A Nutritional Approach to Agriculture and Food Security (FutureLearn)

With a focus on the Global South, you’ll learn about the components of the food system and their link to nutrition and acquire the skills to implement and evaluate nutrition-sensitive interventions.
Discover nutrition-sensitive food systems and develop nutrition skills

To uncover the benefits of nutrition-sensitive agriculture, you need to understand key concepts in agriculture, food and nutrition research and learn about the role of crops and livestock in a healthy and sustainable diet.

You’ll also acquire nutrition-specific skills used to evaluate food and diets and apply them in course activities. This will help you to design and assess nutrition-sensitive interventions. You’ll then examine research-led material on bio-fortification and other innovative food processing methods to understand how to diversify food production and improve the nutritional value of foods.
Discover how to place nutrition at the heart of the food system

As you conceptualise nutrition in relation to food systems, you’ll evaluate the consequences of nutrition-sensitive interventions and policies on socioeconomic and environmental aspects. You’ll also explore the role of different stakeholders and understand the crucial role of women in driving improvements in nutrition outcomes in households and communities.
Learn from the experts at the University of Leeds

This course is based on research led by experts in agriculture, nutrition and environmental sciences from the University of Leeds, the University of Pretoria and FARNPAN.

What topics will you cover?

Week 1: What is a nutrition sensitive food system?

- Activity 1: Understanding nutrition sensitive agriculture in the context of sustainable development goals

- Activity 2: The role of crops in a healthy sustainable diet

- Activity 3: Animal production for a healthy and sustainable diet
Week 2: Exploring nutrition sensitive food systems

- Activity 1: How to design a nutrition sensitive food system

- Activity 2: Food based dietary guidelines and food choice

- Activity 3: How to assess the broader impacts of nutrition sensitive agriculture

Learning on this course

You can take this self-guided course and learn at your own pace. On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

- Conceptualise nutrition in relation to the rest of the food system

- Evaluate nutrition-sensitive approaches and how these can increase food and nutrition security with a focus on the Global South

- Develop skills in dietary assessment, food composition and measures of diet quality and diversity

- Apply the evaluation skills needed to select and introduce nutrition-sensitive interventions relevant to your own field of work or study

- Evaluate the consequences of nutrition-sensitive interventions and policies in respect of their social, economic, and environmental impacts.

- Assess the role of women in promoting nutrition-sensitive interventions

Who is the course for?

This is a skills-focused course designed for individuals with an existing interest in nutrition, sustainability and diet, in a global context. Learners will also learn practical skills that would help them to apply and evaluate nutrition-sensitive interventions in their own field of interest.