Nationally Representative Estimates of the Cost of Adequate Diets, Nutrient Level Drivers, and Policy Options for Households in Rural Malawi

A growing literature uses the cost of diets to evaluate how effectively a food system supports access nutritious foods. We identify baseline levels, nutrient drivers, and potential policy-induced changes in feasibility meeting requirements for whole households based on aggregate needs rural Malawi from 2013 – 2017. determine availability nutrient-adequate diet each month using price composition foods available at nearest market. run more than 1 million models total, one every household under eight policy simulation scenarios. find containing adequate nutrients families be 60% time 2013–2017, when available, costing an average $2.32/person/day (2011 US$ PPP). Further, we illustrate that as grow size diversity member types, acquire 1,000 calories sufficiently dense increases. Our simulations reveal selenium is hindering balanced essential nutrients, but riboflavin costliest obtain market least-cost available. estimate soil biofortification maize would result nearly universally (94%) half ($1.22/person/day average). This far exceeds impact or including eggs, milk, groundnuts, dried fish. No other scenario improves 1% reduction. Of direct relevance agriculture nutrition Malawi, this study demonstrates shad-ow prices individual retail markets can used barriers accessing impacts options.