Commercialization and dietary diversity of Rwandan smallholder farmers: A focus on women and youth headed households

Using a household dietary diversity score as a proxy for household access to nutritious foods, this paper assesses the relationship between commercialization and nutritional outcomes of Rwandan smallholder farmers, with a particular emphasis on women and youth headed households. The results indicate...

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Main Authors: Mukangabo, Emerence, Warner, James
Format: Artículo preliminar
Language:Inglés
Published: International Food Policy Research Institute 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173175
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author Mukangabo, Emerence
Warner, James
author_browse Mukangabo, Emerence
Warner, James
author_facet Mukangabo, Emerence
Warner, James
author_sort Mukangabo, Emerence
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Using a household dietary diversity score as a proxy for household access to nutritious foods, this paper assesses the relationship between commercialization and nutritional outcomes of Rwandan smallholder farmers, with a particular emphasis on women and youth headed households. The results indicate that commercialization has a strong, positive effect on household dietary diversity but mixed results between sub-categories of households. For instance, male-headed households have higher overall dietary diversity compared to female-headed ones, but much of that variation can be explained by higher asset ownership and income. However, relative to male headed households, female headed households appear to respond to increasing levels of commercialization by consuming more diverse foods, an insight that could be useful for targeted interventions. Importantly, youth-headed households exhibit greater household dietary diversity than those households headed by older individuals, despite having both lower levels of assets and crop commercialization. General determinants that positively influence household dietary diversity include the level of commercialization, household non-farm assets, market access, education of the household head, the presence of children under five in the household, irrigation use, land size, and livestock holdings. The goal of this research is to enable policy makers to better identify the drivers of household dietary consumption, particularly among more vulnerable households, and how to encourage a more diverse diet for better nutritional outcomes.
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spelling CGSpace1731752025-11-06T05:55:11Z Commercialization and dietary diversity of Rwandan smallholder farmers: A focus on women and youth headed households Mukangabo, Emerence Warner, James nutrition dietary diversity commercialization gender youth households smallholders Using a household dietary diversity score as a proxy for household access to nutritious foods, this paper assesses the relationship between commercialization and nutritional outcomes of Rwandan smallholder farmers, with a particular emphasis on women and youth headed households. The results indicate that commercialization has a strong, positive effect on household dietary diversity but mixed results between sub-categories of households. For instance, male-headed households have higher overall dietary diversity compared to female-headed ones, but much of that variation can be explained by higher asset ownership and income. However, relative to male headed households, female headed households appear to respond to increasing levels of commercialization by consuming more diverse foods, an insight that could be useful for targeted interventions. Importantly, youth-headed households exhibit greater household dietary diversity than those households headed by older individuals, despite having both lower levels of assets and crop commercialization. General determinants that positively influence household dietary diversity include the level of commercialization, household non-farm assets, market access, education of the household head, the presence of children under five in the household, irrigation use, land size, and livestock holdings. The goal of this research is to enable policy makers to better identify the drivers of household dietary consumption, particularly among more vulnerable households, and how to encourage a more diverse diet for better nutritional outcomes. 2025-02-18 2025-02-18T16:13:32Z 2025-02-18T16:13:32Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173175 en Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Mukangabo, Emerence; and Warner, James. 2025. Commercialization and dietary diversity of Rwandan smallholder farmers: A focus on women and youth headed households. Rwanda SSP Working Paper 16. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173175
spellingShingle nutrition
dietary diversity
commercialization
gender
youth
households
smallholders
Mukangabo, Emerence
Warner, James
Commercialization and dietary diversity of Rwandan smallholder farmers: A focus on women and youth headed households
title Commercialization and dietary diversity of Rwandan smallholder farmers: A focus on women and youth headed households
title_full Commercialization and dietary diversity of Rwandan smallholder farmers: A focus on women and youth headed households
title_fullStr Commercialization and dietary diversity of Rwandan smallholder farmers: A focus on women and youth headed households
title_full_unstemmed Commercialization and dietary diversity of Rwandan smallholder farmers: A focus on women and youth headed households
title_short Commercialization and dietary diversity of Rwandan smallholder farmers: A focus on women and youth headed households
title_sort commercialization and dietary diversity of rwandan smallholder farmers a focus on women and youth headed households
topic nutrition
dietary diversity
commercialization
gender
youth
households
smallholders
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173175
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AT warnerjames commercializationanddietarydiversityofrwandansmallholderfarmersafocusonwomenandyouthheadedhouseholds