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Accepted Paper:
The Political Economy of Agri-Nutrition: what’s politics got to do with nutrients?
Adwoa Yeboah Gyapong
(University of Ghana)
Fiorella Picchioni
(Natural Resources Institute)
Sara Stevano
(SOAS University of London)
This paper demonstrates how agrinutrition interventions are not merely technical projects but are embedded in the broader politics of the global food system controlled by capitalist interests. We suggest interventions in these three areas: corporate governance, agroecology and movement building.
Paper long abstract:
Research and policy interventions on agrinutrition have increased, but critical gaps and shortcomings exist in understanding this linkage. Building on secondary literature, this paper presents two main critiques of agrinutrition interventions in sub-Saharan Africa. First, it demonstrates that the relationship between agriculture and nutritional outcomes remains fragmented and heavily focused on 'reductionist' approaches to nutrition that promote specific food crops, biofortification and micronutrients- although essential, often removed from local food cultures, food chains and the dietary patterns within which they are consumed. Second, mainstream agrinutrition interventions are silent on how policies translate into outcomes. When they do, such linkages are usually assumed, deterministic and analysed linearly and miss essential processes, interests, and intervening factors that affect nutrition outcomes. The paper shows agrinutrition interventions are often not mere technical projects but embedded in the broader politics of the global food system, controlled by capitalist interests. Adopting a political-economic lens helps provide a better understanding of how and why malnutrition and food insecurity persist on the content despite the huge investments in agrinutrition interventions in SSA by development organisations and international philanthropists. It concludes that bridging the agriculture and nutrition gap necessitates multiple approaches to defining target groups, needs and risks. It requires corporate governance of large food corporations, a move away from academic silos to more collaborative and interdisciplinary approaches to diagnosing and addressing malnutrition problems in ways that resonate with the people.