Does organic farming jeopardize food security of farm households in Benin?

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Standard

Does organic farming jeopardize food security of farm households in Benin? / Aïhounton, Ghislain B.D.; Henningsen, Arne.

In: Food Policy, Vol. 124, 102622, 04.2024.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Harvard

Aïhounton, GBD & Henningsen, A 2024, 'Does organic farming jeopardize food security of farm households in Benin?', Food Policy, vol. 124, 102622. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2024.102622

APA

Aïhounton, G. B. D., & Henningsen, A. (2024). Does organic farming jeopardize food security of farm households in Benin? Food Policy, 124, [102622]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2024.102622

Vancouver

Aïhounton GBD, Henningsen A. Does organic farming jeopardize food security of farm households in Benin? Food Policy. 2024 Apr;124. 102622. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2024.102622

Author

Aïhounton, Ghislain B.D. ; Henningsen, Arne. / Does organic farming jeopardize food security of farm households in Benin?. In: Food Policy. 2024 ; Vol. 124.

Bibtex

@article{a7e0841740074aab8bcdcfe2f1771998,
title = "Does organic farming jeopardize food security of farm households in Benin?",
abstract = "The prevalence of organic farming and other sustainability standards is increasing around the globe. While effects of organic farming on productivity, income, and poverty alleviation have been analyzed in numerous empirical studies, its effects on food security are barely understood. Using data from smallholder cotton farmers in Benin, we aim to empirically investigate how adopting organic farming affects their food security. According to our results, organic farming is conditionally associated with a notably lower experienced food security and a slightly lower dietary diversity and consumption of vitamin A-rich foods. Evaluating pathways, we find that the negative conditional association between organic farming and food security is a result of a lower household income of organic farms due to lower income from cotton farming given a smaller land area cultivated with cotton, while a larger land area cultivated with food crops cannot fully compensate for the reduced income from cotton farming. This alarming result illustrates the need for evaluating and eventually improving programs for organic farming in developing countries to ensure that good intentions for more sustainable production practices do not jeopardize the livelihoods of vulnerable smallholder farmers.",
keywords = "Dietary diversity, Farm households, Food security, Organic farming",
author = "A{\"i}hounton, {Ghislain B.D.} and Arne Henningsen",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2024 The Author(s)",
year = "2024",
month = apr,
doi = "10.1016/j.foodpol.2024.102622",
language = "English",
volume = "124",
journal = "Food Policy",
issn = "0306-9192",
publisher = "Pergamon Press",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Does organic farming jeopardize food security of farm households in Benin?

AU - Aïhounton, Ghislain B.D.

AU - Henningsen, Arne

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s)

PY - 2024/4

Y1 - 2024/4

N2 - The prevalence of organic farming and other sustainability standards is increasing around the globe. While effects of organic farming on productivity, income, and poverty alleviation have been analyzed in numerous empirical studies, its effects on food security are barely understood. Using data from smallholder cotton farmers in Benin, we aim to empirically investigate how adopting organic farming affects their food security. According to our results, organic farming is conditionally associated with a notably lower experienced food security and a slightly lower dietary diversity and consumption of vitamin A-rich foods. Evaluating pathways, we find that the negative conditional association between organic farming and food security is a result of a lower household income of organic farms due to lower income from cotton farming given a smaller land area cultivated with cotton, while a larger land area cultivated with food crops cannot fully compensate for the reduced income from cotton farming. This alarming result illustrates the need for evaluating and eventually improving programs for organic farming in developing countries to ensure that good intentions for more sustainable production practices do not jeopardize the livelihoods of vulnerable smallholder farmers.

AB - The prevalence of organic farming and other sustainability standards is increasing around the globe. While effects of organic farming on productivity, income, and poverty alleviation have been analyzed in numerous empirical studies, its effects on food security are barely understood. Using data from smallholder cotton farmers in Benin, we aim to empirically investigate how adopting organic farming affects their food security. According to our results, organic farming is conditionally associated with a notably lower experienced food security and a slightly lower dietary diversity and consumption of vitamin A-rich foods. Evaluating pathways, we find that the negative conditional association between organic farming and food security is a result of a lower household income of organic farms due to lower income from cotton farming given a smaller land area cultivated with cotton, while a larger land area cultivated with food crops cannot fully compensate for the reduced income from cotton farming. This alarming result illustrates the need for evaluating and eventually improving programs for organic farming in developing countries to ensure that good intentions for more sustainable production practices do not jeopardize the livelihoods of vulnerable smallholder farmers.

KW - Dietary diversity

KW - Farm households

KW - Food security

KW - Organic farming

U2 - 10.1016/j.foodpol.2024.102622

DO - 10.1016/j.foodpol.2024.102622

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85189519277

VL - 124

JO - Food Policy

JF - Food Policy

SN - 0306-9192

M1 - 102622

ER -

ID: 389408722