IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i22p8625-d448294.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of a Household Food Garden Intervention on Food Security in Lesotho

Author

Listed:
  • Corinna May Walsh

    (Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9301, South Africa)

  • Michelle Shannon Fouché

    (Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9301, South Africa)

  • Mariette Nel

    (Department of Biostatistics, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9301, South Africa)

  • Frederik Booysen

    (School of Economics and Finance, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa)

Abstract

Food insecurity is a challenge in the developing world, where many are finding healthy food inaccessible due to poverty. A pre-test, post-test design was applied to determine the impact of a vegetable gardening intervention in 25 experimental and 25 control households in Lesotho. Information about sociodemographic conditions and indicators of food security was collected by trained fieldworkers. As evidenced by the Living Poverty Index of 2.5, the sample was characterized by high levels of poverty. Although almost no households were scored very low or low using the Months of Adequate Household Food Provisioning (MAHFP) tool, less than half of households were categorized as food-secure. Household Dietary Diversity (HDD) showed infrequent intake of vegetables and fruits and regular intake of fats and sugar. After intervention, the percentage of households with a low HDD score improved significantly in the intervention group (12%) compared to the control group (40%) (95% CI (2.5%; 50.7%)). Despite this, the percentage of households that consumed vegetables during the previous day was still below 30%. Food gardens have the potential to improve availability of food and frequency of vegetable consumption, but harsh environmental conditions need to be considered.

Suggested Citation

  • Corinna May Walsh & Michelle Shannon Fouché & Mariette Nel & Frederik Booysen, 2020. "The Impact of a Household Food Garden Intervention on Food Security in Lesotho," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-13, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:22:p:8625-:d:448294
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/22/8625/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/22/8625/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Likeleli Makhotla & Sheryl Hendriks, 2004. "Do home gardens improve the nutrition of rural pre-schoolers in Lesotho?," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(3), pages 575-581.
    2. Andrew Makenete & Gerald Ortmann & Mark Darroch, 1998. "Food-aid dependency in Lesotho: Issues and policy implications," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(2), pages 251-266.
    3. Nicole Darmon & Adam Drewnowski, 2015. "Contribution of food prices and diet cost to socioeconomic disparities in diet quality and health: a systematic review and analysis," Post-Print hal-01774670, HAL.
    4. Safilios-Rothschild, Constantina, 1985. "The Persistence of Women's Invisibility in Agriculture: Theoretical and Policy Lessons from Lesotho and Sierra Leone," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(2), pages 299-317, January.
    5. Nasima Akhter & Naomi Saville & Bhim Shrestha & Dharma S. Manandhar & David Osrin & Anthony Costello & Andrew Seal, 2018. "Change in cost and affordability of a typical and nutritionally adequate diet among socio-economic groups in rural Nepal after the 2008 food price crisis," 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 615-629, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Schneider, Kate R., 2022. "Nationally representative estimates of the cost of adequate diets, nutrient level drivers, and policy options for households in rural Malawi," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    2. Bai, Yan & Costlow, Leah & Ebel, Alissa & Laves, Sarah & Ueda, Yurika & Volin, Natalie & Zamek, Maya & Herforth, Anna & Masters, William A., 2021. "Review: Retail consumer price data reveal gaps and opportunities to monitor food systems for nutrition," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    3. Smith, Lisa C. & Chavas, Jean-Paul, 1999. "Supply response of West African agricultural households," FCND discussion papers 69, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    4. Rose, Chelsea M. & Gupta, Shilpi & Buszkiewicz, James & Ko, Linda K. & Mou, Jin & Cook, Andrea & Moudon, Anne Vernez & Aggarwal, Anju & Drewnowski, Adam, 2020. "Small increments in diet cost can improve compliance with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    5. Soumya Gupta & Payal Seth & Mathew Abraham & Prabhu Pingali, 2022. "COVID-19 and women's nutrition security: panel data evidence from rural India," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 39(1), pages 157-184, April.
    6. Danielle L. Nunnery & Jigna M. Dharod, 2017. "Potential determinants of food security among refugees in the U.S.: an examination of pre- and post- resettlement factors," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 9(1), pages 163-179, February.
    7. Michael Takudzwa Pasara & Steven Henry Dunga, 2022. "Value Chains And Climate Change Mitigation Strategies: A Case Of Nutritional Gardens In Zimbabwe," Eurasian Journal of Business and Management, Eurasian Publications, vol. 10(1), pages 62-75.
    8. Lebihan, Laetitia & Mao Takongmo, Charles-Olivier, 2019. "Unconditional cash transfers and parental obesity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 116-126.
    9. Kenny, Tiff-Annie & Fillion, Myriam & MacLean, Jullian & Wesche, Sonia D. & Chan, Hing Man, 2018. "Calories are cheap, nutrients are expensive – The challenge of healthy living in Arctic communities," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 39-54.
    10. Roberto Martinez-Lacoba & Isabel Pardo-Garcia & Elisa Amo-Saus & Francisco Escribano-Sotos, 2020. "Social determinants of food group consumption based on Mediterranean diet pyramid: A cross-sectional study of university students," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(1), pages 1-22, January.
    11. Peña, Christine & Webb, Patrick & Haddad, Lawrence James, 1996. "Women's economic advancement through agricultural change," FCND discussion papers 10, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    12. Rahmatollah Beheshti & Jessica C Jones-Smith & Takeru Igusa, 2017. "Taking dietary habits into account: A computational method for modeling food choices that goes beyond price," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(5), pages 1-13, May.
    13. Maria Granvik, 2016. "Policy diffusion, domestic politics and social assistance in Lesotho, 1998-2012," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-146, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    14. World Bank, 2010. "Lesotho - Sharing Growth by Reducing Inequality and Vulnerability : Choices for Change A Poverty, Gender, and Social Assessment," World Bank Publications - Reports 2884, The World Bank Group.
    15. Einhorn, Laura, 2020. "Normative social influence on meat consumption," MPIfG Discussion Paper 20/1, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    16. Anthony Fardet & Edmond Rock, 2020. "Ultra-Processed Foods and Food System Sustainability: What Are the Links?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-26, August.
    17. Alberto Bertossi & Stefania Troiano & Francesco Marangon, 2023. "Financing for sustainable food systems: The role of the vending sector," Economia agro-alimentare, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 25(2), pages 115-134.
    18. Otilia Vanessa Cordero-Ahiman & Jorge Leonardo Vanegas & Cecilia Alexandra Fernández-Lucero & Daniela Fernanda Torres-Torres & Víctor Dante Ayaviri-Nina & Gabith Miriam Quispe-Fernández, 2022. "Responsible Marketing in the Traffic Light Labeling of Food Products in Ecuador: Perceptions of Cuenca Consumers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-17, March.
    19. Erwan Gavelle & Pascal Leroy & Marjorie Perrimon & Jean-François Huneau & Véronique Sirot & Caroline Orset & Hélène Fouillet & Louis-Georges Soler & François Mariotti, 2020. "Modeled gradual changes in protein intake to increase nutrient adequacy lead to greater sustainability when systematically targeting an increase in the share of plant protein," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 161(1), pages 129-149, July.
    20. Hudak, Katelin M. & Racine, Elizabeth F., 2021. "Do additional SNAP benefits matter for child weight?: Evidence from the 2009 benefit increase," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).

    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:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:22:p:8625-:d:448294. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.