title: Cash and in-kind transfers in poor rural communities in Mexico increase household fruit, vegetable, and micronutrient consumption but also lead to excess energy consumption.
abstract: Conditional transfer programs are increasingly popular, but the impact on household nutrient consumption has not been studied. We evaluated the impact of the Programa de Apoyo Alimentario (PAL), a cash and in-kind transfer program, on the energy and nutrient consumption of poor rural households in Mexico. The program has been shown to reduce poverty. Beneficiary households received either a food basket (including micronutrient-fortified milk) or cash. A random sample of 206 rural communities in Southern Mexico was randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups: a monthly food basket with or without health and nutrition education, a cash transfer with a cost to the government equivalent to the food basket (14 USD/mo) with education, or control. The impact after 14 mo of exposure was estimated in a panel of 5823 households using a double difference regression model with household fixed effects. PAL was associated with increases (P < 0.01) in the consumption of total energy (5-9%), energy from fruits and vegetables (24-28%), and energy from animal source foods (24-39%). It also affected iron, zinc, and vitamin A and C consumption (P < 0.05). The consumption of energy and all nutrients was greater in the food basket group (P < 0.05). Cash and in-kind transfers in populations that are not energy-deficient should be carefully redesigned to ensure that pulling poor families out of poverty leads to improved micronutrient intake but not to increased energy consumption.
authors.affiliation: Poverty, Health, and Nutrition Division, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC 20006, USA. j.leroy@cgiar.org
authors.forename: Jef L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Leroy
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gadsden
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Ramírez
authors.forename: Teresa González
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: de Cossío
mesh_terms: D003153:Community Health Services; D005190:Family; D005382:Financing, Personal; D005638:Fruit / Q000191:economics*; D006078:Government Programs; D006801:Humans; D008800:Mexico; D018977:Micronutrients / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000191:economics; D011203:Poverty; D011632:Public Assistance; D019035:Rural Health Services; D012424:Rural Population; D012946:Social Welfare; D014675:Vegetables / Q000191:economics*
chemical_list: D018977:Micronutrients