Survey data supporting the publication: Governance Depth as the Missing Link: Why Ethiopia’s Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture Strategy Failed to Improve Dietary Outcomes

This manuscript presents a mixed-methods case study evaluation of Ethiopia's National Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture (NSA) Strategy (2017–2021), examining why high-level policy commitment failed to translate into sustained, equitable implementation at scale. The study employed a qualitative-dominant, sequential explanatory design, combining semi-structured key informant interviews (n=51) with federal and regional policymakers, program coordinators, development agents, and donor partners across four purposively selected regions, Amhara, Oromia, Sidama, and Somali, chosen to capture variation in agro-ecological zones (highland to pastoral), administrative capacity, and nutrition outcomes. Interviews were conducted between January and June 2022, audio-recorded with informed consent, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using thematic analysis with NVivo 12, guided by an a priori framework of five governance domains (leadership, financing, accountability, coordination, institutional capacity) while allowing emergent themes. To triangulate and supplement qualitative findings, the study descriptively analyzed secondary quantitative data from the Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS 2016 and 2019) for child dietary diversity scores (children aged 6–23 months), the Agricultural Sample Survey (2017–2021) for production trends of nutrient-dense crops, and annual government performance reports (2018–2021). Documentary analysis included the NSA Strategy document (FDRE, 2016b), the Food and Nutrition Strategy (FDRE, 2021), and the Seqota Declaration implementation plan. Ethical approval was obtained from Jimma University Institutional Review Board . All participants provided written informed consent, and data were anonymized prior to analysis. The study identifies financing and accountability as<em>binding constraints</em>using a causal cascade analytical technique, introducing the concept of<em>governance depth, </em>operationalized as the joint presence of dedicated predictable financing, outcome-oriented accountability systems, and institutionalized sub-national capacity. To ensure reproducibility, the interview guide, codebook, and detailed case selection criteria are provided in supplementary materials. Limitations include retrospective recall bias (mitigated through documentary triangulation), limited generalizability to conflict-affected areas (e.g., Tigray, parts of Amhara), and absence of primary household-level dietary data, which future research should address through integrated household and institutional surveys.

本研究采用混合方法案例研究范式，对埃塞俄比亚2017—2021年《国家营养敏感型农业（Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture, NSA）战略》展开评估，旨在剖析为何高层政策承诺未能转化为大规模、可持续且公平的落地实施。本研究采用以定性研究为主的顺序解释性研究设计，结合半结构化关键知情人访谈（n=51），访谈对象涵盖联邦及区域政策制定者、项目协调员、发展代理人员与捐赠方合作伙伴，访谈覆盖经目的性遴选的四个区域：阿姆哈拉、奥罗米亚、锡达马与索马里，这些区域的选取旨在覆盖农业生态区（从高地到牧区）、行政能力与营养结局的异质性。访谈于2022年1月至6月开展，经知情同意后进行录音，随后逐字转录；研究采用主题分析法，依托NVivo 12软件开展编码分析，分析框架预先设定为五大治理维度：领导力、融资、问责、协调与制度能力，同时允许涌现性主题的出现。为三角验证并补充定性研究结果，本研究对二手定量数据展开描述性分析：数据来源于2016与2019年埃塞俄比亚人口与健康调查（Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey, EDHS），用于分析6—23月龄儿童的膳食多样性得分；同时采用2017—2021年农业抽样调查数据，分析营养密集型作物的生产趋势；此外还纳入2018—2021年政府年度绩效报告相关数据。文献分析涵盖《国家营养敏感型农业战略》文件（FDRE, 2016b）、《粮食与营养战略》（FDRE, 2021）以及《塞科塔宣言》实施计划。本研究已获得吉马大学机构审查委员会的伦理审批。所有参与者均签署了书面知情同意书，且分析前已对数据进行匿名化处理。本研究采用因果级联分析技术，识别出融资与问责机制为约束性瓶颈，并引入治理深度这一概念，其操作化定义为：具备专门化可预测的融资渠道、以结果为导向的问责体系，以及制度化的次国家层面能力。为确保研究可复现，本研究的访谈提纲、编码手册与详细的案例遴选标准均已附于补充材料中。本研究存在一定局限：包括回顾性回忆偏倚（已通过文献三角验证予以缓解）、研究结果难以推广至受冲突影响地区（如提格雷、阿姆哈拉部分区域），以及缺乏住户层面的原始膳食数据，未来可通过整合住户与机构调查来弥补这一不足。