Every year, malnutrition costs economies around the world trillions of dollars due to increased healthcare expenditure and loss of productivity. 

The COVID-19 global pandemic led to a severe and widespread increase in global food insecurity, affecting vulnerable households in almost every country. The WFP estimates that 272 million people are already or are at risk of becoming acutely food-insecure in the countries where it operates.

The pandemic has reinforced the need for a profound change in our current food systems to combat food insecurity and malnutrition. At a time when Nutrition is at the center of food policy decisions around the world, here’s a list of twelve remarkable global nutrition leaders who are leading the global response to reverse the damage caused by the pandemic. 

Dr. Agnes M. Kalibata

Dr. Agnes M. Kalibata serves as the president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) since 2014. Earlier she has served as the Minister of agriculture and animal resources in Rwanda. During this, she implemented policies promoting the use of science-based approaches in agriculture to increase food production and improve food security. 

She is the 2012 recipient of the Africa Food Prize. She is also a member of the Malabo Montpellier Panel of Agriculture and Food Security Experts.

In 2019, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Dr.Kalibata as his special envoy for the 2021 Food Systems Summit.

Follow her here: https://twitter.com/Agnes_Kalibata

Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina

Dr.Akinwumi “Akin” Adesina is a Nigerian economist with a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics and the incumbent President of the African Development Bank. He previously served as Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Vice President of Policy and Partnerships for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). 

One of the most prolific names in the food and nutrition space, Dr. Adesina was named Forbes African Man of the Year for his contribution to Nigerian agriculture. In 2017, he was awarded the coveted World Food Prize. 

Follow him here: https://twitter.com/akin_adesina

Dr. Andreas Bluethner

Dr.Andreas Bluethner serves as the director of Nutrition at the Bills & Melinda Gates Foundation. He leads the foundation’s global Nutrition strategy, which includes innovation, private sector engagement, and large-scale food fortification. He is also responsible for BMGF’s cross-foundation collaboration on nutrition.

Earlier, Dr.Bluethner served as director of Food Fortification & Partnerships for BASF SE, a leading chemical company. Before that, he spent time working with the UN, the German government, and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN).

Follow him here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreas-bluethner-9401381a/

Basanta Kumar Kar

Basanta Kumar Kar, fondly Known as the “Nutrition Man” is an internationally acclaimed leader in food systems who has won numerous accolades through his work on good nutrition and sustainable development.
He was conferred with the most prestigious Global Nutrition Leadership Award (2019), ‘Hero of the Decade’ recognition for contribution to the Swachh and Swasth (Clean and Healthy) India(2019), Government of India’s recognition on contribution to the National Nutrition Mission (2018), ‘Transform Nutrition Champion’ Award for India and Bangladesh(2016) and Odisha Living Legend Award(2016)
He is providing strategic leadership and advisory services to a number of organisations including “The  Coalition for Food and Nutrition Security (India)”; the country’s largest nutrition coalition with a vision to achieve sustainable food and nutrition security for all. He represents numerous policy and advisory bodies of the government and nutrition platforms in the Asia region.

Follow him here: https://twitter.com/basantak

Prof. Corinna Hawkes

Prof. Hawkes is serving as the director of the Centre for Food Policy at City, University of London. She has over two decades experience of working with UN agencies on the development and design of food policies to support healthy diets, nutrition, and public health throughout the food system.

Earlier she has served as the co-chair of the Independent Expert Group of the Global Nutrition Report. In 2016 Hawkes was made Chair of the Global Future Council on Food Security and Agriculture of the World Economic Forum, sits on the London Food Board, the EAT-Lancet Commission on Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems, and the Lancet Commission on Obesity. She is an advisor to The Food Foundation and on the Board of RUAF, the international NGO concerned with urban agriculture.

She has published widely on the role of food policy on diets and nutrition.

