The sustainability of a nutrition-sensitive agriculture intervention: a case study from urban Senegal

Stella Nordhagen (), Khadidjatou Thiam and Souleymane Sow
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Stella Nordhagen: Regional Office for Africa
Khadidjatou Thiam: du Développement et de l’Aménagement du Territoire (MGTDAT)
Souleymane Sow: Clinique de Fann

Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, 2019, vol. 11, issue 5, No 9, 1134 pages

Abstract: Abstract The sustainability of nutrition-sensitive agriculture projects has been identified as a research gap, and there is limited research available examining such initiatives in an urban context. We examine the sustainability of a nutrition-sensitive agriculture project implemented in Dakar, Senegal. It included provision of two “microgarden” tables, a henhouse, chickens, inputs, training, and education on nutrition and hygiene. This study was conducted 18 months after the project's end and sought to assess the intervention’s sustainability via a survey and in-depth interviews with former project participants. The microgarden tables had poor sustainability: only 5% of respondents continued to use them to grow vegetables. Most of those who continued saw it as a hobby, not a main productive activity. In contrast, 75% continued poultry-rearing activities, and 20% had more chickens than provided by the project. Some former participants had switched to more lucrative models of chicken production, with sales being more common than during the project and considerable revenues earned. This ability to earn income from chicken sales was the dominant motivator of continued production. Nutrition knowledge and practices remained at or near project levels. We discuss lessons for the sustainability of nutrition-sensitive agriculture more generally. These include that in the absence of project-provided incentives, some dis-adoption should be expected; in an urban area, improving incomes may be more relevant than improving production; and behavior change communication likely needs to be re-enforced over time to ensure sustainable changes in nutrition knowledge among parents of young children.

Keywords: Nutrition-sensitive agriculture; Sustainability; Urban agriculture; Gardening; Poultry (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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DOI: 10.1007/s12571-019-00948-5

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