scholarly journals Considerations for the design of nutrition-sensitive production programmes in rural South Africa

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheryl L Hendriks ◽  
Annemarie Viljoen ◽  
Diana Marais ◽  
Friede AM Wenhold ◽  
Angela M McIntyre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Fruit And Vegetables ◽  
Consumption Patterns ◽  
Scale Production ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Populations At Risk ◽  
Nutrition Sensitive ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Amidst conflicting narratives in development circles regarding the drive for nutrition-sensitive agriculture and the displacement of household production by supermarket penetration into deep rural areas, little is documented about the design of nutrition-sensitive agricultural programmes in the context of changing food systems. This is the first comparative assessment of the production and consumption patterns of South Africa’s poorest rural households. The study set out to identify programme elements necessary to improve nutrition outcomes. The poorest communities in four provinces were identified and surveyed using an extensive production and consumption survey. The survey was conducted in summer and winter for each community to capture seasonal differences. A total of 278 households were interviewed in summer and 280 in winter at the four sites. Even though most foods were purchased, crop production (beyond maize production) improved dietary diversity but selling produce and the use of irrigation had led to a stronger improvement. Seasonality affected availability of fresh fruit and vegetables for home consumption in winter, compromising nutrition. This shows a more positive influence of cropping on the consumption of fruit and vegetables in winter than in summer. This result was not expected, as the number of crops that can produce edible portions in winter is rather limited. Some crops such as beans are produced in summer and preserved (dried) for consumption in winter. The cultural preference is for dried beans rather than fresh green beans. Crops such as pumpkin and butternut are also stored for consumption later. Another explanation may be that savings from consumption in summer were used to purchasing these foods in winter, post-harvest. This was certainly true for households engaged in farmland cultivation (larger scale production) where consumption patterns improved in winter, post-harvesting of the main crops. However, farmland cultivation was only carried out under irrigated conditions. The study contributes knowledge about the impact of food-based approaches on the diets of populations at risk of hunger and food insecurity. Research and extension should focus on improving year-round availability and affordability of nutrient-dense foods that can grow in specific rural communities.

scholarly journals Considerations for the design of nutrition-sensitive production programmes in rural South Africa

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheryl L Hendriks ◽  
Annemarie Viljoen ◽  
Diana Marais ◽  
Friede AM Wenhold ◽  
Angela M McIntyre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Fruit And Vegetables ◽  
Consumption Patterns ◽  
Scale Production ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Populations At Risk ◽  
Nutrition Sensitive ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Amidst conflicting narratives in development circles regarding the drive for nutrition-sensitive agriculture and the displacement of household production by supermarket penetration into deep rural areas, little is documented about the design of nutrition-sensitive agricultural programmes in the context of changing food systems. This is the first comparative assessment of the production and consumption patterns of South Africa’s poorest rural households. The study set out to identify programme elements necessary to improve nutrition outcomes. The poorest communities in four provinces were identified and surveyed using an extensive production and consumption survey. A mixed-methods convergent design approach included focus group discussions, key informant interviews and a two-round panel survey. A total of 278 households were interviewed in summer and 280 in winter at the four sites. Even though most foods were purchased, crop production (beyond maize production) improved dietary diversity but selling produce and the use of irrigation had led to a stronger improvement. Seasonality affected availability of fresh fruit and vegetables for home consumption in winter, compromising nutrition. This shows a more positive influence of cropping on the consumption of fruit and vegetables in winter than in summer. This result was not expected, as the number of crops that can produce edible portions in winter is rather limited. Some crops such as beans are produced in summer and preserved (dried) for consumption in winter. The cultural preference is for dried beans rather than fresh green beans. Crops such as pumpkin and butternut are also stored for consumption later. Another explanation may be that savings from consumption in summer were used to purchasing these foods in winter, post-harvest. This was certainly true for households engaged in farmland cultivation (larger scale production) where consumption patterns improved in winter, post-harvesting of the main crops. However, farmland cultivation was only carried out under irrigated conditions. The study contributes knowledge about the impact of food-based approaches on the diets of populations at risk of hunger and food insecurity. Research and extension should focus on improving year-round availability and affordability of nutrient-dense foods that can grow in specific rural communities.

scholarly journals Climate change and drought effects on rural income distribution in the Mediterranean: a case study for Spain