Follow her here: https://twitter.com/CorinnaHawkes

Dr. David Nabarro

Dr. Nabarro is the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Food Security and Nutrition, and he is co-director and chair of Global Health at Imperial College London’s Institute of Global Health Innovation and strategic director of 4SD.

He has over 4 decades of experience in international public health as a community-based practitioner, educator, public servant, director, and diplomat, and also, he was awarded the World Food Prize in 2018. He is also a recipient of the Sight and Life Nutrition Leadership Award for his work in catalyzing sustainable change in global nutrition in 2012. 

He was appointed Special Envoy of WHO Director-General on Covid-19 in March 2020. In this role, he has played a leading role in the international response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Follow him here: https://twitter.com/davidnabarro

Jacqueline d’Arros Hughes

Dr. Hughes is a recognized leader in international agriculture research and management currently holds the post of Director General at ICRISAT, a CGAIR center that conducts agricultural research for rural development. She has received international fame for her work on plant health improving the livelihoods of some of the poorest communities.

Earlier she was the Deputy Director General-Research at IRRI and before that, DDG-R at the World Vegetable Center.

Follow her here: https://twitter.com/hughes_jackie

 Dr. Lawrence Haddad

He serves as the Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). A British economist, Dr. Haddad completed his Ph.D. in Food Research at Stanford University. He was the founding co-chair and lead author of the Global Nutrition Report (GNR). Prior to that, he was the Research director at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

In 2018, the World Food Prize Foundation awarded Dr. Lawrence the World Food Prize for his: “relentless leadership and advocacy in mobilizing political will to make nutrition the focal point of development strategies”.

Follow him here: https://twitter.com/l_haddad

Dr. Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted

The winner of the world food prize 2021, Dr. Shakuntala HaraksinghThilsted is a global nutrition expert and a specialist in nutrition-sensitive approaches to aquatic food systems. Currently, she is the Global Lead for Nutrition and Public Health at WorldFish, which is a global CGIAR research center that has its headquarters in Malaysia. 

Thilsted’s trailblazing research on small native fish species in Bangladesh led to the development of nutrition-sensitive approaches to aquatic food systems at all levels, from the farm to food processing to final consumers. As a result, the diets for millions of the most vulnerable people were improved in Asia and Africa, the World Food Prize said on its website.

Follow her here: https://twitter.com/trinidad1949

Shawn K. Baker

Currently, he serves as the Chief Nutritionist for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Earlier Baker was the first director of nutrition at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

He chairs the USAID’s Nutrition Leadership Council that oversees the Agency’s Center for Nutrition in the Bureau for Resilience and Food Security and coordinates related efforts across USAID. USAID’s investments and engagement with partners are also guided by him to address malnutrition in developing countries.

Baker has over 30 years of experience in the global public health nutrition space, the majority of which is in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. He is also the recipient of the Global Nutrition Leadership Award. 

Follow him here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnkayebaker

Dr. Rolf DW Klemm

Dr. Klemm is known for his astute work in researching and implementing nutrition programs. He serves as the Vice President of Nutrition at Helen Keller International. 

He is also a Senior Associate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHBSPH). Prior to this, he has served as the Technical Director of USAID’s flagship A2Z micronutrient project. 

 A trained nutritional epidemiologist, Dr. Klemm holds a Doctorate of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He has 30 years of experience in international public health, with expertise that spans nutrition efficacy and effectiveness research and program design, management, and evaluation.

Follow him here: https://twitter.com/RolfKlemm

Professor Tim Lang

Prof. Lang has been the Professor of Food Policy at City University London’s Centre for Food Policy. He has been active in research, advocacy, and advising governments and international agencies on food policy. His focus has been on how policy addresses the mixed challenge of food systems.

He has been a consultant to World Health Organisation, FAO, UNEP, and many leading global organizations. He also founded the Cambridge Forum for Sustainability and the Environment. 

He has authored and co-authored some of the finest publications on food policy including Atlas of Food, Food Policy, Food Wars, A Food Brexit: time to get real, and Feeding Britain, Our Food Problems and How to Fix Them. 

