Nutrition and agriculture
Recent United Nations data reveals that malnutrition is partly responsible for more than 3 million (45%) of all deaths among children under 5 years old and that one in four children suffer from malnutrition.
With the world’s population constantly increasing, a fundamental change of direction is required to achieve sustainable growth in agricultural production, improve the distribution of resources and reduce waste.
At the same time, a report published in 2016 by the World Health Organization reveals that today, at least 41 million children under the age of five are overweight or obese, ten million more than in 1990. This increase is mainly attributable to the increase in low- and middle-income countries, such as Asia and Africa, where, paradoxically, the highest percentage of undernourished people is also concentrated.
As for Europe, due to the spread of poor eating habits, it is not free from problems related to malnutrition of children and adolescents. It has been scientifically demonstrated that the spread of poor eating habits goes hand in hand with the rise of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer in adults.
Through our operations, we improve agronomic skills and technologies, particularly for small-scale agricultural production, and we secure livelihoods in low-income countries or under emergency conditions. We encourage economic recovery in areas affected by natural disasters through the reactivation of the agri-food sector and the introduction of new techniques or production factors.
We work to create and encourage business opportunities for isolated communities or communities with limited opportunities to market agricultural products, including through the creation of producer cooperatives, and we introduce new forms of social entrepreneurship.
We fight against child malnutrition in Italy and abroad through education and the establishment of school canteens with the aim of improving the nutritional intake of minors in conditions of marginalization and vulnerability in contexts of food insecurity or emergency. We work with relevant institutions and organizations to promote awareness campaigns on the subject of nutritional education.
Why do we deal with nutrition and agriculture?
1
Nearly 795 million people around the world, or one in nine, are undernourished.
2
Malnutrition causes almost half (45%) of deaths among children under five, which corresponds to 3.1 million children per year.
3
The main problems of malnutrition exist in South Asia, with almost 281 million people undernourished. In sub-Saharan Africa, projections for the coming years indicate a malnutrition rate of more than 23%.
4
Worldwide, one in four children suffer from stunted growth. In developing countries, the proportion can reach up to 1 in 3.
5
Poor dietary habits are at the root of a worrying spread of obesity among children and young people, which the World Health Organization (WHO) defines as a “silent global epidemic”, as it affects 1.3 billion adults throughout the world.
6
In Italy, around 10% of young people do not eat a good breakfast, 14% eat snacks with low nutritional value and 63% do not consume enough fruits and vegetables.
A healthy and guaranteed meal for everyone
With our projects, we fight against malnutrition and undernutrition. We help farmers by providing them with tools and new cultivation techniques. We bring canteens and breakfasts to schools as well as a good dose of nutritional education.