Promoting nutrition through CSA tech

Climate change is a universal and critical challenge for global food security. Improving the way we manage agricultural systems and natural resources is fundamental for effectively achieving food production and security. Not only will climate change affect the quantity of food produced but also quality which has a direct impact on nutritive value consumer would acquire from the food products. Climate change will also affect the ability to deliver the quantity, type and quality of food necessary for nutritious diets. Promoting climate smart and nutrition sensitive agriculture will not only improve adaptive capacity of the households to continue producing and consuming nutritious food.

However, the project will work with farmers in TA Mkula, Mwambo, Njolomole, Mpodasi, Njerwa on improving nutrition sensitive practices in agriculture. The interventions under agriculture will contribute to increased productivity of individual farmers. This will enhance food security hence improved access to nutritious food from own production

The MAGNI project is working to solve Malnutrition among Women of Reproductive Age and children under 5 years of age. Malnutrition is a global problem and is the main cause of death and diseases in the world. According to WHO 2019, 1.9 billion adults are overweight and obese while 462 million are underweight. Among children, 52 million under five are suffering from wasting, where they have a low weight for height. In Malawi, according to Malawi’s National Statistical Office (2014), the under-five population is estimate at 2.9 million children, over142, 000 of them suffer from acute malnutrition and 42.4% or 12 million are chronically malnourished. The situation is still worsening due to the severe food and nutrition insecurity. However, both national MDHS 2015/16 and SANI 2017 baseline studies show that feeding practices among children and women are deteriorating which poses a threat to improvement trends in stunting, wasting and underweight. Poor Infant young child Feeding practices such as lack of food diversity, less meals both in frequency and quantity, poor hygiene and sanitation which causes diarrhoea are among direct causes of malnutrition and subsequently high rates of morbidity and mortality in children and other groups of people.

The project goal is to contribute to the reduction of maternal and child mortality in the targeted regions of Malawi which comes because of malnutrition.  However, the key issue that will be promoted in this technical area is climate smart agriculture (CSA) that takes into account the nutrition needs of the households involved in the agricultural activities including feeding practices. As such the CSA approaches will include soil management, crop production, water management, agroforestry and forestry management practices while feeding practices will include food diversity, frequency of food intake and sanitation and hygiene practices. 

To reach out to all households, the project will identify lead farmers (120) who will be trained in Nutrition Sensitive and Climate Smart Agricultural Practices. Each lead farmer will have farmer groups. Together with the farmer group the lead farmers will mount demonstration plots. The demonstration plots will provide a learning platform and whatever practices will be promoted at the demonstration plots will be carried forward to individual farmer plot.

Also, there will be nutrition practices in Maternal Infant Young Child Nutrition targeting mothers of reproductive age and children below 5 years of age. These practices are learnt through nutrition education and counselling sessions.

The solution will directly serve women of reproductive age (15-49 years of age) and children under five years of age and will as well serve other members within the households of the targeted communities indirectly. The solution will contribute to the reduction of maternal and child mortality of the targeted population and improve health of individuals in the targeted communities through consumption of diverse nutritious food from own production and through nutrition education and counselling on proper infant feeding practices. WHO Studies on nutrition have indicated that women of reproductive age and children under 5 are highly prone to malnutrition and anaemia leading to maternal and infant death due to demands of pregnancy, breast feeding and poor feeding practices respectively. PACHI is working hand in hand with marginalized communities finding a lot of community problems and help them through various maternal and child health programmes and projects. Through these programmes women are engaged through women forums. The project will be providing MIYCN education and counselling in care group structures using social behavior change framework to increase knowledge, improve behavior and practices of targeted communities (households) in gender sensitive maternal Infant young Child nutrition.