Most of the control variables are in line with those used by Michalopoulos and Papaioannou [27], the key exception being the land suitability index. We hypothesize that the rich soil **data** in this study, and subsequent factors delineated in the previous section, are both a better proxy for land suitability and are more relevant to examining the effect on health and nutrition-related dependent variables. Moreover, the soil **data** itself is a function of various climatic and geophysical **data** such as temperature and rainfall differences (see [18] for more details). This does not invalidate our approach, but rather adds a logical layer of causality to the posited chain of causality. Thus, climatic and geophysical variables shape local soil nutrient contents, which determine agricultural potential and production, which in turn defines nutrient availability for local consumption and eventually determines nutrition and health outcomes.