Nutrition-sensitive value chains: A guide for project design – Volume I

Value chain projects have traditionally focused on increasing economic returns for producers, but they also offer opportunities to shape food systems to be more nutrition-sensitive, and ensure that nutritious, diverse and safe foods are accessible to consumers. Since food is not only produced, but also processed, distributed, marketed and consumed, identifying nutrition-sensitive investments at all stages of the value chain can maximise their contribution to better nutrition.

The Nutrition-sensitive value chains: A guide for project design has been produced to fill a key knowledge gap in the emerging field of value chains for nutrition by providing guidance on how to design nutrition-sensitive value chain (NSVC) projects, with a particular focus on smallholder producers.

This guide is relevant not only for IFAD but also for development actors in general, and for organizations working in agriculture and rural development in particular. The guide comprises two volumes: Volume I provides validated step-by step guidance for project design, while its companion Volume II presents practical resources, tools and templates to be used at each step of the design process.