Why is transformation needed in this program area?

Nutrition is a key element to human well-being and productivity. Achievements in growth and transformation are hampered by poor nutritional outcomes. Ethiopia’s smallholder farmers (as producers and consumers) play a central role in the production and productivity aspect. However, they tend also face nutrition insecurity as a result of poor diets and insufficiency of food. Nutrition sensitive agriculture provides many opportunities to change this situation.

Interventions to increase the nutritional value of food – such as diversification of production, bio-fortification, improvements in soil nutrients, better storage, preservation and processing, women’s empowerment, and behavioral changes – can contribute to improving nutritional outcomes and also production.The increased interest and investment towards addressing nutrition through the agriculture sector is aligned to the National Nutrition Strategy, but further work needs to be done to ensure high impact interventions take place in the sector.

What are the objectives and focus areas of this program area during GTP II?

The objective of the program area is to ensure Ethiopia’s agricultural growth and transformation process positively responds to and is nutrition sensitive.

This is a new area for the agricultural transformation agenda. The focus of the program will therefore initially be to assess and identify key systemic bottlenecks in the sub-sector.