The association between crop and income diversity and farmer intra-household dietary diversity in India

This paper investigates the associations between crop and income diversity and dietary diversity among men, women, adolescents, and children of farmer households in India. We examine crop, income, and dietary data collected from 1106 farmer households across Gujarat and Haryana, two states that represent different livelihood transition pathways in India. Regression results suggest that crop diversity had a positive association with dietary diversity among adults (both men and women) in both states, and among adolescents and children in Haryana. Higher family education and annual income were the two most important factors associated with higher dietary diversity score (DDS) in Gujarat whereas, higher family education, greater crop diversity, and increased distance traveled to markets were the most important factors associated with higher individual DDS in Haryana. Specifically, for children, crop diversity emerged as one of the most important factors associated with dietary diversity in both states. Interestingly, we find that even in these two relatively prosperous states, the pathways to dietary diversity vary across sites and within households, suggesting that policies to improve dietary diversity should be tailored to a given location and context.