21112 research outputs found
Sort by
A guide to developing quantitative tools for measuring: Gender norms in agrifood systems
No full textIncreasingly, gender transformative approaches (GTAs), which seek to transform the underlying causes of gender inequalities, including discriminatory gender norms, are being used in agrifood systems (AFS) interventions. A growing body of evidence finds that GTAs contribute to positive impacts on a wide range of important development outcomes and have potential for improving gender equality. One limitation to better understanding changes in AFS-based gender norms as a result of GTAs is a lack of appropriate quantitative tools for measuring these norms. This work is an important step in filling that gap. Herein we detail the collaborative process that we undertook in Nigeria and Tanzania to develop a quantitative approach to measuring gender norms in the cassava, poultry, and fisheries value chains in each country. We then provide guidance for how implementing and research partners using GTAs in AFS can apply our learnings to their own work.Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion (PGI); Natural Resources and Resilience (NRR
Varietal turnover in potato and its effect on yield: Evidence from household surveys in India
No full textPotato remains a crucial crop for achieving India’s food security goals and generating income for small-scale farmers. But India, the largest potato producer after China, remains behind many of its peers in attaining high yield. A low varietal replacement rate could be one of the major reasons for low yield in India. This critical issue warrants investigation, yet empirical results remain limited in the Indian context. Drawing on data from a comprehensive field survey of 892 potato growing farmers conducted in 2018–19 across five major potato-producing states in India, we find the determinants of the average area-weighted age of potato varieties used, and their impact on potato yield. The instrumental variable regression analysis establishes a negative association between varietal age and yield of potato. It also underscores the importance of access to weather forecast and linkages with agricultural organizations to achieve higher yield. Furthermore, it shows that household size, links to political party, and information about new seeds from friends, progressive farmers and input dealers are associated with lower varietal age. These insights will be instrumental for policymakers and potato breeders in promoting sustainable agricultural practices and boosting food security in India amidst the impending demographic challenges.Development Strategies and Governance (DSG); SA
Food processing: A stalled transformation
No full textDevelopment Strategies and Governance (DSG); Foresight and Policy Modeling (FPM
Livestock, capture fisheries, and aquaculture: status and recent trends
No full textLivestock rearing and fishing have been central components of rural livelihoods in Myanmar for centuries and remain so today. More capital-intensive forms of marine fishing, aquaculture, and poultry farming began to expand during the early 1990s and have grown briskly since then. Poultry and aquaculture commoditization accelerated between 2011 and 2019, stimulated by the demand-side pull of rapid income growth and by foreign and domestic investment in areas such as feed milling and food retail (for example, businesses such as Kentucky Fried Chicken, which opened in Myanmar in 2015). However, despite recent growth, both sectors lag behind those in more developed countries in the region in technological sophistication, scale, and regulation.Development Strategies and Governance (DSG
Strengthening women’s empowerment, climate resilience, and nutrition along the goat value chain in Senegal: A qualitative study
No full textGoats are an important source of income, nutrition and resilience in Senegal. This study assesses opportunities to strengthen women’s agency, increase resilience to climate change, and improve nutrition along the various stages of goat value chains from the acquisition of feed resources and other inputs to processing, marketing and consumption of various goat products. The qualitative study finds that even though goats are more climate resilient than other livestock, climate change impacts on goat production and productivity are increasingly felt, particularly through impacts on feed resources. The study identified opportunities to strengthen women’s roles along the goat value chain, particularly in goat production and, to a lesser extent, in processing of goat products. Women and their families also benefit from the consumption of goat milk and women have some degree of control over income from the sale of goat products. Strengthening women’s agency in these nutrient-rich and relatively climate-resilient value chains will require improving their access to land resources and better animal feeds, supporting women’s groups and building women’s capacity for processing and marketing goat products, improving access to electricity for cold storage of goat products, and raising awareness regarding the nutritional benefits of goat products, especially for women and children.GCANNatural Resources and Resilience (NRR
Dietary quality and nutrition: past progress, current and future challenges
