Dietary diversity status and asset accumulation of farm households: Insights from market orientation contexts in Ethiopia

Abstract This study analyzes the impact of market participation on dietary diversity status and asset ownership (in terms of monetary value) of small‐scale fruit farmers in Ethiopia. It is based on an analysis of cross‐sectional data collected from 161 randomly selected farm households. We employed a mixed research approach and concurrent research design. The study used a relatively more robust regression model to prevent bias resulting from potential self‐selection, enhancing the reliability of the results. The descriptive analysis indicates that local measurement units for fruits vary, including volumetric units (e.g., basket), weight measures (e.g., sack), weight‐based units (e.g., kilogram), and counting methods. The data on post‐harvest wastage shows that 26.1% of the yield was lost. The regression result shows that market orientation had not brought any significant impact on the households' asset accumulation, while the dietary diversity status of participants was significantly improved by 0.290 compared to non‐participants. This suggests that developing effective fruit production policies and facilitating market access for small‐scale producers is crucial, thereby contributing to asset accumulation. The significant correlation between market orientation and dietary diversity suggests that selling apple fruits can help farmers improve their household's nutritional status. In conclusion, by understanding the potential of apple fruit production and marketing in the study areas, stakeholders can develop context‐specific interventions and policies that promote agricultural sustainability and improve households' nutrition status.