Linking Agriculture and Health: Progress of a CGIAR* Initiative Corinna Hawkes Food Consumption and Nutrition Division International Food Policy Research Institute * Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (www.cgiar.org)

Agriculture & health are linked with significant implications for the poverty, livelihoods, food security, nutrition & health of the world’s poor Agriculture Health By producing food and generating income and other benefits, agriculture is fundamental for good health By demanding labor, affecting the environment, and producing goods, agriculture contributes to poor health Agricultural populations in poor health are less able to work perpetuating a downward spiral into poverty Wider prevalence of malnutrition and disease influences the market demand (and needs) for agricultural outputs Health Agriculture Linking Agriculture and Health: Progress of a CGIAR Initiative SCN Working Group on Household Food Security, Geneva, March 16 2006

Why now? History of IFPRI/CGIAR work on agriculture and nutrition Increasing body of CGIAR work on agriculture and health more broadly, but not well coordinated Innovative solutions needed to prevent & control world’s major health problems affecting the poor (undernutrition, HIV/AIDs, malaria, food borne disease) Action needed to understand and address emerging health problems related to agriculture and health (e.g. avian flu, obesity & diet-related chronic diseases) New challenges affecting agriculture & the nature of its linkages with health (globalization, urbanization) Linking Agriculture and Health: Progress of a CGIAR Initiative SCN Working Group on Household Food Security, Geneva, March 16 2006

CGIAR Initiative on Agriculture and Health aims to… Improve coordination of existing health-related research in the CGIAR & maximize impact on policy, in partnership with the health sector Improve the health of the poor, reduce malnutrition and food insecurity, and promote pro-poor agricultural development, by increasing synergies and collaboration between agriculture & health in research, policy and practice FOCUS EQUALLY ON RESEARCH AND POLICY DEVELOPMENT Linking Agriculture and Health: Progress of a CGIAR Initiative SCN Working Group on Household Food Security, Geneva, March 16 2006

Actions so far Center Directors Working Group established on Agriculture and Health , to steer initiative (2004) Development of conceptual framework linking agriculture and health, to set broad frame of reference (2004/2005) Workshop on agriculture and health (June 2005) Event held for all CG Centers at Annual General Meeting, to communicate development of initiative (Dec 2005) IFPRI 2020 Focus Briefs on agriculture & health linkages, to compile & communicate what is already known (May 2006) Web resource guide describing health-related work in CG Centers, to allow anyone to learn about & utilize this research (2006) Linking Agriculture and Health: Progress of a CGIAR Initiative SCN Working Group on Household Food Security, Geneva, March 16 2006

Roundtable workshop - Agriculture & Health Linkages: Towards Improved Coordination IFPRI, Washington DC, June 23-24 45 participants from 11 CG Centers (out of 15), health sector (WHO, academic experts, NGOs), donors Reviewed existing work, discussed how to improve CG coordination and strengthen partnerships with the health sector, and challenges and opportunities to move forward Linking Agriculture and Health: Progress of a CGIAR Initiative SCN Working Group on Household Food Security, Geneva, March 16 2006

Noted real challenges… Linkage between agriculture & health are dynamic and complex Significant institutional challenges Insectoral research and policies difficult to monitor and evaluate Policymakers, practioners and donors need to be convinced of relevance and added benefits of working across sectors Linking Agriculture and Health: Progress of a CGIAR Initiative SCN Working Group on Household Food Security, Geneva, March 16 2006

… but real opportunities for CG to improve synergies, in partnership with health sector Conduct scientific and policy research on linkages Develop partnerships with health sector to draw on mutual strengths Build dialogue to build common ground between researchers policymakers sand practitioners Communicate through publications Develop and adapt methodological tools to link agriculture & health in research, policy and practice Linking Agriculture and Health: Progress of a CGIAR Initiative SCN Working Group on Household Food Security, Geneva, March 16 2006

Focus on moving forward, addressing existing & emerging challenges, learning from the past, but building new approaches EXAMPLE: AGRICULTURE AND NUTRITION Learn from past, that agriculture can contribute to nutrition by: increasing availability of staples, access to micronutrient rich food, income, & women’s empowerment Need also to address challenges of globalization & urbanization: Impact on dual burden of malnutrition; Elevation of the role of agri-food markets relative to agricultural production Overall, to succeed must address agri-food and health governance structures that create institutional barriers to increasing the synergies Linking Agriculture and Health: Progress of a CGIAR Initiative SCN Working Group on Household Food Security, Geneva, March 16 2006

Next steps RESEARCH: COLLABORATION: COMMUNICATION: Continue ongoing research (HIV/AIDs; nutrition/obesity) Identify critical scientific & policy research needed in concept note COLLABORATION: Identify “big picture” global public health/nutrition experts to help guide the initiative Assist World Bank in agriculture-nutrition work COMMUNICATION: Special issue of Food and Nutrition Bulletin (June 2007), Launch of 2020 Focus Briefs and Resource Guide Linking Agriculture and Health: Progress of a CGIAR Initiative SCN Working Group on Household Food Security, Geneva, March 16 2006

For more information Brief on initiative: available here & http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/misc/fcnaghealth.pdf Website on workshop: www.ifpri.org/events/seminars/2005/20050623AgHealth.htm Contact Marie Ruel (m.ruel@cgiar.org) Corinna Hawkes (c.hawkes@cgiar.org) Linking Agriculture and Health: Progress of a CGIAR Initiative SCN Working Group on Household Food Security, Geneva, March 16 2006