Approximately two billion people worldwide suffer from some form of malnutrition, sparking debate among researchers and policymakers about how to improve nutrition among vulnerable populations.
New study published in the journal Nature Food challenges the conventional wisdom that farmers’ production of a variety of crops (food production diversity, or FPD) is the primary route to addressing nutritional deficiencies.
So, what is the connection between dietary diversity and the diet of individuals and households? And will access to markets solve malnutrition?
What does the new study say?
The study by the Center for Development Research (ZEF) at the University of Bonn, Germany – the first of its kind – collected data on nearly 90,000 households in Africa between 2008 and 2022 in Ethiopia, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda.
It is recommended that by building better roads that provide access to markets in local towns and cities, nutritional deficiencies can be better addressed.
“We show that regional production diversity is important and can replace individual production diversity in many situations,” ZEF’s Professor Matin Qaim told Al Jazeera.
“This is good news because it is much easier to ensure that additional types of crops and livestock are produced somewhere in the region (and then distributed through local markets) than to force each individual small farm to produce more and more types,” he explained.
The researchers looked at the variety of crops and animal species raised by farmers, as well as detailed data on the types of food consumed in each household. The study uses the Household Diet Diversity Score (HDDS) to measure the nutritional diversity of a family’s diet by summing the different food groups consumed over a one-week period. This metric provides insight into the range and quality of food accessed by households, offering a snapshot of their eating habits and nutritional status.
Many of the farmers studied were small growers, known as smallholders or limited-scale agricultural producers.
The main questions the researchers wanted to answer were whether the production of diverse crops and animal species among smallholders is the most effective way to address malnutrition, and whether households with access to these farms have a more balanced diet.
Unfortunately, the results are mixed, as research has shown.
“Producing too many different things on each farm means that farmers would be pushed into subsistence and unable to benefit from any division of labour. But we also show that market access – for example, improved infrastructure – is very important,” Qaim said.
What are the limitations of older studies on food diversity?
Existing research examining the relationship between food production diversity and dietary diversity suffers from several limitations.
As noted in the Nature Food study, a narrow focus on farm-level production diversity or a single-country focus overlooks the potential impact of broader-level diversity on household dietary patterns in different countries.
Addressing these gaps could help researchers better understand the complex interrelationship between agricultural production and nutritional outcomes. Although the diversity of local farms resulted in a more balanced diet for some households, it had a smaller effect.
“Small-scale agricultural production in Africa is very diverse anyway. Ensuring good access to local and regional markets is more important than further improving diversity on each individual farm,” said ZEF researcher Thanh Tung Nguyen, who conducted the study together with Qaima.
“These markets not only enable farmers to sell their surplus food, but also enable them to buy those foods they lack,” he said in a public address. statement.
Inadequate infrastructure remains a significant barrier as poorly maintained roads can result in longer travel times, causing products to spoil or be damaged during transport.
Proximity to urban centers, which serves as an indicator of market access costs in rural Africa, had a negative effect in all six countries. According to the study, the average household is approximately 31 km (19 miles) from the nearest urban center.
How can we better address food insecurity?
Research suggests that the ability of local farmers to produce the right crops and raise the right animals, known as FPD, is part of the problem. However, FPD is not the only challenge to household nutrition as measured by the Household Diet Diversity Score (HDDS).
“Weather shocks—defined as the occurrence of a drought, flood, hurricane, or related extreme event during the past 12 months—were negatively associated with HDDS,” the study said.
“Several other socioeconomic characteristics were positively associated with HDDS. The production of non-food cash crops – such as cotton, coffee, tea or tobacco – on one’s own farms appears to contribute to greater household dietary diversity through positive cash income effects.”
Qaim, the researcher, says: “Issues of food resilience to climate shocks and other types of shocks, and the role of domestic production versus the market in this regard, are not yet well understood.”
Researchers say the seasonality of certain fruits and vegetables deserves more attention. To increase agricultural efficiency and economic potential, farmers should prioritize growing crops that thrive in their specific region and soil conditions, optimizing both productivity and profitability, the study recommends.
Currently, work is being done to solve the problem of food availability in the infrastructure. In 2016, the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), dedicated to implementing humanitarian and development projects, launched a $55 million (£44 million) feeder road project in South Sudan to improve trade and food security.
In November, the Nyamlel Bridge was handed over to Sudan with 44 km (27 mi) of feeder roads, including clean drinking water stations and sanitation systems in northern and western Bahr el Ghazal state. The construction of the bridge affected – and was intended to help – 1.2 million people in the region.
