Unraveling the Sikasso Paradox: Agricultural Change and Malnutrition in Sikasso Mali

摘要

When cash cropping leads to agricultural and livelihood changes the Global South, concern about food security is common among policymakers. This is indeed the case in the Sikasso region of Mali, where many have suggested that the ubiquitous cash crop cotton is a cause of the unexpectedly high rates of malnutrition in the region. Using household and forest surveys, we found little evidence that cotton cultivation is associated with malnutrition or decreased food security at a household level, but we did find evidence of a co-association between cotton cultivation, loss of natural capital and malnutrition at the village level.