Farmers’ expenditures associated with children’s nutritional status in areas affected by Indonesia’s Sinabung eruption

Abstract

Introduction: During the time of volcano eruptions, farmers have to harvest their crops before the stipulated harvest time, which leads to quality and quantity loss. Besides, farmers also have to continue their farming activities, including purchasing farming necessities. These unaddressed issues of the agricultural restoration could be one of the key factors to malnutrition. Therefore, this study assessed the associations between farmers’ expenditures and the nutritional status of children in areas affected by Indonesia’s Sinabung eruption. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 444 (158 farmers, 228 farmers cum farm labourers, and 58 farm labourers) households headed by farmers. The questionnaire used for data collection was the Indonesian Family Life Survey questions (IFLS). Results: Non-food expenditures had a huge impact on household livelihoods, which was significantly associated with children’s nutritional status. Among the three groups of farmers, children of farmers and farmers cum farm labourers were prone to malnutrition. This was because these two groups had to limit food expenditures over their farming necessities and cigarettes expenditure, which took more than half of their income. However, the prevalence of malnutrition was highest in children of farmers. Children of farm labourers had better nutritional status compared to children of the other two groups. Conclusion: Children of farmers and farmers cum farm labourers were prone to malnutrition due to limited expenditure on food. This study suggests that policymakers in Indonesia should provide food and nutrition security to children who were impacted by the Sinabung eruption.