services.6 So far, however, there is litle concrete evidence on how agriculture–nutrition linkages work. One crucial task then is to compile the evi- dence base on these links. Many more studies are needed on the nutritional impacts of agricultural interventions, more nutrition-relevant data need to be generated and collected, and nutritional indica- tors should be included in evaluations of agricul- tural programs. Te 2020 Conference highlighted four impor-
tant sets of tools that could help to leverage agri- culture for beter nutrition and health. Economic levers include, at the broadest level, agricultural growth or overall economic growth (with the caveat that growth alone is not enough to solve the nutrition problem). “Fat taxes” and “thin sub- sidies” have the potential to influence people’s economic access to healthy foods in industrial counties, but more targeted approaches to improv- ing poor people’s diets may be more appropri- ate in developing countries. Social levers involve bringing people together across sectors and within communities to jointly work toward improving nutrition and health. Governance levers require government leadership at all levels—from national to provincial to local. Changes in policies and pro- grams are not enough to get people in different ministries and institutions to work together—it is important to devise incentives to get them to do so and to devote the time and resources necessary to work across sectors. Science and technology levers require not only allocating more resources to gen- eral agricultural research and development to keep the pipeline for innovation, discovery, and dissem- ination full, but also targeting more resources spe- cifically to nutrition- and health-relevant research, such as work on nutrient-rich vegetables and other crops and livestock. A number of recurring themes7 emerged during
the 2020 Conference and are engaging the interna- tional community:
1. Improve investments by making existing ones more nutrition- and health-friendly, prioritiz- ing and scaling up successes, and generating new ones that exploit the links among agricul- ture, nutrition, and health.
60 CONNECTING THE DOTS
2. Don’t wait to act but move ahead based on avail- able information and common sense.
3. Communicate beter to build awareness, raise interest, provide options, and atract “champi- ons” to promote action.
4. Fill the knowledge gaps on what type of agricul- tural growth is best for nutrition and health and what types of governance arrangements and partnerships are needed at the local, regional, and global levels.
5. Focus on education by developing multidisci- plinary university-level education programs that inculcate broader thinking among future leaders in agriculture, nutrition, and health, and break down the “silos” between the sectors.
6. Build the evidence base by collecting relevant data in a timely fashion, improving tools and meth- ods, and investing in monitoring and evaluation.
7. Collaborate across sectors by creating mutual accountability and looking for ways to work together while not losing the advantages of deep sectoral expertise.
8. Use all available levers for change, including eco- nomic, social, governance, and science and tech- nology levers that can maximize agriculture’s contribution to nutrition and health.
9. Correct market failures by using public poli- cies such as investments, subsidies, education, trade, and tax policies, as markets alone may not achieve socially optimal agriculture, nutrition, and health outcomes.
10. Look at food systems, not just agricultural sys- tems; consider all the stages from field to fork; and be sensitive to the sustainability of natu- ral resources.
11. Proactively engage the health sector and find ways to reach out and include the health sector in agri- cultural activities.
12. Recognize that women are at the nexus of the three sectors and direct policies and programs to women to simultaneously strengthen agricul- ture and enhance nutrition and health.
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