Our new report identifies 10 high-impact nutrition-sensitive interventions to end hunger and malnutrition

Hesat2030 has published a new report that identifies 10 high-impact nutrition interventions for agriculture and food systems – from production to markets and consumption – to improve diet quality and contribute to ending hunger and all forms of malnutrition. When bundled together, these interventions boost efficiency and reduce overall costs.

“At a time when aid budgets are under stress, it is no longer viable to address food security, agricultural development, environmental protection and nutrition in isolation. We looked at thousands of articles published in the past 20 years and found 10 high-impact intervention areas in agriculture and food systems that will fundamentally change how donors contribute to ending hunger. Donor agencies and governments can do things differently and design programmes to achieve multiple positive outcomes simultaneously, and at a lower cost. Our new report shows how this can be done.” Carin Smaller, Co-chair of Hesat2030 and Executive Director of the Shamba Centre for Food & Climate

Limitations with our current approach

The global community is not on track to end hunger and all forms of malnutrition by 2030. Hunger remains a major problem in low- and lower-middle-income countries, affecting an estimated 673 million people. Other forms of malnutrition are either skyrocketing (e.g. overweight) or stagnating (e.g. micronutrient malnutrition). 

Much of the global effort to date has focused on quantity rather than quality. The increase in the availability of wheat, maize, and rice has been seen as a key pathway to reducing caloric hunger. Yet, the effect of addressing hunger only through calories has contributed to colossal health problems with malnutrition emerging as a major crisis affecting one in three people worldwide. The negative environmental impacts generated from the way food is currently produced is also exacerbating climate change, biodiversity loss, and soil degradation.

“Agriculture and food aid has been instrumental in decreasing the number of people suffering from hunger. However, the focus on staples has limited dietary options, and contributed to the rise of the double burden of malnutrition for children and adults, especially for the most vulnerable. It has now to be dealt with. Agriculture remains the first line of defence against hunger and malnutrition: it generates the food we need and is a critical source of income for the poor. We need to address where and how we produce food, the lack of diversity in diets as well as the cost to buy healthy food.” David Laborde, Director, Agrifood Economics Division, FAO

10 nutrition-sensitive interventions for agrifood systems

The new report from Hesat2030 calls on development agencies and governments in low-income countries to prioritise the following nutrition-sensitive interventions in agrifood system as part of their efforts to ending hunger and all forms of malnutrition, while protecting the environment.

# 1        Diversification towards fruits, vegetables, and pulses, including agroforestry

# 2        Sustainable aquaculture and livestock

# 3        Home gardens

# 4        Biofortification

# 5        Storage, distribution, processing and trade infrastructure

# 6        Food fortification

# 7        Food safety

# 8        Shifting and influencing diet choices (through nutrition education, social, and behaviour change communication (SBCC), labelling, etc.)

# 9        Nutritious school meals

# 10      Food vouchers and cash transfers

To be effective, interventions need to be implemented in bundles to reduce overall costs and enhances effectiveness. For example, when households simply receive inputs, such as vegetable seeds, livestock, or fruit trees, without guidance on optimal production, food preparation, or child feeding practices, improvements in income or yields do not always translate into better diets or nutritional outcomes. School meals are more effective at improving education outcomes than nutrition or diet outcomes. However, when designed with nutrition objectives and with local procurement, they can also enhance children’s diet quality and dietary diversity, particularly in low-income countries.

To identify these 10 nutrition-sensitive interventions for agrifood systems, the Hesat2030 nutrition report expands on the evidence-based methodology initiated by Ceres2030. This report is based on an evidence review that synthesised1,732 individual studies across 83 countries and are drawn from 52 high-quality systematic reviews and meta-analyses published over the past 20 years combined with input from researchers to determine the quality and suitability of the evidence. The evidence determined which policy interventions will have the highest impact.

“Our rigorous scientific approach offers donor agencies and governments a high degree of confidence in the evidence needed to support their decisions. By following established methodologies, we ensure consistency and transparency in how evidence is assembled and interpreted about which nutrition-sensitive interventions work best, how they interact with each other, and what potential trade-offs arise. This is key for making evidence-based decisions.” Jaron Porciello, Associate Director, Cornell University

The studies used in the report focus on nutrition-sensitive interventions operating through agrifood systems and report outcomes across three broad domains: food security and diet quality, nutritional status, and wider household-level outcomes including food affordability, income, agricultural productivity, and women's empowerment.

The report, Can the agricultural development community end hunger differently?  Ten high-impact nutrition-sensitive interventions for agrifood systems, is available online. You can also visit the dedicated report webpage.