Presentation at the CGIAR's Science Forum 2013 in Bonn Germany. The Forum theme was Nutrition and Health Outcomes: Targets for Agricultural Research and this was presented in a session on Value Chains.
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SScience Forum Presentation: Using Markets to Promote a Healthy Dietary Transition
1. Presentation at the ISPC Science Forum 2013 Session
“’Leveraging Value Chains for Better Nutrition and Food Safety:
Lessons for CGIAR Research?”
September 24, 2013
Laurian Unnevehr
Senior Research Fellow and
A4NH Theme Leader
IFPRI
Using Markets to Promote a
Healthy Dietary Transition
2. Overview
• The Challenge: Income growth and market
development are not sufficient to improve
nutrition and food safety.
• The Opportunity: Can value chain research
improve market performance for nutrition and
food safety?
• CGIAR Research: How is it embracing this
opportunity?
4. Income Growth Can Reduce
Child Stunting, But Other Actions Needed
A 10% increase
in GDP/PC
leads to a 6%
reduction in
stunting
5. A Changing Focus
for Ag and Nutrition
• Increased calorie production and incomes no
longer seen as ag’s only role
• Focus on how agriculture influences other
important determinants of child stunting
– Women’s empowerment, education, time
– Sanitation and water quality
– Nutrient density and diet quality/diversity
6. Income Growth Can Increase Risks of
Overweight and Obesity
6
A 10% increase
in GDP/PC
leads to a 7%
increase in
overweight
and obesity in
women
7. Dietary Transition
• Diet shift from staples base to other foods is well-
known development outcome
• Healthy diet diversity includes vegetables, fruits,
legumes, animal source foods
– Documented link to improved micronutrient density
and nutrition outcomes at micro level
• Undesirable increase in fats, sugars, processed
foods now occurring at lower income levels with
food system modernization
• Emerging double burden of over and under
nutrition in many countries
8.
9. Ideal US China Bangladesh
Starchy
Staples
48 31 49 80
Legumes &
Nuts
22 5 3 4
Animal &
Fish
Products
10 14 20 4
Fruits &
Vegetables
9 7 9 2
Fats &
Sugars
11 43 19 10
Total
Calories
2200 Too many Too many Too few
Income Doesn’t Lead Diets
Towards Ideal Nutrition
(shares of daily calorie consumption by food groups)
Source for “Ideal” shares: Thompson and Meerman, FAO, 2013
10. Summary: Income Growth Not
Sufficient for Desired Nutrition
• Income not perfect driver for improved diets, nutrition
– Lags in reducing stunting; emerging double burden
• Improved diets mean increases in diet diversity and
consumption of nutrient rich foods
– Micronutrient density and relationship to nutrition at
micro level well-established
– Potential for “unhealthy” diversity
• Price trends reinforce less desired outcomes
– Relative prices: staples prices declining relative to more
nutrient rich foods
– Opportunity cost of time rising: switch to more processed
foods with urbanization
12. Why Income Growth is Not Sufficient:
Market Failures and Diet Quality
• Consumer knowledge incomplete
– nutrition, nutrient content/ safety of foods
• Supply constraints for nutrient rich foods
– perishability, seasonality, variable nutrient
content, food safety, transport
• Result: Under-provision of improved nutrition
and food safety
13. Are There Also Public Failures?
• Public focus on staple crops means
underinvestment in nutrient rich foods
– Pulses in India
• Public focus on meeting food safety standards
for high income market access means
underinvestment in public health oriented
food safety
– Aflatoxins
14. Nutrition-sensitive Value Chains:
A US Example
• Policy change: Mandatory trans fat labeling in
2006
• Value chain actors adjust:
– Testing new formulations; advertising new products
– Farm production of alternative oil sources expands
through contracting
– Research key to support these changes
• Benefits for all consumers as trans fat in food
supply declines
– CDC reports reduction in avg trans fat in US adults’
blood in 2009 health survey
15. Food Safety in Value Chains:
A US Example
• Principles of supply chain approach to
prevention and control well-understood
• 2005 E.coli outbreak associated with spinach
exposed new sources of risk
• Permanent reduction in spinach demand
• Leafy Greens Producer Agreement identified
and enforced process controls through
industry association
16. What’s Missing in
Developing Markets?
• Effective demand and incentives through:
– Brand equity
– Mandatory disclosure
– Regulations
– Risk and health communication
• Producer innovations supported through:
– Research investments
– Institutions to reward coordination
• Can these be adapted for better nutrition in
developing markets?
17. Inputs into production
Food production
Food storage and processing
Food distribution and transport
Food retail and labeling
Value Chain Approach
Consumer
Producer
Supply side
Develop and test
solutions
Demand side
Characterize diets, market
access and constraints to
consumption of nutritious,
safe foods
Test solutions to improve
demand for nutrition and
safety along the value
chain
Identify production and
market constraints to
improved nutrition and
safety
Example: Increased
seasonal availability of
fruit
Example: Nutrition
education delivered
by vegetable seed
supplier
18. Elements of This Approach
• Each value chain study for a nutrient-rich food
should include all of these elements:
– Dietary and nutritional assessment of target
population
– Identification of key foods to improve / diversify diets
– Mapping of the value chain for these foods
– Identification of constraints to supply and to demand
– Developing and/or testing interventions
– Identification of enabling policies
– Assessment of diet quality impact in target population
19. Measuring Diet Quality Impact
• Focus on diet diversity/ quality as desired
outcome
– Targeted increase of single food not always a good
measure of diet quality—”do no harm”
– How do changes in value chains contribute to
diversity and address specific nutritional needs?
