IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v105y2014icp16-21.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Livestock production, animal source food intake, and young child growth: The role of gender for ensuring nutrition impacts

Author

Listed:
  • Jin, Minchao
  • Iannotti, Lora L.

Abstract

Animal source foods (ASF) provide critical micronutrients in highly bioavailable forms, with the potential to efficiently address undernutrition among young children living in developing countries. There is limited evidence for how livestock ownership might increase ASF intake in poor households either through own-consumption or income generation. Along with lack of nutrition knowledge, gender dimensions may affect the pathways leading from livestock ownership to child ASF intake and ultimately to young child growth. Using data from a large-scale impact evaluation conducted in Kenya, this study tested the hypothesis that co-owned/female-owned livestock would be associated with improved child growth, mediated by increases in ASF consumption. Data were collected from September 2010 to January 2011 from households in six provinces in Kenya on a broad range of agricultural, economic, social, health and nutrition factors. Children ages 6–60 months were included in this analysis (n = 183). In this sample, co-owned/female-owned livestock was valued at 18,861 Kenyan shillings in contrast with male-owned livestock valued at 66,343 Kenyan shillings. Multivariate linear regression models showed a positive association between co-owned/female-owned livestock with child weight-for-age z score (WAZ) after adjusting for caregiver education level, income, child age, and child sex. A mediating effect by child ASF intake was evident, explaining 25% of the relationship of livestock ownership with child WAZ, by Sobel–Goodman test (p < .05). A trend towards significance was demonstrated for co-owned/female-owned livestock and height-for-age z score (HAZ), and no effect was apparent for weight-for-height z score (WHZ). The partial mediating effect may be indicative of other factors inherent in co-owned/female-owned livestock such as higher status of females in these households with greater influence over other child care practices promoting growth. Nonetheless, our study suggests targeting females in livestock production programming may better ensure improvements in child nutrition.

