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The Role of Women's Status in Agricultural Commercialization, Production Diversity and Dietary Diversity in Ethiopia: Results from a 2012 National Integrated Agriculture and Socio‐economic Survey
Author(s) -
Coates Jennifer,
Galante Tina
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.670.5
Subject(s) - crop diversity , diversity (politics) , agriculture , commercialization , food security , cash crop , empowerment , socioeconomic status , food group , production (economics) , agricultural productivity , socioeconomics , agricultural economics , geography , business , economics , environmental health , economic growth , medicine , population , marketing , political science , archaeology , law , macroeconomics
Evidence of the relationships between increased production of nutritious food crops, the diversity of crop production, and linkages to improved overall dietary quality is inconclusive. Similarly, there is controversy over whether agricultural commercialization leads to healthier, more diverse diets and for whom. The study of smallholder households in Ethiopia sought to answer the following 3 questions: 1) is agricultural commercialization associated with greater household dietary diversity and, if yes, under what circumstances? 2) Is greater food production diversity associated with dietary diversity? To what extent does the production of a specific food group increase the likelihood of its consumption? 3) To what extent do female headship and women's empowerment mediate these relationships? An OLS regression model using data from the 2012 Living Standards Measurement Study‐Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS‐ISA): Ethiopia Rural Socioeconomic Survey found that greater income from agricultural sales, controlling for non‐agricultural income and other confounding variables, was associated with higher household dietary diversity, with female‐headed households experiencing greater diet diversity from commercialization than male‐headed households. Regardless of headship, dietary diversity was greater in households where a female owned at least one large asset, intended as an indicator of empowerment. The same model demonstrated that greater food crop production diversity was not significantly associated with greater dietary diversity, while cash crop diversity was found to be positively associated with dietary diversity. Furthermore, results from logistic regression models showed that households producing vegetables, fruit, pulses, dairy, and eggs had a higher chance of consuming these foods than those that did not produce the foods at all. The results suggest that smallholder agricultural commercialization may improve household diet through increased income. Additionally, policies that focus on increasing production of nutrient‐rich foods and policies that empower women and enable them to have greater control over assets and other decision‐making may likely see improved dietary diversity both together with, and independent of, commercialization efforts. Support or Funding Information This research work is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under Agreement No. AID‐663‐A‐11‐00017. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of the researcher & do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.