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Dietary quality and tree cover in Africa

Author

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  • Ickowitz, Amy
  • Powell, Bronwen
  • Salim, Mohammad
  • Sunderland, Terry

Abstract

The relationship between forests and human nutrition is not yet well understood. A better understanding of this relationship is vital at a time when the majority of new land for agriculture is being cleared from forests. We use Demographic Health Survey food consumption data for over 93,000 children from 21 African countries and Global Land Cover Facility tree cover data to examine the relationship between tree cover and three key indicators of the nutritional quality of children’s diets: dietary diversity, fruit and vegetable consumption, and animal source food consumption. Our main findings can be summarized as follows: there is a statistically significant positive relationship between tree cover and dietary diversity; fruit and vegetable consumption increases with tree cover until a peak of 45% tree cover and then declines; and there is no relationship between animal source food consumption and tree cover. Overall our findings suggest that children in Africa who live in areas with more tree cover have more diverse and nutritious diets.

Suggested Citation

  • Ickowitz, Amy & Powell, Bronwen & Salim, Mohammad & Sunderland, Terry, 2013. "Dietary quality and tree cover in Africa," MPRA Paper 52906, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:52906
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    3. Miller, Daniel C. & Hajjar, Reem, 2020. "Forests as pathways to prosperity: Empirical insights and conceptual advances," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    4. Miller, Daniel C. & Muñoz-Mora, Juan Carlos & Christiaensen, Luc, 2017. "Prevalence, economic contribution, and determinants of trees on farms across Sub-Saharan Africa," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 47-61.
    5. Gudrun B. Keding & Katja Kehlenbeck & Gina Kennedy & Stepha McMullin, 2017. "Fruit production and consumption: practices, preferences and attitudes of women in rural western Kenya," 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 453-469, June.
    6. Omale M. O. & Dachung G. & Labe T. E., 2021. "Proximate and Mineral Analysis of Some Edible Wild Seeds and Stem in Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria," Journal of Agriculture and Crops, Academic Research Publishing Group, vol. 7(3), pages 91-97, 07-2021.
    7. Hansen, James & Hellin, Jon & Rosenstock, Todd & Fisher, Eleanor & Cairns, Jill & Stirling, Clare & Lamanna, Christine & van Etten, Jacob & Rose, Alison & Campbell, Bruce, 2019. "Climate risk management and rural poverty reduction," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 28-46.
    8. van Noordwijk, Meine, 2019. "Integrated natural resource management as pathway to poverty reduction: Innovating practices, institutions and policies," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 60-71.
    9. Stepha McMullin & Ken Njogu & Brendah Wekesa & Agnes Gachuiri & Erick Ngethe & Barbara Stadlmayr & Ramni Jamnadass & Katja Kehlenbeck, 2019. "Developing fruit tree portfolios that link agriculture more effectively with nutrition and health: a new approach for providing year-round micronutrients to smallholder farmers," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 11(6), pages 1355-1372, December.
    10. Handavu, Ferdinand & Chirwa, Paxie W.C. & Syampungani, Stephen, 2019. "Socio-economic factors influencing land-use and land-cover changes in the miombo woodlands of the Copperbelt province in Zambia," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 75-94.
    11. C. Hall & J. I. Macdiarmid & R. B. Matthews & P. Smith & S. F. Hubbard & T. P. Dawson, 2019. "The relationship between forest cover and diet quality: a case study of rural southern Malawi," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 11(3), pages 635-650, June.
    12. Taiyang Zhong & Zhenzhong Si & Jonathan Crush & Zhiying Xu & Xianjin Huang & Steffanie Scott & Shuangshuang Tang & Xiang Zhang, 2018. "The Impact of Proximity to Wet Markets and Supermarkets on Household Dietary Diversity in Nanjing City, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-18, May.
    13. Amadu, Festus O. & Miller, Daniel C. & McNamara, Paul E., 2020. "Agroforestry as a pathway to agricultural yield impacts in climate-smart agriculture investments: Evidence from southern Malawi," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    14. Bertrand F. Nero & Nana Afranaa Kwapong & Raymond Jatta & Oluwole Fatunbi, 2018. "Tree Species Diversity and Socioeconomic Perspectives of the Urban (Food) Forest of Accra, Ghana," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-19, September.
    15. Nathan Morrow & Luca Salvati & Andrea Colantoni & Nancy Mock, 2018. "Rooting the Future; On-Farm Trees’ Contribution to Household Energy Security and Asset Creation as a Resilient Development Pathway—Evidence from a 20-Year Panel in Rural Ethiopia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-24, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    nutrition; forests; food security; Africa; dietary diversity; health;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy
    • Q23 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Forestry

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