Nationally representative estimates of the cost of adequate diets, nutrient level drivers, and policy options for households in rural Malawi.

ABSTRACT: A growing literature uses least-cost diets to evaluate how effectively a food system supports access to nutritious foods. We identify the cost of meeting nutrient requirements for whole households in rural Malawi from and the nutrient-level drivers thereof. From 2013 to 2017, we can identify a household least-cost diet only 60% of the time with an average cost of $2.32/person/day (2011 US$ PPP). We illustrate that larger households have more diverse nutrient needs and face a higher cost for 1000 calories of a sufficiently nutrient dense diet. Shadow price analysis shows riboflavin to be the costliest nutrient in the market. We use policy scenarios to understand what drives the infeasibility and high cost. Simulating the impact of selenium soil biofortification of maize results in a feasibl

SUBMITTER: Schneider KR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9763653 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature