Improved household nutrition through home-grown produce and consumption of nutritious and healthy products
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Date
2022
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Sustainable Agricultural Intensification
Abstract
Undernutrition causes stunting, underweight,
and wasting, and these are major health issues
throughout Africa, adversely affecting the phys-
ical and mental growth and development of chil-
dren. High rates of stunting are seen throughout
East and Southern Africa (ESA), with rates of
34% and 26% in the Africa RISING project coun-
tries of Malawi and Tanzania (MoHCDGEC et al.,
2016; NSO and ICF, 2017). Micronutrient defi-
ciencies (e.g., iron, zinc, and calcium), described
as hidden hunger, remain rife in both countries,
especially among women of reproductive age, in-
fants, and young children. These deficiencies
have significant consequences for maternal and
child health, mortality, the global burden of dis-
ease, and economic development. In Malawi, for
example, it is estimated that child undernutrition
resulted in economic losses equivalent to 10.3%
of gross domestic product in 2012. To this end,
the Government of Malawi has reviewed its
nutrition policy to redirect the national focus on
nutrition programming and align its goals with
the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy III
(Government of Malawi, 2018). Tanzania has
also shown commitment to addressing undernu-
trition by articulation of the National Nutrition
Strategy (United Republic of Tanzania, 2016).
Both national policies recognize the need for
multi-sectoral approaches to address malnutri-
tion by promoting dietary diversity.
A dietary approach needs to target the key
growth window of opportunity in children, par-
ticularly between 6 and 23 months of age, when
growth is rapid and at risk of faltering when nu-
trition is lacking (Ferguson et al., 2015). This co-
incides with the weaning period and is an ideal
time to introduce affordable, acceptable, and
nutrient-rich foods.
Dietary diversity can be improved through
both nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive
agricultural interventions. Nutrition-specific
interventions address the immediate causes of
undernutrition, i.e., inadequate diets and ill-
nesses caused by nutrient deficiency. Nutrition-
sensitive interventions incorporate nutrition
objectives in wider disciplines; for example, ad-
vice on producing crops and varieties that are
rich in nutrients, and improved post-harvest
processing and storage to minimize loss and im-
prove quality and nutritional composition.
Description
Book chapter
Keywords
Household, Nutritious, Home-grown, Healthy products