PRODUCTION DIVERSIFICATION, DIETARY DIVERSITY AND FOOD POVERTY: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM ETHIOPIA AND TANZANIA

Abstract

This paper investigates the role of farm diversification for dietary diversity of households in smallholder agriculture. We use the Living Standards Measurement Study – Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) dataset of the World Bank from Ethiopia and Tanzania. The results of the study show that farm diversification contributes to dietary diversity of farm households. Furthermore, we show that the effects of farm diversification and proportion of purchased food on the dietary diversity of the household significantly varies across families who are in food poverty, and the food secure families. Rural development efforts towards diversified farming systems can contribute to improve the food security and dietary diversity of farm households, especially if targeted towards nutritionally rich food production schemes.