This study explores the impact of agriculture production on food consumption amongst rural households in Babille district, East Hararghe, Ethiopia. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was used to analyse information on production, consumption and income in two consecutive seasons. Diets in the area are dominated by cereals, while consumption of high-value foods such as meat, eggs, fruits, vitamin A-rich vegetables and dark green leafy vegetables was found to be extremely limited, indicating a risk of nutrient deficiencies. Food consumption was assessed in terms of dietary diversity and frequency of consumption, expressed in terms of the household Food Consumption Score (FCS). Important differences were found between households in the same area, and between pre-harvest and post-harvest seasons. Households with adequate food consumption tended to produce greater numbers of crops, own more livestock and earn more cash income compared to households in lower food consumption categories. Nutritionally important foods such as groundnut, eggs and fruit tend to be sold via local markets, and production of a particular food type was no guarantee that household would consume that food. Households depend heavily on the market to supplement their own food production, with most household expenditure going towards the purchase of cereals. Regression analysis indicated that food consumption is positively associated with agriculture output, but also with other factors such as size of landholding and farm income. The paper concludes with recommendations for improving the dietary outcomes for farm households in developing areas such as Babille, including a reconsideration of the balance between consumption and sale of agricultural outputs, and the need for more, and better targeted, agricultural support services.

中文翻译：

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农业对家庭饮食多样性的贡献：来自埃塞俄比亚东哈拉格小农的证据

本研究探讨了农业生产对埃塞俄比亚东哈拉格省 Babille 区农村家庭食品消费的影响。采用定量和定性相结合的方法对连续两个季节的生产、消费和收入信息进行分析。该地区的饮食以谷物为主，而肉类、蛋类、水果、富含维生素 A 的蔬菜和深绿叶蔬菜等高价值食物的消费量极其有限，表明存在营养缺乏的风险。根据饮食多样性和消费频率评估食品消费，以家庭食品消费评分 (FCS) 表示。在同一地区的家庭之间以及收获前和收获后季节之间发现了重要差异。与粮食消费量较低的家庭相比，粮食消费充足的家庭往往生产更多的农作物、拥有更多的牲畜并赚取更多的现金收入。花生、鸡蛋和水果等营养重要的食物往往通过当地市场出售，生产特定类型的食物并不能保证家庭会消费这种食物。家庭严重依赖市场来补充自己的粮食生产，大部分家庭支出用于购买谷物。回归分析表明，食品消费与农业产出呈正相关，但也与其他因素如土地持有规模和农场收入呈正相关。该论文最后提出了改善发展中地区（如 Babille）农户饮食结果的建议，