World Food Policy Volume 2, Number 1, Spring 2015 | Page 79

World Food Policy - Volume 2, Number 1 - Spring 2015

The Negative Side of the Agricultural–Nutrition Impact
Pathways: A Literature Review
Sandrine Dury,A Arlène AlphaB & Anne BichardC
Agricultural development interventions and policies have an impact on the
nutrition of individuals through changes in food availability, in food diversity,
in food prices, and changes in farmers’ income. Less straightforward, they also
entail many changes in health environment and in time availability for care
activities. They finally have impacts on the balance of power both at the intrahousehold, community, and global levels. The impact pathways are complex
and interlinked, and many recent studies have primarily focused on their
positive effects. However, some agricultural interventions might have a negative
impact on nutrition in certain cases. This article sets out to identify them,
through a review of the scientific and institutional literature, along with expert
interviews. Six risk categories are proposed, relative to incomes, prices, types
of products, women’s social status and workload, the health environment, and
inequalities. This review underlines the necessity to have an ex ante analysis of
the nutrition impacts of any food or agricultural policy or intervention with “do
not harm approach” regarding the nutrition outcomes. It gives clues to identify
and mitigate the main negative outcome and advocate for more applied and
well-documented research on that topic.
Keywords: nutrition, agriculture, pathways, impact, development

I - Introduction

Lancet in 2008 and in 2013, there has been
renewed interest in how agriculture affects
here is a quite large and global nutrition. Ruel, Alderman, and Maternal
consensus
concerning
the and Child Nutrition Study Group (2013)
necessity to reinforce investments showed that it is necessary to develop
so-called
“nutrition-sensitive”
and interventions in farming and the
animal husbandry to achieve food and interventions, as specific interventions
nutrition security. Agricultural policies, are insufficient. Recent reviews of the
particularly those designed to support literature (such as those of Masset et
small farmers, play a fundamental role al. 2012) have endeavored to identify
in the fight against undernutrition. the effects of agricultural development
Following the 2008 food price crisis and interventions (ADI) on nutrition, and put
the series of articles on maternal and forward recommendations to make them
child undernutrition published in The nutrition sensitive.

T
A

CIRAD, UMR MOISA, F-34398 Montpellier, France
CIR AD, UMR MOISA, F-34398 Montpellier, France
C
Consultante Indépendante, Ex chef de Mission Action Contre la Faim au Burkina Faso
B

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