Nutrient-dense crops

Job Aids and Tools

Page 1 [figure] Coat of arms for Sierra Leone [photos, in center and in upper right] Two different kinds of pumpkin [title] Best Agronomic Practices for Pumpkin [logos] USAID logo: "USAID: United States Agency [for] International Development. USAID. From the American People" SPRING logo: “SPRING. Strengthening Partnerships, Results, and Innovations in Nutrition Globally”

Counseling Cards: Best Agronomic Practices for Pumpkin - Sierra Leone

These picture-based cards are used to educate members of agribusiness centers and farmer-based organizations on pumpkin production and storage.

Keywords: Nutrient-dense crops, Anemia, Agriculture
Location: Sierra Leone

Galleries

A couple talks to a visitor about growing Indian spinach. The couple explains that their Indian spinach sells quickly in the market. Consumers know how the spinach is grown and that the plant is nutritious. Photo credit: Sarah Hogan, 2017

Growing Spinach for Nutrition: Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture Community Video in India

Under the UPAVAN project, SPRING and Digital Green create community videos promoting nutrition-sensitive agriculture practices in Odisha, India.

Keywords: Agriculture, Dietary diversity, Communication, Complementary feeding, Nutrition-sensitive, Maternal, infant, and young child nutrition, Nutrient-dense crops, Handwashing, Infant and young child feeding, Water, sanitation, and hygiene, Social and behavior change communication
Location: India
Two community members being filmed eating a delicious meal containing orange-fleshed sweet potato.

Community Video About the Benefits of Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato Shot in Kaffrine, Senegal

On January 26, 2017, members of a local community video production team shot a short video about the benefits of orange-fleshed sweet potato.

Keywords: Community media, Mass media, Nutrient-dense crops, Social and behavior change communication
Location: Senegal
Photo of community volunteers participate in an ENA/EHA training Koro (May 2015)

SPRING/Mali In Review

These photos depict SPRING’s work implemented in the northern region of Mopti, Mali, from December 2014 to March 2016.

Keywords: Agriculture, Clean household approach, Complementary feeding, Maternal, infant, and young child nutrition, Nutrient-dense crops, Essential nutrition actions, Farmer nutrition school, Infant and young child feeding, Social and behavior change communication, Water, sanitation, and hygiene
Location: Mali
One NRVCC studied in Bangladesh was the orange-flesh sweet potato, which were introduced as a nutritious food source by a Feed the Future project.

Researching a New Nutrition-sensitive Agriculture Indicator: NRVCC Fieldwork

SPRING’s extensive fieldwork studied nutrient-rich value chain commodities (NRVCC) that direct beneficiaries produce and set aside for home consumption.

Keywords: Agriculture, Dietary diversity, Food systems, Nutrient-dense crops, Nutrition-sensitive

Training Materials

Women holds a net with a fish

Farmer Nutrition School Technical Guide

Farmer Nutrition School (FNS) is a community-based learning approach that promotes the Essential Nutrition Actions (ENA) and the Essential Hygiene Actions (EHA) by teaching the production...

Keywords: Farmer nutrition school, Women's empowerment, Nutrient-dense crops
Location: Bangladesh
Woman with child picking fruit

Farmer Nutrition School Session Guide

This guide incorporates ENA and EHA in each session to encourage families to adopt improved practices in health and nutrition as well as HFP, when they have pregnant women and/or children...

Keywords: Farmer nutrition school, Nutrient-dense crops, Agriculture
Location: Bangladesh

Activities

Harvesting cowpeas

Testing Approaches: Growing Cowpeas during Dry Season to Improve Dietary Diversity for 1,000-day Households in Guinea

SPRING/Guinea tested an approach to grow cowpeas during the off-season to see if they could achieve sufficient yields to serve as a source of protein.

Keywords: Agriculture, Dietary diversity, Maternal, infant, and young child nutrition, Nutrient-dense crops, Resiliency, Thousand days
Location: Guinea
Three people doing an assessment

Formative Research Assessment Highlights Locally Available Nutrient-Dense Crops and Key Hygiene Behaviors in Guinea

Findings to guide SPRING’s work to strengthen nutrition-sensitive agriculture in Guinea

Keywords: Nutrient-dense crops, Social and behavior change communication, Handwashing, Water, sanitation, and hygiene, Infant and young child feeding, Maternal, infant, and young child nutrition, Agriculture, Nutrition-sensitive, Resiliency, Thousand days
Location: Guinea
One NRVCC studied in Bangladesh was the orange-flesh sweet potato, which were introduced as a nutritious food source by a Feed the Future project.

Researching a New Nutrition-sensitive Agriculture Indicator: NRVCC Fieldwork

SPRING’s extensive fieldwork studied nutrient-rich value chain commodities (NRVCC) that direct beneficiaries produce and set aside for home consumption.

Keywords: Agriculture, Dietary diversity, Food systems, Nutrient-dense crops, Nutrition-sensitive

Reports

family outside

Household Decision-Making on Homestead Food Production

This study provides insight into the factors that motivate households to take up production of nutrient-dense foods, to consume nutritious foods that they produce rather than sell, and to...

Keywords: Home gardens, Nutrient-dense crops, Social and behavior change communication
Location: Bangladesh

Resource Review Summaries

Improving Dietary Diversity to Enhance Women’s and Children’s Nutritional Status in Guatemala’s Western Highlands: Recommendations for the Guatemalan Agriculture Sector

The agriculture sector has a significant role to play in improving the nutritional status of women and children. Strengthening the link between agriculture and nutrition is critical to...

Keywords: Agriculture, Dietary diversity, Maternal, infant, and young child nutrition, Nutrient-dense crops
Location: Guatemala

Pulses for Food Security and Nutrition

The 68th UN General Assembly declared 2016 the International Year of Pulses. In the context of this campaign, FAO experts Teodardo Calles and Fernanda Grande hosted a webinar to present the...

Keywords: Food security, Agriculture, Nutrient-dense crops, Malnutrition

Farmers' Perceptions of Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato: Do Common Beliefs about Sweet Potato Production and Consumption Really Matter?

Farmers in the Lake Zone of Tanzania were sampled for their perceptions towards the production and consumption of Orange-Flesh Sweet Potato (OFSP). In general, farmers' perceptions were...

Keywords: Nutrient-dense crops
Location: Tanzania

GAIN’s Infographic on Fortified Foods

Fortifying staple foods—maize, flour, and edible oils—is a cost effective intervention to tackle malnutrition and reduce life threatening conditions and diseases. The latest infographic by...

Keywords: Fortification, Nutrient-dense crops

Policy Guidelines: Enhancing Markets for Nutrient-Dense Foods in Ghana

This study from September 2013 analyzed policy options toward promoting nutrient-dense foods to reduce undernutrition in Ghana. Markets have the potential to deliver these but are inhibited...

Keywords: Nutrient-dense crops
Location: Ghana

Orange-fleshed Sweet Potato-based Infant Food is a Better Source of Dietary Vitamin A than a Maize-legume Blend as Complementary Food

This study looked at nutrient composition of complementary foods based on orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP), cream-fleshed sweet potato (CFSP), maize–soybean– groundnut (Weanimix), and a...

Keywords: Complementary feeding, Nutrient-dense crops