Are home gardening programs a sustainable way to improve nutrition? Lessons from a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Rufiji, Tanzania.

ABSTRACT: Homestead food production (HFP) programs may improve diet and nutrition outcomes by increasing availability of nutrient dense foods such as vegetables and supporting livelihoods. We conducted a pair-matched cluster-randomized controlled trial to investigate whether vegetable home gardens could improve women's dietary diversity, household food security, maternal and child iron status, and the probability of women consuming nutrient-rich food groups. We enrolled 1,006 women of reproductive age (18-49 years) in ten villages in Pwani Region, Eastern Tanzania, matched the villages into pairs according to village characteristics, and randomly allocated villages to intervention or control. Households in the intervention villages received agricultural training, inputs to promote home production of

SUBMITTER: Blakstad MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9012451 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature