Saudi Arabia. United Arab Emirates. Cambodia. Countries. Veg availability. (g/ person/day). Mortality rate (1/1000) Underweight (%). Cambodia. 85. 93. 36.
The World Vegetable Center vegetables + development
Vegetable gardens: A nexus for agriculture, nutrition & health Robert J. Holmer Regional Director AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center in East and Southeast Asia
Learning event 9: From field to fork to field: nutritious food and nutrient recycling to enhance health, wealth and resilience
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The World Vegetable Center Imbalanced Food Systems vegetables + development
“Double burden of disease”
For example in the Philippines:
26 % of children underweight Source: FNRI 2008
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27 % of adults overweight or obese www.avrdc.org
The World Vegetable Center vegetables + development Imbalanced Food Systems
Deficiency in
Deficiency in
calories + protein
vitamins & minerals
Excess Calories Physical inactivity
= HUNGER
= MICRONUTRIENT DEFICIENCY
= IMBALANCED CONSUMPTION
≥ 1.02 billion underweight
2 – 3.5 billion malnourished
≥ 2.0 billion overweight
Source: FAO (2009); WHO (2006)
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The World Vegetable Center Malnutrition vegetables + development
• Vitamin A deficiency – causes blindness and impairs the immune system of about 40 % of the children under the age of five in developing countries, causing about one million child deaths annually
• Anemia – Every day, 300 women die in childbirth as a result of iron deficiency anemia, accounting for 20 % of global maternal mortality – Anemia among children can impair health and development, limit learning capacity, impair immune systems and reduce adult work performance. 4/
Normal concentration and size of red blood cells
Decreased concentration and size of red blood cells
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The World Vegetable Center vegetables + development
National vegetable availability vs. health/nutrition status: Nutrition status indicator: Children under 5 underweight
300
60
250
50
Children < 5 underweight (%)
Children < 5 mortality rate (1/1000)
Health status indicator: Children under 5 mortality rate
The World Vegetable Center Relationship between malnutrition and infection vegetables + development
Source: Brown (2003)
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The World Vegetable Center Malnutrition and the link to sanitation vegetables + development
• Effects of malnutrition – mortality, impairment of cognitive development and educational performance - can cost up to 9% of a country’s Gross Domestic Product. • Health impacts can be prevented by reducing environmental health risks (e.g. improved sanitation, water and hygiene) and improved nutrition • Multiplier effect: for every death prevented from an environmental health intervention, additional deaths from other diseases are averted (MillsReincke phenomenon)
Source: World Bank (2008)
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The World Vegetable Center Food and Nutrition Security vegetables + development
• Nutrition security: – “secure access to appropriately nutritious food coupled with a sanitary environment, adequate health services and care, to ensure a healthy and active life for all household members”
Source: DFID (2009)
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The World Vegetable Center Why vegetables? vegetables + development
• High value crops • Relatively easy to grow in different environments • Provide employment, especially for women and other vulnerable groups • Generate income • Provide micronutrients, vitamins, dietary fiber, phytochemicals and protein • Contribute to balanced diets
Vegetables 3-5 servings a day 1 serving = 80g 240 – 400g a day
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The World Vegetable Center Why vegetables? vegetables + development
Vegetable production can take place in small spaces and can still be productive. Ingenuity is the key!
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The World Vegetable Center Why home gardens? vegetables + development
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The World Vegetable Center Anything new? vegetables + development
Berlin, 1946
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The World Vegetable Center Allotment Gardens Philippines vegetables + development
... preparing the land 13 /
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The World Vegetable Center Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) vegetables + development
Jeannette M.E. Tramhel. 2010. Using Participatory Urban Design to "Close the Nutrient Loop" in the Philippines. Urban Agriculture Magazine 23 - Urban nutrient management, 30-31. 14 /
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The World Vegetable Center vegetables + development Potential of School Gardens
• A school usually is the center of each community
Healthy diets begin with knowledge • A place where programs on good health practices can be taught and implemented to achieve behavioral changes at home. 15 /
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The World Vegetable Center Advantages of school-based programs vegetables + development
• Promoting good health and nutrition before and during school age is essential to effective growth and development
Good health and nutrition are prerequisites for effective learning • The pre-existing infrastructure of the educational system offers a costeffective route for delivery of simple health interventions 16 /
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The World Vegetable Center Philippine “Vegetable Gardens in Schools” Program vegetables + development
• Establishment of vegetable gardens in all 42,076 public primary and secondary schools of the country Earlier successful lessons of vegetable gardening have to be re-learned by a new generation
• To be complemented by home & community gardens
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The World Vegetable Center Strategies for successful implementation vegetables + development
• Successful school garden programs cannot be created in isolation, but have to be linked with education and environmental interventions • Communication and synergy between the health, agriculture and education sectors is indispensable 18 /
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The World Vegetable Center Promotion of vegetables… vegetables + development
…. sanitation, and healthy lifestyles 19 /
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The World Vegetable Center vegetables + development
