Enhancing Agricultural Production Potential Through Nutrition and Good Health Practice: The Case of Suba District in Kenya

Several studies have shown that HIV and nutrition operate in tandem. Moreover, it has been shown that the two greatly affect agricultural production due to reduced energy to work, inability to purchase agricultural inputs, low labor, and eventual death. The link between agricultural productivity, malnutrition, and HIV can therefore not be overlooked. People who are inadequately nourished are more susceptible to diseases and poor health. In an attempt to achieve optimal nutrition and good health among vulnerable groups, various intervention programs have used food supplementation and especially the plant-based food products to achieve this. Such programs have proved to be effective in restoring the nutrition and health status of the people. However, much more value would be achieved if such programs were complemented with basic health services such as deworming, water, sanitation, malaria control, hygiene. This chapter explores the benefits of research on nutrition as the basis for improving threatened rural communities’ nutria-health and potential economic performance. The premise is that good nutrition and preventive measures will reverse some of the human health problems associated with HIV, hunger, and/or malnutrition. Emphasis is placed on food preservation, processing, nutrition intervention, and education. Micronutrients through agronomic fortification/fertilization is recommended as an intervention with the benefit of improving the nutritive quality of food and thereby providing essential elements needed by the human body to combat malnutrition and poor health. The conclusion is that better nutrition will contribute to better health and increase productivity and production on the farm.