Enhancing Food Safety with AI: Insights from Nigeria's Agricultural Household Dietary Diversity

Objective: This study examined the determinants of Household Dietary Diversity Scores (HDDS) in agricultural households in Nigeria.Methodology: Secondary data was sourced from General Household survey Dataset, wave 1-4. A two-stage sampling design was used to select 3,600 households from 360 enumeration areas based on the 2006 Population Census frame. A High-Dimensional Fixed Effects (HDFE) regression model and Multivariate Probit model was used to analyze and present the data collected. Results: The model was highly significant (F-statistic: 223.73, p < 0.000), with an R-squared of 0.3057, indicating that 31% of the variance in HDDS was explained. The within R-squared (0.2353) showed that 23.5% of the variation in HDDS within geographical zones was explained by the independent variables. Key findings revealed that lagged HDDS (coefficient: 0.2304, p < 0.000), net income (p < 0.05), education (p < 0.01), and access to extension services (p < 0.01) had significant positive effects on dietary diversity. In contrast, household size had a weak negative effect, and household head age was not significant. Water source during the dry season significantly reduced HDDS (p < 0.01), highlighting the importance of water access. Sanitation facilities positively impacted HDDS (p < 0.05), while rural households showed marginally higher dietary diversity. Conclusion: The study emphasizes the importance of income, education, water access, and community services in enhancing food security and dietary diversity among agricultural households in Nigeria.