Crop commercialization and nutrient intake among farming households in Uganda

Abstract

Agricultural commercialization is expected to enhance a wide array of household welfare indicators, notably, nutrition. Using LSMS-ISA survey data for Uganda, this paper examines the channels through which household nutrient intake is influenced under crop commercialization. A control function was employed to address issues of endogeneity, while the Generalized Propensity Score technique was used to estimate the continuous treatment effects. The results show that commercialization mainly affects nutrient intake through the resulting crop income. From a gender perspective, the findings show that female control of farm income positively and significantly affects the overall nutrient intake. The findings point to three important implications. First, interventions geared towards agricultural commercialization are beneficial to household nutrition via income generation. Given this income-nutrition linkage, proactive steps towards support for nutrition-sensitive commercial agriculture are needed to ensure that nutrient-rich foods are available on the market. Second, there is the need to improve knowledge and perception of what constitutes a good diet. This would provide a stronger linkage between agricultural production, income, and nutrition. Third, gender relations in a household are critical for nutrition outcomes. As such, measures which can empower women to own and control key agricultural production assets are needed to reinforce the link between commercialization and nutrition.