Available online 28 October 2022, 102691

We examine the negative child health impacts of soil zinc (Zn) deficiency in Nepal. Soil Zn deficiency limits both crop yields and the Zn concentration in food crops, leading many to speculate that it underlies human Zn deficiency and child stunting, globally and particularly in South Asia. We find strong evidence that soil Zn deficiency does have a causal impact on child stunting in Nepal’s Tarai region, the breadbasket of the country. Using causal bounds, we find that a 1 part per million increase in plant-available soil Zn — achievable with application of Zn-enriched fertilizer — decreases child stunting by between 1 and 7.5 percentage points. Multiple statistical sensitivity tests indicate that this relationship is unlikely to be manufactured by omitted, relevant variables.

Micronutrient deficiency

Human–environment

Disease ecology

Soil fertility

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