The nutrition policy-consumption gap: Fruits and vegetables in focus

As countries across Asia and Africa grapple with the disconnect between nutrition policy and dietary realities, academic experts are calling for systemic change. A webinar convened under the SHAPE Asia and FRESH Project initiatives spotlighted this urgency. Titled Advancing food system policy: Regional analyses and implementation experiences from Asia and Africa the webinar held on September 12 discussed country-level experiences, regional frameworks, and implementation challenges that continue to revolutionize outcomes.

Dr. Elaine Borazon, representing the National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan, opened the session with a call to action on behalf of SHAPE Asia:  to create an inclusive, healthy food future for Asia through evidence-based collaboration. While contexts differ, many of the challenges including low fruit and vegetable consumption, fragmented policy environments, and weak implementation, are similar across regions.

“Our vision is to shape an inclusive, healthy food future for Asia together… By bringing together perspectives from these two regions, we not only learn from each other's successes and challenges, but also build a stronger collective voice for food system transformation,” she said.

Insights from ECOWAS, SAARC, ASEAN, and EAC

West Africa’s vast agricultural potential stands in stark contrast to the reality of food insecurity, which affects an estimated 36 to 40 million people, according to Dr. Nestor Alokpaï, Senior Lecturer at the National University of Agriculture, Benin Republic, with background in agronomy and social economics.

“Despite suitable land availability and weather conditions, West Africa remains a net importer of food. There is no clear policy targeting fruit and vegetable production and high post-harvest losses and pesticide misuse are still major concerns,” Dr. Alokpaï said.

Regional policies remain donor-driven and misaligned with national priorities. Fruit and vegetable policies are underdeveloped, with high post-harvest losses and pesticide misuse persisting as major concerns.

Reviewing 36 regional and over 40 national policy documents, his team mapped the policy landscape across agriculture, trade, health, environment, and gender sectors. Using qualitative analysis software, they identified key gaps and misalignments. Dr. Alokpai emphasized that ECOWAS allocates nearly half its budget to peace and security, while agriculture and nutrition receive secondary attention. Even within agricultural policy, the focus remains on staple crops like cereals, roots, tubers, and livestock, and leaves fruits and vegetables largely neglected. He noted that regional initiatives such as the fruit fly control project, agroecology promotion, and pesticide harmonization frameworks exist, but are often donor-driven and poorly implemented across member states. In Benin, only two national policies directly target fruit and vegetable promotion, despite broader efforts like school feeding programs, dietary guidelines, and the creation of food safety and nutrition agencies. However, 6% of the population remains food insecure, and fruit and vegetable consumption is low. Dr. Alokpai stressed that the issue is not the absence of policy, but rather weak implementation, limited visibility, and insufficient support for farmers. He also highlighted challenges such as high post-harvest losses, use of banned pesticides, and lack of research on indigenous crops, which are vital to rural diets. His presentation called for stronger regional coherence, better alignment with national priorities, and targeted investment in fruit and vegetable systems to improve nutrition and food sovereignty in West Africa.

The situation is no different in the East African Community, and in particular Tanzania, as reported by Mario S. Venance, Head of Nutrition Services, Buhigwe District Council, Tanzania.

Tanzania holds significant agricultural potential, yet fruit and vegetable consumption is critically low, contributing to the country’s growing burden of non-communicable diseases. Mr. Venance noted that public awareness of the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables is limited, and many households prioritize starchy staples over diverse produce. “This dietary imbalance is compounded by seasonal availability, weak extension services, and insufficient investment in horticulture. “People may have access to fruits and vegetables,” he explained, “but they don’t always understand their importance for health.”

The lack of consistent supply, especially outside harvest seasons, further drives up prices and reduces affordability. Addressing these gaps requires not only policy reform but also targeted education campaigns, gender-inclusive support for smallholder farmers, and infrastructure to reduce post-harvest losses.

As part of the FRESH Project’s regional analysis, Mr. Venance presented a detailed review of the country’s fruit and vegetable policy environment. His team examined 31 policy documents and conducted 25 key stakeholder interviews, revealing that while Tanzania has frameworks such as the Agricultural Sector Development Program and the National Nutrition Strategy, fruits and vegetables are often underprioritized. Key gaps include insufficient support for smallholder farmers, limited budget allocation, and weak public awareness. He emphasized the need for gender-inclusive policies, improved extension services, and multi-sectoral collaboration to address the triple burden of malnutrition. He also identified opportunities to leverage existing programs, such as school feeding initiatives and health promotion campaigns to elevate fruit and vegetable consumption across the country.

