Food And Nutrition Security In The Barotse Floodplain System

The CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems (AAS) is being implemented in ten communities in the Barotse floodplain of Zambia’s Western Province. With a focus on the rural poor and vulnerable, the AAS program aims to reduce poverty and improve food security by harnessing the development potential, productivity and diversity of aquatic and agricultural systems. The development challenge in the Barotse floodplain, as identified by relevant stakeholders, is to make effective use of seasonal flooding patterns and natural resources through more productive and diversified aquatic agricultural management practices that improve the lives and livelihoods of the poor and vulnerable. Food and nutrition are essential to support the overall AAS program objective and overcome the specific development challenge of the Barotse floodplain. Zambia has very high malnutrition rates, particularly for stunting in children under five. Poor nutritional status, especially of women and children, inhibits individual growth and development, and negatively impacts the overall health, productivity and economic potential of a community. The purpose of this report is to analyze the food and nutrition security situation within the Barotse floodplain. It explores multiple sectors, including nutrition, agriculture, health, and gender, at the national, provincial and community level to provide a comprehensive understanding of food and nutrition in the ten AAS communities in relation to the country as a whole. The analysis will provide informative inputs to the AAS Barotse hub design process to develop an appropriate food and nutrition research-in-development agenda.

Quality of Life and Climate Change: Impacts, Sustainable Adaptation, and Social-Ecological Resilience delves into the pressing concerns surrounding climate change and its profound impacts on the quality of life (QoL) experienced by individuals and communities worldwide. This book explores the intricate relationship between climate change, variability, and QoL in both rural and urban settings. It undertakes a detailed review of QoL assessments to examine the extent to which climatic changes and livability conditions are incorporated into existing evaluations. By shedding light on the critical need to consider climatic factors in measuring and comparing QoL, especially in the context of creating aging-friendly and climate-neutral cities, this publication addresses a significant research gap. This book presents prospective themes, including sustainable solutions, mitigation strategies, and models to enhance socio-ecological resilience. The chapters within the book cover a wide range of topics including climatic variations and future projections, technological advancements in climate change mitigation, implications for residential and non-residential areas, industrial solutions, SDG attainment, mitigation strategies, QoL measurement instruments, and urban QoL models. By addressing these themes, the book provides a comprehensive analysis of the complex interactions between climate change, QoL, and the pursuit of sustainable development. This book serves as a valuable resource for researchers, academicians, policymakers, civil society groups, think tanks, government and non-government organizations, international agencies, and other interested parties seeking to deepen their knowledge and capacity in the field of climate change and its impacts on QoL and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) attainment.

Aquatic agricultural systems (AAS) are food production systems in which the productivity of freshwater or coastal ecosystems contributes significantly to total household nutrition, food security, and income in developing countries. The Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) engages in research in development to address this challenge. The goal of the CGIAR research program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems (referred to in this paper as “the AAS program”) is to harness the development potential of aquatic agricultural systems to improve the livelihood security and well-being of an estimated 10 million by 2016 poor people who are dependent on these systems This working paper draws lessons from the target countries through a review of productivity interventions such as modifying habitats, harnessing underutilized productive resources, improving the integration of production commodities, supporting community-based natural resource management, and genetically improving strains. In total, this paper reviewed 20 productivity interventions.

ÿOver the past few decades, scholars and practitioners working on gender and development issues have advocated for more in-depth analyses that explore and foster change in the social institutions that create and perpetuate gender inequalities. Gender integration approaches in a research and development context are thus not something new. However, mainstream agricultural research and development programs often apply a rather simple understanding of gender to the design of such approaches, resulting in poor implementation. The CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems uses gender-transformative approaches to help achieve the goal of enhancing development outcomes of resource-poor women and men and their families in a sustainable manner. This paper details the approaches the program utilizes and is beginning to implement in its five learning hubs, which are located in areas where dependence on aquatic agricultural systems is high. The paper provides guidance on how other programs could prepare themselves to design and operationalize gender-transformative approaches and highlights some early learning on their application.

Food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition have been on the rise in recent years, due to disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing climate shocks and conflicts. Decades of steady progress to reduce food insecurity and malnutrition were often attributed to increased food production and intensification of few food staple crops and livestock, however more recent focus has shifted to the role of small-scale producers and the importance of diverse and nutritious foods. This technical paper brings focus to the often overlooked ‘small fish’ which play an integral role in the food security, nutrition and livelihoods of the small-scale fisherfolk who harvest, process, market, trade and distribute small fish to communities near and far from water bodies. The technical paper explores the various dimensions of the ‘small fish food system’, addressing drivers, scales, interactions and multiple outcomes and trade-offs, such as that of small fish used for food versus feed. Throughout, the work applies a human-centred perspective, emphasizing how people are involved in various stages of a food system, and how interactions and networks between them play a role in food system dynamics and outcomes. It is also emphasizes how people play multiple roles within a food system, and thus should not be narrowly defined as fishers, processors or consumers. The paper documents project implementation and lessons from the FAO subprogramme titled “Implementing the Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines for gender equitable and climate resilient food systems and livelihoods”, and the SmallFishFood, Ikan-F3, Dried Fish Matters, and Fish4Food projects led by the University of Bergen, the University of Amsterdam and the University of Manitoba.

Zambia?s rivers, lakes and wetlands support extensive agriculture, fisheries and livestock production and contribute to the livelihoods of about 3 million people or 25% of the country?s population. These aquatic agricultural systems are particularly important to poor people and provide significant opportunities for agriculture-based economic growth. The majority (72%) of the Zambian population is engaged in agricultural activities, of which almost 65% are women. There is now widespread recognition of the importance of gender and development. This is reflected in the growing prominence of gender strategies for development organizations and their programs, the emergence of compelling approaches for gender integration and the development of indicators for tracking outcomes of research and development interventions. This analysis, based on information gathered from both female and male farmers of different age groups, attempts to provide a glimpse into aspects that have not been widely studied in agricultural research. The knowledge generated here is expected to shape the planned research interventions in AAS that aim to reduce gender disparities in access to resources, but also address social and behavioural change at various levels to tackle the causes of these inequities.ÿ