Indicators for examining links between agriculture, food security, and nutrition

Meerman, Janice; Aberman, Noora-Lisa; Harris, Jody; and Pauw, Karl. 2015. Indicators for examining links between agriculture, food security, and nutrition. In Mapping the linkages between agriculture, food security and nutrition in Malawi. Chapter 2. Pp. 8-15. Lilongwe, Malawi; and Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/149613

How can the nutrition impact of agriculture programs be assessed? Depending on context, data may need to be collected on: production practices for food, livestock, and cash crops; post-farm gate value chain and other market-based activities; commodity prices; household food security; women’s empowerment; and diet and nutrition outcomes. While not intended as an exhaustive review, this chapter provides a primer on some of the most commonly-used indicators for research, monitoring, and evaluation of these areas. The following sections discuss the commonly-used indicators for assessing:  diet and nutrition outcomes;  household food security;  gender, household decisionmaking, and empowerment;  agricultural production, productivity, and diversification; and  food markets and prices.