IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/ssefpa/v10y2018i4d10.1007_s12571-018-0812-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Evaluating the pathways from small-scale irrigation to dietary diversity: evidence from Ethiopia and Tanzania

Author

Listed:
  • Simone Passarelli

    (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Department of Nutrition)

  • Dawit Mekonnen

    (International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI))

  • Elizabeth Bryan

    (International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI))

  • Claudia Ringler

    (International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI))

Abstract

Interventions that aim to increase water availability for agriculture hold great potential for improving nutrition through increasing food production, generating income, enhancing water access and sanitation and hygiene conditions, and through strengthening women’s empowerment. Yet there is scarce evidence on the linkages between small-scale irrigation and the pathways through which nutrition outcomes can be achieved. Using data from a cross-sectional household survey collected in Ethiopia and Tanzania, we explored the potential for small-scale irrigation to contribute to improved diets, and identify the pathways through which irrigation affects dietary diversity as measured by the Household Dietary Diversity Score. Unadjusted comparisons show that irrigating households in both countries produced more vegetables, fruits and cash crops, are less food insecure, have a higher value of production, and have higher production diversity and dietary diversity compared to non-irrigating households. Econometric results of a simultaneous equation (3SLS) model showed that irrigation leads to better household dietary diversity mainly through the pathway of increasing household incomes. However, these results are statistically significant only in the case of Ethiopia, and not in Tanzania. While irrigation increased production diversity in Ethiopia, the benefits of increased dietary diversity cannot be attributed to these changes in production after controlling for the effect of income. Other factors, such as gender of the household head and having off-farm income, also influence dietary diversity in Ethiopia. These findings suggest that the potential for irrigation to influence diets is highly context-specific. Understanding the particular pathways and entry points for nutrition-sensitive agriculture approaches could help to improve their benefits for nutrition.

