Role of nutrition-sensitive agriculture in enhancing sustainable humanitarian assistance: Evidence from orange-fleshed sweetpotato interventions in Kenya

The increasing frequency of climate-related shocks in arid and semi-arid regions has subjected local populations to cyclical livelihood disruptions and poverty traps. Humanitarian assistance is key to sustainable livelihoods in such regions, but this has largely been in the form of emergency aid. Su...

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Autores principales: Mulwa, C.K., Grant, F., Gatto, M., Moyo, M., Amunga, D., Kwikiriza, N., Malit, J., Okello, J.J., Maru, J., Campos, Hugo, Heck, S.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Elsevier 2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173662
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author Mulwa, C.K.
Grant, F.
Gatto, M.
Moyo, M.
Amunga, D.
Kwikiriza, N.
Malit, J.
Okello, J.J.
Maru, J.
Campos, Hugo
Heck, S.
author_browse Amunga, D.
Campos, Hugo
Gatto, M.
Grant, F.
Heck, S.
Kwikiriza, N.
Malit, J.
Maru, J.
Moyo, M.
Mulwa, C.K.
Okello, J.J.
author_facet Mulwa, C.K.
Grant, F.
Gatto, M.
Moyo, M.
Amunga, D.
Kwikiriza, N.
Malit, J.
Okello, J.J.
Maru, J.
Campos, Hugo
Heck, S.
author_sort Mulwa, C.K.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The increasing frequency of climate-related shocks in arid and semi-arid regions has subjected local populations to cyclical livelihood disruptions and poverty traps. Humanitarian assistance is key to sustainable livelihoods in such regions, but this has largely been in the form of emergency aid. Sustainability concerns and public f iscal burden have necessitated a shift towards resilience building. Such interventions include biofortification, an important nutrition-sensitive agricultural approach that can sustainably improve food and nutrition security among vulnerable populations. However, there is limited evidence of success and lessons for scaling this approach. Using a sample of 636 households drawn from three arid and semi-arid counties in Kenya, this study uses a doubly robust estimator and non-parametric methods to investigate the effect of promoting vitamin-A-biofortified sweet potato as a nutrition-sensitive, climate-smart agricultural intervention to improve nutritional outcomes in humanitarian settings. We find that interventions combining demand-creation strategies and access to biofortified planting material significantly enhance nutrition knowledge and household nutrition indicators such as dietary diversity and food security. Individual interventions that either create demand or provide access to planting material enhance nutrition awareness but do not lead to primary nutrition outcomes such as dietary diversity. Lastly, enhancing access to planting material leads to higher nutritional outcomes compared to demand-creation strategies carried out in isolation.
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spelling CGSpace1736622025-10-26T13:02:19Z Role of nutrition-sensitive agriculture in enhancing sustainable humanitarian assistance: Evidence from orange-fleshed sweetpotato interventions in Kenya Mulwa, C.K. Grant, F. Gatto, M. Moyo, M. Amunga, D. Kwikiriza, N. Malit, J. Okello, J.J. Maru, J. Campos, Hugo Heck, S. biofortification sweet potatoes food security dietary diversity climate-smart agriculture The increasing frequency of climate-related shocks in arid and semi-arid regions has subjected local populations to cyclical livelihood disruptions and poverty traps. Humanitarian assistance is key to sustainable livelihoods in such regions, but this has largely been in the form of emergency aid. Sustainability concerns and public f iscal burden have necessitated a shift towards resilience building. Such interventions include biofortification, an important nutrition-sensitive agricultural approach that can sustainably improve food and nutrition security among vulnerable populations. However, there is limited evidence of success and lessons for scaling this approach. Using a sample of 636 households drawn from three arid and semi-arid counties in Kenya, this study uses a doubly robust estimator and non-parametric methods to investigate the effect of promoting vitamin-A-biofortified sweet potato as a nutrition-sensitive, climate-smart agricultural intervention to improve nutritional outcomes in humanitarian settings. We find that interventions combining demand-creation strategies and access to biofortified planting material significantly enhance nutrition knowledge and household nutrition indicators such as dietary diversity and food security. Individual interventions that either create demand or provide access to planting material enhance nutrition awareness but do not lead to primary nutrition outcomes such as dietary diversity. Lastly, enhancing access to planting material leads to higher nutritional outcomes compared to demand-creation strategies carried out in isolation. 2025-04 2025-03-17T20:23:40Z 2025-03-17T20:23:40Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173662 en Open Access Elsevier Mulwa, C.K.; Grant, F.; Gatto, M.; Moyo, M.; Amunga, D; Kwikiriza, N.; Malit, J.; Okello, J.J.; Maru, J.; Campos, H.; Heck, S. 2025. Role of nutrition-sensitive agriculture in enhancing sustainable humanitarian assistance: Evidence from orange-fleshed sweetpotato interventions in Kenya. Food Policy. ISSN 1873-5657. 132, 102834. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2025.102834
spellingShingle biofortification
sweet potatoes
food security
dietary diversity
climate-smart agriculture
Mulwa, C.K.
Grant, F.
Gatto, M.
Moyo, M.
Amunga, D.
Kwikiriza, N.
Malit, J.
Okello, J.J.
Maru, J.
Campos, Hugo
Heck, S.
Role of nutrition-sensitive agriculture in enhancing sustainable humanitarian assistance: Evidence from orange-fleshed sweetpotato interventions in Kenya
title Role of nutrition-sensitive agriculture in enhancing sustainable humanitarian assistance: Evidence from orange-fleshed sweetpotato interventions in Kenya
title_full Role of nutrition-sensitive agriculture in enhancing sustainable humanitarian assistance: Evidence from orange-fleshed sweetpotato interventions in Kenya
title_fullStr Role of nutrition-sensitive agriculture in enhancing sustainable humanitarian assistance: Evidence from orange-fleshed sweetpotato interventions in Kenya
title_full_unstemmed Role of nutrition-sensitive agriculture in enhancing sustainable humanitarian assistance: Evidence from orange-fleshed sweetpotato interventions in Kenya
title_short Role of nutrition-sensitive agriculture in enhancing sustainable humanitarian assistance: Evidence from orange-fleshed sweetpotato interventions in Kenya
title_sort role of nutrition sensitive agriculture in enhancing sustainable humanitarian assistance evidence from orange fleshed sweetpotato interventions in kenya
topic biofortification
sweet potatoes
food security
dietary diversity
climate-smart agriculture
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173662
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