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (7) ◽  
pp. 4353-4389
Author(s):  
S. Quiroga ◽  
C. Suárez
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Social Aspect ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Effects Of Drought ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. This paper examines the effects of climate change and drought on agricultural outputs in Spanish rural areas. By now the effects of drought as a response to climate change or policy restrictions have been analyzed through response functions considering direct effects on crop productivity and incomes. These changes also affect incomes distribution in the region and therefore modify the social structure. Here we consider this complementary indirect effect on social distribution of incomes which is essential in the long term. We estimate crop production functions for a range of Mediterranean crops in Spain and we use a decomposition of inequalities measure to estimate the impact of climate change and drought on yield disparities. This social aspect is important for climate change policies since it can be determinant for the public acceptance of certain adaptation measures in a context of drought. We provide the empirical estimations for the marginal effects of the two considered impacts: farms' income average and social income distribution. In our estimates we consider crop productivity response to both bio-physical and socio-economic aspects to analyze long term implications on both competitiveness and social disparities. We find disparities in the adaptation priorities depending on the crop and the region analyzed.

scholarly journals Trends in crop production as a factor of ensuring food security of the Perm Region

2021 ◽  
Vol 213 (10) ◽  
pp. 81-92
Author(s):  
Lyudmila Shalaeva
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Potato Production ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Sown Area ◽  
Perm Region

Abstract. Goal. The assessment of the main trends in the activity of agricultural producers in crop production was carried out in order to substantiate the possibilities of the Perm Region for self-sufficiency with the main types of food resources in the presence of adverse effects of natural and climatic conditions. Methods. A statistical analysis was carried out using grouping and comparison methods based on the official statistics of the Perm Region for 2016-2020. Results. In accordance with the social and geographical specifics of the Perm Region, on the territory of which rural areas predominate, the largest volume of crop production is produced in the households of the population (up to 58 %), whose activities are characterized by the lowest level of stability and are more susceptible to the negative impact of natural and climatic conditions. The activity of agricultural organizations (share up to 36 %) and farms (share up to 8 %) is more stable. A higher level of dependence on natural and climatic conditions was revealed in the field of potato production, a lower level – in the field of grain and vegetables production of protected soil. The risk is reinforced by the fact that up to 70 % of the natural volume of potatoes and more than 80% of vegetables are produced in households. With a decrease in the total sown area by 1.2 %, there is a decrease in the sown area of potatoes by 15 % and vegetables by 6 %. The identified trends allowed us to identify the risk of reducing the level of food self-sufficiency of the Perm Region with potatoes and vegetables. The insecurity of domestic potato consumption in the Perm Region is, according to preliminary data, 13 % in 2020. The presence of risk was also revealed for vegetables, the internal consumption of the region was provided with vegetable products of its own production by an average of 56% during the study period. The results obtained allow us to identify the directions of optimization of the Perm Region strategy in solving the problems of food self-sufficiency. Scientific novelty. The dynamics of factors of crop production (structure, yield, acreage, intensification) is assessed taking into account the social, geographical, natural and climatic specifics of the Perm Region through the prism of the impact on the regional food balance and the level of self-sufficiency of the region with potatoes and vegetables.

scholarly journals Measuring the Impact of Nutrition Sensitive Interventions on Diet: A Systematic Review of Tools and Indicators (P10-133-19)

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ines Gonzalez Casanova ◽  
Amy Webb Girard ◽  
Sakshi Mehta ◽  
Usha Ramakrishnan
Keyword(s):  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Monitoring And Evaluation ◽  
Biological Indicators ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Causal Pathway ◽  
Women And Children ◽  
Nutrition Sensitive ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Objectives Nutrition sensitive interventions (NSI), which target underlying causes of undernutrition, have been identified as essential to reduce the burden of malnutrition, which disproportionately affects women and children living in low to middle income countries. However, evaluating the impacts of NSI using anthropometry and/or biomarkers remains challenging due to lack of sensitivity. For agriculture NSI in particular, researchers increasingly recommend using indicators that assess dietary changes that lie on the causal pathway to improved biological indicators. We aimed to identify tools and indicators that can be used to assess the impact of agriculture-focused NSI on the diets of women and children. Methods Using Pubmed, Web of Science, and Agricola, we conducted a systematic search of the literature for NSI that assessed the impact on the diet of women and children (under 18 years) and were published after 2010. Twenty-three studies representing unique NSI or programs met inclusion/exclusion criteria. We systematically abstracted data from these studies into a standardized form. Results Included NSI were conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa (n = 18), South Asia (n = 3), Southeast Asia (n = 3), and Latin America (n = 1), with one conducted in three regions. The most common tools were food frequency questionnaires, 24-hour recalls, and household inventories. Dietary diversity (DD) scores were the most common indicators. These varied on the number of items and the duration of the recall period and included household DD (n = 7), women's DD (n = 5) and children's DD (n = 11); twelve studies assessed more than one outcome. Other indicators of children's diet, such as meal frequency, number of foods or food groups consumed, or minimum acceptable diet were assessed in nine NSI. Two and four studies reported nutrient intakes in women and children, respectively. Conclusions Diet assessment tools and indicators have been used successfully to assess the impact of NSI. We recommend including these measurement tools as part of the monitoring and evaluation of NSI, in particular DD was a frequently used indicator that was sensitive to the interventions. It will also be important to improve the reporting of the method used to improve interpretability and comparison across studies. Funding Sources Supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