Follow him here: https://twitter.com/ProfTimLang

Hive honey bee, Giant honey bee, Little honey bee, and Dammar bee are types of honey bees. European honey bees can produce more than Asian honey bees. Drone, worker, and queen are colony members. Due to royal jelly is given to the queen, the queen grows well due to royal jelly, and it increases fertility. Queen produces eggs by parthenogenesis and fertile eggs. Workers build combs and feed queens and drones. Decision-making of a colony is done by the queen and drones.

Required types of equipment

Apiary, bee veil, smoker, and honey extractor are the major required types of equipment. Bee veil helps to cover the face. After the honey is matured, bees seal it. Honey extractor helps to extract honey.

How to start beekeeping

Buying a bee colony, dividing an existing colony, capturing a natural colony with combs, and capturing a swarm can be done to capture a colony. Capturing a natural colony with combs is difficult. Opening the colony to outside, smoking, removing combs one by one, binding combs to frames, and capturing bees are done at capturing a natural colony. Bees start to drink honey when they expose to smoke. Then handling bees is easy.

Three major phases of a colony during a year

The growth phase, honey-flow phase, and dearth phase are 3 major phases. Bees are fed with sugar syrup at the growth phase. When space is kept between two hives, bees try to fill it. Bees like to store honey in old honeycombs. Honey can be extracted in the honey-flow period (usually 4-6 weeks). Swarming should be managed, and the capacity of the colony should be increased in this phase. One honeycomb should be kept, and the required feed for bees should be supplied externally at the dearth period. The strength of the colony is less in the dearth period. Empty honeycombs should be protected. Empty honeycombs are socked in saltwater, and sundried. Wax moth should be prevented. Otherwise, they tend to eat empty honeycombs.

Introducing queen cells, uniting two colonies by mixing larvae, transportation of colonies at night are special management practices at beekeeping. A honeycomb has several queen cells. One queen cell is selected, and the other queen cells are destroyed. If bees of two colonies are mixed, they fight each other. Therefore larvae are mixed at uniting two colonies. Due to bees always go outside, and try to escape in the daytime, colonies are transported at night. Otherwise, they will be fed up and die. Pests and diseases of bees should be avoided. Wasps, Ants, spiders, varroa bee mite, wax moth, and gecko are some pests. If the honeycomb is attacked by wood ants, bees give up their small ones and escape. If the colony is strong, it can expel some pests. When the population of bees is high, the wasp is surrounded by bees, and it was destroyed by increasing temperature.

To get a good quantity of honey

Putting old combs with larvae into the apiary, control swarming, extracting honey at the correct time can be done to get a good quantity of honey. The moisture level should be lower than 22% at extracting honey. Then fermentation of honey happens.

Some honey forages

These forages are nectar and pollen sources. Rubber, Eucalyptus robusta, coconut, sesame, Albizzia, Calliandra are some of the honey forages. Rubber has nectar glands. The flower of Eucalyptus robusta stores a large amount of nectar. Blooming happens from August to September. Coconut is a good pollen source.

Tom Vilsack, the secretary of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that an investment of more than $ 146 million in Sustainable Agricultural Research project is done under the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Sustainable Agricultural Systems programs to improve a robust, resilient, climate-smart food and agricultural system. This program focuses to get solutions from addressing labor challenges, and promoting land stewardship to correct impacts of climate change in Agriculture. Investments help to mitigate food insecurity, drought resilience, preventing animal diseases, and market disruption.

Mr. Vilsack further mentioned that climate-smart solutions feed, and nourish families with investments in science and research. And also he mentioned that forest health, profitability, and resilience of producers are also improved while creating new income opportunities. Plant and animal production, and sustainability, human and environmental health are improved by this program.

The grants of the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) are available to eligible colleges, universities, and research institutes. Dr. Carrie Castille, NIFA director mentioned that these research projects help to improve agricultural practices which are beneficial for consumers, farmers (all Americans), and the environment by tackling major issues.

