Influence of Capacity Building on Nutrition Sensitivity of the Municipal Agriculture Development Plan in Calabarzon, Philippines:

The Philippine Agricultural Scientist; Kim Leonard dela Luna; Maria Theresa Talavera; Leila Africa; Clarissa Juanico; Nancy Tandang; Marison Felicidad Dy

The Philippine Agricultural Scientist
Kim Leonard dela Luna Department of Nutrition, College of Public Health, University of the Philippines Manila; College of Human Ecology, Institute of Human Nutrition and Food, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna
Maria Theresa Talavera Department of NutritioCollege of Human Ecology, Institute of Human Nutrition and Food, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna
Leila Africa Department of Nutrition, College of Public Health, UniversityCollege of Human Ecology, Institute of Human Nutrition and Food, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna
Clarissa Juanico College of Human Ecology, Institute of Human Nutrition and Food, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna
Nancy Tandang College of Arts and Sciences, Institute of Statistics, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna
Marison Felicidad Dy College of Human Ecology, Department of Human and Family Development Studies, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna

Keywords: food and nutrition security, local agriculture planners, municipal agriculture development plan, nutrition-sensitive agriculture

Abstract

To improve the nutrition sensitivity of the Municipal Agriculture Development Plan (MADP) of Calabarzon, a one-group pre-test post-test design quasi-experimental study was conducted involving the Local Agriculture Planners (LAP) of 57 municipalities in the region from March to December 2021. Wilcoxon Paired Signed Rank was used to determine significant differences in the nutrition sensitivity of the MADP and level of knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy of the LAP before and after the intervention. Binary logistic regression analysis was also performed to model the change in the level of the nutrition sensitivity of the MADP. The LAP's level of knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy as well as the nutrition sensitivity of the MADP significantly improved after the capacity building. The study also found that the change in knowledge of municipal agriculturists may increase the nutrition sensitivity of the MADP by 28%. Therefore, capacitating LAP on nutrition-sensitive agriculture can significantly improve their capability to create local agriculture plans that are also nutrition-focused.