Linking farm production diversity to household dietary diversity controlling market access and agricultural technology usage: evidence from Noakhali district, Bangladesh

Abstract

Background and objective Diversified agricultural production is considered a means to enhance food diversity at the household level, particularly in developing countries where subsistence farming is common. Given the importance of a diversified diet for human health and the persistent malnutrition problem in Bangladesh, a pressing issue is how different crops and livestock production affect household food diversification, and this study sought to answer that question. Methods Using a multistage sampling procedure, data were collected from 190 small farm holder households from Hatiya (a coastal rural sub-district of Noakhali, Bangladesh). Farm production diversity (FPD) is measured using the household biodiversity index (HBI), a simple count of all crops and livestock produced on the farm. The household dietary diversity score (HDDS) is calculated, according to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) guidelines, by counting 12 food groups consumed by the households in the last 24 h preceding the survey. Results On average, households consumed 6.49 food groups during the reference day, according to the household biodiversity index (HBI). The generalized Poisson log-linear regression results indicated that farm production diversity had a positive association with HDDS; one group of farm production increased the household dietary diversity (HDD) by 0.084 unit [β: 0.084, 95% CI: 0.064, 0.106; Exp (B): 1.087], an 8.7% increase in dietary diversity. Total land size, less time to reach the district market, and improved irrigation process affect dietary diversity in bivariate analysis. Farmer's reliance on production diversity reduces when the market is more accessible and improved irrigation is used for production. Conclusion Smallholder farm households in Bangladesh could benefit from context-specific, food-based nutrition-sensitive agriculture policies that focus on triangulation of diversified production, greater market access, and updated agricultural technology utilization.

Determinants of household dietary diversity in rural Ethiopia: A household panel study

“…This nding is concordant with studies done in Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia and Tanzania (37,38,52,53). Additional studies have also indicated that seasonality can play an important role on factors affecting HDDS, including production and access to markets (37,54,55). Contrary to our ndings, HDDS was signi cantly higher during the lean season and the harvesting season as compared to the post-harvest season in a study conducted in Burkina Faso (51).…”

“…This was in contradiction with the ndings of other studies. In most of the studies exploring determinants of DD, time taken to reach local markets or the distance to reach the nearest local markets were signi cantly associated with HDDS (37,48,55). Access to market was found to be associated to HDDS in further studies conducted in India and Ethiopia (48,54).…”

Household Dietary Diversity among the Ethnic Minority Groups in the Mekong Delta: Evidence for the Development of Public Health and Nutrition Policy in Vietnam

“…There was, however, no statistically significant correlation between having a vegetable or rice farm and dietary diversification. This conclusion is consistent with research con-ducted in Finote Selam town, northwest Ethiopia [45], but dissimilar to studies conducted in Noakhali district, Bangladesh [88], Tanzania [89], and West Bengal, India [58]. According to the findings of these studies, the land is a crucial factor for diet variety, and families owning larger areas of agricultural land had higher HDDS.…”

Examining the factors affecting technology continuance and its role in economic growth of emerging economies

“…Perceived risk has been defined as, "the situation where the decision maker has a priori knowledge of both the consequences of alternatives and their probabilities of occurrence" (Dawling, 1986, p. 194). Because of the disparity in seller preferences, client locations, and internet complexity, online services induce misunderstandings about the provision of online services (Kabir et al, 2022;Khedmatgozar, 2021). It has been observed that the majority of consumers steer clear of online business transactions due to the potential for getting entangled, which makes them aware of any online interactions involving their sensitive and private information (Rudebusch, 2021) specifically, financial information (Ariffin et al, 2018;Namahoot and Laohavichien, 2018).…”