5 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
Farm Production Diversity and Household Dietary Diversity: Panel Data Evidence From Rural Households in Tanzania
Evidence on whether diversifying farm production leads to improved household dietary diversity and nutrition remains inconclusive. Existing studies analyzing the link between production diversity and dietary diversity are mainly based on cross-sectional methods, which could be biased by omitted confounding factors. Using two waves of a panel household survey of 900 rural households in Tanzania, this paper examines the link between production diversity and dietary diversity, while minimizing potential confounding effects. We estimate four regression models with two different production diversity measures and two panel estimation methods—fixed effect (FE) and random effect (RE). In three out of the four models, production diversity is significantly and positively associated with the dietary diversity measure of the food consumption score. The production diversity indicator is represented by the total crop and livestock species count, as well as by counting only crop species. The total crop and livestock species count shows a significant positive association with dietary diversity across estimation methods while the positive association with crop species count is not significant in the FE method. Our results suggest that the selection of appropriate production diversity indicators tailored to the specific circumstances of the local agricultural system is likely one key factor in identifying a robust relationship between production diversity and dietary diversity
Recommended from our members
Farm Production Diversity and Household Dietary Diversity: Panel Data Evidence From Rural Households in Tanzania
Evidence on whether diversifying farm production leads to improved household dietary diversity and nutrition remains inconclusive. Existing studies analyzing the link between production diversity and dietary diversity are mainly based on cross-sectional methods, which could be biased by omitted confounding factors. Using two waves of a panel household survey of 900 rural households in Tanzania, this paper examines the link between production diversity and dietary diversity, while minimizing potential confounding effects. We estimate four regression models with two different production diversity measures and two panel estimation methods—fixed effect (FE) and random effect (RE). In three out of the four models, production diversity is significantly and positively associated with the dietary diversity measure of the food consumption score. The production diversity indicator is represented by the total crop and livestock species count, as well as by counting only crop species. The total crop and livestock species count shows a significant positive association with dietary diversity across estimation methods while the positive association with crop species count is not significant in the FE method. Our results suggest that the selection of appropriate production diversity indicators tailored to the specific circumstances of the local agricultural system is likely one key factor in identifying a robust relationship between production diversity and dietary diversity.Peer Reviewe
Stronger Food and Nutrition Security Impacts from More Intense Project Participation: Evidence from a Multi-Country Intervention Program
Rigorous experiments show that nutrition-sensitive intervention programs can contribute to improved food and nutrition security (FNS) of rural households in low-and middle-income countries. Targeted individuals may, however, choose to engage with the intervention package at different intensities. It is yet unclear to what extent individual participation in more interventions influences FNS outcomes. Positive links would justify efforts by development stakeholders to diversify intervention packages and enable, encourage, or incentivize beneficiaries to participate in many different interventions. Using cross-sectional data from 2733 households across seven countries, we first estimate effects of a multi-sectoral intervention program using probit regressions, propensity score matching, and inverse probability weighted regression adjustment. Over the course of the three-year program, beneficiaries joined 8.3 interventions, on average. We find that targeted households were 6–9 percent more likely to be food secure, and targeted women and children were 15–17 percent more likely to consume a nutrient-adequate diet. Our estimates show that, across three indicators of FNS, each additional intervention increased the probability of achieving positive outcomes by about 1 percent. We conclude that investments in diversified intervention programs can be justified by stronger FNS benefits. Development stakeholders could enable strong individual participation by reducing transaction and opportunity costs of participation.Peer Reviewe