Untangling the nexus between marketization, crop diversity, farmers’ wealth, and nutrition: the case of Uzbekistan

Lombardozzi, Lorena (2023). Untangling the nexus between marketization, crop diversity, farmers’ wealth, and nutrition: the case of Uzbekistan. Journal of International Development, 36(2) pp. 1489–1506.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3867

Abstract

The impact of marketization and resulting crop diversity loss on dietary diversity is at the centre of a rich debate in agricultural policies. However, more work is needed to unpack the multidimensional factors underpinning these processes. Indeed, the literature does not provide many examples of how state policies shaped marketization in agriculture and/or crop diversity , nor of their impacts on nutrition. This paper, by looking at the underexplored case of Uzbekistan, expands the analytical understanding of the nexus among those dimensions. First, by using quantitative methods, it evaluates the hypotheses that (a) wealth leads to higher dietary diversity; (b) agrarian marketization leads to lower dietary diversity; and (c) crop diversity leads to higher dietary diversity. Although measures for dietary diversity, crop diversity, agrarian marketization and wealth, constructed from a farmer’s survey, are positively correlated, regression analysis shows that only wealth is an independent determinant of dietary diversity. Second, the paper deploys qualitative data to unveil the state policies and social norms which explain those outcomes. It argues that state policies and social norms, by influencing food availability, knowledge, and nutritional values, are key elements to unpack the relations between agricultural marketization, crop diversity and dietary diversity.

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