Suggested Citation

  • Jin, Minchao & Iannotti, Lora L., 2014. "Livestock production, animal source food intake, and young child growth: The role of gender for ensuring nutrition impacts," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 16-21.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:105:y:2014:i:c:p:16-21
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.01.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953614000033
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.01.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Harold Alderman & John Hoddinott & Bill Kinsey, 2006. "Long term consequences of early childhood malnutrition," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 58(3), pages 450-474, July.
    2. Sobkoviak, Rudina M. & Yount, Kathryn M. & Halim, Nafisa, 2012. "Domestic violence and child nutrition in Liberia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(2), pages 103-111.
    3. Lora Iannotti & Ellen Muehlhoff & Deirdre Mcmahon, 2013. "Review of milk and dairy programmes affecting nutrition," Journal of Development Effectiveness, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(1), pages 82-115, March.
    4. Handa, Sudhanshu, 1996. "Expenditure behavior and children's welfare: An analysis of female headed households in Jamaica," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 165-187, June.
    5. Rogers, Beatrice Lorge, 1996. "The implications of female household headship for food consumption and nutritional status in the Dominican Republic," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 113-128, January.
    6. Kennedy, Eileen & Peters, Pauline, 1992. "Household food security and child nutrition: the interaction of income and gender of household head," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 20(8), pages 1077-1085, August.
    7. Johnson, F. Catherine & Rogers, Beatrice Lorge, 1993. "Children's nutritional status in female-headed households in the Dominican Republic," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 37(11), pages 1293-1301, December.
    8. Corinne Valdivia, 2001. "Gender, livestock assets, resource management, and food security: Lessons from the SR-CRSP," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 18(1), pages 27-39, March.
    9. Guldan, Georgia S. & Zeitlin, Marian F. & Beiser, Alexa S. & Super, Charles M. & Gershoff, Stanley N. & Datta, Sabita, 1993. "Maternal education and child feeding practices in rural Bangladesh," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 36(7), pages 925-935, April.
    10. Jere R. Behrman & Anil B. Deolalikar, 1990. "The Intrahousehold Demand for Nutrients in Rural South India: Individual Estimates, Fixed Effects, and Permanent Income," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 25(4), pages 665-696.
    11. Gittelsohn, Joel & Thapa, Meera & Landman, Laura T., 1997. "Cultural factors, caloric intake and micronutrient sufficiency in rural Nepali households," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 44(11), pages 1739-1749, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Shankar, Bhavani & Poole, Nigel & Bird, Frances A., 2019. "Agricultural inputs and nutrition in South Asia," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 28-38.
    2. Jumrani, J. & Birthal, P.S., 2015. "Livestock, Women, and Child Nutrition in Rural India," Agricultural Economics Research Review, Agricultural Economics Research Association (India), vol. 28(2).
    3. S M Thumbi & M Kariuki Njenga & Thomas L Marsh & Susan Noh & Elkanah Otiang & Peninah Munyua & Linus Ochieng & Eric Ogola & Jonathan Yoder & Allan Audi & Joel M Montgomery & Godfrey Bigogo & Robert F , 2015. "Linking Human Health and Livestock Health: A “One-Health” Platform for Integrated Analysis of Human Health, Livestock Health, and Economic Welfare in Livestock Dependent Communities," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(3), pages 1-18, March.
    4. Carlo Azzarri & Alberto Zezza & Beliyou Haile & Elizabeth Cross, 2015. "Does Livestock Ownership Affect Animal Source Foods Consumption and Child Nutritional Status? Evidence from Rural Uganda," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(8), pages 1034-1059, August.
    5. Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane & Minten, Bart & Yimer, Feiruz, 2017. "The rising costs of animal-source foods in Ethiopia: Evidence and implications," ESSP working papers 108, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    6. Conner Mullally & Mayra Rivas & Travis McArthur, 2021. "Using Machine Learning to Estimate the Heterogeneous Effects of Livestock Transfers," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(3), pages 1058-1081, May.
    7. Martin C. Parlasca & Matin Qaim, 2022. "Meat Consumption and Sustainability," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 14(1), pages 17-41, October.
    8. Johanna T. Wong & Brigitte Bagnol & Heather Grieve & Joanita Bendita Jong & Mu Li & Robyn G. Alders, 2018. "Factors influencing animal-source food consumption in Timor-Leste," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(3), pages 741-762, June.
    9. Finaret, A.B. & Miller, L.C. & Joshi, N. & Mahato, S. & Lohani, M. & Drozdowsky, J. & Rogers, B.L., 2018. "Longitudinal analysis of the intrahousehold distribution of foods in rural Nepal: Relative variability of child dietary quality across age and sex cohorts," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 101-110.
    10. D'Haene, E. & Desiere, S. & D'Haese, M. & Verbeke, W. & Schoors, K., 2018. "Religion, food choices, and demand seasonality: Evidence from the Ethiopian milk market," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 276029, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    11. Mullally, Conner C., 2018. "Livestock Transfers and Resilience: Evidence from a Randomized Trial in Guatemala," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274252, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    12. Kappes, Alex & Marsh, Thomas L., 2021. "An Evaluation of Livestock Health on Production Inefficiency in Western Kenya," 2021 Annual Meeting, August 1-3, Austin, Texas 314049, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    13. Nathan D. DeLay & S.M. Thumbi & Julia Vanderford & Elkanah Otiang & Linus Ochieng & M. Kariuki Njenga & Guy H. Palmer & Thomas L. Marsh, 2020. "Linking calving intervals to milk production and household nutrition in Kenya," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(2), pages 309-325, April.
