Background: Agricultural production systems are a sustainable way of providing nutritious and diversified foods especially among rural households in developing countries. Capacity building of farmers and extension workers through training on agricultural and nutrition-related topics is one of the ways to improvements in agricultural productivity. However, a few studies have shown there is a link between training in agronomic practices and crop diversification and the effect this relationship has on diet diversity. Therefore, this study was carried out in Zambia in four districts and within those districts intervention (N = 348) areas were compared to nonintervention sites (N = 194) using an individual household questionnaire to investigate the effectiveness of training sessions that were conducted under the Most 1000 Critical Days program, the scaling up of nutrition on farm production diversity and diet diversity at household level. Results:The results show that there were significant differences in the proportion of farmer households that grew different types of crops (P < 0.001). The incorporation of legumes such as soybean, groundnut and beans into crop production may enrich household diets with essential macro-and micronutrients. Results further indicate that training on agronomic practices was associated with increased productivity and diversification of production and dietary intake. Conclusion:This study has shown that targeted interventions aimed at increasing food crop production and dietary diversity have the potential to improve food production and dietary diversity. These findings reinforce the premise that crop diversification has a positive correlation with diet quality. Similarly, training farmers on food production, processing and dietary diversification is critical not only in improving agronomic practices but also the diet of farmers.

The prevalence of stunting is high in Malawi, affecting about one third (31.2%) of children aged 6-23 months. Persistent inappropriate feeding practices are some of the major causes of stunting in young children. This study was conducted to determine risk factors associated with stunting among infants and young children aged 6-23 months in Dedza district in Central Malawi. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 12 villages in Mayani Extension Planning Area (EPA), targeting households with children aged 6-23 months. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the primary caregivers on household socioeconomic characteristics, household food availability, dietary diversity, responsive feeding practices among mothers and caregivers, age of introduction of complementary foods, frequency of feeding, types of foods and dietary diversity of children. Anthropometric data (weight and recumbent length) for children were measured using standard procedures. The Multivariate Logistic Regression Analysis was performed to study the independent associations of various determinants on prevalence of stunting with prevalence of stunting as a dependent variable. A total of 303 households were sampled randomly; mothers and caregivers were interviewed and 306 children were assessed for nutritional status. Introduction of complementary food varied among mothers, 9.3% introduced earlier than 6 months, 71.1% at 6 months and 10.2% later than 6 months. Dietary diversity was low but increased significantly with age categories of children, 2.9% for children 6-8 months, 15.5% for 9-11 months and 24.6% for 12-23 months (p<0.01). Minimum meal frequency was significantly (p<0.001) higher in children 6-8 months (58.7%) than in children 12-23 months (1.9%). Overall, out of the 306 children 47.1% [95% CI (41.6-53.1)] were stunted. Stunting was significantly different between male [54.5%; 95% CI (47.0-63.5)] and female (39.5%; 95% CI (31.4-47.6)] children. Age of child when complementary feeding was started [AOR: 0.138; 95% CI (0.22-0.88)], number of young children in the household [AOR: 2.548; 95% CI (1.304-4.981)] and teenage mothers [AOR: 1.265; 95% CI (0.379-1.724)] were significant independent predictors of stunting. It can be concluded that prevalence of stunting is high among infants and young children in Dedza district. Training mothers and caregivers on recommended age of introducing complementary food to a child, composition of such food, dangers of teenage pregnancies and importance of child spacing should form part of nutrition education.

The effect of a targeted training intervention on uptake of recommended hygiene practices by caregivers of children 6-23 months was assessed. A sub-sample of 40 mothers from 303 households was used for a detailed study of hygiene practices during preparation of complementary foods after training. Mothers and caregivers were observed for 6 months and evaluated using a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS and Chi-square test was used to determine the differences in proportions of mothers and caregivers who adopted recommended practices. Results showed significant increase in the proportions of mothers and caregivers who followed recommended hygiene practices after training. There was significant decrease in prevalence of diarrhea among the children (45% to 8.6%). It can be concluded that targeted training on practical hands-on activities such as hand washing, cleaning of cooking and serving utensils, covering of food and water increase adoption of recommended hygiene and sanitation practices.

No abstract

No abstract