USDA does these investments to remove systemic barriers, and to build a workforce more representative of America.

Alhaji Mohammad Abubakar who is the minister of Agriculture and Rural Development encourages people for Agriculture to improve the economy of the country. He expressed his idea about the improvement of the economy by farming on the second day of his familiarisation tour of some agricultural facilities in Kaduna.

As he mentioned, Agriculture is a good business, and it can be continued without failure due to the government always gives funds to farming people. People have to utilize it and ensure that they return it. And also, he mentioned that there are various challenges in the agriculture sector.

He also explained the importance of distributing equipment in the stores other than allowing them to decay in stores. He further mentioned that he does what is right, and the government does its best to improve the livelihoods of the Nigerian people.

Sustainable agriculture is an integrated system in which a site-specific application (over the long term) is available in plant and animal production practices by enhancing environmental quality and the natural resource base (related to the agricultural economy).

Importance of sustainable agriculture

The environment is protected, and soil fertility is improved by the practices of sustainable agriculture. Natural resource base and profitable farm incomes are also improved. The goal of sustainable agriculture is decreasing the input of external energy, and substituting non-renewable energy sources with renewable sources such as wind power, solar energy.

Advantages of sustainable agriculture

Cost reduction, advocating better treatment of animals, increasing biodiversity, increasing social equality, control of air pollution, and reducing soil erosion are some advantages of sustainable agriculture. Sustainable agriculture does a tremendous service at producing quality, and safe food.

Disadvantages of sustainable agriculture

Limited use of land, more time consuming, requiring much effort, getting a low income, and short shelf life of products are disadvantages. Due to limited use of land, large quantities of food can’t be produced in sustainable agriculture. Production is less due to the use of machines is less. But lots of labor and time is required. Due to decomposing is high in sustainably produced food, their shelf life is short. Due to fertilizers, and other chemicals are not used, land fertility isn’t increased easily.

Methods of Sustainable Agriculture

Crop Rotation, permaculture, growing cover Crops, soil Enrichment, Natural Pest Predators, bio-intensive Integrated Pest Management, agroforestry, and polyculture Farming are some methods of sustainable agriculture.

Agroforestry is the interaction of agriculture and trees such as the agricultural use of trees, and it comprises trees on farms and in agricultural landscapes, farming in forests and along forest margins, and tree-crop production (Example: cocoa, coffee, rubber, and oil palm). Agroforestry systems are land management practices that trees and shrubs are produced on the same land area as agricultural crops or livestock. Agroforestry systems have trees, crops, or livestock on the same land area, and diversity, productivity, profitability, and environmental stewardship are increased. Agroforestry combines agricultural and forestry technologies to create productive, profitable, healthy, and sustainable land-use systems which have diversity.

Components of Agroforestry

Agrisilvicultural systems, silvopastoral systems, protein Bank, a live fence of fodder trees and hedges, trees and shrubs on pasture, agrosilvopastoral systems, home gardens, woody hedgerows are the components of agroforestry.

The benefits of agroforestry systems

Agroforestry systems control runoff and soil erosion. Therefore, losses of water, soil material, organic matter, and nutrients are reduced. Soil organic matter and biological activity are maintained at a satisfactory level for soil fertility. More favorable soil physical properties are maintained by tree roots. Nutrient cycling has also happened, and nutrients are used efficiently. Agroforestry utilizes solar energy more efficiently than monocultural systems. Insects, pests, and diseases are reduced. Agroforestry reclaims degraded lands and eroded lands. Soil water availability is increased with agroforestry. Nitrogen-fixing trees increase the nitrogen availability of agroforestry systems. Economics risks are decreased due to agroforestry systems produce multiple products. Salinity and water tables are also controlled. Providing shelter to livestock in the warmer months is another benefit. Waterlogging is avoided through water removal. Agroforestry systems are also important in mitigating climate changes.