    14. Darrouzet-Nardi, Amelia & Miller, Laurie & Joshi, Neena & Mahato, Shubh & Lohani, Mahendra & Drozdowsky, Julia & Beatrice, Rogers, 2016. "Longitudinal analysis of the intrahousehold distribution of foods in rural Nepal: Effectiveness of a community-level development intervention," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235536, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    15. Peter R. Berti & Heber Araujo Cossio, 2017. "Raising chickens for increased egg consumption in a rural highland Bolivian population," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 9(6), pages 1329-1341, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Monazza Aslam & Geeta Gandhi Kingdon, 2008. "Gender and household education expenditure in Pakistan," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(20), pages 2573-2591.
    2. Beatrice Lorge Rogers & Jennifer Coates, 2002. "Food-Based Safety Nets and Related Programs," Working Papers in Food Policy and Nutrition 12, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.
    3. Scanlan, Stephen J., 2004. "Women, Food Security, and Development in Less-Industrialized Societies: Contributions and Challenges for the New Century," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(11), pages 1807-1829, November.
    4. Engle, Patrice L. & Menon, Purnima & Garrett, James L. & Slack, Alison T., 1997. "Developing a research and action agenda for examining urbanization and caregiving," FCND discussion papers 28, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    5. Engle, Patrice L. & Menon, Purnima & Haddad, Lawrence, 1999. "Care and Nutrition: Concepts and Measurement," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(8), pages 1309-1337, August.
    6. Marta Ruiz-Arranz & Benjamin Davis & Marco Stampini & Paul Winters & Sudhanshu Handa, 2002. "More Calories or More Diversity? An econometric evaluation of the impact of the PROGRESA and PROCAMPO transfer programmes on food security in rural Mexico," Working Papers 02-09, Agricultural and Development Economics Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO - ESA).
    7. Soumya Gupta & Prabhu L. Pingali & Per Pinstrup-Andersen, 2017. "Women’s empowerment in Indian agriculture: does market orientation of farming systems matter?," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 9(6), pages 1447-1463, December.
    8. Finaret, A.B. & Miller, L.C. & Joshi, N. & Mahato, S. & Lohani, M. & Drozdowsky, J. & Rogers, B.L., 2018. "Longitudinal analysis of the intrahousehold distribution of foods in rural Nepal: Relative variability of child dietary quality across age and sex cohorts," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 101-110.
    9. Joshi, Shareen, 2004. "Female Household-Headship in Rural Bangladesh: Incidence, Determinants and Impact on Children's Schooling," Center Discussion Papers 28424, Yale University, Economic Growth Center.
    10. Behrman, Jere R. & Skoufias, Emmanuel, 2004. "Correlates and determinants of child anthropometrics in Latin America: background and overview of the symposium," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 2(3), pages 335-351, December.
    11. Levin, Carol E. & Ruel, Marie T. & Morris, Saul S. & Maxwell, Daniel G. & Armar-Klemesu, Margaret & Ahiadeke, Clement, 1999. "Working Women in an Urban Setting: Traders, Vendors and Food Security in Accra," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(11), pages 1977-1991, November.
    12. Appleton, Simon, 1996. "Women-headed households and household welfare: An empirical deconstruction for Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 24(12), pages 1811-1827, December.
    13. Darrouzet-Nardi, Amelia F. & Miller, Laurie C. & Joshi, Neena & Mahato, Shubh & Lohani, Mahendra & Rogers, Beatrice L., 2016. "Child dietary quality in rural Nepal: Effectiveness of a community-level development intervention," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 185-197.
    14. Engle, Patrice L. & Castle, Sarah & Menon, Purnima, 1996. "Child development," FCND discussion papers 12, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    15. Tiberti, M. & Zezza, A. & Azzarri, C., 2018. "Livestock Ownership and Child Nutrition in Uganda: Evidence from a Panel Survey," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277403, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    16. Singh, Prakarsh & Masters, William A., 2016. "Behavior Change for Early Childhood Nutrition: Effectiveness of Health Worker Training Depends on Maternal Information in a Randomized Control Trial," IZA Discussion Papers 10375, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Steckel, Richard H., 2009. "Heights and human welfare: Recent developments and new directions," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 1-23, January.
    18. Harris-Fry, Helen & Saville, Naomi M. & Paudel, Puskar & Manandhar, Dharma S. & Cortina-Borja, Mario & Skordis, Jolene, 2022. "Relative power: Explaining the effects of food and cash transfers on allocative behaviour in rural Nepalese households," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    19. Chudgar, Amita, 2011. "Female Headship and Schooling Outcomes in Rural India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 550-560, April.
    20. Ashish Singh & Sarthak Gaurav & Upasak Das, 2013. "Household Headship and Academic Skills of Indian Children: A Special Focus on Gender Disparities [Sexe du chef de ménage et compétences scolaires des enfants indiens : une analyse des disparités en," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 29(4), pages 445-466, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:105:y:2014:i:c:p:16-21. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.