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 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 Primary commodity export and economic growth in sub sahara africa: evidence from panel data analysis

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 465-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Ocran ◽  
Nicholas Biekpe
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Panel Data ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Panel Data Analysis ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Primary Commodity ◽  
Commodity Export ◽  
The Impact

The paper sought to examine the impact of instability in primary commodity export earnings and the level of commodity dependence on economic growth in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA).  Fixed effects panel data estimator was used in the empirical estimation. The findings of the study suggest that there is a negative relationship between instability in export earnings and economic growth. The results also indicate that the level of commodity dependence matter in determining economic growth in the region. The results of the paper have economic development policy implications for SSA economies and these are not farfetched. First, it appears the difficult growth experience of SSA is not solely due to instability in export receipts. The question of continued dependence on a narrow range of primary commodities is also matter of great importance.

scholarly journals The Impact of Wood Fuel Energy on Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Dynamic Macro-Panel Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 3280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chindo Sulaiman ◽  
A.S. Abdul-Rahim
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Wood Fuel ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Interaction Term ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Solar Powered ◽  
The Impact

This study estimates the impact of wood fuel consumption on economic growth in 19 sub-Saharan African countries over the 1979-2017 period. The study employs dynamic macro-panel estimators, which comprises pooled mean group (PMG), mean group (MG), and dynamic fixed effects (DFE). The estimated result reveals that PMG is the most efficient estimator among the three estimators based on the Hausman h-test. The results from PMG model reveal that wood fuel consumption has significant negative impact on economic growth. Also, when an interaction term between labor and wood fuel consumption was included in the model and estimated, the coefficient of wood fuel consumption yields negative and significant coefficient. This suggests that the interaction term has a negative and significant effect on economic growth. These results unveil that wood fuel consumption negatively and significantly affect economic growth, both directly and indirectly. The policy recommendations from this study are as follows: (1) Governments of these countries should provide adequate and affordable modern fuels to the populace; especially rural dwellers to decrease the use of wood fuel for cooking and heating (2) policy makers should intensify awareness campaign on the risk and danger wood fuel poses to economic growth so as to discourage its use and (3) policy makers should provide adequate solar powered stoves and solar-powered room heaters as cheap substitutes to the use of wood fuel for cooking and heating. These recommendations will assist in negating the negative effects of wood fuel consumption on economic growth of the region.

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 Impact of Trade Liberalization on Employment in West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU): A Gender Approach

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Lesfran Sam Wanilo Agbahoungba
Keyword(s):  
Trade Liberalization ◽  
Monetary Union ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Generalized Least Squares ◽  
West African ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Economic And Monetary Union ◽  
Women's Employment ◽  
Women’S Employment ◽  
The Impact

The main objective of this paper is to assess the impact of trade liberalization on employment in West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) through a gender approach. We apply generalized least squares (GLS) estimation techniques with both random and fixed effects on panel data covering the period of 2000-2017. Due to the lack of data, Guinea-Bissau is not part of our analysis. The results show that, while trade liberalization does not explain women’s employment patterns, it rather contributes in job destruction for men in the WAEMU. In conclusion, the impact of trade liberalization of employment is not gender neutral. Rather, it varies depending on the sex of people. In terms of policy implications, this study calls policy makers to setting up, better negotiating or renegotiating trade agreements and implementing trade policies that are more inclusive and beneficial particularly to the population. This could be done by taking into consideration women’s employment particularities in the union, enhancing productive capacities of men, reducing and eliminating inequalities related to people gender and sex.

scholarly journals African agriculture in the context of COVID-19: Finding salvation in the devil

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 302-310
Author(s):  
Guy Blaise Nkamleu ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Food System ◽  
Free Trade Area ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Agriculture Sector ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact

The world is facing unprecedented challenges from COVID-19, which is disrupting lives and livelihoods. The pandemic could profoundly affect the African continent and wipe out hard-won development gains, as sub-Saharan Africa heads into its first recession in 25 years. Beyond the multispatial impact of the coronavirus in Africa, its effects on the agriculture and food system is of particular interest, as food security could be the most affected area and, at the same time, agriculture could be the sector that could help African economies recover quicker from the impact of COVID19. This paper supports the view that COVID-19, as devilish as it may be, offers an opportunity to revive interest in the agricultural sector. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed immense pressures on African countries to raise additional resources, and consequently Africa’s growing public debt is again coming back to the centre stage of the global debate. The conversation on African debt sustainability has begun to dominate the scene and will flood the debate in the near term. While the observed, growing calls for debt relief for African countries are legitimate, we support in this paper that one should not divert attention from the long-term solutions needed to strengthen Africa’s resilience. These long-term solutions lie where they always have: in agriculture. With COVID-19, shipping agricultural inputs and food products from other continents to Africa has become disrupted and is accelerating the trend towards shortening supply chains. This will leave a potential market for inputs and food produced on the continent. COVID-19, together with the launching of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), have aligned the stars in favour of a decisive transformation of the agriculture sector on the continent. Agriculturalists and development experts need to be aware of their responsibility at this time, as they need to advocate for the topic of agricultural development to return to the centre and the heart of the agenda of discussions on how to respond to the consequences of Covid-19 in Africa. In this sense, and unexpectedly, COVID-19 is an opportunity for the agricultural sector.

