Family farming can help unleash the power of nutrition
THE theme of World Food Day 2014 is “Family Farming: feeding the world, caring for the earth.” Family farms are at the heart of Bangladesh life, they are both an economic and social force. While Bangladesh has made great strides towards the Millennium Development Goals, eradicating extreme poverty, improving education and reducing child and maternal mortality -- undernutrition remains one major unfinished agenda.
Addressing the nutrition challenge requires coordinated action across a range of sectors -- health, agriculture, water and sanitation. Among these efforts, an increased focus on family farming is one way to help tackle undernutrition. Family farming activities -- such as home gardening and poultry rearing -- increase the availability of diverse and nutrient-rich foods, and ensure sustainable household income and empowerment for women in Bangladesh. These approaches help children, their families and communities get the nutrients they need to develop healthy, strong bodies and minds.
Good nutrition in the first 1,000 days of a child's life -- from a mother's pregnancy through to a child's second birthday -- is the key to a child's future. This time period is critical for proper brain development and physical growth and is a unique window of opportunity that can give all children the best possible start in life.
However, for many children, this window has been closed.
Fifteen year old Nahid from Satkhira was married before the age of 12. She is now the loving mother of three sons. She and her children suffer from chronic undernutrition.
“I am not able to eat on a regular basis,” she says, visibly distressed. “Sometimes, I cannot stand up.”
She is drained of energy and struggles to raise her children. The family's poverty, her premature motherhood and her weakened state have made it a challenge to nourish and nurture her three boys.
Fuelling these challenges are community myths which create misconceptions around the right foods to feed children. “Our village people said that if your child eats bottle gourd or spinach he or she will face colds and allergies,” Nahid says. But spinach is commonly regarded as a rich source of nutrients and bottle gourd is rich in minerals.
Compounding the situation for Nahid is her limited authority to make decisions in the household.
“What my husband buys is distributed first to him and the children and sometimes there is no food left. That's the reason why I feel weak, distressed and suffer from palpitations. My newborn had pneumonia, is not getting enough breast milk from me and is undernourished. If I ask my husband to go shopping he will say: 'I have no money, how will I buy these things?' He gets angry and conflict happens in the family.”
Nahid's story highlights the complexity of undernutrition and the importance of good nutrition through the life cycle. If a baby born to an undernourished mother has a low birth weight, then the baby is undernourished at birth and has a higher risk of developmental and health problems. These consequences are irreversible.
Families like Nahid's with limited income often cope by eating cheaper, less nutritious food. However, an increased focus on homestead gardening and poultry rearing can increase a family's access to more diverse foods and thus help provide essential energy and nutrients.
With the right variety of nutritious foods, a hygienic living environment, and with good care -- such as exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months -- there is a lifetime of benefits for children, including stronger immune systems, better school performance and greater potential to earn. This allows them to contribute more to the economic and social development of their family and their nation. Investing effectively in nutrition is essential for increasing economic productivity and experts agree that every $1 spent on improving nutrition can have a $30 return on investment.
While diverse food production and consumption are important, they are not the whole solution to improving nutrition. Ending child marriage and delaying young pregnancies can help break the intergenerational cycle of low birth weight and chronic malnutrition. Improving access to health services, safe drinking water and a clean environment can reduce disease and infection and ensure that women and children stay healthy. Improving the practice of hand washing before feeding a child is also key. At the core of all our efforts, women must be empowered to be decision-makers in their families and communities, leading the way to a healthier and stronger nation.
In Bangladesh today, the undernutrition situation is a persisting development challenge: 41%, or approximately seven million children under five, are stunted (too short for their age). Among women, 24% are underweight which increases the likelihood that their children will also be stunted. Thirty-three per cent of girls have begun child bearing when they are still children themselves (by age 17).
On World Food Day, we recognise the importance of family farming; and the progress that has been achieved in reducing undernutrition but acknowledge that, for families like Nahid's, progress is too slow. We reaffirm our commitment to working with the government, scientists, academics, civil society, the media and private sector to champion good nutrition for all. By working in collaboration, we can unlock the power of good nutrition and scale up effective solutions, such as family farming, to ensure the people of Bangladesh can reach their full potential.
The authors of this joint opinion piece are the Country Representatives of FAO, UNICEF, WFP, WHO, respectively.
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