Knowledge Portal

This article elaborates on the effects of pro-vitamin A maize on the visual functions in children in Zambia. With a randomized research trial the researchers found that children who ate “orange maize” showed improved night vision within six months. Their eyes adapted better in the dark, improving their ability to engage in optical day-to-day activities under dim light. Impairment of the eyes’ ability to adapt to low-light conditions is one of the few measurable signs of vitamin A deficiency at its initial stages. »

This report argues that fisheries and aquaculture are essential for food and nutrition security, employment, income generation and improved livelihoods in the Volta Basin, West Africa. This basin provides a significant number of fisheries and fisheries-related jobs, but operations face significant challenges including multifaceted issues, with inefficiencies at the upstream and downstream levels. »

This study in the Journal of Development Effectiveness quantifies the impact and cost-effectiveness of training poor rural women in Bangladesh in home gardening and nutrition. It was found that the intervention significantly increased vegetable production, vegetable consumption and the micronutrient supply from the garden. »

This issue of Policy in Focus (PDF) by the International Policy Centre for inclusive growth (IPC) sought to present readers with a selection of contributing authors and articles that share a holistic interpretation of the human right to adequate food and nutrition. This interpretation reaffirms that its true realisation goes far beyond the mere fulfilment of basic food and nutritional needs but, rather, must incorporate multiple dimensions. The contributing authors featured in this issue present critical analyses of some of the most relevant public policy strategies aiming to overcome challenges towards the realization of these dimensions. »

This report by IDS presents the results of a desk-based study to assess the available research evidence in relation to African young people’s engagement with agriculture, and to analyse how this evidence is reflected in current European Union (EU) policy and programming in Malawi, Ethiopia and Kenya, three of the 89 countries in which Alliance2015 members work. »

This paper reviews what is currently known about the role played by the informal sector in general and informal retailers in particular, in the accessibility of food in South Africa. The review seeks to identify policy relevant research gaps. The authors conclude their study with critique on the policy environment. They highlight a production and rural bias in the food security agenda and argue that the policy environment for informal operators is at best benign neglect and at worse actively destructive, with serious food security implications. »