Nexus of Agricultural Policies and Nutrition Outcomes: Linkages Between Land Access Policies and Nutrition Outcomes in SSA
Date
2022-10
Authors
Pindiriri, Carren
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Economic Research Consortium
Abstract
The need to make agricultural policies more useful for nutrition has stirred interest
in the study of the impact of agriculture policies on nutrition. It is from this viewpoint
that this paper provides an economic theoretical linkage between land policies
and nutritional outcomes, and assesses the nutritional implications of shrinking
or increasing arable land sizes in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). First, using theoretical
derivations, the study demonstrates that the association between landholding status
and household nutrition is influenced by complex associations between intervening
variables which require the use of micro-level data. Second, making use of case studies
based on micro-level analyses, and the application of national-level data, the findings
confirm that land reforms that provide access to arable land are nutrition sensitive.
In addition, the results show that market-driven land reforms are more nutrition sensitive than politically or government-driven reforms. The state of the health system
also significantly influences nutritional outcomes. The main policy implication is that
SSA countries can significantly improve nutritional outcomes through improved land
access via market-driven reforms. There is also a need to strengthen health delivery
systems to reduce the prevalence of malnutrition. Last, countries in SSA must intensify
research on the impact of agricultural policies using micro-level data in order to
address the complexity of the relationship between nutrition and land policies.