Organized Homegardens Contribute to Micronutrient Intakes and Dietary Diversity of Rural Households in Sri Lanka

Thamilini, Joshepkumar; Wekumbura, Chandima; Mohotti, A. J.; Kumara, Aruna; Kudagammana, S. T.; Silva, Renuka; Frossard, Emmanuel

doi:10.3389/fsufs.2019.00094

Cited by 22 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…The planting of home gardens and/or their improvement is a well‐studied agricultural intervention to improve household nutrition (Rammohan et al, 2019). For studies that describe the integration of trees in home gardens, the efficacy of these systems in improving household diets can be affected by forest proximity (Baudron et al, 2017), crop diversity (Thamilini et al, 2019), types of fruit trees included (McMullin et al, 2019) and ownership of additional productive farmland (Rammohan et al, 2019). Recent research into these traditional subsistence systems shows how on‐farm trees can also make important contributions to household income and indirectly household diets.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Seventeen of the papers report dietary diversity scores at the household level, while nine papers report the score at the individual level. Some examples of calculated indicators include the minimum dietary diversity score for women (Desalegn & Jagiso, 2020; Ghosh‐Jerath et al, 2020), mean household dietary diversity score (Baudron et al, 2017, 2019; Blundo‐Canto et al, 2020; Fernandez & Méndez, 2019; Friant et al, 2019; Hamann, 2018; McMullin et al, 2019; Rammohan et al, 2019; Rasmussen et al, 2020; Remans et al, 2011; Sibhatu, 2019; Thamilini et al, 2019), household nutrient deficit score (Thornhill et al, 2016) and food variety score (Ogle et al, 2001; Powell et al, 2013b; Thamilini et al, 2019). Eleven papers combine these retrospective methods with physical assessments to calculate anthropometric measurements, BMI, haemoglobin levels and MUAC (mid‐upper arm circumference) as indicators of nutritional status.…”

Section: Literature Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sixteen papers use the 24‐hour recall method to obtain data on food consumption for individuals or households, seven use a food frequency questionnaire and seven use a range of non‐standard food consumption surveys to measure food intake for a study population at the individual or household level. The six remaining papers use a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods to gather data (or use publicly available data) on dietary quality, including village‐level focus groups (Behera et al, 2016), food diaries (Broegaard et al, 2017; Thamilini et al, 2019) and participatory observation (Dounias et al, 2007; Fleuret, 1979), with reference periods spanning from 1 day to several weeks. Only one paper relies entirely on anthropometric measurements to assess the relationship between trees on farms and nutritional outcomes (Miller et al, 2020); although anthropometric measurements alone are not proxies for diet quality, this paper is retained due to its explicit focus on the importance of trees on farms for household nutrition.…”

Section: Literature Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

What are the links between tree‐based farming and dietary quality for rural households? A review of emerging evidence in low‐ and middle‐income countries

et al. 2022

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In most low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs), conventional agricultural policy promotes specialized production systems of carbohydrate‐rich crops to address hunger and food insecurity. For rural populations, however, increased landscape uniformity can reduce both agrobiodiversity and wild biodiversity, which can contribute to diet uniformity. Although maintaining diversity in and around agricultural systems is far from a new approach, there is growing empirical attention on the contribution of trees on/around farms to dietary quality. While recent research suggests that forests can contribute to improved diets, there is only emerging evidence on how incorporating trees into farming systems not only benefits nature but also positively affects the diets of rural households. This review synthesizes the existing empirical research on the linkages between different types of tree‐based farming systems and indicators of dietary quality in LMICs. The objective is to build a foundation for future research that supports sustainable production systems with dual benefits for people and the natural environment. The small, yet heterogeneous literature pool (n = 36 studies) reflects the high variance in how trees on/around farms are examined across cultural and geographical contexts. Our analysis identifies three major outcomes: (a) managing tree‐based farming systems for both direct provision of wild and cultivated foods, as well as income used to purchase foods, may give households more strategies for dietary diversification and improve dietary quality; (b) the relationship between different tree‐based farming systems and dietary quality is moderated by socio‐economic and biophysical factors at the national, landscape and household levels; and (c) indigenous populations engaged in traditional forms of subsistence‐oriented tree‐based farming seem to maintain high levels of dietary diversity, indicating the importance of local knowledge and biodiversity stewardship to maintain these food sources in the face of commercial agricultural expansion. Our synthesis of existing evidence highlights a need for a more nuanced understanding of how different types of tree‐based farming systems contribute to dietary quality. Combining research methods from the domains of agriculture, forestry and nutrition can lead to more precise measurement of tree‐based farming/diet linkages, and in doing so, support programs promoting increased landscape and dietary diversity in LMICs. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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What are the links between tree‐based farming and dietary quality for rural households? A review of emerging evidence in low‐ and middle‐income countries