On developments in Sri Lanka, Dr. Samali Perera, an agriculture and food system researcher at the University of Sydney, said: “Sri Lanka has a low history of government intervention in food security. The health sector has been proactive, updating its policies in line with UN Sustainable Development Goals. Increasingly, these policies recognize sustainability and climate change. We also see initiatives to improve diet quality, particularly with regard to under nutrition and non-communicable diseases.

In this sense, Sri Lanka demonstrates that policy frameworks can adapt to global priorities and link health with food systems. But alongside these strengths, we also need to acknowledge the limitations. Sri Lanka's policies have historically focused heavily on rice and plantation crops like tea, rubber and coconut. Rice is our staple, often sidelining fruits and vegetables, which are crucial for nutrition. Policy shifts have sometimes been abrupt and disruptive,” she said. “Fruits and vegetables appear on the agenda, but specific investment in this area has been scarce. A shift in investment priorities could improve both nutrition and economic outcomes.”

Dr. Perera said that health sector engagement is proactive, but abrupt shifts, such as the 2021 organic agriculture push have disrupted value chains. SAARC’s regional efforts show promise but suffer from weak implementation and limited cross-border collaboration.

On the positive side, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has created frameworks such as the food bank, seed bank, as well as horticultural strategies. The SAARC agriculture Center serves as a Knowledge Platform. Importantly, across the region, there is a sharp recognition that horticulture plays a key role in both nutrition and livelihoods. However, she still sees that delivery lags behind ambition, institutional mechanisms for implementation, Dr. Perera said.

Meanwhile in the Philippines where policies across biodiversity, food environments, and consumer behavior exist, fruits and vegetables are rarely prioritized, Dr. Borazon said. This is because export-oriented production and leadership turnover have diluted domestic impact.

Her presentation examined national and local policies across five domains: biodiversity and seed systems, production, post-harvest and markets, food environments, and consumer behavior. Over the years, the Philippines has made progress in areas such as crop improvement, school nutrition programs, and retail measures. But fruits and vegetables are not a priority across these domains.

Dr. Borazon noted that food marketing regulations are mostly confined to school settings, while retail policies tend to focus narrowly on organic products, overlooking affordability and diversity.

At the regional level, she said ASEAN frameworks offer campaigns for healthy food choices and labeling standards, but fruits and vegetables remain underrepresented in post-harvest and market strategies. She also highlighted implementation challenges, including slow government processes, budget delays, and leadership turnover, which disrupt continuity and weaken support for fruit and vegetable initiatives.

Export-oriented production further compounds the issue, with high-quality produce often shipped abroad while domestic consumers receive lower-grade options. She called for stronger multi-sectoral governance, better integration of fruits and vegetables into labeling systems and school policies, and more balanced investment in sustainable production and post-harvest infrastructure.

Dr. Sameeha Mohd Jamil, Senior Lecturer at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and SHAPE Asia lead, presented findings from five Asian countries. Thailand has emerged as a regional leader with comprehensive strategies across product, price, placement, and promotion. Malaysia shows strength in regulatory frameworks, while Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines focus more on training and partnerships. However, gaps in implementation, equity, and consumer education persist.

Professor Anne Marie Thow representing The University of Sydney, synthesized the session’s findings, noting:

• A historical bias toward staple crops has sidelined fruits and vegetables.
• Nutrition-sensitive policies often lack coherence across sectors.
• Regional bodies play a critical role in addressing shared challenges, from fruit fly infestations to seed bank development.

Professor Thow also shared some success stories including the creation of school gardens in Sri Lanka to infrastructure investments in the Philippines that may be replicable models.

In addition to the presentations, Dr. Irene Houndolo Mitchodigni, FRESH Project Coordinator in Benin, emphasized the need for post-harvest technologies, behavior change communication, and resilient crop development.

For her part, Dr. Imelda Agdeppa, FRESH Project Coordinator in the Philippines and former Director of FNRI, called for policy consolidation and stronger investment in indigenous crops.

Elyse Iruhiriye, Associate Research Fellow at IFPRI, reflected on governance challenges, coherence across sectors, and the importance of local-level implementation and budget planning.

Given the discussions at this webinar, it shows that in strengthening food systems, policy alone is not enough. Real transformation demands multi-sectoral collaboration, sustained investment, and culturally grounded strategies that elevate fruits and vegetables from peripheral commodities to central pillars of nutrition and economic development. Furthermore, there should be the resolve to implement policies.

As countries across Asia and Africa continue to navigate the complexities of food system reform, shared learning and regional cooperation will be key to unlocking healthier, more resilient futures.

SHAPE Asia is a non-profit regional collaborative learning network that brings together food environment stakeholders across Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Sri Lanka) to advance equitable and inclusive food policy solutions.