Homestead Food Production and Maternal and Child Dietary Diversity in Nepal: Variations in Association by Season and Agroecological Zone.

<bold>Background: </bold>Suaahara, a large-scale integrated program, aimed to improve diets and nutritional status among women and children, in part by facilitating enhanced homestead food production (EHFP).<bold>Objective: </bold>This study examines associations between EHFP and maternal and child dietary diversity and variations by season and agroecological zone (AEZ): mountains and terai.<bold>Methods: </bold>We used data from household monitoring surveys (n = 2101 mothers; n = 994 children, 6-23 months), which included a 7-day dietary recall and maternal report on participation in 5 EHFP activities-received vegetable seeds, chicks, and technical support and participated in training and EHFP groups. We constructed binary variables for each activity and a scale (0-5) summing participation. For dietary diversity, we used the Women's Dietary Diversity Score using 10 food groups and 7 food groups for child diets. Multivariable linear regression analyses were used to assess associations between EHFP participation and dietary diversity by season and AEZ, controlling for potential confounders and clustering.<bold>Results: </bold>In adjusted models, we found positive associations between dietary diversity and chicks, technical support, and EHFP beneficiary groups; the magnitude of the associations varied by season and AEZ. The degree of participation in 5 EHFP activities was positively associated with maternal dietary diversity in the terai (β = .24, P < .001) and mountains (β = .12, P = .01) and child dietary diversity in the terai (β = .35, P < .001) during the winter. No associations were found in the rainy season.<bold>Conclusion: </bold>Our findings highlight the potential for EHFP to address dietary diversity constraints among this population. Variation by subnational setting and seasonality suggest that policies and programs should be contextualized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]