Suggested Citation

  • Simone Passarelli & Dawit Mekonnen & Elizabeth Bryan & Claudia Ringler, 2018. "Evaluating the pathways from small-scale irrigation to dietary diversity: evidence from Ethiopia and Tanzania," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(4), pages 981-997, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ssefpa:v:10:y:2018:i:4:d:10.1007_s12571-018-0812-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s12571-018-0812-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12571-018-0812-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s12571-018-0812-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Giordano, Meredith & de Fraiture, C. & Weight, Elizabeth & van der Bliek, Julie EC Eds., 2012. "Water for wealth and food security: supporting farmer-driven investments in agricultural water management. Synthesis report of the AgWater Solutions Project," IWMI Research Reports H045055, International Water Management Institute.
    2. World Bank, 2016. "Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia," World Bank Publications - Reports 24957, The World Bank Group.
    3. Dean Spears & Arabinda Ghosh & Oliver Cumming, 2013. "Open Defecation and Childhood Stunting in India: An Ecological Analysis of New Data from 112 Districts," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(9), pages 1-1, September.
    4. Unknown, 2012. "Water for wealth and food security: supporting farmer-driven investments in agricultural water management. Synthesis report of the AgWater Solutions Project," IWMI Reports 158834, International Water Management Institute.
    5. Hazel Jean L. Malapit & Suneetha Kadiyala & Agnes R. Quisumbing & Kenda Cunningham & Parul Tyagi, 2015. "Women's Empowerment Mitigates the Negative Effects of Low Production Diversity on Maternal and Child Nutrition in Nepal," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(8), pages 1097-1123, August.
    6. Iannotti, Lora & Cunningham, Kenda & Ruel, Marie, 2009. "Improving diet quality and micronutrient nutrition: Homestead food production in Bangladesh," IFPRI discussion papers 928, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    7. Sraboni, Esha & Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Ahmed, Akhter, 2021. "Women's empowerment in agriculture: What role for food security in Bangladesh?," IFPRI book chapters, in: Securing food for all in Bangladesh, chapter 14, pages 483-548, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    8. Ruel, Marie T. & Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Balagamwala, Mysbah, 2017. "Nutrition-sensitive agriculture: What have we learned and where do we go from here?:," IFPRI discussion papers 1681, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    9. Benson, Todd, 2016. "Association between irrigated farming and improved nutrition in farm households in Malawi," Agrekon, Agricultural Economics Association of South Africa (AEASA), vol. 54(3), January.
    10. Johnson, Nancy L. & Kovarik, Chiara & Meinzen-Dick, Ruth & Njuki, Jemimah & Quisumbing, Agnes, 2016. "Gender, Assets, and Agricultural Development: Lessons from Eight Projects," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 295-311.
    11. You, Liangzhi & Ringler, Claudia & Wood-Sichra, Ulrike & Robertson, Richard & Wood, Stanley & Zhu, Tingju & Nelson, Gerald & Guo, Zhe & Sun, Yan, 2011. "What is the irrigation potential for Africa? A combined biophysical and socioeconomic approach," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 770-782.
    12. Giordano, Meredith & de Fraiture, C. & Weight, Elizabeth & van der Bliek, Julie EC Eds., 2012. "Water for wealth and food security: supporting farmer-driven investments in agricultural water management. Synthesis report of the AgWater Solutions Project," IWMI Research Reports H045022, International Water Management Institute.
    13. Dean Spears, 2012. "How much international variation in child height can sanitation explain?," Working Papers 1436, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Research Program in Development Studies..
    14. Malapit, Hazel Jean L. & Quisumbing, Agnes R., 2015. "What dimensions of women’s empowerment in agriculture matter for nutrition in Ghana?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 54-63.
    15. Burney, Jennifer A. & Naylor, Rosamond L., 2012. "Smallholder Irrigation as a Poverty Alleviation Tool in Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 110-123.
    16. Sheahan, Megan & Barrett, Christopher B., 2017. "Ten striking facts about agricultural input use in Sub-Saharan Africa," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 12-25.
    17. Bhagowalia, Priya & Headey, Derek D. & Kadiyala, Suneetha, 2012. "Agriculture, Income, and Nutrition Linkages in India: Insights from a Nationally Representative Survey:," IFPRI discussion papers 1195, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    18. Carlo Azzarri & Melanie Bacou & Cindy M. Cox & Zhe Guo & Jawoo Koo, 2016. "Subnational socio-economic dataset availability," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 6(2), pages 115-116, February.
    19. Xie, Hua & You, Liangzhi & Wielgosz, Benjamin & Ringler, Claudia, 2014. "Estimating the potential for expanding smallholder irrigation in Sub-Saharan Africa," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 183-193.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Domènech, Laia, 2015. "Is reliable water access the solution to undernutrition? A review of the potential of irrigation to solve nutrition and gender gaps in Africa South of the Sahara:," IFPRI discussion papers 1428, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    2. Elizabeth Bryan & Elisabeth Garner, 2022. "Understanding the pathways to women’s empowerment in Northern Ghana and the relationship with small-scale irrigation," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(3), pages 905-920, September.
