Agroecological pathways to nutrition: does agroecological transition automatically translate to better diets? Evidence from smallholder farmers in Vihiga County, Kenya

Despite growing evidence supporting the positive impact of agroecology on economy, environment, and society, evidence on dietary influence remains limited. This study assesses how household-level agroecological practices link with dietary outcomes in Vihiga County, Kenya. Agroecology was assessed using the Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation (TAPE) on a random sample of 239 households across 14 sublocations. Diets were assessed through a 24-hour dietary recall. Analyses included mixed-effect regressions, moderation/mediation tests, and structural equation modeling. Overall, adoption of agroecological practices showed no association with dietary outcomes, but agroecological diversity practices positively correlated with dietary diversity and dietary species richness. Practices related to the synergies dimension were negatively associated with dietary diversity, while “culture and food traditions” practices were positively associated with global dietary recommendations. Education moderated agroecological diversity’s relationship with diets, with stronger benefits for lower-educated households. Higher food expenditure weakened agroecology’s relationship with dietary species richness and diversity. Findings underscore the complexity of translating agroecological practices into improved dietary outcomes. Addressing systemic barriers and supportive public policies are key to ensuring agroecology delivers on its promise as driver of sustainable, nutrition-sensitive food-systems transformation. Future research should explore how socio-economic dynamics, markets, food environment and household decision-making influence pathways from agroecology to nutrition.