Every country has developed, formulated, and decreed national policies related to rural advisory services. Find some examples here. If you are looking for a national policy from a specific country, please use the search function, selecting the category “National policies” and the tag for the country.
Methods for Teaching and Evaluating Food-Based Dietary Guidelines
Written by Ingrid OliveiraFood-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDG) are established in several countries around the world to address the nutrition concerns of populations (FAO, 2016). FBDGs inform the public about consuming nutritious foods and living a healthy life (FAO, 2016). However, the methods and strategies to educate the public, especially those living in rural communities, and their evaluation are limited. Therefore, the purpose of this technical note is to two-fold: 1) to assist health professionals and non-health professionals educate the public about understanding and using FBDGs, and 2) to provide organizations an overview of methods to evaluate these teaching strategies for their effectiveness in changing community members’ dietary behaviors.
Analysis of Indicators and Measurement Tools Used in Zambia to Assess Impact of Agricultural Extension Programs on Gender Equity and Nutrition Outcomes
Written by Ingrid OliveiraIn Zambia, investment in agricultural extension with a focus on gender equity and nutrition outcomes has been increasing, and in the last decade, several organizations have replicated projects in different geographical areas. However, with persistent high prevalence of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies still being recorded especially among children below the age of five, it is either these initiatives have little impact on reducing malnutrition, they are not sufficient, the correct programs are not being implemented, and/or the methods used to measure the impact may be inappropriate.
Conceptualizing the Contribution of Agricultural Extension Services to Nutrition
Written by Ingrid OliveiraThere is growing global interest in better leveraging Agricultural Extension Services (AES) as a foundation for food and nutrition security. Pluralistic AES (defined in Box 1) consist of rural, agriculturally focused extension and advisory services implemented by public, NGO, and private-sector entities. They reach millions of farmers and represent largely untapped potential for influencing production and consumption decisions which could, in turn, affect the health and nutrition status of populations, particularly in rural areas. Their specific contributions, however, are only beginning to be articulated and evaluated.
This discussion paper addresses the specific contribution that AES can make to food and nutrition security in a way that is consistent with AES’s primary functions. It is particularly focused on the scope of the INGENAES project and the context of the Feed the Future countries within which the project operates.
This note presents lessons learned on integrated homestead food production (IHFP) emerging from projects and programmes implemented by IFAD and other development actors around the world. It aims to complement the How To Do Note (HTDN) on the same subject by illustrating success stories and good practices through case studies. The emerging lessons are distilled and synthesized in order to provide concrete models that could inform and ideally be scaled up in the design and implementation of future IFAD-funded interventions.
Synthesis of Guiding Principles on Agriculture Programming for Nutrition
Written by Ingrid OliveiraSince the food crisis in 2008, the L’Aquila commitments to agriculture - as well as increased investments in agriculture from multilateral development institutions and foundations - have led to increased funding and human resources for agricultural development, and in particular that focused on smallholder and women farmers. At the same time, the Scaling Up Nutrition Framework for Action (2010) and Road Map (2011) have also placed an emphasis on the need for urgent investment to reduce malnutrition, and the United Nations Committee on World Food Security (CFS) is developing a Global Strategic Framework for Food Security and Nutrition (2012). National governments and operational staff have also increased their requests for assistance and guidance from the international development partners on what to do to improve nutrition impact from agriculture. For example, since the inclusion of nutrition as Pillar 3 in the CAADP, African nations are seeking improved knowledge and capacity in this area.
Improving Dietary Diversity to Enhance Women’s and Children’s Nutritional Status in Guatemala’s Western Highlands
Written by Ingrid OliveiraNearly one out of every two children under 5 years of age in Guatemala is stunted. In the Western Highlands, the situation is far worse, with 7 out of every 10 children stunted. Stunting causes children to be shorter than healthy children of the same age. Stunting is a result of chronic malnutrition caused by inadequate quantity and variety of nutrient-rich foods and/or by repeated illnesses, and can lead to adverse health and physical and cognitive development. Stunting in young children increases the risk of: mortality from infections, impaired cognitive ability, late school enrollment, poor school performance, dropping out of school, lower future adult labor productivity, and chronic diseases in adulthood. Preventing stunting through key interventions during the critical 1,000 days from pregnancy through the first 2 years of life is important because it can become increasingly difficult to reverse stunting’s negative consequences after this period.
