BackgroundThis study examines socio-economic determinants of food consumption patterns amongst women of reproductive age and children aged 6–59 months from urban poor settlements of Lusaka and their implications for nutritional status. Particular emphasis was placed on the role of fish in their diets and nutritional status.MethodsA cross-sectional survey design was applied, in which 714 mother-child dyads, with children aged 6–59 months were enrolled. A three-stage randomized cluster sampling approach was applied.ResultsThe mean dietary diversity score among children aged 6–23 and 24–59 months was 2.98 (±1.27) and 3.478 (±1.07), respectively. In children aged 6–23 months, there was a significant difference in their nutritional status, based on fish consumption (χ2 = 10.979, df = 2, p = 0.004). Children from poorer households consumed mostly small fish (Kapenta). The quantity of fish consumed by children was significantly associated with stunting in both age groups, odds ratio = 0.947 (95% CI: 0.896, 1.000) for children aged 6–23 months and odds ratio = 1.038 (95% CI: 1.006, 1.072) for children aged 24–59 months old. Other significant risk factors for stunting in children aged 6–23 months were the child’s age, mother’s body mass index, access to treated water and child morbidity. Child’s age, mother’s educational level and wealth status were determinants of dietary diversity in children aged 6–59 months as shown by the Poisson regression.ConclusionNutritional status of children aged 6–23 months is associated with fish consumption, with children consuming fish less likely to be stunted. Small fish (Kapenta) is an animal-source food that is particularly important in the diet of children in urban poor households in Zambia and contributes to better nutritional outcomes. As all small fish stem from capture fisheries, sustainable one health environmental integration, monitoring and management strategies are desirable.
For aquaculture to continue along its current growth trajectory and contribute towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, value chains must become more inclusive. Smallholders and other local value chain actors are often constrained by circumstances and market failures in the global aquaculture industry. Integrating these actors into aquaculture value chains through inclusive business models (IBMs) is often touted as a solution to sustainable and ethical trade and business that can generate development outcomes. We reviewed 36 papers under seven business models commonly used in agriculture development to assess their application in aquaculture value chains in lower‐income countries. A global value chain (GVC) analysis is used to unpack the economic and social upgrading objectives of the different IBMs, as well as the types of relational coordination used between actors in the chain to achieve development outcomes. The extent to which these IBMs helped poor actors overcome certain barriers is evaluated with a focus on how they may ensure or be a risk to inclusiveness through the relations and upgrading opportunities evident in their make‐up. The analysis found that the majority of the models focused on economic upgrading over social upgrading. Providing opportunities for the latter is key to achieving the inclusive objectives of IBMs. Greater horizontal coordination between actors can create further opportunities for economic upgrading established under vertical coordination with other nodes upstream and downstream in a value chain. There is a need to further contextualize these models to aquaculture systems and develop clear indicators of inclusiveness.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.