IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/gagfdp/185785.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Evaluating nutrition and health impacts of agricultural innovations

Author

Listed:
  • Qaim, Matin

Abstract

Agricultural innovations are seen as a key avenue to improve nutrition and health in smallholder farm households. But details of these agriculture-nutrition-health linkages are not yet well understood. While there is a broad literature on the adoption of agricultural technologies, most studies primarily focus on impacts in terms of productivity and income. Nutrition and health impacts have rarely been analyzed. In this article, we argue that future impact studies should include nutrition and health dimensions more explicitly. A conceptual framework is developed to clarify possible impact pathways. Different nutrition and health metrics are reviewed in terms of their strengths and weaknesses and criteria of choice for different study purposes. To evaluate impacts of particular innovations, the chosen metrics have to be compared between adopters and non-adopters, using a suitable sampling design. Approaches of how to deal with possible selection bias are discussed. Finally, selected empirical examples in which these metrics and methods were used in practice are reviewed.

Suggested Citation

  • Qaim, Matin, 2014. "Evaluating nutrition and health impacts of agricultural innovations," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 185785, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
  • Handle: RePEc:ags:gagfdp:185785
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.185785
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/185785/files/GlobalFood_DP46.pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.185785?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kouser, Shahzad & Qaim, Matin, 2011. "Impact of Bt cotton on pesticide poisoning in smallholder agriculture: A panel data analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(11), pages 2105-2113, September.
    2. Hoddinott, John & Haddad, Lawrence, 1995. "Does Female Income Share Influence Household Expenditures? Evidence from Cote d'Ivoire," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 57(1), pages 77-96, February.
    3. de Haen, Hartwig & Klasen, Stephan & Qaim, Matin, 2011. "What do we really know? Metrics for food insecurity and undernutrition," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 760-769.
    4. Fischer, Elisabeth & Qaim, Matin, 2012. "Gender, Agricultural Commercialization, and Collective Action in Kenya," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 121229, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
    5. Guido W. Imbens & Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2009. "Recent Developments in the Econometrics of Program Evaluation," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(1), pages 5-86, March.
    6. Jones, Andrew D. & Shrinivas, Aditya & Bezner-Kerr, Rachel, 2014. "Farm production diversity is associated with greater household dietary diversity in Malawi: Findings from nationally representative data," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 1-12.
    7. Matin Qaim, 2009. "The Economics of Genetically Modified Crops," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 1(1), pages 665-694, September.
    8. Babatunde, Raphael O. & Qaim, Matin, 2010. "Impact of off-farm income on food security and nutrition in Nigeria," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 303-311, August.
    9. Bezu, Sosina & Kassie, Girma T. & Shiferaw, Bekele & Ricker-Gilbert, Jacob, 2014. "Impact of Improved Maize Adoption on Welfare of Farm Households in Malawi: A Panel Data Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 120-131.
    10. Shiferaw, Bekele & Kassie, Menale & Jaleta, Moti & Yirga, Chilot, 2014. "Adoption of improved wheat varieties and impacts on household food security in Ethiopia," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 272-284.
    11. Minten, Bart & Barrett, Christopher B., 2008. "Agricultural Technology, Productivity, and Poverty in Madagascar," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 797-822, May.
    12. Noltze, Martin & Schwarze, Stefan & Qaim, Matin, 2013. "Impacts of natural resource management technologies on agricultural yield and household income: The system of rice intensification in Timor Leste," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 59-68.
    13. Headey, Derek D., 2013. "Developmental Drivers of Nutritional Change: A Cross-Country Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 76-88.
    14. Stein, Alexander J. & Meenakshi, J.V. & Qaim, Matin & Nestel, Penelope & Sachdev, H.P.S. & Bhutta, Zulfiqar A., 2008. "Potential impacts of iron biofortification in India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(8), pages 1797-1808, April.
    15. Chege, Christine G.K. & Andersson, Camilla I.M. & Qaim, Matin, 2014. "Impacts Of Supermarkets On Farm Household Nutrition In Kenya," 2014 International Congress, August 26-29, 2014, Ljubljana, Slovenia 182724, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    16. Matin Qaim & Alexander J. Stein & J. V. Meenakshi, 2007. "Economics of biofortification," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 37(s1), pages 119-133, December.
    17. Anna D'Souza & Dean Jolliffe, 2014. "Food Insecurity in Vulnerable Populations: Coping with Food Price Shocks in Afghanistan," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 96(3), pages 790-812.
