Does market access improve dietary diversity and food security? Evidence from Southwestern Ethiopian smallholder coffee producers

Abstract

Market access influences the dietary diversity and food security for smallholder households in many ways. In Ethiopia, most smallholders are subsistence farmers who have poor access to markets. This study used primary data from a household survey to examine the relationship between market access and the dietary diversity and food security for 324 smallholder households in the Yayu area of southwestern Ethiopia in early 2018. Multivariate regression analysis showed that households located far from market centers consumed not only less diverse foods but also spend less on food consumption than households located close to market centers. The correlation between market access and food security measured by Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) did not reach statistical significance, nor did the impact of market access on household consumption and dietary diversity through income. Rather, greater market access appeared to encourage smallholder households to rely on market purchases more than their own production to improve the diversity of household consumption. A direct action to improve the market accessibility would be investments in infrastructure to expand rural road connectivity, which would reduce transaction costs and benefit the welfare of smallholder farmers and communities.

Farm Production Diversification and Dietary Diversity among Subsistence Farming Households: Panel Data Evidence from South Africa

“…The age of the household head was positively correlated with dietary diversity, which suggests that as heads become older, they are more likely to become more alert about their diets due to other old-age-related health challenges that they are likely to be having. This is in line with several studies (e.g., [12,29,31,44,60]), who found a positive correlation between age and dietary diversity, and contrary to some studies (e.g., [18,57,59,61]) that reported a negative relationship. In line with various studies (e.g., [12,18,31,47,62]), the results indicated that households with more household members had higher HDDS.…”

Agricultural seasonality, market access, and food security in Sierra Leone

“…Market access has been measured in different ways, of which distance or time to a nearest market centre or nearest all-weather or paved road are most often used (Headey et al, 2019;Usman & Callo-Concha, 2021). In this study, based on the available data, we measured proximity to food markets by the time (minutes) it takes a household to reach the nearest food market by the most frequent means.…”

“…As a robustness check, we employ time to reach the nearest all-season road as an alternative indicator of market access (Usman & Callo-Concha, 2021;WFP, 2017). Measured in the same manner as travel time to food markets, a household is deemed to have better access if it reaches an all-weather road within an hour.…”

“…Conceptually, well-functioning and easily accessible markets can contribute to overall food and nutrition security by ensuring consistent availability of and economic access to diverse nutritious foods at affordable prices. Furthermore, nearness to markets may increase the time available for proper feeding and care practices (Johnston et al, 2018;Komatsu et al, 2018;Ruel & Alderman, 2013); reduce food prices and transportation costs, thus increase household's effective purchasing power and demand for diverse diets (Usman & Callo-Concha, 2021); and boost productivity and farm diversification through improved access to productive inputs (Dorosh et al, 2003). Evidence from previous studies accentuates the importance of access to markets and commercialization for dietary quality, food security and livelihoods of rural households (Abay & Hirvonen, 2017;Handa & Mlay, 2006;Headey et al, 2019;Hirvonen et al, 2017;Koppmair et al, 2017;Ogutu et al, 2019;Sibhatu & Qaim, 2017;Sibhatu et al, 2015;Zanello et al, 2019).…”

Coffee Agroforestry and the Food and Nutrition Security of Small Farmers of South-Western Ethiopia

“…According to the 2007 population census, Yayu was home to 308 994 people (CSA (Central Statistics Authority), 2007; Gole et al, 2009). This research is part of several studies that analyzed the potential of agroforestry systems in the FNS of smallholding farmers in Yayu (Jemal et al, 2018, in review;Callo-Concha et al, 2019;Aragaw et al, 2021;Usman and Callo-Concha, 2021). Hence, the sampled households were the same (n = 300) belonging to 8 kebele 1 units.…”