This paper provides comment on how improving the nutrition sensitivity of food systems has potential to realise outcomes, yet despite this knowledge there is still inaction. This may be due to goals other than improved nutrition are pursued by strong economic and political interests in both the agricultural sector and the postharvest value chain. A second reason for lack of action to improve nutrition is that randomised controlled trials (RCTs) — the gold standard in health research — do not lend themselves to analysis of the food system except in small, projects. RCTs are yet to prove helpful for measuring health and nutrition effects resulting from agricultural and other food system. This maybe in part because the effect pathway is long.

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