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Comparing Delivery Channels to Promote Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial in Bangladesh


Citation

Ahmed, Akhter; Coleman, Fiona; Hoddinott, John F.; Menon, Purnima; Parvin, Aklima; Pereira, Audrey; Quisumbing, Agnes; & Roy, Shalini (2023). Comparing Delivery Channels to Promote Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial in Bangladesh. Food Policy, 118, 102484. PMCID: PMC10398750

Abstract

We use a randomized controlled trial in rural Bangladesh to compare two models of delivering nutrition content jointly to husbands and wives: deploying female nutrition workers versus mostly male agriculture extension workers. Both approaches increased nutrition knowledge of men and women, household and individual diet quality, and women's empowerment. Intervention effects on agriculture and nutrition knowledge, agricultural production diversity, dietary diversity, women's empowerment, and gender parity do not significantly differ between models where nutrition workers versus agriculture extension workers provide the training. The exception is in an attitudes score, where results indicate same-sex agents may affect scores differently than opposite-sex agents. Our results suggest opposite-sex agents may not necessarily be less effective in providing training. In South Asia, where agricultural extension systems and the pipeline to those systems are male-dominated, training men to deliver nutrition messages may offer a temporary solution to the shortage of female extension workers and offer opportunities to scale and promote nutrition-sensitive agriculture. However, in both models, we find evidence that the presence of mothers-in-law within households modifies the programs' effectiveness on some nutrition, empowerment, and attitude measures, suggesting that accounting for other influential household members is a potential area for future programming.

URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2023.102484

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year Published

2023

Journal Title

Food Policy

Author(s)

Ahmed, Akhter
Coleman, Fiona
Hoddinott, John F.
Menon, Purnima
Parvin, Aklima
Pereira, Audrey
Quisumbing, Agnes
Roy, Shalini

Article Type

Regular

PMCID

PMC10398750

Continent/Country

Bangladesh

ORCiD

Pereira - 0000-0001-7982-7454