    18. Robert T. Jensen & Nolan H. Miller, 2010. "A Revealed Preference Approach to Measuring Hunger and Undernutrition," NBER Working Papers 16555, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Babatunde, Raphael O. & Qaim, Matin, 2010. "Impact of Off-farm Income on Food Security and Nutrition in Nigeria," 2010 AAAE Third Conference/AEASA 48th Conference, September 19-23, 2010, Cape Town, South Africa 97332, African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE).
    20. Chege, Christine G. K. & Andersson, Camilla I.M. & Qaim, Matin, 2014. "Impacts of supermarkets on farm household nutrition in Kenya," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 167910, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
    21. Ecker, Olivier & Qaim, Matin, 2011. "Analyzing Nutritional Impacts of Policies: An Empirical Study for Malawi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 412-428, March.
    22. Kabunga, Nassul S. & Dubois, Thomas & Qaim, Matin, 2014. "Impact of tissue culture banana technology on farm household income and food security in Kenya," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 25-34.
    23. Prabhu L. Pingali & Cynthia B. Marquez & Florencia G. Palis, 1994. "Pesticides and Philippine Rice Farmer Health: A Medical and Economic Analysis," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 76(3), pages 587-592.
    24. Meenakshi, J.V. & Johnson, Nancy L. & Manyong, Victor M. & DeGroote, Hugo & Javelosa, Josyline & Yanggen, David R. & Naher, Firdousi & Gonzalez, Carolina & García, James & Meng, Erika, 2010. "How Cost-Effective is Biofortification in Combating Micronutrient Malnutrition? An Ex ante Assessment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 64-75, January.
    25. Headey, Derek D. & Ecker, Olivier, 2012. "Improving the measurement of food security:," IFPRI discussion papers 1225, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    26. Fischer, Elisabeth & Qaim, Matin, 2012. "Gender, Agricultural Commercialization, and Collective Action in Kenya," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126659, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    27. Jikun Huang & Carl Pray & Scott Rozelle, 2002. "Enhancing the crops to feed the poor," Nature, Nature, vol. 418(6898), pages 678-684, August.
    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. Lara Cockx & Nathalie Francken, 2016. "Evolution and Impact of EU Aid for Food and Nutrition Security: A Review," FOODSECURE Working papers 47, LEI Wageningen UR.
    2. Romaza Khanum & Petra Schneider & Muhammad Salim Al Mahadi & Mohammad Mojibul Hoque Mozumder & Md. Mostafa Shamsuzzaman, 2022. "Does Fish Farming Improve Household Nutritional Status? Evidence from Bangladesh," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-16, January.
    3. Fetene, G.M. & Getehun, T.D., 2018. "Agricultural Technology Adoption for Food and Nutrition Security: Evidence from Ethiopia," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277332, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Joseph Kangmennaang & Rachel Bezner Kerr & Esther Lupafya & Laifolo Dakishoni & Mangani Katundu & Isaac Luginaah, 2017. "Impact of a participatory agroecological development project on household wealth and food security in Malawi," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 9(3), pages 561-576, June.
    5. Badrun Nessa Ahmed & Hermann Waibel, 2019. "The role of homestead fish ponds for household nutrition security in Bangladesh," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 11(4), pages 835-854, August.
    6. Priyanka Parvathi, 2018. "Does mixed crop‐livestock farming lead to less diversified diets among smallholders? Evidence from Laos," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(4), pages 497-509, July.
    7. Wanyana Barbra* & Murongo Marius Flarian & Mwine Julius & Wamani Sam, 2019. "Agro-Related Policy Awareness and Their Influence in Adoption of New Agricultural Technologies; A Case of Tissue Culture Banana in Uganda," Journal of Agriculture and Crops, Academic Research Publishing Group, vol. 5(5), pages 57-64, 05-2019.
    8. Oluyemi Adewole Okunlola & Yacouba Kassouri, 2023. "Empirical investigation of the agriculture–malnutrition nexus in Africa: Spatial clustering and spillover effects," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(2), pages 685-709, May.
    9. Sienso, Gifty & Lyford, Conrad & Oldewage-Theron, Wilna, 2022. "Using instrumental variables to establish the relationship between household production diversity and household dietary diversity in northern Ghana," African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development (AJFAND), African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development (AJFAND), vol. 22(07).
    10. Marenya, P. & Kassie, M. & Teklewold, H. & Erenstein, O. & Qaim, M. & Rahut, D., 2018. "Does the adoption of maize-legume cropping diversification and modern seeds affect nutritional security in Ethiopia? Evidence from panel data analysis," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277170, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    11. Sibhatu, Kibrom T. & Krishna, Vijesh V. & Qaim, Matin, 2015. "Farm Production Diversity and Dietary Diversity in Developing Countries," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 205286, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

