Abstract:
The Central Province of Zambia contains the majority of the nation’s malnourished
children, despite being the most productive province in terms of Agriculture. Most
studies focused on household food consumption rather than the linkages between
agriculture performance and nutrition outcomes of the population. In light of this
knowledge gap, this study focused on the linkage between nutrition and agriculture.
The study assessed the extent to which the Ministry of Agriculture in Zambia is
implementing the best practices of nutrition-sensitive agriculture in the Central
Province.
Data was collected from 356 randomly selected farming households using structured
questionnaire. The data contained information on socio-demographic characteristics,
crop diversity, women empowerment and anthropometric (height/length, weight)
measurements for the children aged 6-59months. Three transect walks and nine focus
group discussions were also conducted in the sampled district. The study also
reviewed five project and policy documents. Two were project documents of the
agricultural development programmes in central Zambia, while 3 were national
policies. The prevalence rates of stunting, underweight, and wasting among children
were 21.2%, 9%, and 2%, respectively. There was a significant relationship between
household crops grown in households and Z-scores for HAZ and WAZ (p< 0.05).
One variable of women empowerment, namely access to credit or income
opportunities, was also significantly related with Z-scores for WHZ (p < 0.05).
The Ministry of Agriculture in Central province has a lot to do in order to implement
Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture and reduce stunting in Central Province.
