26 September 2017: There are many measures and policies to improve the resilience of farming systems and improve nutrition outcomes in poor countries. Two recent publications by research centers of the CGIAR System Organization provide knowledge and lessons learned on different, yet complementary approaches.

Mainstreaming Agrobiodiversity

We know about 7000 species of edible plants in the world, however we only use 30 of them to produce most of the food consumed globally. Broadening the biological basis of the world’s food systems could yield multiple benefits for food security, nutrition, health and the environment. Investing in agrobiodiversity is a natural way to improve the resilience of food systems against extreme weather events and other shocks. These are the key findings of the first comprehensive analysis of the role of agrobiodiversity in improving food systems resilience. The book, titled ‘Mainstreaming Agrobiodiversity in Sustainable Food Systems – Scientific Foundations for an Agrobiodiveristy Index,’ summarizes available evidence on using agrobiodiversity to improve nutrition by harnessing natural processes. It also presents the state of efforts to develop an index that can help monitoring the state of agrobiodiversity in food systems and inform decisions about the improved management of agricultural biodiversity.

The publication covers the science and practice of investing in agrobiodiversity including sections on: the role of agricultural biodiversity and food system sustainability; using food biodiversity for healthy and diverse diets and multiple services in sustainable farming systems, such as pollination, soil quality, and resilient agricultural landscapes; conserving agricultural biodiversity; and progress in the development of an agrobiodiversity index.

Published by Bioversity International, a member of the CGIAR System Organization, with the support of the European Commission, the book is the culmination of several years of research and development towards an agrobiodiversity index. [Bioversity International Press Release][Publication: Mainstreaming Agrobiodiversity in Sustainable Food Systems: Scientific Foundations for an Agrobiodiversity Index][Book Summary]

Lessons Learned in Reducing Malnutrition in Africa

Investing in agrobiodiversity can be a key element for comprehensive strategies to improve nutrition and combat hunger in poor countries. Research performed by another member of the CGIAR System Organization, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), has yielded five key lessons on how several African countries have made substantial progress in reducing malnutrition.

The report titled, ‘Nourished: How Africa Can Build a Future Free from Hunger and Malnutrition,’ investigates the policy frameworks, programmes and decisions that laid the basis for improved food security and nutrition in Senegal, Ghana, Rwanda, Angola, Cameroon, Togo, and Ethiopia. In each country, policy makers have succeeded in preventing deterioration of food security. All countries made progress towards the objectives of the 2014 Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods, including ending hunger by 2025, five years prior to the timeline identified in Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero hunger).

The report outlines the following lessons learned: adopt and prioritize a comprehensive, cross-department nutrition policy to tackle malnutrition through a multi-pronged approach; promote partnerships for common goals; long-term planning to prevent, rather that react to, food crises; improve access to more nutritious food; and harness novel technologies such as mobile applications to monitor nutrition status. [IFPRI Press Release][Nourished: How Africa Can Build a Future Free from Hunger and Malnutrition][Malabo Declaration on Agriculture and Postharvest Losses][Abstract]