21112 research outputs found
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Women's seed entrepreneurship in aquaculture, maize, and poultry value chains in Ghana, Kenya, and Tanzania
No full textSeed systems are essential to bring good genetic material to farmers. Women farmers, however, have benefited less than men farmers from seed systems in low and middle income countries. We identify factors that inhibit and promote women's success in seed businesses through three case studies of women's and men's entrepreneurship across seed-related value chains and country contexts: tilapia seed production in Ghana, marketing and trading of improved maize and sorghum seeds in Kenya, and chicken seed dissemination in Tanzania. Applying a gender lens, we use key informant interviews and focus group discussions to analyze women's and men's motivations to engage in seed businesses, the challenges they confront to start and build their enterprises, and prospects for sustainability and continued success. We use quantitative data to characterize the levels of empowerment of the agripreneurs sampled. For women, the results show that the social normative context of the sector is critical. Time flexibility and profitability are important considerations for women's engagement. Furthermore, across all three country cases, family and external support are frequently key to women's participation and success in seed agripreneurship. The article discusses the importance of government bodies, NGOs, and donors in challenging the normative context around gender resource gaps, as well as provide technical packages and training to develop business acumen. Supporting change of restrictive gender norms in non-threatening ways - such as ICTs - is key.Innovation Policy and Scaling (IPS); Transformation Strategies; Markets, Trade, and Institutions (MTI
Resilience of social transfer programs to large unexpected shocks
No full textLarge, unexpected shocks are becoming more frequent, making the design of robust social transfer programs more vital than ever. We evaluate the performance of the Food Friendly Program (FFP), the largest in-kind social transfer program in Bangladesh, before and during the nation-wide COVID-19 lockdown. Using two-rounds of nationally representative household surveys combined with administrative data, we document that high leakages and large welfare losses are related to corruption. This contrasts with the performance of the pre-lockdown FFP, when leakage was low and coverage high. We then compare the performance of the FFP with two initiatives launched following the pandemic: an in-kind and cash transfer program, respectively. These programs have markedly higher levels of leakage than the FFP. Our findings are relevant to other large shocks, such as those caused by climate change, and have important policy implications for the design and delivery of transfer programs in developing countries characterized by institutional weaknesses.Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion (PGI); Food and Nutrition Policy; Development Strategies and Governance (DSG
Assessing the economics of fuel for food: Approaches to assessment of time allocations for household chores and roles
No full textDevelopment Strategies and Governance (DSG
Making complementary agricultural resources, technologies, and services more gender-responsive
No full textRural women in low- and middle-income countries face multiple constraints in accessing and benefiting from essential complementary resources, technologies, and services for agricultural production and participation in the agrifood system. This paper highlights recent thinking around these constraints and how to overcome them. The complementary factors we consider are: (1) networks and social capital, (2) information and communications technologies, (3) other agricultural tech nologies, (4) agricultural extension and advisory services, (5) financial services, and (6) social assistance. We first analyze constraints women face in accessing and benefiting from these complementary factors and describe the potential benefits of reducing these constraints and gender inequities in the agrifood system. We then provide evidence on what has been effective for improving women’s access to and ability to benefit from the six complementary factors. We conclude by highlighting the importance of considering the different preferences of men and women when designing policies and interventions; challenging customs, norms and perceptions; and reforming formal rules and institutions toward more inclusive agrifood systems.Innovation Policy and Scaling (IPS); Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion (PGI
It's all in the stars: The Chinese zodiac and the effects of parental investments on offspring's cognitive and noncognitive skill development
