Files
Abstract
Assessing the impacts of Food-for-Work (FFW) on human capital formation depends on understanding the
specific nutritional contributions of FFW to the overall diet of FFW participant households. However, empirical
studies in this area are very scant. This paper is an attempt to fill such gap. The primary objectives are to measure
the magnitude of the FFW contribution to participants' nutritional status. Primary data collected from a random
sample of 300 farm-households in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya are used. A linear programming model is used
to estimate the shadow prices of nutrients. These prices are then entered into an econometric model of consumer
demand for nutrients in order to estimate own and cross-price elasticities for each nutrient component.
The results indicate that FFW significantly improves the nutritional status of FFW participant households. More
specifically, participants experienced an implicit income gain, which resulted in a significant nutritional improvement.
The poorest FFW participant households exhibited even higher nutritional gains (32.46%) than those
participants from relatively higher income groups. FFW participant households showed a 90% higher propensity to
spend on nutrients than the non-FFW participants. The findings of this study are expected to assist in the design of
future 'targeted' food aid projects.