247
© The Author(s) 2019
T. S. Rosenstock et al. (eds.), The Climate-Smart Agriculture Papers,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92798-5_21
Chapter 21
Nutrition-Sensitive Value Chain
Development in a Changing Climate
Summer Allen and Alan de Brauw
21.1 Introduction
Food security has improved over the past quarter century in developing countries,
with the number of undernourished people declining from 900 million in 2000 to
815 million in 2017 (FAO 2017). Yet while a larger proportion of the world’s population can now access enough food in terms of caloric requirements, it is not necessarily nutritious. The 2016 Global Nutrition Report states that micronutrient
deficiency remains stubbornly high, with obesity rates increasing rapidly in lowand middle-income countries (IFPRI 2016). For example, wasting (low weight for
height, a sign of undernutrition) affected 52 million children under 5 in 2016, yet 41
million children were overweight the same year (FAO 2017).
In sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, regions which rank highest in malnutrition rates, climate change poses a severe threat to food security; changes in temperature, precipitation patterns and disease environments are expected to reduce yields
by levels as high as 2% per decade (GLOPAN 2015). Whilst heat and water stress
will increase the incidence of pests and diseases, higher temperatures will also
increase spoilage of fresh, nutritious foods, and climate events such as flooding will
prevent their transport to market (Vermeulen et al. 2012). Climate change can also
exacerbate nutritional deficiencies – increased CO 2 concentrations reduce the nutritional quality of crops, such as the protein content of grain crops and soybeans
(Myers et al. 2017; Taub et al. 2008).
Most studies focus on the effects of climate change on agricultural productivity
levels, but few have analysed the impact of climate change on household nutrition
(e.g., Kabubo-Mariara et al. 2016; Springmann et al. 2016). For example it is estimated that globally, reduced fruit and vegetable consumption (caused by reduced
S. Allen (*) · A. de Brauw
Markets, Trade and Institutions Division, International Food Policy Research Institute
(IFPRI), Washington, DC, USA
e-mail: s.allen@cgiar.org; a.debrauw@cgiar.org
© The Author(s) 2019
T. S. Rosenstock et al. (eds.), The Climate-Smart Agriculture Papers,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92798-5_21
Chapter 21
Nutrition-Sensitive Value Chain
Development in a Changing Climate
Summer Allen and Alan de Brauw
21.1 Introduction
Food security has improved over the past quarter century in developing countries,
with the number of undernourished people declining from 900 million in 2000 to
815 million in 2017 (FAO 2017). Yet while a larger proportion of the world’s population can now access enough food in terms of caloric requirements, it is not necessarily nutritious. The 2016 Global Nutrition Report states that micronutrient
deficiency remains stubbornly high, with obesity rates increasing rapidly in lowand middle-income countries (IFPRI 2016). For example, wasting (low weight for
height, a sign of undernutrition) affected 52 million children under 5 in 2016, yet 41
million children were overweight the same year (FAO 2017).
In sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, regions which rank highest in malnutrition rates, climate change poses a severe threat to food security; changes in temperature, precipitation patterns and disease environments are expected to reduce yields
by levels as high as 2% per decade (GLOPAN 2015). Whilst heat and water stress
will increase the incidence of pests and diseases, higher temperatures will also
increase spoilage of fresh, nutritious foods, and climate events such as flooding will
prevent their transport to market (Vermeulen et al. 2012). Climate change can also
exacerbate nutritional deficiencies – increased CO 2 concentrations reduce the nutritional quality of crops, such as the protein content of grain crops and soybeans
(Myers et al. 2017; Taub et al. 2008).
Most studies focus on the effects of climate change on agricultural productivity
levels, but few have analysed the impact of climate change on household nutrition
(e.g., Kabubo-Mariara et al. 2016; Springmann et al. 2016). For example it is estimated that globally, reduced fruit and vegetable consumption (caused by reduced
S. Allen (*) · A. de Brauw
Markets, Trade and Institutions Division, International Food Policy Research Institute
(IFPRI), Washington, DC, USA
e-mail: s.allen@cgiar.org; a.debrauw@cgiar.org