No full textParental investments in children's cognitive and noncognitive outcomes are deeply important to policymakers. However, because parental investments are arguably endogenous, estimating their importance empirically poses a challenge. To address this challenge, this paper exploits a rich and novel dataset, the China Family Panel Studies, and proposes a culture‐specific instrumental variable based on the Chinese zodiac. By comparing the outcomes of children born just before and just after the cutoff for a “lucky” (or ‘unlucky’) zodiac sign, we find that parents' investments have significant effects on offspring's development of both cognitive and noncognitive skills.Development Strategies and Governance (DSG
Understanding patterns of receipt and consumption of IFA supplements during pregnancy: Empirical considerations for measuring coverage
No full textObjectives: Daily iron-folic acid (IFA) supplementation during pregnancy is a core intervention in low- and middle-income countries. Yet, there is a concern of poor validity and biased population coverage estimates using maternal reports of total number of IFA supplements. This study examined patterns of IFA receipt and consumption among pregnant women in India and identified considerations for measuring coverage of IFA supplementation.Nutrition, Diets, and Health (NDH
Sustained underweight in rural areas and emergence of overweight in urban Ethiopian women: A multivariate analysis of EDHS data 2000–2016
No full textA growing body of evidence indicates the emergence of overweight/obesity in developing countries before the battle against undernutrition has been won. We conducted this study to quantify the reduction of underweight and the emergence of overweight among Ethiopian women from 2000 to 2016 and evaluate factors explaining the progress. We used the four Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys (2000–2016) to analyze body mass index (BMI) trends among women. Data from 43,815 non-pregnant, non-puerperal reproductive-age women was used to evaluate the linear change in BMI and changes in the percentage of overweight and underweight over time. Using multivariate decomposition analysis of change in underweight and overweight percentages, we identified sources of change in BMI in the past 16 years of the survey periods. The BMI of Ethiopian reproductive-age women increased by 0.88 kg/m2 from 2000 to 2016. The increment was pronounced in urban areas with 1.46 kg/m2. There has been a significant reduction in underweight women since 2000 (p-value < 0.001), and 87.62% of the changes were attributed to behavioral changes toward weight management. And there was a significant upswing in overweight women from 2000 to 2016 (p-value < 0.001) as well. A compositional change of factors including region, women’s age, women’s educational status, religion, type of place of residence, and use of contraceptives contributed to 57.51% of the observed increment in the percentage of overweight women. A relatively slow decrease in underweight and an increment in overweight have been observed. This progress can be disaggregated into persistent underweight in the rural and poorest, and swift development of overweight in the urban and richest communities. Targeted nutrition interventions for both underweight and overweight women are mandatory. Nutritional interventions in Ethiopia should focus on behavioral change to reduce hunger and malnutrition as well as to avert the emergence of overweight or obesity in the affected communities.Development Strategies and Governance (DSG
Papua New Guinea food price bulletin: October 2024
No full textThis report provides an analysis of food price trends for the third quarter of 2024, covering the period from July to September. During this quarter, two rounds of data were collected per month from Kokopo, Banz, and Port Moresby in July and August. However, in September, only one round of data was collected from all markets except Port Moresby (no data collected). Only one round of data was collected in Goroka for each month in the 3rd quarter. In Lae, food price data was collected only once in August for the entire third quarter. These data gaps affect the comparability of the reported price trend and caution should be used to draw conclusions on price fluctuations. The graphs in this bulletin show price changes within the third quarter and compare the third quarter prices with the second quarter of 2024, between April and June. To access the complete food price dataset and interactive food price graphing tool, please visit our website.PNGSSPDevelopment Strategies and Governance (DSG
Revolutionising multi-sectoral nutrition policy: Insights from the Ethiopian National Information Platform for Nutrition
No full textThe global nutrition and food security crisis, characterised by troubling trends in various forms of malnutrition ranging from hunger to obesity, has significantly worsened [1,2]. In 2021 and 2022, nearly one-third of the global population faced moderate to severe food insecurity, underscoring a persistent challenge in accessing healthy and sustainable diets [1,3]. This decline in diet quality has led to a surge in malnutrition, with obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) reaching epidemic proportions [4–6].Development Strategies and Governance (DSG
A framework for cost-effectiveness analysis of greenhouse gas mitigation measures in dairy industry with an application to dairy farms in China
No full textDevelopment Strategies and Governance (DSG