Abstract
In Uganda, agricultural commercialization has been promoted to reduce poverty and improve household food security. South-western Uganda, the major producer of potato, has been considered the food basket of the country but it has one of the highest prevalence rates of stunting in children under 5. This study considered potato enterprise as a key pathway for enhancing household food and nutrition security because it has become a major income source and staple in the diets of many households in the area and most urban areas in the country. The objective was to determine factors that influence farm household nutrition and food security outcomes. Through a survey, data were collected from 434 randomly selected potato farmer households. Descriptive and econometric methods were used in data analysis. Results show that household dietary diversity score was low (3.2) for most (57%) of the households. Only 38% were food secure. The main factors enhancing household nutrition outcomes were size of land, livestock units owned, proportion of household income spent on food, and education of household head, while farmer’s experience in potato production had a negative effect. The size of land owned, crop diversification, income from potato, age and education of household head, and a famer being male enhanced household food security outcomes. The study recommends promoting improved production practices to maximize land productivity, integration of livestock in potato production, and training women and men in household food and nutrition and related use of income.
Highlights
Global food production has more than doubled with more varied diets, but over 800 million people are reportedly still hungry, and about two billion suffer from poor nutrition (UNEP, 2016)
Most of the significant factors fall under the production pathway, with only one variable under the income pathway
The size of land a household owns has a positive and significant (P
Summary
Global food production has more than doubled with more varied diets, but over 800 million people are reportedly still hungry, and about two billion suffer from poor nutrition (UNEP, 2016). In the presence of imperfect markets and high transaction costs smallholder farmers are less able to exploit all the potential gains from commercialization that would be critical in enhancing household nutrition (de Janvry, 1991; Goetz, 1992) They do not always draw nutritional benefits from higher agricultural production, poor nutrition in children and women could occur even in good crop harvest years because though agriculture is essential it is not adequate to alleviate under nutrition (Gillespie, Harris, & Kadiyala, 2012). Food quality in terms of safety and nutrient mix, the health of household members, care and feeding of the children and women are key factors in nutrition and are influenced through the production system, especially among smallholder farmers, among whom most rural malnutrition occur It is essential for designers of programs aimed at alleviating poverty or reducing under nutrition through agriculture interventions to understand how prevailing (or new) agricultural systems may affect nutrition outcomes.
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