et al. 2022

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“…Because it is not easy to divide the inhabited territory into urban and rural areas (United Nations, 2018), part of rural population lives in rural villages and settlements with little possibilities for home gardens. In addition, home gardens are often also used for legumes, cereals and other non-fruit and vegetable crops such as spices and medicinal plants (Abebe and Bongers, 2012;Mellisse et al, 2018;Thamilini et al, 2019). Therefore, the assumed average home garden size with 50 m 2 fruits and vegetables is considered an upper limit.…”

Section: Industrialized and Consolidatedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global scoping study on fruits and vegetables : results from literature and data analysis : Literature review and data analysis

Piters¹,

Dijkxhoorn²,

Hengsdijk³

et al. 2021

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Wereldwijd lijdt een op de drie mensen aan een of meer vormen van ondervoeding. De teams van de Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation die zich bezighouden met landbouw en voeding, in samenwerking met het Britse Department for International Development (FCDO), willen het potentieel van groente-en fruitketens onderzoeken om het aanbod van voedzame voedingsmiddelen te vergroten en te versterken, en om de lokale marktkansen voor meer inkomsten te vergroten, speciaal voor vrouwen.Dit rapport belicht de conclusies van literatuuronderzoek en data-analyse en identificeert verschillende problemen en kennislacunes die tijdens de tweede fase van dit onderzoek diepgaand onderzoek nodig hebben.Currently, one in three of the world's population suffer from one or more forms of malnutrition. The Agricultural Development and Nutrition teams at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in collaboration with the UK's Department for International Development (FCDO), seek to investigate the potential of vegetable and fruit supply chains to increase the supply of and strengthen demand for nutritious foods, as well as increase local market opportunities for increased income, especially for women. This report highlights the conclusions from literature review and data analysis, and identifies several issues and knowledge gaps that need further in-depth research during the second phase of this study.

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“…Thus, improving the quality and diversity of diets has been recommended as major strategies to improve micronutrient intakes (Arsenault et al, 2013 ; Muslimatun & Wiradnyani, 2016 ; Zhang et al, 2016 ). However, the success of this strategy is related to the availability and accessibility of foods, which largely depend on the food production system (Girard et al, 2012 ; Thamilini et al, 2019 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial farming systems diversity and micronutrient intakes of rural children in Ethiopia

Moges

Brouwer

Delbiso

et al. 2021

Maternal & Child Nutrition

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Own production contributes much of the food supply in smallholder production systems in low‐ and middle‐income countries like Ethiopia. Understanding the potential as well as constraints of these production systems in terms of nutrient supplies is thus a critical step to design interventions to improve nutrient intakes. The objectives of this study were (1) to assess the usual total intakes of vitamin A, iron and zinc among rural children and (2) to investigate whether the intakes these nutrients are associated with differences in the dominant farming systems between spatial clusters. Using nationally representative intake data of 4,902 children 6–35 months of age, usual intake and the proportion of inadequate intakes of vitamin A, iron and zinc were calculated. A multi‐level model was used to examine the association between individual‐level and cluster‐level variables with the usual total dietary intakes of these nutrients. The diet was dominated by starchy foods. Consumption of animal source foods, vitamin A‐rich fruits and vegetables was low. We found a high prevalence of inadequate intake of vitamin A and zinc (85.4% and 49.5%, respectively). Relatively, low prevalence of inadequate intake of iron (8.4%) was reported. The spatial farming systems diversity across the rural clusters explained 48.2%, 57.2% and 26.7% of the observed variation in the usual total dietary intakes of vitamin A, iron and zinc, respectively. Our findings indicated the importance of farming system diversity at the landscape level as one of the determinant factors for individual usual total dietary intakes of vitamin A, iron and zinc.

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Organized Homegardens Contribute to Micronutrient Intakes and Dietary Diversity of Rural Households in Sri Lanka

Cited by 22 publications

References 37 publications

What are the links between tree‐based farming and dietary quality for rural households? A review of emerging evidence in low‐ and middle‐income countries

What are the links between tree‐based farming and dietary quality for rural households? A review of emerging evidence in low‐ and middle‐income countries

Global scoping study on fruits and vegetables : results from literature and data analysis : Literature review and data analysis

Spatial farming systems diversity and micronutrient intakes of rural children in Ethiopia

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