Agricultural extension is widely recognized as an important policy instrument for improving smallholder agricultural productivity; however, its effects on welfare outcomes, particularly women’s nutritional status, remain unclear. This study examines the effects of agricultural extension services on farm productivity and women’s nutrition among smallholder maize farmers in Tanzania. The analysis uses panel data from the Tanzania National Panel Survey (NPS) for 2014/15 and 2019/20 and applies fixed-effects models to control for unobserved time-invariant household characteristics. Women’s nutritional outcomes are measured using Body Mass Index (BMI) and the Food Consumption Score (FCS), while farm productivity is measured as maize yield per hectare. The results show that access to extension services significantly increases farm productivity. Based on the log-linear specification, households with access to extension services achieve approximately 79.1% higher productivity than those without access. In contrast, extension services have no statistically significant effect on women’s nutritional outcomes. These findings reveal a disconnect between gains in agricultural productivity and improvements in women’s nutrition. The results suggest that productivity-enhancing interventions alone may be insufficient to improve broader welfare outcomes, particularly women’s nutritional status. Therefore, agricultural policies should integrate nutrition education, promote dietary diversification, and strengthen market access to enhance the nutritional benefits of agricultural development.
Monica Sebastian Kauky (Sun,) studied this question.