Considerations for the design of nutrition-sensitive production programmes in rural South Africa
- PDF / 513,558 Bytes
- 16 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 29 Downloads / 199 Views
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Open Access
Considerations for the design of nutritionsensitive production programmes in rural South Africa S. L. Hendriks1* , A. Viljoen2, D. Marais3, F. A. M. Wenhold4, A. M. McIntyre5, M. S. Ngidi6, J. G. Annandale7, M. Kalaba8 and D. Stewart9
Abstract Background: Very little has been researched about the efficacy, effectiveness, feasibility, sustainability and impact of food-based approaches on the diets and nutritional status of populations at risk of hunger and food insecurity. This study contributes knowledge about the impact of food-based approaches on the diets of populations at risk of hunger and food insecurity in four of the poorest rural communities in South Africa. The study investigated the consumption and production patterns of rural households (278 in summer and 280 in winter) in four sites in the poorest municipalities in South Africa. Methods: A multistage stratified random sampling technique was applied to identify the communities and sample households for the quantitative survey and qualitative assessments. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected between 2013 and 2015 through focus group discussions (FGDs), key informant interviews and the two-round panel survey to cover both the summer and winter seasons at each site. Results: Home gardening led to a significant positive increase in the consumption of white roots and tubers, dark green leafy vegetables, orange-coloured fruit and other fruit in the 24 h prior to the survey. Participation in a community garden led to significant increases in the consumption of dark green leafy vegetables and other vegetables. School gardening did not demonstrate any statistical relationships with the consumption of foods from the crop-related food groups. Crop production improved dietary diversity. Selling produce and irrigation showed a stronger improvement in dietary diversity. Seasonality affected the availability of fresh fruit and vegetables for home consumption in winter. Conclusions: Producing beyond that solely for home consumption has greater benefits for dietary diversity and a consumption-smoothing effect during the post-harvest period. Politicians and the scientific community should recognise the role that household and small-scale crop production plays in supporting household consumption and the provision of essential micronutrients despite constraints and disincentives. Production and education programmes should focus on strengthening existing good consumption patterns and promoting the consumption of foods that can improve dietary diversity. Keywords: Nutrition-sensitive agriculture, Agricultural production, Dietary diversity, Irrigation, Food security
* Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Department of Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development, University of Pretoria, PBag X01, Hatfield, Pretoria 0028, South Africa Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s). 2020 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Data Loading...
