School gardening in Bhutan: Evaluating outcomes and impact

Pepijn Schreinemachers (), Bal Bdr Rai (), Desang Dorji (), Hsiao-pu Chen (), Thinley Dukpa (), Namgay Thinley (), Passang Lhamo Sherpa () and Ray-Yu Yang ()
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Pepijn Schreinemachers: World Vegetable Center
Bal Bdr Rai: School Agriculture Program (SAP)
Desang Dorji: School Health & Nutrition Division (SHND)
Hsiao-pu Chen: World Vegetable Center
Thinley Dukpa: School Agriculture Program (SAP)
Namgay Thinley: Ministry of Agriculture and Forests
Passang Lhamo Sherpa: Faculty of Nursing and Public Health
Ray-Yu Yang: World Vegetable Center

Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, 2017, vol. 9, issue 3, No 17, 635-648

Abstract: Abstract School gardening interventions have been touted as an effective approach to improve children’s eating habits in developed countries, but there is little evidence for their impact in developing countries. We studied the combined effect of school gardens linked to complementary lessons and promotional activities on the eating behavior and nutritional status of 9- to 15-year-old schoolchildren in Bhutan. We also studied the effect on a range of secondary indicators derived from the impact pathway. We used data from 468 schoolchildren in 9 control and 9 treatment schools following a randomized controlled trial design. We found that the school gardening intervention significantly increased children’s awareness about vegetables, their knowledge about sustainable agriculture, and their preferences for healthier foods. We found an 11.7-percentage point increase in the probability that children included vegetables in their meals (p

Keywords: Education; Food behavior; Vegetables; Malnutrition; Nutrition-sensitive agriculture; Impact evaluation; Randomized controlled trial (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1007/s12571-017-0673-3

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