Priorities for Public Sector Research on Food Security and Nutrition
Howarth Bouis, IFPRI
Terri Raney, FAO
John McDermott, IFPRI
Food Security Futures Research Priorities for the 21st Century
11-12 April 2013 Dublin, Ireland
Evidence on malnutrition
• 850 million people are undernourished
• 28 percent of children are stunted
• 2 billion people are micronutrient deficient
• 1.4 billion overweight/500 million obese
Child undernutrition
Africa
AsiaDeveloping regions
Latin America and the Caribbean
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
1990 1995 2000 2005 20102011 1990 1995 2000 2005 2007
2000 2002 2004 2006 2007 2008 20052000 2000-20071995-2000 2005
Stunting Vitamin A deficiency
Anaemia* Low urinary iodine**
Africa Asia Latin America and the Caribbean Oceania Developing regions
Prevalence of overweight and obesity among adults, by region
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
1980 2008 1980 2008 1980 2008 1980 2008 1980 2008 1980 2008 1980 2008 1980 2008
Africa Asia LatinAmericaand the
Caribbean
Oceania Asia andOceania
Europe NorthernAmerica
World Developing regions Developed regions
Obesity Overweight, excluding obesityPercentage
Not just a double-burden
anymore
Social costs of malnutrition
Maternal and child malnutrition
Adult overweight and obesity
Total DALYs (‘000s)
1990 2010 1990 2010
World 339,951 166,147 51,613 93,840
Developed regions 2,243 1,731 29,956 37,959
Developing regions 337,708 164,416 21,657 55,882
Africa 121,492 78,017 3,571 9,605
Asia 197,888 80,070 12,955 34,551
Latin Am & Caribbean 17,821 6,043 5,062 11,449
Effect of incomes and prices
Malnutrition by Ag GDP category
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Low (≤ 999 US$) Medium (1,000 - 4,499 US$) High (4,500-11,999 US$) Very high (≥US $ 12,000 US$)
Stunting and micronutrient deficiencies (AB) Stunting, micronutrient deficiencies and obesity (ABC)
Micronutrient deficiencies (B) Micronutrient deficiencies and obesity (BC)
Obesity (C) No malnutrition problem (D)
Per
cen
tage
of
cou
ntr
ies
N = 38 N = 52 N = 36 N = 44
Indices of Inflation-adjusted Prices for Bangladesh
1973-75 = 100
0
25
50
75
100
125
150
175
200
1973-75 1979-81 1988-90 1994-96
Staple
Non-
Staple
Plants
Fish &
Animal
Share of Energy Source & Food Budget in Rural Bangladesh
Non-Staple
plants
Fish and Meat
Energy Source Food Budget
Staple foods
After
50% Increase in All Food Prices
Animal
Staples
Non-Food
Staples
Non-Food
Before
Share of Total Expenditures
Food system interventions for better nutrition
Supplementation Commercial
Fortification
Agricultural
Approaches
Dietary
Diversity (higher
incomes;
education)
Agriculture – Nutrition Disconnects ↑ Diet Quality
↑ Vitamin A
↓ Anemia
Gillespie et al, 2012; Masset et al, 2012; Webb, 2013
Food system approaches
• Biofortification and micronutrient fertilization
• Diversifying production
– Introducing single nutrient-dense foods
– Homestead food gardens
– Re-introducing/expanding traditional crops
– Integrated production systems
• Enhancing supply chains to deliver diverse, safe, nutritious foods
• Influencing consumer behaviour
20112
Cassava Vitamin A Nigeria DR Congo
Beans Iron (Zinc) Rwanda DR Congo
Maize Vitamin A Zambia
2012 2012
Crops for Africa & Release Dates
Crops are high-yielding and with other traits farmers want.
Pearl Millet Iron (Zinc) India
Rice Zinc Bangladesh India
Wheat Zinc India Pakistan
Crops for Asia & Release Dates
20122 20132 20132
Crops are high-yielding and with other traits farmers want.
Crop &
Nutrient
Countries of first
release
Status of Nutrition Studies
Dietary
Intake &
Retention
Bioavailabiliy Efficacy Effectiveness
Vitamin A Crops (released)
Cassava Nigeria,
DR Congo 2013-14 2013-15
Maize Nigeria, Zambia 2013-2015
OSP Uganda,
Mozambique
Iron Crops (released)
Bean Rwanda
Pearl Millet India 2013-2015
Zinc crops (under development—to be released in 2013)
Rice Bangladesh,
India 2013 2013-14 2014-2016
Wheat India, Pakistan 2013-14 2014-2016
Impact on vitamin A intakes
Information gaps
• Understanding diets and nutritional outcomes: what really matters?
• Life-cycle and life-style considerations: 1000 days, women, urban
• How to scale up agriculture/nutrition interventions?
• Something good to eat: What determines consumer behaviour?
Agricultural research priorities
• Productivity growth for staples, yes, but also especially non-staples
• Give nutritional characteristics higher priority in breeding objectives
• Consider dietary quality … not just energy … throughout the food system
• Partnerships:
– Development implementers
– Private sector and other value chain actors
– Enablers (investors and policy makers)
– Health sector (care, safety, disease)
Forthcoming
The State of Food and Agriculture 2013: Food Systems for Better Nutrition
June 2013
www.fao.org/publications/sofa