Abstract
Small-holder farm households in developing countries mainly depend on rain-fed agriculture activities, thus seasonality affects eating habits and contributes to micronutrient deficiencies. This study assessed women’s dietary diversity score (WDDS) across three agricultural seasons in the Kapchorwa District, Uganda. In each season, 445 women with under five-year-old children from small-holder farm households were interviewed on socio-demographic characteristics as well as dietary practices between May 2016 and January 2017. Linear regression models estimated differences in WDDS across seasons. The mean WDDS at the lean, harvest and post-harvest seasons was 4.33 ± 1.21, 4.63 ± 1.30 and 4.36 ± 1.21, respectively. Mean WDDS was higher in urban regions across all seasons. Women in urban regions generated more income through off-farm activities, had better access to markets and consumed significantly more ‘meat, poultry and fish’ (p < 0.001), dairy products (p < 0.05), ‘vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables’ (p < 0.001) and ‘other vegetables’ (p < 0.001) during the lean season, whilst rural women ate more dark green leafy vegetables (p < 0.001) during the same period. Poorer households in the rural setting were more likely to be affected by seasonally limited food availability and accessibility. Hence, strengthening the linkages between market participation, agricultural activities, improved food storage and preservation techniques and dietary intake is recommended.
Highlights
The overall change in climate has influenced seasons making food availability and access even more unpredictable
The latter happened during the first follow-up survey which coincided with the harvest season when many households were engaged in extensive farming and harvesting activities and were not available for the interview
The variation in dietary diversity was more pronounced among women in rural settings, who mainly depend on income from agricultural activity
Summary
The overall change in climate has influenced seasons making food availability and access even more unpredictable. Whereas 9% of the under-five-year-old children were estimated to be vitamin A deficient with a higher prevalence among stunted children (35%) in 2016 [9,10]; no recent national data were found for vitamin A deficiency among women Still, these figures indicate inadequate dietary intake in the respective families, and measures to increase availability and access to more diverse diets have been recommended to enhance the nutrition and health status of small-holder farmers and their families, in particular among women of reproductive age (15–49 years) [11,12]
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