scholarly journals Considerations for the design of nutrition-sensitive production programmes in rural South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
S. L. Hendriks ◽  
A. Viljoen ◽  
D. Marais ◽  
F. A. M. Wenhold ◽  
A. M. McIntyre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Leafy Vegetables ◽  
Green Leafy Vegetables ◽  
Populations At Risk ◽  
Dark Green ◽  
Home Consumption

Abstract Background Very little has been researched about the efficacy, effectiveness, feasibility, sustainability and impact of food-based approaches on the diets and nutritional status of populations at risk of hunger and food insecurity. This study contributes knowledge about the impact of food-based approaches on the diets of populations at risk of hunger and food insecurity in four of the poorest rural communities in South Africa. The study investigated the consumption and production patterns of rural households (278 in summer and 280 in winter) in four sites in the poorest municipalities in South Africa. Methods A multistage stratified random sampling technique was applied to identify the communities and sample households for the quantitative survey and qualitative assessments. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected between 2013 and 2015 through focus group discussions (FGDs), key informant interviews and the two-round panel survey to cover both the summer and winter seasons at each site. Results Home gardening led to a significant positive increase in the consumption of white roots and tubers, dark green leafy vegetables, orange-coloured fruit and other fruit in the 24 h prior to the survey. Participation in a community garden led to significant increases in the consumption of dark green leafy vegetables and other vegetables. School gardening did not demonstrate any statistical relationships with the consumption of foods from the crop-related food groups. Crop production improved dietary diversity. Selling produce and irrigation showed a stronger improvement in dietary diversity. Seasonality affected the availability of fresh fruit and vegetables for home consumption in winter. Conclusions Producing beyond that solely for home consumption has greater benefits for dietary diversity and a consumption-smoothing effect during the post-harvest period. Politicians and the scientific community should recognise the role that household and small-scale crop production plays in supporting household consumption and the provision of essential micronutrients despite constraints and disincentives. Production and education programmes should focus on strengthening existing good consumption patterns and promoting the consumption of foods that can improve dietary diversity.

scholarly journals Seasonality and Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture in Kenya: Evidence from Mixed-Methods Research in Rural Lake Naivasha Basin

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (22) ◽  
pp. 6223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Sassi
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Food System ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Interesting Case ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Lake Naivasha ◽  
Nutrition Sensitive ◽  
The Impact

This study investigates the impact of seasonality within the debate on nutrition-sensitive agriculture focusing on rural Lake Naivasha Basin in Kenya, which presents an interesting case study of the food system in East Africa. Seasonality shapes food and nutrition security in sub-Saharan Africa, dominated by a rain-fed system; however, lack of monthly data hampers understanding. Using mixed methods, this study constructs a monthly dataset of a representative sample of households from February 2018 to January 2019. A fixed-effects analysis highlights the association between three pathways from agriculture to nutrition while controlling for the hunger and harvesting seasons by crop. Supported by qualitative information from focus groups, the results suggest that seasonality is an important dimension of the agriculture–nutrition link and promote understanding of the complexity of the pathways suggested by the literature, including the association between crops and dietary diversity, with relevant policy implications.

scholarly journals Production Diversity, Men's Help with Household Tasks, & Lower Women's Depression Mediate Impact of an Agriculture Intervention on Child's Dietary Diversity in Tanzania (FS01-06-19)

