Evidence linking agricultural production diversity (APD) to dietary diversity is scarce, but constitutes a potentially important contributor to improving dietary adequacy among women in low resource settings. Using cross-sectional data for 4,508 married women from a national nutrition surveillance system across 21 districts in 3 agro-ecological zones in Nepal, we assessed the extent to which high and low APD were associated with women's dietary adequacy (WDDS > 5 food groups) using multivariate logistic regression (adjusting for household food security, socioeconomic status, education, and food expenditure). There were no differences in WDDS between women in non-agricultural households vs. women in households with low APD scores (1-4) in any zone. In the terai, women in households with high APD (5-10 food groups) were twice as likely to have adequate WDDS as women in non-agricultural households (OR: 2.05; 95% CI 1.21 – 3.47, p=0.008). In mountain and terai zones, women from households with high APD were 1.62 (95% CI 1.07 – 2.45, p=0.023) and 1.81 (95% CI 1.12 – 2.94, p=0.016) times more likely, respectively, to have adequate WDDS than women in low APD households. In the hills, household APD had no significant effect on WDDS. Increases in household food security, socioeconomic status, education, and food expenditure were also associated with increased WDDS in each region. APD was positively associated with adequate WDDS in the mountains and terai, supporting a hypothesis that increased agricultural diversity may help improve dietary diversity of women in households. Supported by the USAID through the Nutrition Innovation Lab (prime Tufts Univ) and a Borlaug Fellowship through Purdue University's Center for Global Food Security.
Nepal is predominantly a patriarchal society; there are high levels of gender disparity, and women lag behind men both socially and economically. The Jyapu people (a sub-caste of the Newar ethnic group) constitute one of the largest ethnic groups in the Kathmandu Valley. This study explores the economic and social status of Jyapu women by examining their productive/economic roles, their social/community engagement, and their involvement in decision- making processes, with a particular focus on water use and the conservation of stone spouts and traditional wells. The study reveals that Jyapu women are not sufficiently empowered economically to play a major role in wider decision- making processes but that their involvement in community-based activities (including water conservation) and economic entrepreneurship is critical at the domestic and community levels. The study demonstrates that Jyapu women are the major users of traditional water resources and play an important role in the conservation process, possessing long- standing knowledge for climate-change adaptation practices.
While there is an increased awareness of the role of nutrition-sensitive agriculture (NSA) interventions on nutrition, the studies that investigate holistic pathways from interventions to nutrition outcomes are inadequate. We aimed to understand these pathways to improved nutrition from the Enhancing Nutrition of Upland Farming Families (ENUFF) Project implemented in northern Laos. We applied an embedded case study design by recruiting 101 participants representing implementers, school and private sector representatives, and beneficiaries, of which 34 participated in interviews and 68 participated in 11 FGDs. This was supplemented by a desk review of project documents. We analyzed the data using a directed content analysis across five pathways using a published framework on impact pathways from NSA interventions to nutrition outcomes. The project contributed to nutrition mainly through three core pathways-food production, nutrition and WASH-related knowledge, and agricultural income, supported by strengthening local institutions within the project’s scope. While it is evident that the project contributed to empowering women by saving their time and increasing income, further study is needed to investigate the translation of these aspects to nutrition-related practices. We also suggest the need to sustain the capacity of local institutions and their engagement beyond the project cycle. To enhance the effectiveness of NSA interventions on nutrition, there is a need to design and implement intervention package with multiple pathways and tailored strategies based on nutrition outcomes, the envisaged pathways, geographical context, and factors affecting these.
Increasing household income may increase the purchase of micronutrient-dense fruits, vegetables, and animal foods in low income countries, but evidence supporting this link is limited. Using data from 4,286 households (HH) assessed in a national survey of 21 Village Development Committees across 3 agro-ecological zones in Nepal (May-Jul 2013), we assessed associations between HH wealth (socioeconomic status quintiles) and expenditure on specific foods. Results were stratified by zone, sex of head of HH and maternal education, tested by the Wilcoxon rank sum test. Reported median (IQR) monthly food expenditure was USD$60 (34-104), with $17 (4-35) spent on staples; $10 (3-20) on meat; $8 (3-16) on fruits & vegetables; $5 (3-8) on oils; $3 (0-7) on legumes; $2 (0.7-4) on snacks; $0 (0-1) on eggs; $0 (0-5) on dairy; $4 (2-10) on alcohol, soda, juice, sugar, and tea, inclusive. In HHs above the highest vs lowest wealth quintiles, staples expenditure was higher in HHs headed by males (p=.0006), located in the mountains (p<.01), and with women with no (p<.01) or secondary education (p=.02). Expenditure on fruits & vegetables, meats, dairy, and eggs was higher in HHs above the highest vs below the lowest quintile, across each stratum of zone, sex of head of HH and education. While changes in staple purchases between wealth groups varied by zone and HH factors; fruits, vegetables, dairy, and meats were more likely to be purchased by HHs of greatest vs least wealth in all zones and by all factors, suggesting a need for ways to enable poorer HHs to access nutritious foods via market purchases. Supported by USAID through the Nutrition Innovation Lab (prime Tufts Univ) and a Borlaug Fellowship through Purdue University's Center for Global Food Security.
Rapid population growth, unplanned urbanization and the drying up of traditional water resources have caused water scarcity in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal. The impact of climate change has further exacerbated the increasing problem of water scarcity. Traditional water resources such as stone spouts and wells play an important role in meeting the increasing water demand in the Kathmandu Valley. This paper examines water use and conservation efforts of traditional water resources, especially stone spouts, which have been practiced over many centuries in the Kathmandu Valley. This study used qualitative inquiry to inductively generate data from fieldwork through interviews with stakeholders and the observation of 64 stone spouts in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur districts. The study reveals that there is not adequate attention given by the state and non-state authorities to the conservation of traditional water resources, despite their high potential to contribute to climate change adaptation practices, and suggests ways of allocating resources to implement conservation activities; more specifically, the implementation of the Declaration of the National Convention on Stone Spouts of 2007. Local conservation efforts are useful climate change adaptation practices that can be used to improve water management.
We evaluate household participation in the Indonesian Raskin program, a national rice price subsidy program for the poor. Using a household panel from the 2000 and 2007 rounds of the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS), we evaluate program participation over the duration of the year prior to the 2007 survey using four different measures of participation. We find that although the poor as a whole are likely to have higher levels of participation compared to the non‐poor, program participation is regressive among the poor. The poorest households are less likely to purchase Raskin rice over the course of a year, and, conditional on participation, they are likely to purchase lower quantities of rice, they purchase rice with lower frequency and they have lower participation relative to the number of community distributions. We also find that this regressive participation among the poorest households is more severe in urban areas.
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