A healthy diet for a growing population: a case study of Arua, Uganda

dc.contributor.authorHermelink, Marleen I.
dc.contributor.authorPittore, Katherine H.
dc.contributor.authorÁlvarez Aranguiz, Adolfo
dc.contributor.authorPereira da Silva, Fatima I.
dc.contributor.authorRoefs, Marlene M. I.
dc.contributor.authorKajobe, Robert
dc.contributor.authorMalingumu, Richard
dc.contributor.authorHengsdijk, Huib
dc.date.accessioned2023-01-31T02:09:23Z
dc.date.available2023-01-31T02:09:23Z
dc.date.issued2023-01-27
dc.description.abstractIt is uncertain whether Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2), a healthy diet for all, can be achieved in East Africa given its strong population growth, low agricultural yields, and the high perishability of nutrient-dense foods. We examine the consequences of a locally produced healthy diet on land use in a case study of the Arua district in Uganda. This type of analysis can alert policy makers to looming nutrition gaps and support the selection of alternative solution strategies. Using a linear programming (LP) model and three population growth projections, we estimate the minimum agricultural area needed in 2040 to produce a healthy diet that follows EAT-Lancet dietary diversity guidelines and supplies the average requirements of calories, proteins, Iron, and vitamin A. We also compare in scenarios to what extent i) production intensification, ii) food loss reduction, iii) by-product consumption, and iv) vitamin supplementation could reduce the required agricultural area. Results show that the necessary area to produce a healthy diet in 2040 is 160% larger than Arua’s current crop area and would greatly exceed the district’s total area. We also show that none of the changes proposed in our scenarios allows a sufficient increase in food production, suggesting that a mix of even more drastic changes across sectors will be necessary. The results underline the challenge for rural areas in East Africa like Arua to provide a healthy diet to its fast growing population, requiring integrated food system changes and policy coordination to orchestrate the increased availability of diverse and nutritious foods.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThe Wageningen University & Research "Food Security and Valuing Water” program (KB-35–005-001)en_US
dc.identifier.citationHermelink, M.I., Pittore, K.H., Álvarez Aranguiz, A., Pereira da Silva, F.I., Roefs, M.M., Kajobe, R., Malingumu, R. and Hengsdijk, H., (2023). A healthy diet for a growing population: a case study of Arua, Uganda. Food Security, pp.1-17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-022-01337-1en_US
dc.identifier.issn1876-4525
dc.identifier.urihttps://dir.muni.ac.ug/handle/20.500.12260/487
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherSpringer Natureen_US
dc.subjectLand useen_US
dc.subjectPopulation growthen_US
dc.subjectNutritious fooden_US
dc.subjectLinear programmingen_US
dc.subjectLSMSen_US
dc.subjectFood systemen_US
dc.subjectEast Africaen_US
dc.titleA healthy diet for a growing population: a case study of Arua, Ugandaen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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