Nutrition-sensitive agriculture: Connecting the dots

ROME, 24 July 2014 – As the importance of nutrition-sensitive agriculture rises on the global development agenda, IFAD and its partners are working to "mainstream" nutrition into their investments and activities. As a result, there is an increasing demand for experts who understand the links between agriculture and nutrition. In the coming years, they will be called upon to design nutrition-sensitive agricultural and rural development projects that effectively contribute to ending hunger and malnutrition in poor and vulnerable communities.

Woman picks cucumbers in her vegetable field in Bangladesh. ©IFAD/GMB Akash

To expand the pool of experts who can take on such assignments, IFAD hosted an intensive training workshop at its Rome headquarters last week. About 40 staff and consultants  participated in the four-day session, which was developed jointly by IFAD, the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and REACH, a partnership of United Nations agencies working to scale up food and nutrition interventions.

"This is a watershed moment," said Bibi Giyose, senior nutrition policy officer at FAO and previously nutrition advisor at the New Partnership for Africa's Development, or NEPAD. The session was an example of UN agencies "working together for one big, wonderful cause," she noted.