– Several measures of diet diversity validated for
diet quality in vulnerable groups
20. Value Chain Impacts at
Market / Whole Diet Level?
• Develop markets for high value crops
– Increase income for producers
– Reduce relative prices of nutrient rich foods
– Increase consumer access to healthy diversity
• Leverage market incentives to enhance
nutritional outcomes from markets
– Partnerships with private sector to direct market
development towards better nutrition
• Can this provide the foundation for a more
healthy dietary transition?
21. CGIAR RESEARCH
How is CGIAR research embracing this opportunity and leveraging
existing expertise?
22. 2011
Cassava
Provitamin A
DR Congo, Nigeria
2012
Beans
Iron (Zinc)
DR Congo, Rwanda
2012
Maize
Provitamin A
Zambia
2012
Pearl Millet
Iron (Zinc)
India
2013
Rice
Zinc
Bangladesh, India
2013
Wheat
Zinc
India, Pakistan
Leveraging Crop Breeding:
Biofortification
VC Research Role: Test market channels for dissemination
23. Leveraging Other
ProductionTechnologies
• Seasonality and Vitamin C content of mango
(ICRAF)
• Biocontrol of aflatoxin in maize and groundnut
(IITA and ICRISAT)
• Infant food development using small fish
(WorldFish)
• VC Research role: Test market viability and
consumer impact from these technologies
24. Leveraging the
Private Sector
• Danone-Grameen fortified yoghurt venture
– Income enhancement for poor women
– Nutrition enhancement for vulnerable groups
• Vegetable seed suppliers in Bangladesh and
Kenya
– Nutrition messages with production extension
– Encourage home consumption
– Expand demand to support expanded supply
• VC Research role: Validate responsible efforts;
Identify scalable opportunities
25. Leveraging Market Incentives
for Reduced Aflatoxins
• Aflatoxins naturally occurring and can enter or
multiply at any stage from production to
consumption
• Market solutions to improve/reward control:
– Warehouse receipts to improve storage
– Alternate uses, eg., oil processing, animal feeds
– Training and product testing delivered through farmer
organizations
– Biocontrol adoption linked to feed markets
• VC Research role: Test market and technology
interventions together
26. Leveraging Dedicated
Supply Chains
• Home Grown School Feeding Programs
– Develop and reward local supply chains for school
feeding
– Promote nutrition education linked to local foods
– Support child nutrition, school performance, habit
formation
• VC Research role: measure nutrition,
education, and market synergies
27. A4NH Research
In This Session
• Micronutrients: OFSP (CIP/IFPRI)
• Diet Diversity: Fruit (ICRAF)
• Food Safety: Animal source foods (ILRI)
28. THANK YOU!
For more information on A4NH Value Chain Research:
http://www.a4nh.cgiar.org/our-research/value-chains-for-enhanced-
nutrition/
Notes de l'éditeur
How far can income take us?
Total cal/day are around 2500 and 3200. Starchy staples are grains, roots, and tubers. These are 80 and 50 % of calories. Nutrient rich foods includes dairy, eggs, meats and fish, legumes and nuts. These are 10 and 32 %. Fats and sugars are unhealthy dietary diversity– 10 and 18 %.
IncomeDiet quality improves through diversification, but slowly and unevenlyPricesRelative prices– eg., staples prices declining relative to more nutrient rich foodsOpportunity cost of time– eg., switch to more processed foods with urbanizationPreferences and cultural normsShape pathway towards diet diversity, eg. ASF increases with income vary widelyGiven the many market failures that can arise in nutrition, it is not surprising that improvements in diet and in nutritional outcomes do not track perfectly with development and rising incomes.
Given the many market failures that can arise in nutrition, it is not surprising that improvements in diet and in nutritional outcomes do not track perfectly with development and rising incomes.
TechnologiesImprovements in production, storage, handling, processing, or marketing to reduce nutritional loss, improve access, or reduce safety risks, eg. Greater seasonal availability for fruitsInformationIncreased demand for improved safety and nutrition through education or improved incentives for different actors in the value chain, eg. Nutrition education with improved vegetable seedsNutritional quality reflected in prices and/or made more affordable, eg., quality certification for locally sourced infant foodsPolicies and InstitutionsNew contractual arrangements create incentives to deliver more nutrient rich foods or to create demand for such foods, eg. Home grown school lunch programs
Release of 6 biofortified varieties in the past 3 years greatly extends the reach and impact of this program. Result of nearly 20 years of capacity building and planning. Crops and nutrients chosen to address important micronutrient deficiencies in the target populations and nutrient content on released varieties targeted to provide 50 to70% of nutrient requirement for women and children.
