Determinants of dietary diversity for women of reproductive age (WRA) and under-five children from small-holder farming households in Lesotho

Abstract

Malnutrition is one of the biggest threats to the global community. At household level, women and children are among the most vulnerable groups. It is expected that farming households will have better food security, owing to food production and income generation from selling agricultural produce. This paper sought to assess the dietary diversity and the associated factors thereof on women and children in farming households in Lesotho. Multivariate regression analysis was used to identify the determinants of the dietary diversity scores. The results showed that only 20.6% of the women of reproductive age consumed a minimum of five food groups or more, with a mean dietary diversity score of 5.63. The majority (78%) of under-five children had low dietary diversity (mean = 2.12), as they consumed less that 4 food groups. The regression analysis indicated that women’s age group, household size, household monthly income and being a beneficiary of an agricultural program were associated with women’s dietary diversity. On the other hand, the determinants identified for children’s dietary diversity were education status, gender and marital status of the caretaker. Interventions that aim to improve women and children’s diet quality are still much needed as levels of dietary diversity are not satisfactory. The determinants must also be further explored and considered in development planning. A nutrition-sensitive approach to agricultural programs is important as it capacitates farming households on both agricultural production and nutrition that are needed. Nutrition-sensitive agriculture maximises the contribution of agriculture to yield nutrition outcomes.

Keywords:

• children
• dietary diversity
• food security
• nutrition
• women

Acknowledgments

Support for this research was made possible through a capacity-building competitive grant: Training the next generation of scientists provided by Carnegie Cooperation of New York through the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM).

Disclosure statement

No conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Availability of data

Data will be made available upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Carnegie Corporation of New York through the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) under Grant [RU/2022/DRG/022].

Notes on contributors

Nthabeleng Nkoko

Nthabeleng Nkoko is a doctrate student in Consumer Science specialising in Food and Nutrition Security and Commercial Agriculture, at the University of the Free State. She is a laboratory technician and teaching assistant at the National University of Lesotho. Her research interests include food and nutrition security, nutrition-sensitive food value chains, diversification of livelihood strategies and community development.

Natasha Cronje

Natasha Cronjé is currently a lecturer in the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development, University of the Free State. She is responsible for all the undergraduate and postgraduate teaching of Food Security. The vast scope of Food Security research and, her interest in sustainability ultimately lead to research on household food waste practices of South Africans. Other research activities include exploring product development as a possible mitigating tool to reduce food waste, consumer perceptions and attitudes surrounding these topics and the effect of household activities on their food security status.

Jan Willem Swanepoel

Jan Willem Swanepoel The strife to further develop his professional acumen and his passion for making a difference in people’s lives, led him to become part of the University of the Free State. He left the private industry at the end of 2015 and joined the university. Currently, he is an Associate Professor and affiliated to the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development at the University of the Free State. Some of his current responsibilities include the leading of the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture and the Development part of the department. His field of expertise include agriculture economics, where he correspondingly developed a new curriculum for Masters and Honors students in Sustainable Agriculture. Furthermore, he is managing all third-stream and community projects of the department and assisting the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences with business planning.