Animal-sourced foods production and early childhood nutrition: Panel data evidence in central Madagascar

Abstract

Renewed interest in the significance of Animal-Sourced Foods (ASF) in addressing a variety of health issues in developing countries, most notably stunted growth in children, has arisen recently. Although ASF products constitute an important source of proteins and essential nutrients for young children, empirical evidence on the relationship between ASF production and child growth is limited, especially studies using a longitudinal cohort. We go one step further and contribute to the existing literature by unveiling the multiple causal mechanisms between ASF production and child health, and by including lagged indicators of ASF at the individual level. We investigate this topic with the advantage of an eight-round panel dataset from the central zones of Madagascar, a region with relatively poor milk intake and high stunting rates. Findings indicate that only lagged dairy production is positively and significantly associated with the height-for-age (HAZ) scores of children under 5 years of age. The possible transmission channels at the household level are sustained frequency, probability of dairy consumption, and improved welfare, suggesting that production of milk and dairy products is an important driver of long-term growth gains among children in central Madagascar.