Digital Agriculture is the use of new and advanced technologies to enable farmers and other stakeholders in the agriculture value chain to improve food production by integrating into one system. Actionable intelligence and meaningful value addition are developed from the presence and availability of data at digital farming. Both precision farming and smart farming are integrated into digital farming.

Advantages of digital farming

Increasing farm production, saving costs in the long term, and eliminating risks, real-time decision making, expansion of the field of predictive agriculture are advantages of digital agriculture. Apps are developed with specific functions.

The way that digital agriculture works

Installation of network-connected ‘smart’ devices as part of the Internet of Things can be done or those can be software as a service (SaaS) based agtech. Data is transferred by hardware over a network. Then they become ‘smart devices’ and part of the Internet of Things. Digital technology is used to integrate agricultural production from the paddock to the consumer. These technologies provide tools and information to make more informed decisions and improve productivity in the agriculture industry.

Three elements of digital agriculture

The Technology – Sensors, communication networks, Unmanned Aviation Systems (UAS), Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, and recently the Internet of Things (IoT) are included in the technology.
The Potential – Digital agriculture improves the efficiency and the potential to increase the productivity of agriculture. Time and resources are used in an efficient way.
The Barriers – Adoption of new technology, and the high costs are barriers. Adoption of new technology requires collaboration with other stakeholders through the value chain.

Terrace farming is cutting flat areas from the hilly or mountainous landscapes for cultivating crops. This method is used in the rice fields of Asia. And also, terracing is applied to the steep slopes of the Andes in South America. Terracing is used to support cultivating crops that require irrigation, such as rice. Rice requires a lot of water and a flat area. When there is a flat area, the paddy field can be flooded easily. Tea farmers also use terrace farming for tea cultivation.

Advantages of terrace farming

Advantages of terrace farming are the conservation of soil and water, reducing soil erosion, and elimination of grass waterways that can be difficult to maintain and reductions in flooding. Terraces reduce both the amount and velocity of water moving across the soil surface, which greatly reduces soil erosion. Terracing thus permits more intensive cropping than would otherwise be possible.

Disadvantages of terrace farming

The capital cost of building terraces is high, and the time required to maintain terraces is also high. Those are the disadvantages of terrace farming.

The effects of terrace farming

Soil water enhancement is happened in the water-restricted regions due to terracing. Terracing can increase soil moisture by 0.87% to 37.71%, and it is beneficial to ecosystem restoration. The most powerful in soil water recharge is broad bench terraces. The washing away of soil nutrients by the rains is also prevented by terrace farming, and it leads to the growth of healthy crops. Plants can be carried away by the heavy flowing rivers of water. And also, the crops can be carried away by rainwater. It leads to having a low crop yield.

Food security is having physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets food preferences and dietary needs of all people for an active and healthy life at all times. Availability, access, utilization and stability of food are four pillars of food security. Food security is a measure of the availability of food and individuals’ accessibility to food when accessibility is affordable. Food production should be increased with the population growth.

Importance of food security

Food insecurity is happened due to poverty. Food insecurity decreases the ability to develop the agricultural markets and economies of a country. Access to quality, nutritious food is required for the existence of humans. Food security brings positive impacts such as economic growth and job creation.

Solutions for Food Insecurity

Reducing/preventing food wastage, encouraging people to preserve food, popularizing food preservation methods, increasing infrastructural programs such as food storage facilities, food transportation, improving existing infrastructural programs, improving trade policies, increasing diversification, taking actions to mitigate climate change are some solutions to food insecurity.

Measures to prevent food security

Increasing Education and literacy of people, Crop diversification, mitigating climate change, integrating water management, integrating nutrient management, improving varieties/creating resistant varieties of crops, improved technology adoption are some measures that can prevent food security.

Challenges of food security

World population growth, increasing the demand for food, increasing food price, the disappearance of the variety of agricultural plant species, increasing the area which has water scarcity, the limitation of land availability, the food losses and food waste are the challenges of food security.