The association between crop and income diversity and farmer intra-household dietary diversity in India

Sukhwinder Singh,Andrew D Jones,Ruth S Defries,Meha Jain

doi:10.1007/s12571-020-01012-3

Sukhwinder Singh, Andrew D Jones + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-020-01012-3

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Abstract

This paper investigates the associations between crop and income diversity and dietary diversity among men, women, adolescents, and children of farmer households in India. We examine crop, income, and dietary data collected from 1106 farmer households across Gujarat and Haryana, two states that represent different livelihood transition pathways in India. Regression results suggest that crop diversity had a positive association with dietary diversity among adults (both men and women) in both states, and among adolescents and children in Haryana. Higher family education and annual income were the two most important factors associated with higher dietary diversity score (DDS) in Gujarat whereas, higher family education, greater crop diversity, and increased distance traveled to markets were the most important factors associated with higher individual DDS in Haryana. Specifically, for children, crop diversity emerged as one of the most important factors associated with dietary diversity in both states. Interestingly, we find that even in these two relatively prosperous states, the pathways to dietary diversity vary across sites and within households, suggesting that policies to improve dietary diversity should be tailored to a given location and context.

Highlights

Introduction88% of countries face a burden of at least two forms of malnutrition, ranging from stunting, anemia, to being overweight
Malnutrition, ranging from undernourishment to obesity, is one of the biggest public health challenges as it affects one Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.in three people worldwide
Lower average incomes in Haryana could occur because the crops they grow are largely non-cash crops and are purchased by government agencies at a minimum support price (MSP), which is a government policy that ensures a minimum price for 24 major crops across India (Aditya et al 2017)

Summary

Introduction

88% of countries face a burden of at least two forms of malnutrition, ranging from stunting, anemia, to being overweight. Malnutrition is a worldwide phenomenon, it is especially chronic in South Asia, where one-third of the global malnourished population resides (Elliott 2015). Malnutrition is widespread in India, where approximately 35% of children are stunted, wasted or underweight, and 20% of men and women are overweight or obese. Trends suggest that the rate of malnutrition in India has decreased over the last decade, it is still a major challenge, especially in rural India (IFPRI 2016; Pingali and Abraham 2018). Its prevalence is highest among the rural poor, where there are higher rates of childhood stunting and anemia compared to urban areas (Raykar et al 2015; Rao et al 2018). While the causes of rural malnutrition are likely multifaceted and complex, many possible causes have been suggested including low incomes, limited access to markets, and limited access to education (Arnold et al 2009; IFPRI 2014)

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