No full textThis is an embargoed publication available October 10, 2024. Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the military coup in 2021, Myanmar was experiencing a period of rapid economic growth and transformation in the wake of economic and political liberalization. Between 2005 and 2017, average annual growth in real GDP per capita was 7.8 percent, making Myanmar the fastest growing economy among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. Strong growth was accompanied by a halving of the national poverty rate between 2005 and 2017 from 48.2 to 24.8 percent (CSO, UNDP, and World Bank 2019). COVID19 and the economic and political shocks affecting the country since 2021 have led to an economic contraction: 2021 saw an 18 percent drop in real GDP per capita; in 2022, real GDP per capita was estimated to be 15 percent lower than in 2019 (World Bank 2022). The impacts on poverty were even more dire. A high-frequency panel phone survey of mothers and young children in urban Yangon and the rural Dry Zone revealed incomes collapsing during the COVID-19 lockdowns and further income losses in the wake of the February 2021 military takeover (Headey et al. 2022). Prices rose dramatically, with the consumer price index rising by 20 percent between July 2021 and July 2022 (MOPF 2022), while food prices rose by 34 percent over the same period and by about 50 percent between December 2021 and December 2022. Nationally, a variety of different poverty indicators suggest that between 40 and 50 percent of the population was living in poverty in 2022 —poverty rates similar to those found between 2005 and 2010.Development Strategies and Governance (DSG); Foresight and Policy Modeling (FPM
Diet quality and associations with motivation and ability to consume a healthy diet among adolescents from urban low-income households in Bangladesh
No full textIn low- and middle-income countries, particularly in urban areas, adolescent diets consist mainly of energy-dense and nutrient-poor foods, putting them at risk of malnutrition and non-communicable diseases (NCD). In Bangladesh, little is known about the diet quality of adolescents, their food choices and the drivers of such choices. This study assessed motivations and ability to consume a healthy diet among adolescent girls and boys from low-income urban families and how these drivers were associated with dietary diversity and diet quality. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 299 adolescents (15–19 years) from low-income households in Dhaka city during September–October 2020. The Diet Quality Questionnaire was used to collect non-quantitative food intake in the previous day or night to calculate diet quality indicators of food group diversity score, % of adolescents achieving minimum dietary diversity, NCD-Protect and NCD-Risk and the Global Dietary Recommendations score. Motivation was measured by 11 food choice motives. Ability was measured by belief in own ability to engage in healthy eating behaviors (self-efficacy). Adolescent diets showed a mean food group diversity of 4.9 out of 10, with 60% of adolescents achieving minimum dietary diversity, but lacked health-promoting foods (average of 2.7 out of 9 food groups) yet included few foods to avoid and limit (1.6 out of 9). Adolescents valued food choice motive ‘safety' the most, followed by ‘health', ‘taste', ‘price', ‘convenience' and ‘local or seasonal'. A higher motivation to consume ‘local or seasonal' and a lower motivation driven by ‘price', and a higher perceived self-efficacy were associated with better diet quality. Future interventions should address self-efficacy, concerns about food price and increase local and seasonal foods availability in the urban poor food environment of Dhaka to improve overall diet quality.DG
Observed trends in multiple breadbasket yield shocks
No full textExtreme climate events in breadbasket regions have become more frequent due to climate change, exposing crops to a greater frequency and intensity of abiotic stress. But by using observed crop yield statistics and an ensemble of statistical models, we demonstrate that over the last six decades the frequency of crop yield shocks in breadbasket regions has been decreasing due to both climate and non-climate factors. Here non-climate factors refer to interannual variability unrelated to abiotic stress, such as biotic stress and management decisions. We find that although the risk posed by extreme heat to crop yields has been increasing, this risk has been offset by changes to precipitation, extremely cold days, and average growing season temperature in many breadbaskets. As a result, total climate-related crop yield shocks have been decreasing for soybeans and wheat, while they have remained roughly constant for maize. Meanwhile, non-climate risks to crop yields have decreased in nearly every breadbasket region across crops. Because non-climate risks have decreased faster than climate risks, we find that the climate accounts for a greater proportion of crop yield shocks in the recent period (1991–2020) compared to an earlier period (1961–90). Our results indicate that extreme climate events are more important than ever to the relative stability of the food production system, even as the overall frequency of multiple breadbasket yield shocks decreases.Foresight and Policy Modeling (FPM
Men can cook: Effectiveness of a men’s engagement intervention to change attitudes and behaviors in rural Ethiopia
No full textGraduation model interventions seek to address multiple barriers constraining households’ exit from poverty, however, few explicitly target restrictive gender norms. Using a randomized controlled trial design, combined with three rounds of data, we investigate the impacts on gender equitable attitudes and behaviors of a graduation program that seeks to address multiple constraints for those in poverty and improve restrictive gender norms in Ethiopia. We find that at 1-year follow-up all treatment arms lead to improvements in men’s gender equitable attitudes and their engagement in household domestic tasks as reported by both men and women; but at 3-year follow-up, impacts are only sustained in the treatment arms that introduced men’s engagement groups after the 1-year follow-up survey to further promote improvements in equitable gender norms.SPIRPoverty, Gender, and Inclusion (PGI