This document summarizes research on the link between agriculture and nutrition in Ethiopia. It finds that increasing agricultural production diversity is associated with better child nutrition outcomes. Ownership of cows also improves child nutrition by increasing milk consumption. The existence of food markets can partially substitute for own production. Empowering women, such as through control over income and group membership, positively impacts child and women's nutrition. However, improving nutrition requires a holistic approach addressing agricultural productivity, market access, asset building, women's empowerment, and incorporating nutrition into social protection programs.

1. ETHIOPIAN DEVELOPMENT
RESEARCH INSTITUTE
1
Agriculture and Nutrition in Ethiopia: Syntheses
of Results (AGP and FTF surveys)
Fanaye Tadesse and Alemayehu Seyoum Taffesse
IFPRI - ESSP
13th International Conference on the Ethiopian Economy
July 23-25, 2015
Addis Ababa

2. 2
Introduction
• The link between agriculture and nutrition is complex.
• Increase in agricultural productivity does not always translate into
improved nutritional outcomes.
• The linkages are multifaceted and not always straight forward.
• The most direct link between agriculture and nutrition - Food
consumption  nutritional status
• The post production sector beyond agriculture contribute significantly
more to the eradication of malnutrition

3. 3
Introduction-cont’d
• The link between agriculture and nutrition can be considered in terms
of different pathways (Hoddinott, 2011)
• Changes to incomes – increase in agricultural production 
increase in household income  purchase goods that affect
nutritional status
• Changes in crops, farm practices and markets – introduction of
new foods in diets  potential to improve nutrition
• Changes to the use of time – increase the amount of labor devoted
to agricultural production  reduction in time spent on nutrition

4. 4
Introduction-cont’d
• Changes to savings – save their income in the form of assets 
improve nutritional outcomes
• Changes in intra-household resource allocation – Increase in
women’s earning capacity  food allocation, asset accumulation
and how money is spent.
• Agriculture productivity has been increasing over the years in Ethiopia.
• Nutritional outcomes are also showing some improvements
• What do we know so far concerning the linkages between Agriculture
and Nutrition?

5. 5
Objective
• In this presentation we will try to highlight the major nutritional
outcome indicators using data collected by IFPRI in collaboration with
CSA
 Feed the Future (FTF) and Agricultural Growth Program (AGP)
surveys
• Present a synthesis of the major findings of researches conducted with
in IFPRI-ESSP in relation to the link between nutrition and agriculture.

6. 6
Data - FTF
• A baseline survey conducted for the evaluation of the FtF program in
Ethiopia, the US government global hunger and food security initiative.
• Data collection by the Central Statistical Agency (CSA) in collaboration
with IFPRI in June 2013.
• Collected from 5 regions of the country (Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, SNNP
and Somali)
• Comprises of 7,011 households from 84 woredas (districts).
• The questionnaire used for the survey includes modules on
• Women empowerment indicators; women dietary diversity and
anthropometry; child anthropometry and infant and young child feeding;
employment, agricultural productivity; and other relevant information.

7. 7
Data - AGP
• Baseline and midline data collected by the Central Statistical Agency
(CSA) in collaboration with IFPRI in June 2011 and June 2013.
• Covers 93 woredas in the four major regions (Amhara, Oromia, SNNP, and
Tigray)
• Around 7,930 households were surveyed.
• The questionnaire used for the survey includes modules on
• Agricultural production, agricultural assets children’s dietary diversity,
anthropometry of children, off-farm and non-farm income and other relevant
information.

8. 8
Descriptive Analyses on Nutritional Outcomes
• Children’s nutritional outcomes - Children’s Anthropometry (0-60
months)
AGP Survey
(2011)
AGP Survey
(2013)
FTF Survey
(2013)
DHS (2010)
Stunting 44.3 46.3 53.4 46.2
Wasting 11.7 8.5 12.9 10.2
Underweight 26.0 21.0 33.8 30.4

9. 9
Descriptive Analyses on Nutritional Outcomes –
Cont’d
• Children’s Dietary Diversity - Children from 6 to 23 months (24 hrs
recall)
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
AGP Survey (2011) AGP Survey (2013) FTF Survey (2013) DHS (2010)

10. 10
Descriptive Analyses on Nutritional Outcomes –
Cont’d
Women’s Nutritional Outcomes
FTF Survey
(2013)
DHS (2011)
Women’s Dietary Diversity 1.5 -
Percentage of underweight women 28.2 29.1

11. 11
Syntheses of Research
Saving in the
form of Asset
Crops, farm
practices and
markets
Use of time Intra-household
resource allocation
Cow ownership
Production diversity
and markets
Women’s time use
Women’s and
children’s
Nutritional
outcomes
Income
Social protection
programs
Women’s Empowerment

12. 12
Syntheses of Research Results
• Cows, missing milk markets and nutrition in rural Ethiopia (AGP 2013:
Hoddinott, Headey and Dereje, 2014)
 Ownership of cows is associated with higher milk consumption by
children  improvements in HAZ and reductions in stunting
 Magnitudes of effects are large – reduction in stunting of
approximately 6-10 percentage points.
 Evidence that the existence of food markets can partially substitute
for own production

13. 13
Syntheses of Research Results - continued
• Production diversity and dietary diversity (FTF 2013: Hirvonen and
Hoddinott, 2014))
 Increasing production diversity increases child dietary diversity
significantly
 Does not mean all rural households should produce wider range of
agricultural outputs.
 The relationship disappears for households with ready access to
markets where they can easily sell and buy food products.

14. 14
Syntheses of Research Results - continued
• Women’s empowerment and children and women’s nutritional outcomes
(Yimer and Tadesse, 2014)
 Women’s empowerment (measured by the Women’s Empowerment
in Agriculture index) has a positive impact on children’s and
women’s Dietary Diversity.
 Detailed analysis of the WEAI components indicate that women’s
o Autonomy in production,
o Participation in decision on credit,
o Control over the use of income and
o Group membership, all have a positive and significant impact
 Women’s education is positively associated with children’s
anthropometry and women’s nutritional outcomes.

15. 15
Syntheses of Research Results - continued
• Social protection programs and child nutrition (PSNP data: Berhane and
Hoddinott, 2013)
 Such programs have improved food availability, food security and
also improved dietary diversity at household level.
 No improvements is yet seen at child level – children’s diet quality is
still poor.
 The new PSNP (PSNP 4) aims to achieve improvement in nutritional
outcomes by incorporating nutritional knowledge

16. 16
Conclusion
• Agriculture links to nutrition through various pathways.
• Production diversity leads to better children’s dietary diversity
• Ownership of cow have a positive impact on improving nutritional
outcome of children particularly stunting
• Availability of markets play a significant role
• Women’s empowerment has a positive and significant impact on
dietary diversity of children and women
 Improving nutrition requires a holistic approach of increasing
agricultural productivity, developing markets, asset building, the
empowerment of women and incorporating nutritional aspects on
social protection programs