This resource book on agriculture, food security and nutrition is intended for use by teachers of agriculture in Africa. The book adopts a "food systems" approach, following the path from producer to consumer to examine the role of agriculture in human development in Africa. The book emphasizes the importance of linkages between agriculture and nutrition in the development of the continent and stresses the need for sub-Saharan Africa to develop its greatest assets: the productive capacities of its land and its people.
In sub-Saharan Africa, agriculture constitutes the livelihood of 69 percent of the economically active population (FAO, 1995f). The productive capacities of natural resources on the continent depend on the productive capacities of its people. In rural communities producers and consumers live in the same household and are often the same people. The way rural households function and make decisions and their visions of the future have long been recognized as essential information for planners and policy-makers in the agricultural sector. What is less frequently recognized among agriculturists is the significance of the consequences of different levels and patterns of consumption and the effects of agricultural decisions on the household food security and nutritional status of both the producers and the consumers in rural and urban areas.
Such consequences may run right through the food chain or involve only part of it. Agricultural decisions may result in a direct change in diet or in the quantity, quality, variety and safety of food available in a particular community. Frequently, the effect is a change in access to food for a particular sector of society or community because of fluctuations in food prices or in household income. All of these changes affect consumption of food and the health and productivity of the consumer. Especially affected by these changes are the poor, who do not have the resources or adequate buffer stocks to withstand a crisis and to maintain household food security on a sustainable basis.
A sudden breakdown in household food security or a prolonged lack of availability of adequate food for consumption in the home will result in deterioration in nutritional status and malnutrition. Malnutrition in this resource book is understood to mean undernutrition, i.e. a lack of adequate energy, protein and micronutrients to meet basic requirements for body maintenance, growth and development. However, the fact that malnutrition is not only a food-related problem has been appreciated for some time. Other important factors include lack of access to health services, sanitation, knowledge, education and care.
The consequences of malnutrition for human well-being and for socio-economic development are far-reaching. In infants and young children, undernutrition and growth retardation are associated with reduced physical activity, impaired resistance to infection, impairment of mental development and reduced educational capacity, and increased morbidity and mortality. In adults, undernourishment can lead to poor health and diminished productivity through reduced physical performance and can hinder community and national development. Improvement of the nutritional conditions of the poor and undernourished is an investment which can help raise the productive capacity of both present and future generations (FAO/ WHO, 1992g).
The extent of the problem of malnutrition in Africa as compared with developing countries as a whole is shown in Tables 1 to 3. Although the proportion of the total developing-country population classified as undernourished dropped substantially (from 35 to 21 percent) between 1969-1971 and 1990-1992, progress has not been even on all continents. In sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, the proportion of the population without adequate access to food rose in this period from 38 to 43 percent. In addition, problems related to micronutrient deficiencies are extensive and are receiving significant attention.
Table 1 - Chronic undernutritiona in sub-Saharan Africa and developing countries, all ages
Countries |
Percent affected |
Number | ||
1969-1971 |
1990-1992 |
1969-1971 |
1990-1992 | |
Total, developing countries |
35 |
21 |
917 |
839 |
Sub-Saharan Africa |
38 |
43 |
103 |
215 |
Source: FAO, 1996b.
a Population with energy intake (kcal/caput/day) on average below 1.54 times the basal metabolic rate (BMR) over one year. The estimates are averages for sub-Saharan Africa.
Table 2 - Underweight childrena in Africa and developing countries
Countries |
Percent affected |
Number | ||||
1975 |
1990 |
1995 |
1975 |
1990 |
1995 | |
Total, developing countries |
42.6 |
35.8 |
34.6 |
195.6 |
193.4 |
199.8 |
Continental Africa |
30.4 |
27.3 |
27.0 |
22.9 |
31.6 |
34.8 |
Sources: WHO, 1995b; WHO Global Database on Child Growth.
a Children aged 0 through 60 months with weight for age below -2 SD of the median United States National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reference (for continental Africa and sub-Saharan Africa).
Table 3 - Micronutrient malnutrition in Africa and developing countries, 1990s
Form of malnutrition |
At risk (millions) |
Affected (millions) |
Iron deficiency or anaemia |
- |
206 |
Iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) |
181 |
86 |
Vitamin A deficiency (children under five years) |
52 |
1.04 |
Sources: WHO, 1994; WHO/UNICEF/ICCIDD, 1993; WHO/UNICEF, 1995.
The joint FAO/WHO International Conference on Nutrition (ICN) was held in Rome in December 1992 to raise global awareness of the causes of malnutrition and to encourage action to promote and protect the nutritional well-being of vulnerable populations. The conference's World Declaration on Nutrition and Plan of Action for Nutrition, unanimously adopted by delegates from 159 countries, emphasize that improvements in human welfare, including nutritional well-being, must be at the centre of social and economic development efforts. The documents call for concerted action to direct resources to those most in need in order to raise their productive capacities, improve their social opportunities and increase their access to food in a sustainable way. They also stress the need to protect the nutritional well-being of vulnerable groups through specific short-term nutrition programmes as needed, together with continuous work towards long-term solutions.
The World Food Summit, held in Rome in November 1996, reaffirmed the right of all people to be free from hunger through the recognition that the long-term answer to the problems of poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition is sustainable economic growth coupled with equitable distribution of that growth throughout society. In sub-Saharan Africa, agriculture is the key to equitable economic growth, and the future health and nutrition of the African people clearly depend on its development.
This resource book was prepared not simply to introduce nutrition into agricultural training, but also to reinforce the aims of the ICN and the World Food Summit. It was also prepared in the recognition and acknowledgment that in Africa, the solution to current problems of poverty and malnutrition lies in the empowerment of rural communities, which can be brought about by assisting them in identifying and overcoming constraints to their fuller participation in the process of development.
