Heat shocks, maize yields, and child height in Tanzania

This paper advances previous literature that has posited a climate-nutrition link without identifying a specific pathway via agriculture. We measure the specific effects of exposure to extreme heat on maize yields in Tanzania, and then test whether prenatal heat-induced yield losses predict subseque...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Food security 2022-02, Vol.14 (1), p.93-109
Main Authors: Block, S., Haile, B., You, L., Headey, D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agriculture
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Body height
Body mass
Climate change
Corn
Crop yield
Environment
Exposure
Extreme heat
Food Science
Growing season
Heat
Heat affected zone
Intrauterine exposure
Life Sciences
Malnutrition
Nutrition
Original Paper
Plant Sciences
Social Policy
Social Sciences
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Summary:This paper advances previous literature that has posited a climate-nutrition link without identifying a specific pathway via agriculture. We measure the specific effects of exposure to extreme heat on maize yields in Tanzania, and then test whether prenatal heat-induced yield losses predict subsequent child growth outcomes. In the first stage we find that substituting one full day (24 h) exposure to 39 °C for a day at 29 degrees reduces predicted yield for the entire growing season by 6–11%. In the second stage we find that in utero exposure to growing degree days greater than 29 °C predicts lower postnatal HAZ scores for Tanzanian boys 0–5 years of age, but not girls. Consistent with a maternal malnutrition mechanism, we also find a negative association between maize yields and women’s body mass. Insofar as climate change is likely to increase the incidence of heat shocks in much of sub-Saharan Africa, our results suggest a significant risk of adverse nutritional impacts.
ISSN:1876-4517
1876-4525
DOI:10.1007/s12571-021-01211-6