The potential of agricultural programs for improving food security: A multi-country perspective

Although an emerging literature evaluates the impact of agricultural interventions on food security, studies taking a multi-country perspective are scarce. We construct a cross-project dataset - encompassing 14 household surveys from IFAD-funded project-level impact evaluations in 13 different countries - to analyze the overall effect of different agricultural interventions on food security. We use the Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) as a measure for household-level access to dietary energy and quality, and the prevalence of food insecurity based on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) as a complementarity, subjective indicator for food security. Results of random coefficient models show that agricultural interventions can improve food security, especially for beneficiaries of agricultural projects living in food insecure countries. We further show a slight dietary shift towards animal-sourced foods attributed to agricultural interventions implemented in low-income countries. Thus, especially in these settings, adding a specific nutrition component to agricultural projects could be effective in preventing a further shift towards unhealthy diets and halting the double (or even triple) burden of malnutrition before it can develop further.