INTERNATIONAL FOOD
POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty
Linking Agriculture and
Health: Progress of a
CGIAR* Initiative
Corinna Hawkes
Food Consumption and Nutrition Division
International Food Policy Research Institute
* Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
(www.cgiar.org)
Agriculture & health are linked with significant
implications for the poverty, livelihoods, food
security, nutrition & health of the world’s poor
Agriculture
Health
 By producing food and generating income and other
benefits, agriculture is fundamental for good health
 By demanding labor, affecting the environment, and
producing goods, agriculture contributes to poor health
Health
Agriculture
 Agricultural populations in poor health are less able to
work perpetuating a downward spiral into poverty
 Wider prevalence of malnutrition and disease influences
the market demand (and needs) for agricultural outputs
INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Linking Agriculture and Health: Progress of a CGIAR Initiative
SCN Working Group on Household Food Security, Geneva, March 16 2006
Why now?
 History of IFPRI/CGIAR work on agriculture and nutrition
 Increasing body of CGIAR work on agriculture and
health more broadly, but not well coordinated
 Innovative solutions needed to prevent & control world’s
major health problems affecting the poor (undernutrition,
HIV/AIDs, malaria, food borne disease)
 Action needed to understand and address emerging
health problems related to agriculture and health (e.g.
avian flu, obesity & diet-related chronic diseases)
 New challenges affecting agriculture & the nature of its
linkages with health (globalization, urbanization)
INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Linking Agriculture and Health: Progress of a CGIAR Initiative
SCN Working Group on Household Food Security, Geneva, March 16 2006
CGIAR Initiative on Agriculture and Health
aims to…
 Improve coordination of existing health-related
research in the CGIAR & maximize impact on policy,
in partnership with the health sector
 Improve the health of the poor, reduce malnutrition
and food insecurity, and promote pro-poor
agricultural development, by increasing synergies
and collaboration between agriculture & health in
research, policy and practice
FOCUS EQUALLY ON RESEARCH AND POLICY
DEVELOPMENT
INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Linking Agriculture and Health: Progress of a CGIAR Initiative
SCN Working Group on Household Food Security, Geneva, March 16 2006
Actions so far
 Center Directors Working Group established on Agriculture
and Health , to steer initiative (2004)
 Development of conceptual framework linking agriculture
and health, to set broad frame of reference (2004/2005)
 Workshop on agriculture and health (June 2005)
 Event held for all CG Centers at Annual General Meeting, to
communicate development of initiative (Dec 2005)
 IFPRI 2020 Focus Briefs on agriculture & health linkages, to
compile & communicate what is already known (May 2006)
 Web resource guide describing health-related work in CG
Centers, to allow anyone to learn about & utilize this
research (2006)
INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Linking Agriculture and Health: Progress of a CGIAR Initiative
SCN Working Group on Household Food Security, Geneva, March 16 2006
Roundtable workshop - Agriculture & Health
Linkages: Towards Improved Coordination
IFPRI, Washington DC, June 23-24
 45 participants from 11 CG Centers (out of 15),
health sector (WHO, academic experts, NGOs),
donors
 Reviewed existing work, discussed how to
improve CG coordination and strengthen
partnerships with the health sector, and
challenges and opportunities to move forward
INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Linking Agriculture and Health: Progress of a CGIAR Initiative
SCN Working Group on Household Food Security, Geneva, March 16 2006
Noted real challenges…
 Linkage between agriculture & health are
dynamic and complex
 Significant institutional challenges
 Insectoral research and policies difficult to
monitor and evaluate
 Policymakers, practioners and donors need to
be convinced of relevance and added benefits of
working across sectors
INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Linking Agriculture and Health: Progress of a CGIAR Initiative
SCN Working Group on Household Food Security, Geneva, March 16 2006
… but real opportunities for CG to improve
synergies, in partnership with health sector
 Conduct scientific and policy research on linkages
 Develop partnerships with health sector to draw on
mutual strengths
 Build dialogue to build common ground between
researchers policymakers sand practitioners
 Communicate through publications
 Develop and adapt methodological tools to link
agriculture & health in research, policy and practice
INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Linking Agriculture and Health: Progress of a CGIAR Initiative
SCN Working Group on Household Food Security, Geneva, March 16 2006
Focus on moving forward, addressing
existing & emerging challenges, learning
from the past, but building new approaches
EXAMPLE: AGRICULTURE AND NUTRITION
Learn from past, that agriculture can contribute to nutrition by:
• increasing availability of staples, access to micronutrient
rich food, income, & women’s empowerment
Need also to address challenges of globalization & urbanization:
• Impact on dual burden of malnutrition;
• Elevation of the role of agri-food markets relative to
agricultural production
Overall, to succeed must address agri-food and health
governance structures that create institutional barriers to
increasing the synergies
INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Linking Agriculture and Health: Progress of a CGIAR Initiative
SCN Working Group on Household Food Security, Geneva, March 16 2006
Next steps
 RESEARCH:
• Continue ongoing research (HIV/AIDs; nutrition/obesity)
• Identify critical scientific & policy research needed in
concept note
 COLLABORATION:
• Identify “big picture” global public health/nutrition experts to
help guide the initiative
• Assist World Bank in agriculture-nutrition work
 COMMUNICATION:
• Special issue of Food and Nutrition Bulletin (June 2007),
• Launch of 2020 Focus Briefs and Resource Guide
INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Linking Agriculture and Health: Progress of a CGIAR Initiative
SCN Working Group on Household Food Security, Geneva, March 16 2006
For more information
 Brief on initiative: available here &
http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/misc/fcnaghealth.pdf
 Website on workshop:
www.ifpri.org/events/seminars/2005/20050623Ag
Health.htm
 Contact
• Marie Ruel (m.ruel@cgiar.org)
• Corinna Hawkes (c.hawkes@cgiar.org)
INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Linking Agriculture and Health: Progress of a CGIAR Initiative
SCN Working Group on Household Food Security, Geneva, March 16 2006