Quality diets for better health: Integrated orange‐fleshed sweetpotato intervention improved dietary practice in southern Ethiopia

Abstract

AbstractPoor diet quality for women and children under 2 years of age is the major public health problem in developing countries claiming lives of millions of children and mothers. Nutrition‐sensitive, climate smart orange‐fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam] intervention has been proved to be an effective approach to ensure enhanced diet quality and reduce the health burden faced by women and children. The objective of this study is to contribute to evidence generation effort by assessing the effectiveness of the introduction of vitamin A‐rich, OFSP cultivars alongside social and behavior change communication strategy and agronomic practice in improving diet quality. Cluster‐randomized control trial design was implemented on cross‐sectional data collected from project beneficiary and control households in 2017 (n = 1451) and 2019 (n = 2065). Quasi‐experimental double difference analysis is used to measure the impact of the intervention on key nutrition outcome indicators. Nutrition‐sensitive climate smart agriculture focused on OFSP cultivars with integrated nutrition behavioral change social communication and agronomic training presented significant potential to improved food security, dietary diversity, and frequency of vitamin A food‐rich intake among the rural population of southern Ethiopia. Thus, it is concluded that enhanced investment in nutrition dense agricultural commodities such as orange fleshed‐sweetpotatoes with appropriate training on both nutrition and agronomic can be effective and cheaper means to address the diet quality problem.