Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia
Nutrition
How to design agriculture and food-related policies, programmes and interventions to improve nutrition.
Nutrition
In much of South Asia, women make up a majority of the agricultural workforce, but what effect does working in agriculture have on the nutrition of these women and their children?
Nutrition
Harnessing the farm-to-market value chain to deliver nutritious foods to those who need it most
The Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia (LANSA) research programme consortium aims to enhance the impact of agriculture on maternal and child nutrition in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.
Nearly half the children in South Asian are chronically undernourished (stunted) and despite agriculture being the main livelihood for nearly half the population in the region, its potential for reducing undernutrition has not yet been realised.
The LANSA international research partnership focused on policies, interventions and strategies that can enhance agriculture to improve the nutritional status of children in South Asia.
This collection of LANSA publications describes our innovative research to discover how agriculture and food-related policies, programmes and interventions can be better designed to improve nutrition.
Image credit: Harvested Bell Peppers | IFPRI-IMAGES | Flickr | CC BY NC ND 2.0
In this collection
Showing 11-20 of 100 results
Food production and consumption in Shah Foladi, Bamyan Province, Afghanistan: the challenge of dietary seasonality
Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia, 2019‘Assuring global food security’ is among the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Nutrition security focuses on micronutrient-deficiency diseases caused by inadequate intake of vitamins and minerals. In South Asia, as in many other regions of the world where there are high levels of malnutrition, emerging patterns of changes in seasonality as a likely consequence of climate change are threatening the livelihoods and food security of households.This paper concentrates on agriculture and nutrition in Afghanistan....Review of agriculture-nutrition linkages in South Asia
Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International, 2018The paper reviews the evidence of agriculture–nutrition linkages with particular reference to South Asia from studies published during the period 2012–2018. South Asia houses the largest population of undernourished people in the world and a majority of the population in the region is dependent on agriculture and allied activities and live in rural areas. Following a review of agriculture nutrition linkage, the paper reviews recent work in South Asia focusing on the pathway of agriculture as an asset and source of food and the role of women in agriculture....Factors associated with catch‐up growth in early infancy in rural Pakistan: a longitudinal analysis of the women's work and nutrition Study
Wiley Online Library, 2018The adverse health impacts of early infant stunting can be partially ameliorated by early catch‐up growth. Few studies have examined predictors of and barriers to catch‐up growth to identify intervention points for improving linear growth during infancy. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of, and factors associated with, catch‐up growth among infants in Pakistan....An analysis of protein consumption in India through plant and animal sources
SAGE, 2018India became self-sufficient in food because of the Green Revolution in the 1960s. However, both the technological innovation and policy support have been biased toward cereals. It is expected that cereals are the major source of proteins in the diet. In recent years, the consumption of cereals is declining in spite of increasing output due to declining preference. Therefore, the country needs to increase production and consumption of pulses to meet the nutritional requirements of the population. This article discusses the trends in pulse and protein consumption over the years....Are agriculture and nutrition policies and practice coherent? Stakeholder evidence from Afghanistan
Springer, 2018Despite recent improvements in the national average, stunting levels in Afghanistan exceed 70% in some Provinces. Agriculture serves as the main source of livelihood for over half of the population and has the potential to be a strong driver of a reduction in under-nutrition. This article reports research conducted through interviews with stakeholders in agriculture and nutrition in the capital, Kabul, and four provinces of Afghanistan, to gain a better understanding of the institutional and political factors surrounding policy making and the nutrition-sensitivity of agriculture....Afghanistan: country synthesis brief
Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia, 2018Despite agriculture being the mainstay of Afghan society, little attention has been given to its potential to address undernutrition. The Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia (LANSA) research programme consortium aims to enhance the impact of agriculture on maternal and child nutrition in Afghanistan....Nutrition promotion and collective vegetable gardening by adolescent girls: feasibility assessment from a pilot in Afghanistan
Asian Economic and Social Society, 2018This study aimed to assess the feasibility of collective vegetable gardening into an existing development programme for adolescent girls as a means of improving awareness about health and nutrition and increasing vegetable consumption in Afghanistan. A one and half year pilot study tested the feasibility of layering an intervention that combined agricultural training and input support in Kabul, Parwan and Kapisa regions on an adolescent programme implemented by a non-government organisation....Seasonal variation in the proximal determinants of undernutrition during the first 1000 days of life in rural South Asia: a comprehensive review
Elsevier, 2018In this review, the influence of seasonal variation on undernutrition during the first 1000 days of life of life in rural South Asia is conceptualized using a modified framework developed under the “Tackling the Agriculture and Nutrition Disconnect in India” project. Evidence for the existence and extent of seasonality is summarized from 14 studies reporting on six proximal determinants of undernutrition....School Nutrition Programme, Bangladesh: WFP-BRAC Initiative
Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia, 2018High rates of malnutrition in children, adolescents and women are a major concern in Bangladesh. World Food Programme (WFP) and BRAC initiated a school feeding programme in 2012 targeting children from poor households. This case study was conducted in Islampur upazila in Jamalpur district where micronutrient deficiencies are widespread. The objectives of the study were to understand the value chain of the school feeding programme, the role of the different actors, and its potential for impact.A qualitative approach was undertaken using focus group discussions....Focus on gender, context, and evidence: CARE’s lessons learned
Institute of Development Studies UK, 2018This article explores the most effective ways to influence nutrition through value chains, based on CARE’s long history in food and nutrition security....