    3. Otoo, Miriam & Lefore, Nicole & Schmitter, Petra & Barron, Jennie & Gebregziabher, Gebrehaweria, 2018. "Business model scenarios and suitability: smallholder solar pump-based irrigation in Ethiopia. Agricultural Water Management – Making a Business Case for Smallholders," IWMI Reports 273354, International Water Management Institute.
    4. Ruel, Marie T. & Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Balagamwala, Mysbah, 2017. "Nutrition-sensitive agriculture: What have we learned and where do we go from here?:," IFPRI discussion papers 1681, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    5. Merrey, D. J. & Lefore, Nicole, 2018. "Improving the availability and effectiveness of rural and “Micro” finance for small-scale irrigation in Sub-Saharan Africa: a review of lessons learned," IWMI Working Papers H049027, International Water Management Institute.
    6. Ruth Meinzen-Dick & Agnes Quisumbing, 2018. "Response to Garcia and Wanner “gender inequality and food security: lessons for the gender-responsive work of the international food policy research institute and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(2), pages 247-251, April.
    7. Abu Hayat Md. Saiful Islam & Joachim Braun & Andrew L. Thorne-Lyman & Akhter U. Ahmed, 2018. "Farm diversification and food and nutrition security in Bangladesh: empirical evidence from nationally representative household panel data," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(3), pages 701-720, June.
    8. Dessalegn, Mengistu & Merrey, D. J., 2014. "Is ‘Social Cooperation’ for traditional irrigation, while ‘Technology’ is for motor pump irrigation?," IWMI Reports 201004, International Water Management Institute.
    9. Maurice Osewe & Aijun Liu & Tim Njagi, 2020. "Farmer-Led Irrigation and Its Impacts on Smallholder Farmers’ Crop Income: Evidence from Southern Tanzania," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-13, February.
    10. Komatsu, Hitomi & Malapit, Hazel Jean L. & Theis, Sophie, 2018. "Does women’s time in domestic work and agriculture affect women’s and children’s dietary diversity? Evidence from Bangladesh, Nepal, Cambodia, Ghana, and Mozambique," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 256-270.
    11. Kiratu, Nixon Murathi & Aarnoudse, Eefje & Petrick, Martin, 2024. "Irrigation-nutrition linkages under farmer-led and public irrigation schemes in Kenya," IAAE 2024 Conference, August 2-7, 2024, New Delhi, India 344347, International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE).
    12. Hazel Jean L. Malapit & Esha Sraboni & Agnes R. Quisumbing & Akhter U. Ahmed, 2019. "Intrahousehold empowerment gaps in agriculture and children's well‐being in Bangladesh," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 37(2), pages 176-203, March.
    13. Magidi, J. & van Koppen, Barbara & Nhamo, L. & Mpandeli, S. & Slotow, R. & Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe, 2021. "Informing equitable water and food policies through accurate spatial information on irrigated areas in smallholder farming systems," Papers published in Journals (Open Access), International Water Management Institute, pages 1-13(24):36.
    14. Mekonnen, Dawit & Abate, Gashaw & Yimam, Seid, 2021. "Irrigation and Agricultural Transformation in Ethiopia," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315339, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    15. Raymond van Der Wijngaart & John Helming & Claire Jacobs & Pedro Andres Garzon Delvaux & Steven Hoek & Sergio Gomez y Paloma, 2019. "Irrigation and irrigated agriculture potential in the Sahel: The case of the Niger river basin: Prospective review of the potential and constraints in a changing climate," JRC Research Reports JRC108657, Joint Research Centre.
    16. Aarnoudse, E. & Closas, Alvar & Lefore, Nicole, 2018. "Water user associations: a review of approaches and alternative management options for Sub-Saharan Africa," IWMI Working Papers H048782, International Water Management Institute.
    17. Kihiu, Evelyne Nyathira & Amuakwa-Mensah, Franklin, 2021. "Agricultural market access and dietary diversity in Kenya: Gender considerations towards improved household nutritional outcomes," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    18. Lefore, N. & Giordano, Meredith & Ringler, C. & Barron, J., "undated". "Sustainable and equitable growth in farmer-led irrigation in Sub-Saharan Africa: what will it take?," Papers published in Journals (Open Access) H049101, International Water Management Institute.
    19. Koide, Junji & Yokoyama, Shigeki & Hirouchi, Shinji & Hirose, Chikako & Oka, Naoko & Oda, Masato & Yanagihara, Seiji, 2021. "Exploring climate-resilient and risk-efficient cropping strategies using a new pond irrigation system: An experimental study in northern Ghana," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    20. Jones, Rebecca E. & Haardörfer, Regine & Ramakrishnan, Usha & Yount, Kathryn M. & Miedema, Stephanie S. & Roach, Timmie D. & Girard, Amy Webb, 2020. "Intrinsic and instrumental agency associated with nutritional status of East African women," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:ssefpa:v:10:y:2018:i:4:d:10.1007_s12571-018-0812-5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.