The Nexus of Healthy Food, Healthy
Environments and Healthy People
Monty Jones
Executive Director
Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa
1
Food Security
all people, at all times, have;
- physical,
- social and
- economic access
to sufficient, safe and nutritious food
which meets their dietary needs and food
preferences for an active and healthy life
The nutrition concepts adds caring
practices i.e.;
-
health services
healthy environments
termed Nutrition Security
Maxwell and Frankenberger 1992
Herwig Hahn 2001
Nutrition Security
Is achieved if every individual has
- physical
- economic
- environmental access
To balanced diet that includes
- the necessary macro and micro
nutrients
- safe drinking water
- sanitation
- environmental hygiene
- primary health care
- education
so as to lead a healthy and
productive life
Herwig Hahn 2001
Africa’s food, nutrition and health
Agriculture
• accounts for 60% of labour
• 20% of total merchandise and 17% of GDP
In 2000 Africa
• Received 2.8 million tons of food aid
In 2001
• 28 million Africans required emergency food aid
• World Food Programme has spent 45% of its total budget or US$
12.5 billion on food emergencies in Africa
Malnutrition in Africa
the most prevalent and pernicious disease
• Absolute number of
chronically hungry rose from
173 to 200 million people
(%) Children
(106) Children
60
200
180
50
• Of 53 countries …
– 30 have 20% under nourished
– 18 have 35% chronically hungry
• 1/3 of children <5 in
developing countries are
stunted due to inadequate
feeding and poor health
140
40
120
30
Asia
100
80
20
60
Latin
America
40
10
20
0
0
Although absolute numbers are
decreasing, the numbers in
Africa are increasing
Africa
160
1980
1990
Year
2000
1980
1990
2000
Year
Estimated Rates (%) and Numbers (106) of Stunted Pre-school
Children from 1980 – 2005
(Food and Nutrition Seminar, May 2001)
Ulrike Rötten 2001
Nutritional Deficiencies
• Micro nutrients
(vitamins & minerals)
• Calories and proteins
Can cause
• Disease and death
• Impact negatively on intellect and
•
•
education with long term effect on
society
Undermines capacity for work,
causes loss of productivity through
sickness
Reduces total lifetime working
years
Common
deficiencies
Effect
Poor
nourishment
Weak immune system
Prone to infections,
parasites
diarrhoea
Vitamin A
Infections
Skin & eye diseases
Growth retardation
blindness
Iodine
Retarded mental
development
cretinism
Iron
Anemia
Reduced physical
activity
Herwig Hahn 2001, Foster 1992
Effect of malnutrition to the economy
• Studies shows malnutrition…
– Predisposing cause for 50% of diseases
– Reduces economic growth by 1%
• Under nutrition reduces productivity through
– Lost physical and mental capacity
– High morbidity
• Poor households and individuals are
– Unable to achieve food security
– Unable to utilize or contribute to the creation of resources for
sustaining healthy life
Herwig Hahn 2001, Foster 1992
Research on the New Rice for Africa (NERICA): a case study in nurturing hope
Agricultural research for development
multiple objectives
Make food …
• more available – more rice
• more affordable –> cheaper rice
• more nutritious –> better quality rice
• more dependable –> less risk from drought, diseases & pests
• more varied –> more cash to buy choice foods
• more safely produced –> less use of herbicides & pesticides
more available – more rice
Sativa characteristics of NERICA
• strong upright growth to support heavy
seed heads safely to harvest
• secondary branches giving over 400
grains per panicle compared with
about 250 for glaberimas
• non-shattering grains
• respond to mineral fertilization
Resulting to …
More yield per unit input, land,
labour, capital
- without fertilizer NERICAs produce
25 –100% yield increases over sativa
- with fertilizer NERICA doubles yield of
glaberrimas
more dependable –> less risk from drought, diseases & pests
more safely produced –> less use of herbicides & pesticides
Glaberrima characteristics of NERICAs
• Improved weed and pest control
– Rapidly cover the ground with profuse
tillering and leaf growth that shades out
weeds
– early maturity at 90–100 days, compared
with upland sativas at 120–140 days in
West Africa
– resistant to African rice gall midge, the
region’s most devastating insect pest
– resistant to rice yellow mottle virus, a major
disease in lowland rice
– resistance to blast (pyriculose) disease
• Improved drought tolerance
more nutritious –> better quality rice
Added characteristics of NERICAs
• over 70 % of the
NERICAs have higher
protein content than
either parent
~ 10.5% more
compared with 8%
typical of sativa parent
• taste, aroma and other
grain qualities favoured
by African producers
more varied –> more cash to buy choice foods
NERICA’s direct
impact to nutrition
More varied food
Higher yields increase
profits of producers
Results
- additional income
- increase purchasing
power of farmers to buy
greater variety of foods
Research impact on food security and nutrition
NERICA is just one example
• Improved nutritional quality of
foods
– Golden Rice
– Quality Protein Maize
– High beta carotene sweet
potatoes
• Livestock production
– Provide high quality readily
available protein
– Range of essential micronutrients which improve health,
body size and cognitive capacity
Research impact on food security and nutrition
Ongoing research in Africa
• Other crops resulted to
- improved cassava, TC-banana, IR-Maize etc.
• Other areas livestock, fisheries and trees
Focus on
• Reduce post harvest losses and storage
• Improve food processing, shelf life and food quality
• Improve markets
- reduce the cost of marketing
- improve access to markets for smallholders
• Improve the safety of food
- reducing aflotoxin infections and improve food handling
Summary
Food is the single most important
influence on human health
Without agricultural research, rural households in poor
countries would be condemned to
• Hunger
• Stunted physical growth
• Impaired cognitive capacities
• Short life expectancy
• Perpetual under development
In short …
the lack of sufficient food of the right quality
of food will keep poor people poor
Summary
Impairment of livelihoods in developing countries …
- is intolerable on humanitarian grounds
- shuts off markets for US goods
- damages the global environment
…leads to despair and hopelessness
with grave Global Security
Repercussions
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