Agriculture for Nutrition: Getting Policies Right

Forthcoming chapter in The Fight Against Hunger and Malnutrition: The Role of Food, Agriculture, and Targeted Policies, edited by David E. Sahn, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015

Posted: 4 Feb 2015

See all articles by Prabhu Pingali

Prabhu Pingali

United Nations - Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Katie Ricketts

Cornell University - Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management

David E. Sahn

Cornell University

Date Written: August 2014

Abstract

The past fifty years have been a period of extraordinary food crop productivity growth, despite rising populations and increasing land scarcity, largely due to the Green Revolution. Despite these massive gains in productivity, malnutrition has persisted for close to a billion people in the developing world. In the specific domain of food systems and agricultural interventions, there is still a great deal of work to orient policy driven by nutritional goals, with a focus on rural women and children. We propose that a better understanding of the connection between a country’s stage of economic transition the process of structural transformation and population-level nutrition outcomes is essential for contextualizing agriculture policies capable of improving a countries unique nutrition challenges. We introduce a typology of agricultural systems that reflect the particular stage of structural transformation of a country and discuss the necessary agricultural initiatives that can potentially reduce undernutrition and micronutrient malnutrition.

Suggested Citation

Pingali, Prabhu and Ricketts, Katie and Sahn, David E., Agriculture for Nutrition: Getting Policies Right (August 2014). Forthcoming chapter in The Fight Against Hunger and Malnutrition: The Role of Food, Agriculture, and Targeted Policies, edited by David E. Sahn, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2559865

Prabhu Pingali

United Nations - Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) ( email )

Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
Rome, Lazio 00100
ITALY

Katie Ricketts

Cornell University - Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management ( email )

Ithaca, NY
United States

David E. Sahn (Contact Author)

Cornell University ( email )

B16 MVR Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
United States
607-255-8931 (Phone)
607-255-0178 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://courses.cit.cornell.edu/des16

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