The past 50 years have been a period of extraordinary food crop productivity and growth. Despite these massive gains in productivity and agricultural development, malnutrition has persisted across certain regions of the developing world. In India, these challenges, which range from micronutrient malnutrition and the emergence of over-nutrition, have created a challenging landscape of health and human nutrition. Despite exceptional economic growth, high rates of childhood stunting and micronutrient malnutrition persist. Improved agricultural policies that can change nutritional outcomes require a better understanding of the links between agriculture and nutrition, as well as complimentary policies in water, sanitation, and household behavior change. This lecture presents international lessons learned in successfully using agricultural pathways to reduce malnutrition with important implications for the Indian context.
Distinguished Lecture given at the Institute of Economic Growth, University of Delhi, India, on March 10, 2014.
Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi, India: Making Agriculture Work for Nutrition
1. Agricultural Pathways to Improved
Nutrition: Getting Policies Right!
Prabhu Pingali
Professor of Applied
Economics
Director, Tata-Cornell
Initiative for Agriculture
& Nutrition
Cornell University
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Tata-Cornell Agriculture and Nutrition Initiative (TCi)
7. 7
Webb P , and Block S PNAS 2012;109:12309-12314
Structural Transformation and Nutrition
8. NCDs Account for Growing Share of Total Deaths
Around the World
Source: Nikolic 2011
http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2011/youth-and-chronic-diseases.aspx
25. Percent Change in Monthly Per Capita Cereal
Consumption in Rural and Urban India: 1993/94 and
2004/05
Source: NSSO Reports: Household Consumption Expenditure in India
26. Rising GDP per capita is associated with a
larger share of supermarkets in food retail
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000 40,000
GDP per Capita, PPP, 2002
ShareofSupermarketsinFoodRetail
Source: data from Traill (2006) and World Bank World Development Indicators (2006)
31. Nutrient Absorption and Utilization
• Almost 50% of the
world’s population –
2.5 billion people –
lack improved
sanitation facilities
• Over 884 million
people use unsafe
drinking water sources
32. 32
The continuing relevance of agriculture in all
stages of development: key policy priorities
Investments in enhancing of food supply
• Investments in technology, research and development for productivity and
nutrition enhancement
• Investments in post-harvest technologies and infrastructure
Agri-market investments
• Investments necessary to connect farmers to markets
• Policies aimed at opening up foreign direct investment in food value chains
• Modernization of extension
• Broadening extension to include nutrition messaging
Investments in health and social environment
• Investments in sanitation (toilets) and access to clean water
• Empowerment of women and incentivizing women’s self-help groups
Investments for food affordability and access
• Relative price changes
• Continuation of safety net programs that target vulnerable populations
34. 34
Key policy principles
• Continuing relevance of agriculture through all stages of development
– Agriculture as an engine of growth and poverty reduction
– Agriculture as a supplier of dietary diversity
– Agriculture as a profitable business for feeding urban populations
• Investments in technology, research and development for productivity and nutrition enhancement
– Post-green revolution productivity gains for neglected crops
– Enhancement of nutritional traits through biofortification and food-fortification.
• Investments in post-harvest technologies
– Enhancing food safety and expanding market reach
• Investments necessary to connect farmers to markets
– Credit, input markets, infrastructure, contracts, land rights, etc.
• Policies aimed at opening up foreign direct investment
– Regulatory reform
– Public-private partnerships
• Modernization of extension
– Using ICTs and leveraging community organizations
– Women’s empowerment
• Broadening extension to include nutrition messaging
• Investments in sanitation (toilets) and access to clean water
• Continuation of safety net programs that target vulnerable populations
– Programs focusing on providing micronutrients for women and children
• Relative price change
– Poor support for course grains, legumes, lentils, etc.
– Lack of attention to micronutrent dense foods
Editor's Notes
David : Anything to add here? Another slide?
