1. BACKGROUND:
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)-assisted Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) Program aims to enhance food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agricultural practices. As part of its knowledge dissemination strategy, the program seeks to develop and produce educational posters that convey key nutrition messages to target communities, using visual aids to ensure messages are easily understood and retained.
Nutrition and agriculture are inherently intertwined, with the agricultural sector playing a crucial role in ensuring food security and promoting health through the production of diverse and nutritious food. Enhancing nutrition through agriculture involves integrating nutritional outcomes into agricultural policies, investments, and interventions. This ensures that agricultural practices contribute to the availability, affordability, and accessibility of nutritious foods, thereby improving dietary quality and health outcomes for populations. Additionally, dietary diversity is a key indicator of diet quality and nutritional adequacy. For women, especially those of reproductive age, attaining minimum dietary diversity is vital for several reasons which include maternal and reproductive health, pregnancy and lactation, and overall well-being.
Nutrition during the first five years of life is critical for a child’s growth, development, and long-term health. This period, often referred to as the “window of opportunity,” is crucial for several reasons which include but are not limited to growth and development, brain development, immune function, and long-term health.
Integrating nutrition into agricultural practices, promoting dietary diversity for women, ensuring proper nutrition for children, maintaining balanced diets within households, and encouraging home gardening are crucial steps towards achieving food security, improving health outcomes, and fostering sustainable development.
Kindly download the below document for more details
Recent Comments