Can homestead gardens improve rural households' vegetable consumption? Evidence from three provinces in China

Abstract

Vegetables play a vital role in human health. However, the average vegetable consumption among Chinese rural residents does not meet the minimum intake (300 g/adult person/day) recommended by the Chinese Dietary Guidelines. Homestead gardening—defined as growing vegetables or other food for home consumption, usually in the backyard of the household or on collectively allocated garden land—can play a significant role in promoting vegetable consumption in rural areas of developing countries. But empirical evidence on the effects of homestead gardening in China is scarce. This paper sheds new insights on the impacts of homestead gardening on rural households' vegetable consumption. We employ the three‐stage procedure instrumental variables methods to disentangle the endogeneity of the homestead garden variable and propensity score matching for robustness check. The results show that homestead gardening increases vegetable consumption by 12.7% on average. Further heterogeneous analysis shows that homestead gardening has a larger effect on those groups with vegetable intake levels in the middle of the distribution. The impact of homestead gardening was strongest for the consumption of dark‐colored vegetables. Our results can provide new perspectives for future rural planning, dietary and nutritional health transformation, and precision policy formulation. [EconLit Citations: Q1, D1, Q13].

Can Non-farm Employment Improve Dietary Diversity of Left-Behind Family Members in Rural China?

“…In China, there are significant differences in nutrition levels between urban and rural areas [ 1 ], and rural residents are at risk of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. Farmers’ consumption of food is insufficient, including both plant food [ 5 ] and animal food [ 6 ]. Many rural low-income families’ daily diet is only based on grains, lacking the consumption of vegetables, fruits, meat, dairy products, and other foods [ 7 ], resulting in micronutrient deficiency and dietary imbalance.…”

“…Plant-based foods are rich in vitamins and minerals that help prevent cardiovascular disease, maintain a healthy weight, and extend life [ 5 , 8 , 9 ]. It has been shown that an inadequate intake of fruits and vegetables contributes to nearly 3 million deaths from heart disease and stroke each year globally [ 10 ].…”