Does the adoption of homestead gardening increase dietary diversity in climate‑vulnerable coastal areas? Evidence from Bangladesh

Abstract

Coastal areas are not conducive to cultivating a variety of crops due to the occurrence of natural disasters. Therefore, homestead gardening has the potential to increase food production and consumption in coastal households, thereby enhancing climate resilience. Adopting homestead gardening as an adaptation measure for climate change can improve food security in climate-vulnerable areas. This study identified factors associated with the adoption of homestead gardening and their impacts on dietary diversity in coastal areas of Bangladesh. A total of 750 coastal households were surveyed. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics, household dietary diversity score, endogenous switching regression model, and propensity score matching method were applied. According to the results, only 14.26% of coastal households adopted homestead gardening. The likelihood of adoption was increased by factors, such as age, spousal education, own cultivable land size, salinity perception, and mobile phone ownership. Results of the endogenous switching regression model indicated that the adopters of homestead gardens had a 13-point greater mean probability of a higher household dietary diversity score than the non-adopters. Results of the propensity score matching also showed a nearly identical finding. A strong extension service that uses modern information technology is required to disseminate homestead gardening technology in coastal areas. Climate change awareness initiatives are recommended to raise households cognizance on the negative effects of climate change, which in turn helps increase the adoption of homestead gardening as an adaptation measure.