodia

Technical Meeting, Rome 6th – 8th July 2015, FAO/JLU

7

Meeting to review experiences and lessons from

current agriculture-nutrition interventions that

focus on improving young children’s nutrition.

• Cambodia HARVEST

• Mama SASHA (Kenya)

• Suaahara (Nepal),

• CARE Shouhardo II (Bangladesh)

• Concern RAIN project (Zambia),

• A&T (Bangladesh, Ethiopia and

Viet Nam)

• FAO (MALIS-IMCF Cambodia and

IFSN-IMCF Malawi)

Common approaches

Agricultural Diversification

• Homestead food production

• Kitchen gardens for both HH consumption and income

• Livestock production, backyard poultry, fish ponds

• Improved seasonal food availability

• Improved technologies, e.g.

– Drip irrigation, water management– Composting– Crop rotation, Animal Integration– Post-harvest management– Storage, Processing, Preservation– Market access

• Dietary counselling

• BCC

• Nutrition promotion

• Participatory cooking sessions

• Mass media campaigns

• Social marketing

• Nutritional training

PLUS Nutrition Education

8

Project-specific approaches

• Gender and women’s empowerment

• Multi-sectoral approach/coordination and alignment (including agriculture, nutrition, health, water & hygiene)

• Work within existing structures (MOA, MOH, MOE)

• Extensive community engagement

• Advocacy and policy

• Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation

• Business/finance training 9

• Early or late introduction of CF

• Thin, watery cereal-based porridges

• Lack of dietary diversity

• Low meal frequency

• Sugary and salty snacks

• Poor hygiene, sanitation, food safety

10

Gaps and Challenges in Complementary Feeding

• Improved Breastfeeding practices:A&T, Suaahara Nepal, Mama SASHA

• Improved CF practices: mainly related to DD ↑, MAD ↑, MMF ↑, Vit A intake ↑

• Mothers’/women’s DD ↑; Vit A intake ↑

• HH hunger ↓; Food security ↑

• Prevalence of stunting ↓ CARE Shouhardo

positive impact on HAZ at mid-term FAO Malawi project

11

Results

Technical meeting proceedings

• Meeting participants shared experiences, success stories and lessons learned from Ag-Nut interventions.

• Short plenary presentations by UN partner organisations

• Working groups designed to identify good practices for linking agriculture and nutrition education.

• Main output: Programme Lessons. Subsequently developed in iterative process involving meeting participants. 12

13Available at: http://www.fao.org/nutrition/education/infant-and-young-child-feeding/en/

• The PLs are intended for programme implementers working to ensure that agricultural production will translate into improved health and nutrition for young children.

• They provide practical guidance and examples of good practices based on empirical research and programmatic experiences from the field.

Programme Lessons: overview

14

ii. Capacity Developmenti. Programme Planning and

Design

iii. Implementationiv. Monitoring and

Evaluation

v. Supervision vi. Sustainability and Scaling up

15

16

17

Acknowledgments The Programme Lessons were prepared under the coordination of Ms Ellen Muehlhoff (ex-Senior

Nutrition Officer, FAO, Nutrition and Food Systems Division).

FAO wishes to acknowledge the following experts for their active engagement in the process of

preparing and refining the Programme Lessons:

Lalita Bhattacharjee (FAO Bangladesh), Ruth Butao Ayoade (FAO Mozambique), Esther Evang

(FAO, Nutrition and Food Systems Division), Paige Harrigan (Save the Children, UK), Theresa

Jeremias (Care Deutschland-Luxemburg, formerly FAO, Nutrition and Food Systems Division),

Irmgard Jordan (JLU, Giessen), Gina Kennedy (Bioversity International), Edye Kuyper (University

of Calilfornia, Davis), Judiann McNulty (independent Nutrition Consultant), Ellen Muehlhoff (FAO,

Nutrition and Food Systems Division), Jennifer Nielsen (Helen Keller International), Stacia

Nordin (Never Ending Food, Malawi, formerly FAO Malawi), Jane Sherman (formerly FAO,

Nutrition and Food Systems Division), Elizabeth Westaway (formerly FAO, Nutrition and Food

Systems Division), and Ramani Wijesinha-Bettoni (FAO, Nutrition and Food Systems Division).

Funding for the FAO projects, the July Workshop and the finalization of the Programme Lessons

were from the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL).

Thank you

http://www.fao.org/nutrition/education/en/

More information: Ramani.WijesinhaBettoni@fao.orgNutrition and Food Systems Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN