Recent research papers published by AVRDC authors
School gardening in Bhutan: Evaluating outcomes and impact
The combined effect of school gardens linked to complementary lessons and promotional activities on the eating behavior and nutritional status of 9- to 15-year-old schoolchildren in Bhutan was studied. Data from 468 schoolchildren in 9 control and 9 treatment schools was collected following a randomized controlled trial design. We found that the school gardening intervention significantly increased children’s awareness about vegetables, their knowledge about sustainable agriculture, and their preferences for healthier foods. There was an 11.7-percentage point increase in the probability that children included vegetables in their meals (p < 0.05), but not in the number of different fruits or vegetables consumed.