Conference overview

Potentially the greatest challenge facing humanity is how to feed 10 billion people in a hot world in which most resources are becoming scarce, consumers sicker and traditional systems of food production are breaking down. This is the situation that faces us in the 21 Century. However, despite increases in agricultural production during the past two decades, malnutrition rates in children have not diminished significantly in many low- and middle-income countries. Undernutrition affects health, physical and cognitive development capacity in children, as well as productivity in adulthood. Recent reviews indicate that agricultural research has had little impact on childhood nutrition, with poor research project design being a contributing factor to this disappointing outcome. The design of our ACIAR Nkuku4U research project drew on these findings and had two key aims:

1. To reduce childhood undernutrition by analysing and testing opportunities to enhance the key role that women play in improving poultry and crop integration and efficiency to strengthen household nutrition; and
2. To assess if strategic investments in agriculture and livestock can contribute positively to improved human health.

This conference provides an opportunity to share research findings and lessons emanating from this ACIAR project and other projects active in the region. It is anticipated that conference papers and posters will highlight that there is no single, perfect diet that fits everyone but rather a series of dietary options depending on locally available food and the age, gender and reproductive status of each person. In many resource-poor environments, food availability is influenced by seasonal farming and production patterns, livestock ownership, indigenous plants and animals, socioeconomic circumstances including gender, cultural beliefs and the presence of affordable food produced elsewhere. The presentations will explore these influences plus others including the bioavailability and density of key macro and micro-nutrients varies across different foods and by season, and trade-offs and synergies between nutritional security, regenerative agriculture, food safety, livelihoods, women’s empowerment and ecosystem services.

Taking a Planetary Health approach, this conference will provide a strategic opportunity to promote linkages between nutritional programs and nutrition and gender-sensitive agriculture and value-chains at local and national levels, with a strong focus on sustainable systems, process and policy.

Call for abstracts

Submission deadline: 15 April 2018
 

Themes:

• introduction to and key findings from the Nkuku4U project
• nutrition-sensitive agriculture and value chains
• gender, agriculture and nutrition
• ecologically sustainable agriculture in resource-limited settings
• animal-source food and sustainable food and nutrition securitf
• food-based approaches to maternal and child health and agriculture
• dietary diversity and biodiversity

Word limit: 300 words maximum

Style: WORD file in Arial 10 pt font

Submit to: [email protected]

Call for Learning Labs

Please send through concept notes for half- or full-day learning laboratories to [email protected] by 30 April 2018.

Participation in the conference

The conference is open to all and we simply ask a registration fee of TSh 50,000 for those external to the Nkuku4U project.