Can adoption of improved seed varieties spur long-term food security in Malawi?

Adoption of improved seed varieties (ISV) is considered one of the key ingredients to sustainably increase crop yields and incomes and reducing hunger. Previous research has extensively demonstrated that there is a positive link between adoption of ISV and several agricultural and health outcomes. H...

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Main Authors: Salonga, D. T., Khonje, M. G., Matchaya, Greenwell C.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Springer 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/151890
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author Salonga, D. T.
Khonje, M. G.
Matchaya, Greenwell C.
author_browse Khonje, M. G.
Matchaya, Greenwell C.
Salonga, D. T.
author_facet Salonga, D. T.
Khonje, M. G.
Matchaya, Greenwell C.
author_sort Salonga, D. T.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Adoption of improved seed varieties (ISV) is considered one of the key ingredients to sustainably increase crop yields and incomes and reducing hunger. Previous research has extensively demonstrated that there is a positive link between adoption of ISV and several agricultural and health outcomes. However, most prior research focused on a single crop only, particularly maize, yet most smallholder farmers grow multiple crops simultaneously. Additionally, most of the existing studies are largely case studies using cross-sectional data, where controlling for possible unobserved confounding factors is difficult. We attempt to address these caveats by testing the hypothesis that adoption of ISV improves crop productivity and income, dietary diversity, and short-term child nutrition outcomes. To do so, we use a decade (2010–2020) of nationally representative panel data from Malawi. Our panel data regression results show that adoption of ISV is positively correlated with value of crop production, dietary diversity, and weight for age z-scores. Our findings suggest that intensifying development and promoting use of nutrition-sensitive ISV among smallholder farming households could be key to sustainably address food insecurity and child malnutrition.
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spelling CGSpace1518902025-12-08T09:54:28Z Can adoption of improved seed varieties spur long-term food security in Malawi? Salonga, D. T. Khonje, M. G. Matchaya, Greenwell C. seeds improved varieties food security crop production crop yield agricultural productivity dietary diversity child nutrition malnutrition smallholders farmers households income Adoption of improved seed varieties (ISV) is considered one of the key ingredients to sustainably increase crop yields and incomes and reducing hunger. Previous research has extensively demonstrated that there is a positive link between adoption of ISV and several agricultural and health outcomes. However, most prior research focused on a single crop only, particularly maize, yet most smallholder farmers grow multiple crops simultaneously. Additionally, most of the existing studies are largely case studies using cross-sectional data, where controlling for possible unobserved confounding factors is difficult. We attempt to address these caveats by testing the hypothesis that adoption of ISV improves crop productivity and income, dietary diversity, and short-term child nutrition outcomes. To do so, we use a decade (2010–2020) of nationally representative panel data from Malawi. Our panel data regression results show that adoption of ISV is positively correlated with value of crop production, dietary diversity, and weight for age z-scores. Our findings suggest that intensifying development and promoting use of nutrition-sensitive ISV among smallholder farming households could be key to sustainably address food insecurity and child malnutrition. 2024-08-10 2024-08-28T17:51:34Z 2024-08-28T17:51:34Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/151890 en Limited Access Springer Salonga, D. T.; Khonje, M. G.; Matchaya, Greenwell. 2024. Can adoption of improved seed varieties spur long-term food security in Malawi? Environment, Development and Sustainability, 19p. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-024-05281-2]
spellingShingle seeds
improved varieties
food security
crop production
crop yield
agricultural productivity
dietary diversity
child nutrition
malnutrition
smallholders
farmers
households
income
Salonga, D. T.
Khonje, M. G.
Matchaya, Greenwell C.
Can adoption of improved seed varieties spur long-term food security in Malawi?
title Can adoption of improved seed varieties spur long-term food security in Malawi?
title_full Can adoption of improved seed varieties spur long-term food security in Malawi?
title_fullStr Can adoption of improved seed varieties spur long-term food security in Malawi?
title_full_unstemmed Can adoption of improved seed varieties spur long-term food security in Malawi?
title_short Can adoption of improved seed varieties spur long-term food security in Malawi?
title_sort can adoption of improved seed varieties spur long term food security in malawi
topic seeds
improved varieties
food security
crop production
crop yield
agricultural productivity
dietary diversity
child nutrition
malnutrition
smallholders
farmers
households
income
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/151890
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