Zambia and particularly the Eastern province have one of the highest rates of malnutrition in the
world. The most vulnerable are the children from rural households which depend entirely on
seasonal agricultural production and income, and survive on diets that are deficiency in proteins
and other important nutrients. Agricultural diversification and commercialization provide
alternative strategies for sustainable all-year-round household food and income availability.
Applying Propensity Score Marching (PSM) and Generalized Propensity Score (GPS), this
article evaluates the impact of agricultural diversification (in terms of calorie and protein
production) and commercialization on reducing malnutrition in the Eastern province of Zambian.
We use a uniquely rich dataset that comprises socioeconomic, agricultural and anthropometric
data of 1120 children from five districts in the Eastern province.