Agriculture to Nutrition (ATONU): Improving Nutrition Outcomes Through Optimized Agriculture

InvestmentsSimbarashe Sibanda

http://fanrpan.org/projects/atonu/

• Six-year project focusing on how agriculture can deliver positive nutrition outcomes to smallholder farm families through the generation of robust evidence

• Focus countries: Ethiopia, Nigeria, Tanzania and Ghana/Uganda

• Target groups: women of child-bearing age and children in first 1,000 days of life, high burden of malnutrition

• Design agricultural projects that deliver positive nutrition outcomes

• Technical assistance to ensure effectiveness of nutrition-sensitive interventions in agriculture programmes

ATONU

1,000 Days

Life cycle

Pre-conception

Conception to birth

0-6 months

6-24 months

Malnutrition: The Context• Africa is ranked as having the highest malnutrition rates in the world

with 17 countries having stunting rates above 40% and 36 countries above 30%

• Sub-Saharan Africa carries a high burden of under-nutrition, with 33% of childhood deaths linked to under-nutrition

• Traditionally, agricultural programmes have not intentionally focused on nutrition

• Climate change increases the need to integrate nutrition into agriculture

Malnutrition: the context

ATONU Problem StatementUnder-nourished smallholder farm families:

• There is a disconnect between agriculture and nutrition

• There are leakages along the agriculture value chain

• ATONU investments into nutrition sensitive agriculture will ensure maximum possible nutrients for a healthy active life

• Multi-sectoral approach to addressing malnutrition

ATONU Problem Statement

1.a) Promising agricultural projects identified for possible interventions

1.b) Methods for designing, implementing and evaluating interventions identified, adapted and

assembled

4a) Lessons and successes from ATONU out scaled to other agriculture projects

 

2) Tailored nutrition sensitive interventions are designed, implemented and evaluated

3) Successful models communicated, disseminated and promoted for adoption

4c) Policy makers and investors incorporate a nutrition lens in the design of agriculture projects

 

4b) Practitioners knowledgeable and equipped with evidence on how to design nutrition sensitive agriculture projects

 

5) Agriculture projects generate nutritional outcomes that benefit smallholder farm families particularly women of child bearing age and children in the first 1000 days

ATONU Theory of Change

Food production for household consumption

Income-oriented production for food,

health and other non-food items

Empowerment of women as

agents

Reduction in real food prices associated with increased agricultural

production

AG-Nutritional Pathways

ATONU Interventions

Crop / animal

husbandry

Aflatoxin control

Storage and

handlingFood

processing

Nutrition knowledge

Fortification

Biofortification

Women Empowerme

nt

Soil fertility

Market Enhancement

Policy environme

nt

Cooking

Labor saving technologies Gender Environmen

t

Germplasm

Where are the opportunities for Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture Interventions?

Two pilot

projects each in Tanzania and

Ethiopia

Process of

designing

nutrition-

sensitive

interventions and

impact evaluati

on protocol

s

Baseline

surveys of

nutrition status,

implementation

and evaluati

on

Evidence and

lessons to be

used for upscalin

g and policy

advocacy and engage

ment

Progress and Next Steps

Healthy rural smallholder farm

families

Policy makers and investors incorporate

nutrition in the design of agricultural

policies and programmes

Validated evidence of nutrition

interventions

Ag-Nutrition community of

practice equipped to design nutrition

sensitive agriculture projects

Agricultural experts working with

nutrition and health experts to deliver positive nutrition

impact

WhatWhat would success look like?

Thank you