Impact of CSA Innovations on Household Food and Nutrition Security: Evidence From the Upper Blue Nile Highland of Ethiopia

Background: Food insecurity remains a major challenge to smallholder farmers in the face of changing climate in the Upper Blue Nile Highlands of Ethiopia. To improve food and nutrition security of climate change vulnerable smallholder farmers in eastern Ethiopia, several climate-smart agriculture (CSA) innovations have been adopted and scaled-up. However, the impact of these innovations on household food and nutritional security was not systematically studied. This study examined the impact of selected CSA technologies on household food and nutrition security. Cross-sectional data were generated from 424 randomly selected rural smallholder agriculture households in the five selected agroecosystems of the Upper Blue Nile Highlands of Ethiopia. The study employed propensity score matching and endogenous switching regression estimation models. Results: Households that practiced crop residue management had an 8.46 higher Food Consumption Score (FCS) and a 0.4 higher Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) than non-adopters. Similarly, households who adopted compost and agroforestry had a 0.462 and 0.446 higher Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) than non-adopters, respectively. The endogenous switching regression analysis result showed that households that practiced crop residue management had an 22.6 higher Food Consumption Score (FCS) and a 2.2 higher Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) than non-adopters. Similarly, households who adopted physical SWC had a 2.3 higher Food Consumption Score (FCS) than non-adopters. Whereas, compost and agroforestry had a 0.28 and 2.12 higher Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) than non-adopters, respectively. Conclusions: This shows that households adopting CSA innovations are more likely to have higher food security compared to non-adopters. This suggests that promotion and scale-up of CSA innovations in the study area can enhance household food and nutrition security.

The Effect of Productive Safety Net Programme on Household Food Consumption and Dietary Diversity in Ethiopia

This study empirically investigates the effect of productive safety net programme (PSNP) on household food consumption and dietary diversity in Ethiopia. The study applied random effects with instrumental variable to estimate the effect of PSNP membership. The result of the study indicates that though PSNP membership improves household food consumption, it reduces household dietary diversity score. Household food consumption and dietary diversity are also significantly influenced by sex, age, education status of household head, household size, livestock ownership, distance to the nearest market and participation in non-farm activities. The findings of this study suggest that PSNP membership should be reinforced by building household awareness of the benefits of consuming a variety of foods. In addition, PSNP membership should be designed to endow the households to accumulate essential assets, especially livestock.

Predictors of Dietary Diversity of Indigenous Food-Producing Households in Rural Fiji

Fiji, like other Pacific Islands, are undergoing economic and nutrition transitions that increase the risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) due to changes of the food supply and dietary intake. This study aimed to examine dietary diversity (DD) in indigenous food-producing households in rural Fiji. Surveys were conducted with households from the Nadroga-Navosa, Namosi and Ba Provinces of Western Fiji in August 2018. Participants reported on foods consumed in the previous 24 h per the Household Dietary Diversity Score. Data was analysed using multinomial logistic regression. Of the 161 households, most exhibited medium DD (66%; M = 7.8 ± 1.5). Commonly consumed foods included sweets (98%), refined grains (97%) and roots/tubers (94%). The least consumed foods were orange-fleshed fruits (23%) and vegetables (35%), eggs (25%), legumes (32%) and dairy (32%). Households with medium DD were more likely to be unemployed (OR 3.2, p = 0.017) but less likely to have ≥6 occupants (OR = 0.4, p = 0.024) or purchase food ≥2 times/week (OR = 0.2, p = 0.023). Households with low DD were more likely to have low farm diversity (OR = 5.1, p = 0.017) or be unemployed (OR = 3.7, p = 0.047) but less likely to have ≥6 occupants (OR = 0.1, p = 0.001). During nutrition transitions, there is a need for public health initiatives to promote traditional diets high in vegetables, fruits and lean protein and agricultural initiatives to promote farm diversity.