Examining Linkage between Dietary Pattern and Crop Diversification: An Evidence from Tamil Nadu

Abstract

This paper has studied the impact of crop diversification on dietary diversity of households in different regions of Tamil Nadu. Two different types of data set were used: (1) National Sample Survey Organization's (NSSO) consumer expenditure survey data for the years TE 2004-05 and TE 2012-13, and (2) Cropping pattern data from Season and Crop report for the years TE 2004 and TE 2012-13. Multiple linear regression model was used to study the linkages between crop and dietary diversification. The study has revealed that dietary diversification of Cauvery delta zone, Northern zone and Northeastern zone was parallel with crop diversification. The crop diversification influenced positively the dietary diversification, whereas vegetable diversification was negatively related with diet diversification, irrespective of income groups in the state. Also, larger household size, presence of own land, older age and higher education level of household-head have been found positively related with dietary diversity of households in Tamil Nadu. The current nutrients intake pattern has been found about 50 per cent of the RDA, particularly of crude fibre and iron and about two-thirds in case of energy and vitamin A. The nutrient intake gap is further widened in low-income non-farm groups. Appropriate nutritional security programmes maybe initiated particularly covering children, pregnant women and aged people.

Impact of Crop Diversity on Dietary Diversity Among Farmers in India During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Cross-sectional, nationally representative data from 2004/2005 indicated that crop diversity was positively associated with dietary diversity (beta coefficient from OLS regression was 0.32, p < 0.01), especially intake of pulses, and the effect was slightly larger among marginal/small farmers as compared to large farmers (Bhagowalia et al, 2012). In contrast, a panel study of two representative crosssections of Tamil Nadu (2004/2005 and 2012/2013) found no consistent association between crop diversity and dietary diversity (Chinnadurai et al, 2016). Similarly, after adjustment for confounding factors, an analysis of six villages in Telangana and Maharashtra participating in the Indian Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) Village Level Studies found no association between crop diversity and dietary diversity (Kavitha et al, 2016).…”

“…Five previous studies, including one systematic review focused on South Asia, have quantified the association between crop diversity and dietary diversity in India (Bhagowalia et al, 2012;Chinnadurai et al, 2016;Kavitha et al, 2016;Gupta et al, 2020a; FIGURE 2 | Food groups contributing to low vs. high dietary diversity over time in participants from agricultural households across 12 states in India during the COVID-19 pandemic (n = 833). Low dietary diversity defined as <4 dietary diversity score and high dietary diversity defined as ≥4 dietary diversity score out of a total of 8.…”

“…However, a recent meta-analysis of 45 studies from 26 countries found little evidence that diversifying production has a meaningful impact on dietary diversity-and if it does, the impact is very small (Sibhatu and Qaim, 2018). In India, two studies have found small, positive associations between crop diversity and dietary diversity (Bhagowalia et al, 2012;Singh et al, 2020), but three have found no association (Chinnadurai et al, 2016;Kavitha et al, 2016;Gupta et al, 2020a). All of these studies were cross-sectional.…”

Does crop diversity at the village level influence child nutrition security? Evidence from 11 sub-Saharan African countries

“…Households' status as rural or urban is often analyzed because market access may lower transaction costs and provide more opportunity to sell and purchase diverse agricultural products (Bellon et al 2016) and because food production in urban and peri-urban areas can promote crop species richness contributing to food and nutrition security among urban residents (Bernholt et al 2009). Other variables, including size of household, education levels of household heads, off-farm income, nutrition knowledge, access to technology, female empowerment, more sanitary environmental conditions, and higher socio-economic status, have also been found to have positive associations with nutrition outcomes (Chinnadurai et al 2016;Islam et al 2018;Kavitha et al 2016;Kumar et al 2015;Pongou et al 2006;Sibhatu and Qaim 2018).…”

“…Among the approaches to nutrition-sensitive agriculture, diversifying on-farm crop and livestock production is argued to be an effective strategy for smallholders to improve their nutrition (Berti and Jones 2013;Oyarzun et al 2013). Agrobiodiversity-defined as the complete set of genetic resources within harvested and non-harvested species necessary to maintain food and non-food agricultural production (FAO 2004)-is thought to encourage nutrition security through increasing the presence of more nutritionally balanced foods for consumption as well as selling those agricultural products and using the cash to purchase nutritious foods (Chinnadurai et al 2016;Ekesa et al 2008;Kahane et al 2013). Emphasis has been placed on one particular component of agrobiodiversity: crop diversity (Jones 2017a).…”