Rute Caeiro
Nova School of Business and Economics
Pedro C. Vicente
Nova School of Business and Economics, NOVAFRIC and BREAD
ISSN 2183-0843
Working Paper No 1305
September 2013
Abstract
Vitamin A deficiency is a widespread public health problem in Sub- Saharan Africa. This paper analyses the impact of a food-based intervention to fight vitamin A deficiency using orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP). We conducted a randomized evaluation of OFSP-related training to female farmers in Mozambique, in which the treatment group was taught basic concepts of nutrition, and OFSP-planting and cooking skills. We found encouraging evidence of changes in behavior and attitudes towards OFSP consumption and planting, and considerable increases in nutrition-related knowledge, as well as knowledge on cooking and planting OFSP.
This working paper has been accepted for publication in the Agricultural Economics.