• Partnerships are Critical for Addressing Malnutrition: No single institution can solve Africa’s nutrition challenges alone. Sustainable nutrition outcomes require collaboration among governments, development partners, financial institutions, private sector actors, and agricultural organizations.
• Financing Can be a Powerful Tool for Improving Nutrition: The Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank (TADB) is integrating nutrition considerations into agricultural financing, showing how investments in women-led enterprises can simultaneously improve livelihoods and nutrition outcomes.
• Practical Tools help Institutions Integrate Nutrition into their Work : Tanager’s Nutrition-Sensitive Intervention Selection (NSIS) tool is helping organizations identify practical entry points for integrating nutrition into programmes, while promoting accountability through the measurement and tracking of nutrition outcomes.

As the world marked World Nutrition Day under the global theme, “Shaping the Future of Joint Nutrition Action in a Changing World,” there is growing recognition that no single sector can address malnutrition in isolation. Yet agriculture, nutrition, health, and finance actors often continue to operate in silos, resulting in fragmented interventions and reduced impact. Joint nutrition action requires coordinated planning, shared accountability, and aligned implementation across sectors.

To commemorate the day, Tanager and Ikore International Development Limited convened more than 100 stakeholders across Africa for a virtual webinar themed, “Advancing Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture for Inclusive and Resilient Agrifood Systems.” The 90-minute session explored how integrating gender and nutrition into institutional strategies and programmes can contribute to more inclusive and resilient agrifood systems. Specifically, the webinar aimed to:

1. Examine how gender and nutrition integration strengthens agrifood systems;
2. Identify practical entry points for advancing coordinated, cross-sectoral nutrition action across agriculture, private sector, and financial systems; and
3. Highlight lessons and emerging impacts from Tanager’s IGNITE+ gender and nutrition technical assistance in strengthening institutional capacity, collaboration, and accountability.

Rethinking Agriculture through a Nutrition Lens

In her keynote address, Tanager’s Food Systems Director, Dr. Catherine Macharia-Mutie, challenged participants to think differently about nutrition and its place within agrifood systems.

Through Tanager’s IGNITE+ project, she explained, agricultural institutions across Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania are being supported to integrate gender and nutrition into their systems and operations.

“Our goal is to strengthen institutional capacity so that agricultural programmes intentionally deliver nutrition outcomes,” said Dr. Macharia-Mutie

Currently, IGNITE+ is supporting 38 African agricultural institutions through gender and nutrition technical assistance, including capacity strengthening, policy support, and development of practical tools that help organizations integrate nutrition into their work.

For Dr. Macharia-Mutie, achieving sustainable nutrition outcomes requires more than isolated interventions.

“No single institution can address Africa’s nutrition challenges alone. Partnerships are critical for scaling solutions, mobilizing resources, and creating sustainable impact across the continent.”

Understanding Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture

 

Martina Ngutor, Nutrition Expert at Ikore, explained that many agricultural programmes continue to measure success primarily through yields and income, while overlooking nutrition outcomes.

“Nutrition-sensitive agriculture is an approach that deliberately integrates nutrition objectives into agricultural programming. It is not enough to increase production; we must also improve dietary diversity, access to nutritious foods, and overall household wellbeing,” she noted.

She also pointed to a common reality across many farming communities: households may successfully produce staple crops and generate income, yet still experience malnutrition because their diets lack diversity and essential nutrients.

“We have realized that increased production does not automatically translate into improved nutrition outcomes. We need to move beyond production and intentionally design programmes that improve people’s nutrition.” said Ngutor. In addition, when women have the knowledge, resources, and agency to make informed choices, those benefits extend to children, families, and entire communities.”

Putting Women at the Centre

Drawing on the experience of the Association Burkinabè d’Action Communautaire (ABAC) which supports women and youth through market gardening and agricultural cooperatives, the board chair, Ali Danaye Goumba shared how women-led initiatives are improving both food availability and household nutrition.

“We have focused on strengthening women’s capacities and supporting food production systems that directly contribute to household nutrition,” he explained.

ABAC has supported women to cultivate nutrient-rich crops such as moringa and vegetables while strengthening food preservation and storage practices to reduce post-harvest losses.

“When women are at the centre of agricultural interventions, we see direct improvements in food security and nutrition within households and communities.” Said Goumba.

 

Financing Better Nutrition

Ruth Mkopi, Gender and Nutrition Officer at the Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank (TADB), shared how the bank is integrating nutrition considerations into agricultural financing through its partnership with Tanager.

“Agricultural financing should not focus only on production. It should also consider dietary diversity, food security, nutrition outcomes, and resilience.” She said.

With support from Tanager, TADB developed a nutrition-sensitive roadmap and nutrition budgeting toolkit to guide its investments.

One example she shared involved financing women-led dairy enterprises, which not only generated income but also increased household access to nutrient-rich foods.

“When we finance women, we strengthen livelihoods, improve household nutrition, and create broader social and economic benefits.” Said Mkopi.

 

Practical Tools for Nutrition Integration

According to Olive Muthamia, Nutrition Expert at Tanager, institutions frequently struggle with identifying where and how nutrition can be integrated into their existing programmes.

“One of the questions institutions often ask is not whether nutrition is important, but how they can practically integrate it into their current work,” said Muthamia.

To address this challenge, Tanager developed the Nutrition-Sensitive Intervention Selection (NSIS) tool, which helps organizations identify practical entry points for nutrition integration across food systems.

“The tool helps institutions move from asking whether they are addressing nutrition to understanding how their existing programmes can better contribute to nutrition outcomes.”

Muthamia also emphasized the importance of measuring progress.

“What gets measured gets prioritized. When nutrition outcomes are measured and tracked, they become a shared responsibility across the institution.” She said.

 

Why Partnerships Matter?

For Vivian Madueke, Managing Partner at Food Health Systems Advisory (FHSA), improving nutrition outcomes requires collaboration among governments, private sector actors, financiers, development partners, and service providers.

“Every actor has a role to play. Governments create policies, businesses produce and distribute food, financiers determine where resources flow, and development actors provide technical support. Better nutrition outcomes require all these actors working together.” Said Madueke.

She pointed to food fortification, healthier food reformulation, and nutrition-focused investments as practical examples of how partnerships can contribute to healthier food systems.

“The government does not feed people alone. Farmers do not feed people alone. We all have a role in ensuring that nutritious food ultimately reaches consumers.” She added.

 

Nourishing Communities, Strengthening Food Systems

As Africa seeks to build more resilient and inclusive agrifood systems, nutrition must remain at the centre of agricultural transformation. The discussions highlighted that lasting change will come through intentional collaboration, stronger institutions, empowered women, evidence-based decision-making, and investments that prioritize nutrition outcomes.

By working across sectors and embedding nutrition into policies, programmes, and financing mechanisms, stakeholders can help create food systems that nourish people, strengthen livelihoods, and drive sustainable development across the continent.