“Good health and productive agriculture—both essential in the fight against poverty—are interlinked, as good health requires productive agriculture and productive agriculture requires healthy people. Consideration of these linkages throughout the policymaking process can improve the health of the poor, reduce malnutrition and food insecurity, and promote pro-poor agricultural development by increasing synergies and collaboration between agriculture and health in research, policy, and practice. Agriculture faces an array of new challenges, such as globalization and environmental change. New global health crises are emerging, while old ones persist. And, as the world becomes more integrated, so do the agricultural and health problems people face. Addressing these problems thus demands understanding and action at the intersection between agriculture and health. Isolated action limited to the boundaries of each sector can no longer solve problems in an integrated world. The time is ripe for the agricultural and health sectors to work more closely together to develop innovative solutions and contribute to the overarching goal of addressing poverty.”
