Bakhtsiyarava, Maryia; Grace, Kathryn; Nawrotzki, Raphael 2017. Does Agricultural Specialization Matter? A Comparative Analysis of the Relationship Between Climate Change, Agricultural Specialization, and Children's Health in Kenya and Mali.

As climate change advances, its effects on agriculture and nutrition outcomes should be considered in research. A particular focus in climate change research has been on how changes in the amount and distribution of rainfall change agricultural production in poor countries. These changes are particularly dire among farmers who are dependent on rainfall rather than irrigation. Households specializing in either cash or food crop production may exhibit different levels of vulnerability to weather shocks. Specialization in cash crop cultivation may provide households with ready cash to purchase food and other necessary items even in the years of bad harvests as opposed to food cropping, where most of the harvest is consumed within the household. Here, we combine detailed information on agricultural specialization and climate change in Kenya and Mali to investigate in what ways agricultural specialization in either cash crop or food crop production influences children’s health.