Impact of irrigation on farm household diet quality: Evidence from Ethiopia

In theory, irrigation could affect farm households' nutritional status in either direction. On the one hand, irrigation may improve nutritional status by boosting farm productivity and household income. On the other hand, it may deter diet quality by shifting farmers' attention from nutrition-rich food to cash crops. This study examines the impact of irrigation schemes on farm households' nutritional status using nationally representative data from Ethiopia. Using the endogenous switching regression model, the study shows that irrigation improves diet quality. In addition, the study also identifies the production of micronutrient-rich crops such as vegetables and fruit and the adoption of productivity-enhancing inputs as the main pathways through which irrigation affects dietary quality. Hence, irrigation can be considered a viable instrument to enhance the diet quality of smallholders, and efforts should be made to tackle constraints that impede the adoption of irrigation technologies.