Designing a Research Agenda on Malaria and Agriculture

In: UA Magazine 3 - Health aspects of urban agriculture

During the last several decades, a considerable investment of financial resources has been directed towards the development of curative drugs and vaccines against malaria, and to the evaluation of chemical insecticides for mosquito control. Historically, the agricultural dimension has received little attention from the research community, despite its importance as a contributory factor to malaria transmission risks and its inherent opportunities for paradoxically minimising such risks. The incorporation of a relevant health component in agricultural research could contribute to the identification of opportunities for minimising malaria risks through agriculturally-based interventions, both in rural and in urban and periurban settings. The CGIAR system-wide initiative on malaria and agriculture (SIMA) co-ordinated by IWMI (see Networking Section in this issue) has taken up this challenge.