Bridging disconnects

Where, to what extent, and how, can the major disconnects between agriculture and nutrition in South Asia be bridged through non-agricultural interventions?


Photo credit: World Bank

For the agriculture-nutrition pathways identified by the landscape analyses  to take root, the structural connections between agriculture and nutrition need to be addressed. The main purpose of this research sub-theme is to identify key connections between agriculture and nutrition, and propose ways of bridging them. This extends the methods developed under the “Tackling the Agriculture-Nutrition Disconnect in India” (TANDI) programme and applies them to Bangladesh and Pakistan. TANDI analysed different agriculture-nutrition pathways. These pathways include links between:

  • Income from agriculture and nutritional outcomes;
  • Household agricultural production and diets; and
  • Women’s work and child nutrition outcomes.

LANSA is broadly replicating TANDI-type analyses for other South Asian countries. We looked for greater depth in analysing the links between agriculture and other potentially pro-nutrition sectors, such as health, infrastructure, education and family planning. By developing broadly similar studies of different South Asian countries LANSA can establish to what extent similar structural relationships exist across countries, and to what extent there are inter and intra-country differences. This type of comparative analysis supported both cross-country learning and provided a platform for promising regional approaches. This work stream also informed LANSA’s research on agriculture and food policies, strategies and systems under the research theme concerned with agri-food policies and markets.

Key areas of research in this work stream include:

  • Landscaping of nutrition programmes
  • Income and nutrition 
  • Identifying pathways that link nutritional impacts with agricultural performance
  • Women’s empowerment and nutrition 
  • Assessing the impact of social protection
  • Access to land and nutrition. 

South Asia Focus

Funded by UK DFID

This research has been funded by the UK Government’s Department for International Development; however the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK Government’s official policies

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