Nutrition in Mountainous Agro-Ecosystems (NMA)

A disproportionally high number of the worlds 2 Billion hungry and malnourished people reside in mountain regions. Households and communities in mountain areas depend highly on agriculture which is often constrained by scarce arable land resources, difficult climatic and topopgraphic conditions and poor infrastucture.

Several impact studies have shown the positive effects of ecological intensification on improved nutrition. Nutrition-sensitive agriculture involves the design and implementation of sustainable farming and cropping systems with explicit nutrition outcomes.

Rural Service Providers (RSP) are key agents for the delivery of nutrition knowledge and practices to rural communities and are a suitable vehicle to improved nutrition of rural communities because they reach and interact closely with farmers in different settings.

• Local level: Rural Service Providers

• National level: Decision makers (public and private sector)

• Global Level: Policy makers and donors

Beneficiaries: rural (farm) households in mountain areas

Outcome A.1:  Households increase production of nutritious foods.

Outcome A.2: People value the benefits of nutritious foods. 

Outcome B: National policies and action plans support and stimulate diversified production and consumption 

Outcome C: Global policies and processes strengthen the nutrition sensitive agriculture approach, particularly in mountain regions

Risultati fasi precedenti:  

• The dietary diversity scores for women increased in the intervention areas of all 5 countries by more than +1 point and reaching above the minimum threshold of five food groups.
• The Mountain Agro-Ecosystems Action Network was established and activated in the five countries, having 1721 registered users by end of 2017 and 47.468 clicks. 66 successful stories are documented.
• 130 Rural Service Providers (30% women) were trained and coached for their field interventions and form an active community with strong social capital.
• 130 Micro Interventions were implemented to show case how nutrition can be improved. 18.400 producers have been reached.