    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. Chege, Christine G.K. & Andersson, Camilla I.M. & Qaim, Matin, 2014. "Impacts Of Supermarkets On Farm Household Nutrition In Kenya," 2014 International Congress, August 26-29, 2014, Ljubljana, Slovenia 182724, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    2. Chege, Christine G. K. & Andersson, Camilla I.M. & Qaim, Matin, 2014. "Impacts of supermarkets on farm household nutrition in Kenya," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 167910, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
    3. Chege, Christine G.K. & Andersson, Camilla I.M. & Qaim, Matin, 2015. "Impacts of Supermarkets on Farm Household Nutrition in Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 394-407.
    4. Dawang, C., 2018. "Impact of Fishery Regulatory Innovation on Income and Nutrition of Smallholder Households in Plateau State, Nigeria," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277174, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    5. Kassie, Menale & Fisher, Monica & Muricho, Geoffrey & Diiro, Gracious, 2020. "Women’s empowerment boosts the gains in dietary diversity from agricultural technology adoption in rural Kenya," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    6. Chiputwa, Brian & Qaim, Matin, 2014. "Sustainability standards, gender, and nutrition among smallholder farmers in Uganda," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 191001, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
    7. Kabunga, Nassul S. & Dubois, Thomas & Qaim, Matin, 2014. "Impact of tissue culture banana technology on farm household income and food security in Kenya," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 25-34.
    8. Van Den Broeck, G & Van Hoyweghen, K & Maertens, M, 2017. "Horticultural exports and food security in Senegal," Working Papers 258322, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Centre for Agricultural and Food Economics.
    9. Kilimani, Nicholas & Buyinza, Faisal & Guloba, Madina, 2022. "Crop commercialization and nutrient intake among farming households in Uganda," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    10. Hörner, Denise & Wollni, Meike, 2021. "Integrated soil fertility management and household welfare in Ethiopia," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    11. Sylvester Ochieng Ogutu & Theda Gödecke & Matin Qaim, 2020. "Agricultural Commercialisation and Nutrition in Smallholder Farm Households," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 71(2), pages 534-555, June.
    12. Joseph Kangmennaang & Rachel Bezner Kerr & Esther Lupafya & Laifolo Dakishoni & Mangani Katundu & Isaac Luginaah, 2017. "Impact of a participatory agroecological development project on household wealth and food security in Malawi," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 9(3), pages 561-576, June.
    13. Qaim, Matin & Andersson, Camilla I.M. & Chege, Christine G.K. & Kimenju, Simon Chege & Klasen, Stephan & Rischke, Ramona, 2014. "Nutrition Effects of the Supermarket Revolution on Urban Consumers and Smallholder Farmers in Kenya," 2014 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota 177204, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    14. Sekabira, Haruna & Qaim, Matin, 2017. "Can mobile phones improve gender equality and nutrition? Panel data evidence from farm households in Uganda," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 95-103.
    15. Kabunga, Nassul Ssentamu & Ghosh, Shibani & Griffiths, Jeffrey K., 2014. "Can smallholder fruit and vegetable production systems improve household food security and nutritional status of women? Evidence from rural Uganda:," IFPRI discussion papers 1346, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    16. Van den Broeck, Goedele & Mardulier, Myrthe & Maertens, Miet, 2021. "All that is gold does not glitter: Income and nutrition in Tanzania," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    17. Emiliano Magrini & Mauro Vigani, 2016. "Technology adoption and the multiple dimensions of food security: the case of maize in Tanzania," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 8(4), pages 707-726, August.
    18. Manda, J. & Gardebroek, C. & Kuntashula, E. & Alene, A.D., 2018. "Impact of Improved Maize Varieties on Food Security in Eastern Zambia: a doubly robust analysis," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277004, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    19. Sibhatu, Kibrom T. & Krishna, Vijesh V. & Qaim, Matin, 2015. "Farm Production Diversity and Dietary Diversity in Developing Countries," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 205286, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    20. Fischer, Elisabeth & Qaim, Matin, 2012. "Gender, Agricultural Commercialization, and Collective Action in Kenya," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126659, International Association of Agricultural Economists.

    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:ags:gagfdp:185785. 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: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iagoede.html .

    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.