Abstract: According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, 2006) the most sustainable way to reduce hunger effectively is to improve agriculture and rural development simultaneously. The study investigated the impact of irrigation dam projects on child nutritional status. A total of 397 mother-child pair from three communities (control, 1 year and 2 year intervention with introduction of irrigation dam) with and without irrigation dams participated in the study. Nutritional status was assessed using anthropometric indicators (height/length, weight and MUAC) and haemoglobin levels. For haemoglobin assessment a sub-sample of 200 children was used. Twenty-four h dietary recall was used to assess dietary intake. The results showed significant differences (p<0.001) in wasting rates of 11.0, 21.2 and 12.3%, respectively, among children in the control, 1 year intervention and 2-year intervention communities, respectively. Haemoglobin assessment revealed that a greater proportion of children (70.1%) were anaemic. The 1 year intervention had a significantly higher number of children (p<0.001) who had haemoglobin in the normal range. Most (95.9%) of the children did not meet their energy needs according to their dietary intake records. Child feeding practices continue to be a challenge in these communities. Currently, the impact of the irrigation dam on the livelihoods and nutritional status of the children is not obvious but more time is needed to realize the full potential. Nutrition education should target the incorporation of fish from the dam into young child feeding in these communities