Subsistence systems are of special importance for African agriculture - Productivity effects of health and nutrition greatest in populations with more serious health problems - health and well-being in rural areas lag far behind that in urban areas - productivity consequences of poor health are likely to be worse in areas where hard physical labor is the critical input. Again, this characterizes rural Africa where there is virtually no formal wage labor, and most work is directly or indirectly related to agriculture and is reliant on strength and stamina. - adverse events, such as weather and pests, jointly have an adverse affect on income and prices of food, as well as directly on healthConceptually you need to show the causal relationships that give rise to these systems. So this will look different for each.
Subsistence systems are of special importance for African agriculture - Productivity effects of health and nutrition greatest in populations with more serious health problems - health and well-being in rural areas lag far behind that in urban areas - productivity consequences of poor health are likely to be worse in areas where hard physical labor is the critical input. Again, this characterizes rural Africa where there is virtually no formal wage labor, and most work is directly or indirectly related to agriculture and is reliant on strength and stamina. - adverse events, such as weather and pests, jointly have an adverse affect on income and prices of food, as well as directly on healthConceptually you need to show the causal relationships that give rise to these systems. So this will look different for each.
biofortification to breed higher levels of micronutrients directly into key staple foods. Iron beans, iron pearl millet, vitamin A cassava, OSP, zinc rice, zinc wheatNow working in 8 countries I believe (5 in Africa and 3 in Asia)
Ingo Potrykus (July 31, 2000 cover of TIME magazine)Bt cotton has been huge in India, but not golden rice
Subsistence systems are of special importance for African agriculture - Productivity effects of health and nutrition greatest in populations with more serious health problems - health and well-being in rural areas lag far behind that in urban areas - productivity consequences of poor health are likely to be worse in areas where hard physical labor is the critical input. Again, this characterizes rural Africa where there is virtually no formal wage labor, and most work is directly or indirectly related to agriculture and is reliant on strength and stamina. - adverse events, such as weather and pests, jointly have an adverse affect on income and prices of food, as well as directly on healthConceptually you need to show the causal relationships that give rise to these systems. So this will look different for each.
Subsistence systems are of special importance for African agriculture - Productivity effects of health and nutrition greatest in populations with more serious health problems - health and well-being in rural areas lag far behind that in urban areas - productivity consequences of poor health are likely to be worse in areas where hard physical labor is the critical input. Again, this characterizes rural Africa where there is virtually no formal wage labor, and most work is directly or indirectly related to agriculture and is reliant on strength and stamina. - adverse events, such as weather and pests, jointly have an adverse affect on income and prices of food, as well as directly on healthConceptually you need to show the causal relationships that give rise to these systems. So this will look different for each.
Subsistence systems are of special importance for African agriculture - Productivity effects of health and nutrition greatest in populations with more serious health problems - health and well-being in rural areas lag far behind that in urban areas - productivity consequences of poor health are likely to be worse in areas where hard physical labor is the critical input. Again, this characterizes rural Africa where there is virtually no formal wage labor, and most work is directly or indirectly related to agriculture and is reliant on strength and stamina. - adverse events, such as weather and pests, jointly have an adverse affect on income and prices of food, as well as directly on healthConceptually you need to show the causal relationships that give rise to these systems. So this will look different for each.
East and Southeast Asia has witnessed a dramatic drop in per capita rice consumption over the past four decades. Starting with Japan and Korea declining per capita rice consumption trends have cascaded throughout the region. Even South Asia has not been an exception to these trends. Data from India’s National Sample Survey shows that per capita rice and wheat consumption dropped in the last fifteen years across all income classes, except the poorest five percent of the population. Declining staple cereal consumption trends are observed among both the urban and rural populations. Are our models reflecting the right income elasticity of demand for cereals?
Almost fifty per cent of the developing world’s population – 2.5 billion people – lack improved sanitation facilities, and over 884 million people still use unsafe drinking water sources. Poor sanitation, water and hygiene have many other serious repercussions. Children – and particularly girls – are denied their right to education because their schools lack private and decent sanitation facilities. Women are forced to spend large parts of their day fetching water. Poor farmers and wage earners are less productive due to illness, health systems are overwhelmed and national economies suffer.