Crop Diversification and Nutrition Outcomes in Smallholder Households: Panel Data Evidence from Southwestern and Northern Uganda
Date
2021-11-25
Authors
Namulondo, Racheal
Bashaasha, Bernard
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Economic Research Consortium
Abstract
This study examined the effect of adopting crop diversification on nutrition outcomes
of smallholder households in southwestern and northern Uganda. We constructed
three models of correlates of household dietary diversity, minimum dietary diversity
for women, and stunting of children aged 6–59 months. A three-year panel multi topic dataset collected in 2012, 2014 and 2016 by USAID’s Feed the Future Nutrition
Innovation Laboratory in southwestern and northern Uganda was utilized. Crop
diversification was found to be positively and strongly associated with household
dietary diversity, and with the probability of achieving the minimum dietary diversity
for women, although the effect sizes were rather small. There was no clear association
found between crop diversification and child stunting. Our findings point to an
integrated approach that simultaneously addresses increasing crop diversification,
access to improved farm production technology, access to nutritional knowledge,
increasing formal education of mothers, increasing opportunities to do off-farm
work, livestock diversification and food security to improve the nutritional outcomes
of smallholder households.
Description
Keywords
Crop diversification, , dietary diversity, , stunting, , panel data, , Uganda