scholarly journals The Impact of Covid-19 on Livelihoods and Food Security

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thompson, John Thompson, John ◽  
Njuguna Ndung’u ◽  
Miguel Albacete ◽  
Abid Q. Suleri ◽  
Junaid Zahid ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Food System ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Food Prices ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Equity Core

Studies of livelihoods and food systems since the start of the global pandemic in 2020 have shown a consistent pattern: the primary risks to food and livelihood security are at the household level. Covid-19 is having a major impact on households’ production and access to quality, nutritious food, due to losses of income, combined with increasing food prices, and restrictions to movements of people, inputs and products. The studies included in this Research for Policy and Practice Report and supported by the Covid-19 Responses for Equity (CORE) Programme span several continents and are coordinated by leading research organisations with a detailed understanding of local food system dynamics and associated equity and livelihood issues in their regions: (1) the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa; (2) supporting small and medium enterprises, food security, and evolving social protection mechanisms to deal with Covid-19 in Pakistan; and (3) impact of Covid-19 on family farming and food security in Latin America: evidence-based public policy responses.

scholarly journals Institutions and Foreign Direct Investment: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa Regions

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
John Mayanja Bbale ◽  
John Bosco Nnyanzi
Keyword(s):  
Financial Development ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Trade Openness ◽  
Institutional Quality ◽  
The Other ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Capital Account ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Fdi Inflows ◽  
The Impact

<p>The paper set out to investigate the nexus between institutional quality and inward FDI and how the presence of liberalization and financial development influence this linkage. We build on Dunning’s eclectic paradigm that focuses on locational advantages. A fixed effects approach is employed and the estimation results confirm the crucial role of institutional quality in attracting FDI inflows. However the impact varies with the particular group. In particular, apart from SADC, institutional quality seems to matter significantly in all the other groups especially in EAC and ECOWAS. Additional findings reveal a mixed impact regarding the presence of financial development and liberalization in the institution-FDI nexus: While Trade liberalization policies seem to be at the forefront in ECOWAS and SADC groups, it is credit depth and capital account openness that appear to matter most in EAC. We confirm the resilience of inward FDI during the global crisis and document a positive significant relationship between FDI inflows on the one hand and host market size and infrastructure development on the other. While a one-size-fits-all-policy should be discouraged due to the heterogeneous nature of SSA countries, overall, a comprehensive set of policies designed with caution to improve the institutional quality, the financial system, trade openness and capital account liberalization would be valuable for attracting FDI inflows to SSA.</p>

The nexus between foreign bank presence and credit to the private sector: evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vera Fiador ◽  
Lordina Amoah ◽  
Emmanuel Abbey
Keyword(s):  
Private Sector ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Financial Integration ◽  
Financial Sector ◽  
Foreign Bank ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Access To Credit ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to explore the implications of global financial integration on host economies in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The study tests the competing views on the impact of foreign bank penetration on private sector access to credit in developing host economies.Design/methodology/approachUsing data on a panel 25 SSA economies over a period of 22 years from 1995 to 2016, the study employs fixed effects and Prais-Winsten estimations as well as generalized methods of moments (GMM) to test the foreign bank impact.FindingsThe findings show support for the hypothesis that global financial integration has positive implications for participating economies. In other words, financial sector liberalization and deregulation leading to the influx of foreign banks has positive implications for access to credit by the private sector in SSA economies. The study also finds other standard determinants of access to credit like lending rate and broad money supply conforming to the existing literature in terms of impact.Originality/valueOverall, the findings hold relevant implications for banking sector policies and the financial sector in general regarding the priority that policy makers and advisors attach to reforming financial sector policies.

Political stability as a factor affecting growth in agricultural sub-Saharan African countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 160-176
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Świerczyńska ◽  
◽  
Filip Kaczmarek ◽  
Łukasz Kryszak ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
Agricultural Activity ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact

The agricultural countries of sub-Saharan Africa remain the least economically advanced region of the world, with the relatively lowest quality of life. The agricultural sector plays a particularly important role in the economies of these countries. However, it is underdeveloped as a result of factors such as inadequate agricultural policy, institutional instability, chronic droughts, epidemics, deterioration of the environment, deteriorating infrastructure and insufficient investment in agricultural research in sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of the paper is to examine the impact of political stabilization on the economic growth in these countries. We were also inclined to determine what the interdependences were between political stability and factors important for agricultural activity for both agricultural and non-agricultural sub-Saharan counties in the 1995–2017 period. The methods used in this research included panel models with fixed effects, non-parametric tests and quantile regression. It was found that stabilizing the political situation and lowering the level of conflict risk contributed to the growth of GDP per capita in both agricultural and non-agricultural countries. However, in agricultural countries, it also influenced the modernization of agricultural production methods and a shift in the proportion of agricultural production in the total volume of imports and exports. Furthermore, it was found that political stability contributed to a greater extent to the improvement of GDP per capita in the lowest income countries.

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