Despite the availability of affordable, nutrient-rich local foods and the implementation of nutritional policies, diets in Madagascar remain heavily rice dependent with less diversification, contributing to widespread nutritional deficiencies. While various studies have examined the determinants of dietary choices, limited attention has been given to behavioral factors, particularly individual risk and time preferences, that may sustain this rice-centric consumption pattern. This chapter first conceptualizes how food consumption choices and attributed diet quality are connected to individual risk and time preferences. Then it reports a field experiment conducted with 539 lowland rice farmers in central Madagascar, using hypothetical payments to elicit individual risk and time preferences. These behavioral data were combined with dietary quality measured by the Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS). Results reveal that individuals who are more risk averse and more impatient tend to exhibit significantly lower HDDS, suggesting that behavioral tendencies, such as the avoidance of perceived food-related risks or a preference for immediate satisfaction, may impede dietary diversification. These insights help to understand the limited transition of Malagasy diets and highlight the need to incorporate behavioral dimensions into nutrition interventions, offering a pathway to more effective policies in Madagascar and similarly affected regions where traditional strategies alone may fall short.