A value-chain perspective on wheat flour fortification in Pakistan
Food fortification is a popular strategy for addressing ‘hidden hunger’, and staple foods are seen as promising if unproven vehicles for the delivery of essential micronutrients to the poor in developing countries. This paper examines wheat flour fortification with iron in Pakistan as a case of technocratic optimism in the face of institutional constraints. An evaluative framework based on the analysis of the entire value chain can provide a reality check on technocratic optimism.
Agriculture and nutrition in Pakistan: pathways and disconnects
This paper summarises existing evidence on nutrition and agriculture in Pakistan with the view of highlighting the main pathways and disconnects between agriculture growth and nutritional improvement. The first two sections (Sections 1 and 2) describe the nutrition and agriculture situations and trends respectively. Section 3 provides a summary of nutrition-related policies and programmes, and Section 4 does the same for agriculture-related policies and programmes.
Bringing women’s work into focus in Pakistan
Agriculture, the backbone of Pakistan’s economy, can help improve nutrition. The role of the women workers who drive the sector has been a blind spot amongst policy makers who fail to recognize how women in agriculture often work for cheap rates or even for free. The negative effect of this on their health and the nutritional wellbeing of their children is missing from policy discourse.
