Irrigated farming and improved nutrition in Malawian farm households

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dc.creatorBenson, Todd
dc.date2018-02-22
dc.date2024-06-21T09:13:07Z
dc.date2024-06-21T09:13:07Z
dc.date.accessioned2026-06-27T15:06:55Z
dc.descriptionThis chapter provides selected findings from an assessment of whether increased use in the dry season of irrigated farming by smallholders in Malawi might improve household-level dietary diversity or child nutrition outcomes. We find no strong association between the use of irrigation by farm households in Malawi and the growth performance of those households’ children. However, we do find that irrigating households tend to have more diverse diets than households that do not irrigate, leading to the hypothesis that irrigation enables households to produce a wider range of crops for home consumption than they can with purely rainfed production. In line with these results, we also find that irrigation reduces the negative effects of seasonal food insecurity. The insight we take from these findings is that one of the principal contributions that irrigation can make to improved nutrition outcomes, particularly for subsistence farming households, is to ensure reliable, year-round access to a diverse diet that facilitates access to micronutrient-rich foods, such as vegetables.
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/147306
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/94980
dc.languageen
dc.publisherInternational Food Policy Research Institute
dc.relationhttps://doi.org/10.2499/9780896292864
dc.rightsOpen Access
dc.sourceBenson, Todd. 2018. Irrigated farming and improved nutrition in Malawian farm households. In Agriculture, food security, and nutrition in Malawi: Leveraging the links, eds. Noora-Lisa Aberman, Janice Meerman, and Todd Benson. Chapter 6, Pp. 61-66. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147306
dc.subjectchild nutrition
dc.subjectimpact
dc.subjectcapacity development
dc.subjectagriculture
dc.subjectsmallholders
dc.subjectnutrition
dc.subjectirrigation
dc.subjectfood security
dc.subjectfood prices
dc.subjectpoverty
dc.subjectdiet
dc.subjectdiversification
dc.subjectdietary diversity
dc.titleIrrigated farming and improved nutrition in Malawian farm households
dc.typeBook Chapter

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Instituto Internacional de Investigación sobre Políticas Alimentarias (IFPRI)