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne Santoso ◽  
Rachel Bezner Kerr ◽  
Neema Kassim ◽  
Haikael Martin ◽  
Elias Mtinda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Household Tasks ◽  
Household Chores ◽  
Women's Mental Health ◽  
Nutrition Sensitive ◽  
Production Diversity ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Objectives Production diversity and women's empowerment are two ways by which nutrition-sensitive agriculture interventions are thought to improve children's diet, but, few empirical studies have tested these pathways. We therefore investigated the impact of the Singida Nutrition and Agroecology Project (SNAP-Tz; NCT02761876) on child's dietary diversity, as well as the mediating role of production diversity and women's empowerment on that relationship. Methods SNAP-Tz is a randomized trial of a participatory agroecology and nutrition intervention on which mentor farmers lead their fellow farmers with children < 1 y.o. at baseline (n = 587) in learning and experimentation on agroecology, nutrition, and gender equity. We estimated the intention-to-treat impact of SNAP-Tz on Child's Dietary Diversity Score (CDDS) [0–7] using difference-in-difference analysis between 2016 and 2018. Average Causal Mediation Effect (ACME5) were estimated for production diversity (Crop Nutritional Functional Richness; 0–7) and 4 measures of women's empowerment: Abbreviated Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index (AWEAI, 0–1), women's ability to allocate income (WEAI questions; 0–1), men's help with household chores (with 7 activities; 0–7), and women's depression (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; 0–60). All analyses were done on Stata14 and controlled for geographic clustering and social desirability bias. Results SNAP-Tz significantly improved child's dietary diversity (β = 0.53, P < 0.01). Increased production diversity, greater male involvement in household chores, and lower women's depression mediated 11% (ACME: .06; 95%CI: .01-.11), 6% (ACME: .04; 95CI: .00-.08), and 7% (ACME: .03; 95%CI: .00-.07) of SNAP-Tz's impact on child's dietary diversity, respectively. Mediation of AWEAI and income allocation decision making, on the other hand, were not significant. Conclusions SNAP-Tz improved child's dietary diversity through increasing agricultural production diversity, men's involvement in household chores, and women's mental health. By engaging men in household tasks and prioritizing women's mental health, we can optimize the impact of nutrition-sensitive agriculture projects. Funding Sources SNAP-Tz is funded by the McKnight Foundation. SLY was supported by the NIH (K01MH098902).

scholarly journals Climate change and drought effects on rural income distribution in the Mediterranean: a case study for Spain

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 1369-1385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Quiroga ◽  
Cristina Suárez
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
General Acceptance ◽  
Rural Income ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. This paper examines the effects of climate change and drought on agricultural incomes in Spanish rural areas. Present research has focused on the effects of these extreme climatological events through response functions, considering effects on crop productivity and average incomes. Among the impacts of droughts, we focused on potential effects on income distribution. The study of the effects on abnormally dry periods is therefore needed in order to perform an analysis of diverse social aspects in the long term. We estimate crop production functions for a range of Mediterranean crops in Spain and we use a measure of the decomposition of inequality to estimate the impact of climate change and drought on yield disparities. Certain adaptation measures may require a better understanding of risks by the public to achieve general acceptance. We provide empirical estimations for the marginal effects of the two impacts considered: farms' average income and income distribution. Our estimates consider crop production response to both biophysical and socio-economic aspects to analyse long-term implications on competitiveness and disparities. As for the results, we find disparities in the adaptation priorities depending on the crop and the region analysed.

How promoting consumption of traditional African vegetables affects household nutrition security in Tanzania

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justus Ochieng ◽  
Victor Afari-Sefa ◽  
Daniel Karanja ◽  
Radegunda Kessy ◽  
Srinivasulu Rajendran ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Nutrition Security ◽  
Demand Creation ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
African Vegetables ◽  
Arusha Region ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Matching Techniques ◽  
Children Under 5

AbstractTraditional African vegetables have recently received considerable attention for their contribution to food and nutrition security and opportunities for enhancing smallholder livelihoods. Promoting the production and consumption of traditional vegetables is expected to enhance household nutrition among urban and rural households. The Good Seed Initiative (GSI) program promoted production and consumption of nutrient-dense traditional African vegetables in Arusha region in Tanzania to reduce malnutrition through diet diversification. We estimated the impact of promotion activities on households, women, and children's dietary diversity. The study used cross-sectional data from 258 and 242 households in intervention and control regions, respectively, and applied matching techniques and inverse probability weighting to control for unobserved heterogeneity and selection bias, which could otherwise bias the outcome estimates. We found that households benefiting from traditional vegetable promotion and demand creation activities had significantly higher dietary diversity of children under 5 yr and women in reproductive age. We found no significant impact of promotion activities on households’ dietary diversity. The policy implication is that scaling up promotional and demand creation activities to encourage consumers to grow and eat traditional African vegetables would be an important element in initiatives to increase dietary diversity, particularly for children under 5 and women in Tanzania.

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