USAID/ENGINE’s Dietary Diversity and “Farm Wash” SBCC Kit for Agriculture Extension Workers
Written by Ingrid OliveiraDURATION: 5 year integrated nutrition Feed the Future program, funded by USAID (2011-2016), working through multi-sector interventions
Agriculture and livelihoods, nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive programming, policy, training for frontliners, and advanced degree programs
PARTNERS:
- Led by Save The Children
- Partners include Land o’Lakes, Tufts University, JHPIEGO, The Manoff Group, Valid International, and local NGOs through sub-grants
LOCATION: 116 woredas (zones) in the Amhara, Oromia, SNNP, Tigray, amd Somali regions of Ethiopia
TARGETED BENEFICARIES:
- 3.1 million under five children
- half a million pregnant and lactating women
- 3.2 million women of reproductive age
Incorporating Nutrition in Farmer Field Schools
Written by Ingrid OliveiraIn many developing countries, food insecurity combined with a high incidence of infections continues to affect detrimentally the nutrition and health status of poor households. Wasting and stunting are important indicators of undernutrition. Wasting reflects acute food shortages and health problems, and stunting reveals the longer-term presence of nutrition problems. The signs and symptoms of specific micronutrient deficiencies are much less commonly known or recognized by local people and therefore not acted upon as frequently. However, specific micronutrient deficiencies frequently go hand-in-hand with general undernutrition.
Best Practice Tips on Measurement Tools for Gender Equity and Nutrition Impact
Written by Ingrid OliveiraAn important first step in strengthening gender equity and nutrition outcomes involves having reliable methods of measurement of current conditions (Ballard et al. 2011). Measurement tools and indicators have been developed and validated for measuring nutrition outcomes (FANTA 2008; FAO and FHI 360 2016) and gender equity (Malapit et al. 2014; Alkire et al. 2013) at international level. Measurement helps to hold implementers accountable for the actions they take towards improving the status of gender equity and/or nutrition outcomes in their target areas.
Malnutrition continues to be a major development challenge in the South Asia Region. Given its size, India hosts the majority of the malnourished. Around 300 million people in India do not have access to a food supply that sufficiently meets their basic energy needs (World Bank 2012. Nutrition at A Glance: India. Washington, DC: World Bank Group). Despite recent economic growth, poverty remains high, and malnutrition is now manifest in all its forms with overweight and obesity increasing alongside persistent undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies. The progress made between 1970 and 2010 in reducing malnutrition was largely due to improving access to safe water, female education, and female empowerment, the latter 2 especially key in South Asia. The factor that made the least progress between 1995 and 2010 is increasing quantity and quality of food, clearly a responsibility of agriculture (L. Smith and L. Haddad 2014, “Reducing Child Undernutrition: Past Drivers and Priorities for the Post-MDG Era.” IDS Working Paper 441).
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Women’s Empowerment and Child Nutrition: Reducing the Gap with Dairy Cow Rearing
Written by Ingrid OliveiraIn Bangladesh, rural households rear cattle as a component of mixed farming rather than on a truly commercial basis. Like most Asian countries, rural Bangladeshi women extensively participate in livestock management, especially in rearing dairy cows (FAO, 2003; Anderson and Eswaran, 2007; Hashemi et al., 1996; Kabeer 1998) yet society rarely recognizes them as farmers. Consequently, women still receive limited extension services or other support and therefore their contributions to dairy value chains are less than they could be.
Stories From the Field: Improving Nutrition and Livelihoods Through Farmer Field and Life Schools
Written by Ingrid OliveiraMalnutrition is a threat to the wellbeing of vulnerable populations in Eastern Africa. Poor rural households often do not have access to high quality and nutritious foods or they lack a good understanding of improved nutrition habits. Through the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), women and men in the region are now being trained on the nutritious value of locally available foods through the Farmer Field and Life Schools (FFLS).
Stories From the Field: Food and Nutrition Challenges in North-western Kenya
Written by Ingrid OliveiraSecuring food supplies is a struggle some pastoral communities in the Horn of Africa face every day. In the semi-arid north-western region of Kenya, members of the Pokot and Turkana tribes live on two meals per day. FAO REOA and its partners have rolled out the Pastoralist Field Schools (PFS) programme to help improve the food and nutrition security situation, but the local communities are still vulnerable. Cheppurai Lolli and Elizabeth Imuran, both PFS members, share their experiences.
Country Level Programming in Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture
Written by Ingrid OliveiraThis report presents the findings from the UNSCN’s review on Country Level Programming for Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture, and summarizes the current concept of and evidence base for nutrition sensitive agriculture, as well as provides an overview of cross-cutting gender considerations in programming, namely in regards to how nutrition-sensitive programming can contribute to improved gender equality. Resilience building and nutrition education are also discussed as cross-cutting themes. This work has been made possible through the sponsorship by the Government of CANADA.