Implementation Of Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture In The Central Province Of Zambia

ABSTRACT

The Central Province of Zambia contains the majority of the nation’s malnourished children, despite being the most productive province in terms of Agriculture. Most studies focused on household food consumption rather than the linkages between agriculture performance and nutrition outcomes of the population. In light of this knowledge gap, this study focused on the linkage between nutrition and agriculture.

The study assessed the extent to which the Ministry of Agriculture in Zambia is implementing the best practices of nutrition-sensitive agriculture in the Central Province.

Data was collected from 356 randomly selected farming households using structured questionnaire. The data contained information on socio-demographic characteristics, crop diversity, women empowerment and anthropometric (height/length, weight) measurements for the children aged 6-59months. Three transect walks and nine focus group discussions were also conducted in the sampled district. The study also reviewed five project and policy documents. Two were project documents of the agricultural development programmes in central Zambia, while 3 were national policies. The prevalence rates of stunting, underweight, and wasting among children were 21.2%, 9%, and 2%, respectively. There was a significant relationship between household crops grown in households and Z-scores for HAZ and WAZ (p< 0.05). One variable of women empowerment, namely access to credit or income opportunities, was also significantly related with Z-scores for WHZ (p < 0.05).

The Ministry of Agriculture in Central province has a lot to do in order to implement Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture and reduce stunting in Central Province.