How does agriculture respond to the nutrition challenge?

Good question! In the ‘good old days’ of agricultural research from the middle of last century, the objective was clear – increase food and fibre production to feed and clothe rapidly growing human populations. That is no longer the case. Agricultural research and policy now confront new challenges of unprecedented scale and complexity: climate change and nutrition. With fewer than one-third of the global population on a healthy diet, what is the role of agriculture? It is no longer just about producing more food, more efficiently and more sustainably, but producing more and healthier food, efficiently and sustainably, and ensuring that it is distributed equitably. Systemically, agriculture is obviously part of the food system, but it is also central to the health system, with climate change as a risk multiplier for both. Agriculture and health have yet to come to grips with this 21st Century reality, in either science or policy. This brief overview presentation discusses this dilemma through the lens of agricultural research. We are still shaping the research agenda for nutrition in agriculture. It is clear that we will need to develop new platforms for collaboration across the food system, between the food and health systems, and between the public and private sectors. In doing so, the skills we have developed in brokering durable partnerships, the practice of involving end-users in the process of scientific inquiry, and the principle of developing enduring capabilities in science and policy in the countries with which we partner, remain more relevant than ever.