Availability and consumption of eggs, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, is low despite their apparent benefits. We investigated constraints in egg production in four countries; Kenya, Ethiopia, Malawi, and India and identified five business models that are viable and sustainable. They are (a) micro-franchising, (b) microfinancing, (c) cooperative farming, (d) enterprise development, and (e) out-grower model. All of them involve smallholder farmers to increase egg production. These farmers have access to soft loans and use improved inputs and extension services to varying degrees. Inputs include resilient breeds of day-old chicks or point-of-lay hens, feed, vaccines, medicines, and housing. Outgrower and enterprise development models have a significant potential of rapidly increasing egg yields, achieve self-sufficiency, operate at or near scale, and provide a high income for the farmers. This study shows how a range of actors in commercial, not-for-profit and microfinance sectors with specialized skills, can facilitate the transformation of the egg production sector. Specific skills include brooding (hatchery operations), feed milling, aggregation, and training of smallholder farmers or large-scale rearing. The five archetypes we describe here are promising ways to increase egg availability in rural areas.

Climate change, rapid urbanization, war, and economic recession are key drivers of the current food systems’ disruption, which has been exacerbated by the COVID pandemic. Local, regional, and global food systems are unable to provide consumers with nutritious and affordable diets. Suboptimal diets exacerbate the triple burden of malnutrition, with micronutrient deficiencies affecting more than two billion people, two billion people suffering from overweight, and more than 140 million children who are stunted. The unaffordability of nutritious diets represents an obstacle for many, especially in low- and middle-income countries where healthy diets are five times more expensive than starchy staple diets. Food system transformations are urgently required to provide consumers with more affordable and nutritious diets that are capable of meeting social and environmental challenges. In this review, we underline the critical role of innovation within the food system transformation discourse. We aim to define principles for implementing evidence-based and long-term food system innovations that are economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable and, above all, aimed at improving diets and public health. We begin by defining and describing the role of innovation in the transformation of food systems and uncover the major barriers to implementing these innovations. Lastly, we explore case studies that demonstrate successful innovations for healthier diets.

In the face of global food and nutrition crises, incremental adjustment in existing technology is not enough; the future of food systems hinges on innovative solutions that can help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Innovative approaches and opportunities for the transformation of food systems exist. ‘Innovations’ includes new products, business models, policy practices, technologies, behavioral insights, or ways of delivering products and services that benefit the poor in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). These include the innovative use of technology, the reallocation of government expenditure, and the promotion of more nutritious diets. However, scaling these innovations requires capital and platforms to connect stakeholders and facilitate the transfer of technology and know-how. It is here that food system innovation hubs have a key role to play. This chapter draws attention to the role that food system innovation hubs can play in creating healthy, resilient and inclusive communities in LMICs. Eight different archetypes of food innovation hubs are described, and the opportunities for these hubs to deliver planet-friendly nutritious and safe foods are explored. These archetypes include science and technology parks, research centers, incubators, accelerators, advanced development spaces, innovation districts, virtual hubs and nodes. Food system innovation hubs can provide transformative solutions to food systems by bringing the right innovations to market faster in a cost-effective manner.

Micronutrient deficiencies are widespread among pregnant women in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) and lead to potentially adverse effects for mother and baby. In Bangladesh, maternal malnutrition remains a severe problem, with high rates of anemia (49.6% of pregnant women and 47.8% of lactating women are anemic) and other nutritional deficiencies. A Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) study was conducted to assess Bangladeshi pregnant women’s perceptions and related behaviors, as well as awareness and knowledge among pharmacists and healthcare professionals concerning prenatal multivitamin supplements. This was done in both rural and urban areas across Bangladesh. A total of 732 quantitative interviews were conducted (330 with providers and 402 with pregnant women, with an equal split between urban and rural areas for both sets of audiences; 200 women were users of prenatal multivitamin supplements, while 202 women were aware non-users). The study identified a few findings that can guide further research or market-based interventions to reduce micronutrient deficiencies. These include most pregnant women not knowing the right time to start multivitamin supplements (56.0%, [n = 225], stating that a woman should start taking supplements ‘after the first trimester’), not knowing their benefits, and how they help both the mother and baby–only 29.5% [n = 59] stated that they believed the supplements helped their baby to grow well). Further, barriers to taking the supplements include women believing a nutritious diet is a substitute (88.7% [n = 293]), and a perceived lack of support from other family members (21.8%, [n = 72]). This suggests that there is a need for further awareness-raising among all pregnant women, their family members, and providers.

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