In this study, we investigated whether irrigated agriculture results in improved child nutrition outcomes among farm households in southern Ghana. Using panel data collected between 2014 and 2015, this study seeks to add to the growing body of literature on the determinants of irrigated agriculture adoption, its effects on child nutrition, and the potential pathways through which irrigation can affect child nutrition outcomes. The results from the inverse probability weighted regression adjustment (IPWRA) estimator suggest that children living in irrigating households have, on average, 0.23 standard deviations of weight-for-age and 0.27 standard deviations of weight-for-height higher than their counterparts; with males and under-five children gaining substantial improvements. Disaggregating irrigation by types, the results indicate that households planting on riverbeds or riverbanks had improved child nutrition. In contrast, children living with households lifting water from water sources had higher height-for-age and weight-for-age. Further analysis of the underlying pathways suggests that an increase in health care financing and improvement in environmental quality rather than decreases in illness incidence may be the crucial channels. Altogether, the findings show the importance of investments in agricultural development, particularly in small-scale irrigated agriculture technologies, to reduce childhood undernutrition.

在这项研究中，我们调查了灌溉农业是否能改善加纳南部农户的儿童营养状况。这项研究使用2014年至2015年间收集的面板数据，旨在增加有关灌溉农业采用的决定因素，其对儿童营养的影响以及灌溉可能影响儿童营养结果的潜在途径的文献资料。逆概率加权回归调整量（IPWRA）估计器的结果表明，生活在灌溉家庭中的儿童平均年龄的体重标准偏差为0.23，而身高体重的标准偏差平均为0.27。男性和5岁以下的儿童获得了长足的进步。按类型分类灌溉 结果表明，种植在河床或河岸上的家庭改善了儿童营养。相反，与家庭一起从水源取水的儿童的年龄高和年龄重更高。对基本途径的进一步分析表明，增加医疗保健筹资和改善环境质量而不是减少疾病发病率可能是关键途径。总之，调查结果表明，对农业发展，特别是对小型灌溉农业技术的投资，对于减少儿童营养不良至关重要。对基本途径的进一步分析表明，增加医疗保健筹资和改善环境质量而不是减少疾病发病率可能是关键途径。总之，调查结果表明，对农业发展，特别是对小型灌溉农业技术的投资，对于减少儿童营养不良至关重要。对基本途径的进一步分析表明，增加医疗保健筹资和改善环境质量而不是减少疾病发病率可能是关键途径。总之，调查结果表明，对农业发展，特别是对小型灌溉农业技术的投资，对于减少儿童营养不良至关重要。