What is nutrition-sensitive agriculture?
Agriculture is nutrition-sensitive when it addresses the underlying causes of malnutrition.
Nutrition-sensitive agriculture supports:
Food security
Adequate caregiving resources
Access to health services and a hygienic environment
Looking Beyond Food for Better Nutrition
While a better diet means better health, research shows that food alone won’t solve the problem of malnutrition. In this short video, SPRING explores why and how agriculture can better contribute to nutrition, and introduces tools and expertise to guide development practitioners in making agriculture programs nutrition sensitive.
Identifying Gaps and Charting a Way Forward
Beginning in 2012, SPRING convened a series of regional workshops and conducted a landscape analysis to explore the approaches used in nutrition investments under the Obama Administration’s Feed the Future Initiative (link is external). The findings from the landscape analysis highlighted gaps in efforts to collaborate across sectors to improve nutrition.
We are filling those gaps through:

SPRING's work explores why integration is necessary for better results in nutrition and identifies how to better link agriculture and nutrition programming. To help Feed the Future programs meet their nutritional goals, we developed a framework we call the agriculture-to-nutrition pathways, which shows the ways agriculture improves nutritional outcomes. The resources below share what we've learned so far.

© Scott Wallace/World BankImproving Nutrition through Agriculture Technical Brief Series


Credit: SPRINGOperationalizing Multi-sectoral Coordination and Collaboration for Improved Nutrition

Five Ways to Improve Nutrition Through Agriculture

USAID’s Nutrition-Sensitive Indicators
SPRING is helping define how to measure nutrition-sensitive agriculture. Recognizing that increased household consumption of nutritious crops may not happen automatically with increased production, we conducted research regarding data collection for a new Feed the Future indicator focused on intended consumption of nutrient-rich value chain commodities (NRVCC). USAID released revised data collection guidance incorporating SPRING's work on the NRVCC indicator in its most recent indicator handbook. For more information about SPRING’s field work and findings, you can watch our webinar on the topic.
We are developing a suite of tools that will equip international development practitioners with the latest evidence and guidance to design and monitor programs that link agriculture and nutrition. Our early experience underscores the importance of a thorough understanding of local contexts in designing effective nutrition-sensitive agriculture programs. As a result, we developed the Agriculture and Nutrition Context Assessment Tool to use whether creating new programs or amending existing projects.
Agriculture and Nutrition Context Assessment Tool
Conceptual Pathways between Agriculture and Nutrition
**As the starting points on the pathways diagram above (Food Production, Income, Women's Empowerment) often reflect outcomes of agricultural value chains, we have added a search category for value chains and market systems.
Adapted for Feed the Future by Anna Herforth, Jody Harris, and SPRING, from Gillespie, Harris, and Kadiyala (2012) and Kadiyala et al. (2014). Learn more about the pathways.

Credit: Cambodia HARVESTAccelerating Behavior Change in Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture


Credit: USAID/Morgana WingardNutrition-Sensitive Agriculture Training Resource Package

Since 2012, SPRING has been working with USAID and its Feed the Future implementing partners to document experiences working along the agriculture-to-nutrition pathways. Our reports provide a snapshot of how development partners are implementing and measuring nutrition-sensitive agriculture practices in different contexts, and the various successes and lessons learned along the way.
Reports | April 2015 |
Training Materials | March 2015 |
Reports | September 2014 |
Briefs | June 2015 |
Reports | January 2015 |
Reports | September 2014 |
Field Notes | June 2014
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Field Notes | April 2014
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Field Notes | April 2014
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Field Notes | March 2014
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Join Us!
SPRING is also implementing a range of components of nutrition-sensitive agriculture and collecting lessons learned in our country programs in Bangladesh, Ghana, Kyrgyz Republic, Senegal, and through community media work we are conducting in partnership with Digital Green in India and Burkina Faso and Niger.
We regularly share results, lessons learned, and other experience implementing nutrition-sensitive agriculture though:
Agriculture and Nutrition Resource Review »
A monthly selection of materials to keep you updated on research and developments related to strengthening linkages between agriculture and nutrition.
Events and Webinars »
SPRING hosts and contributes to a wide range of events that focus on nutrition within global development efforts. These events expand learning and foster experience and evidence exchange to inform nutrition policy and improve programming.
Join Us »
Become part of our community of agriculture and nutrition practitioners and researchers to receive updates on new resources and learning events.