Does providing agricultural and nutrition information to both men and women improve household food security? Evidence from Malawi

Ragasa, Catherine; Aberman, Noora-Lisa; Mingote, Cristina Alvarez

doi:10.1016/j.gfs.2018.12.007

Cited by 66 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…A greater proportion of women participating in a VDC/VAC is associated with more agricultural technologies adopted. This finding relates to recent studies that highlight the importance of making agricultural information available to both men and women in order to increase households' food security (Ragasa, Aberman, and Alvarez-Mingote 2017). The presence of a record-keeping system in the VDC/VAC is related to greater access to advice.…”

Section: Effect Of Higher-level Structures On Community Welfare (Commsupporting

confidence: 61%

Is there a role for agricultural committees and stakeholder panels in improving information and accountability in extension service provision: Evidence from Malawi

Institute¹

2018

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The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), established in 1975, provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition. IFPRI's strategic research aims to foster a climate-resilient and sustainable food supply; promote healthy diets and nutrition for all; build inclusive and efficient markets, trade systems, and food industries; transform agricultural and rural economies; and strengthen institutions and governance. Gender is integrated in all the Institute's work. Partnerships, communications, capacity strengthening, and data and knowledge management are essential components to translate IFPRI's research from action to impact. The Institute's regional and country programs play a critical role in responding to demand for food policy research and in delivering holistic support for country-led development. IFPRI collaborates with partners around the world. ABSTRACT iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ivACRONYMS v iii ABSTRACT This paper looks at village agriculture committees, model villages, and stakeholder panels at various levels as participatory and decentralized structures for improving demand articulation and accountability in agricultural extension service provision in Malawi. It uses various datasets including nationally representative household and community surveys, a survey of service providers, a survey of representatives from the various structures, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews. It employs various estimation methods including matching techniques, matching plus regression adjustments, and an instrumental variables approach. Results show diverse experiences and functionality of these structures. Contrary to earlier reports, most of these structures are active, except for district stakeholder panels (DSPs), of which only about a quarter are active. Similarly, most of them provide a platform for discussion and feedback on service providers and the quality of their advice, except for DSPs. However, most structures were given poor ratings in terms of their responsiveness to the concerns and issues raised. Household participation in village development or agriculture committees is strongly associated with better household outcome indicators. These village committees, if they are active and responsive to farmers' expressed concerns and needs, can contribute to better community-level outcomes. Results show that these village-level structures matter and that strengthening them is key to addressing their long-term functionality. On the other hand, a model village concept that focuses on an integrated approach to solving communities' challenges is not associated with improved community outcome indicators; therefore, its implementation should be reviewed and improved in order to contribute to development outcomes.

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Section: Effect Of Higher-level Structures On Community Welfare (Commsupporting

confidence: 61%

Is there a role for agricultural committees and stakeholder panels in improving information and accountability in extension service provision: Evidence from Malawi

Institute¹

2018

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“…Follow-up work should establish whether this is indeed the case and if so, whether it is due to insufficient knowledge or low priority given to nutrition on the part of male household heads. In light of recent IFPRI research on the role of gender in various pathways to food security in Malawi (Ragasa et al 2019), follow-up research should consider a more nuanced gendered typology of householdsthose with both male and female adults, those with only adult males, and those with only adult femalesin addition to the traditional typology of male and female headship.…”

Section: Implications For Prosper Programming and Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Building resilience and adaptation to climate change in Malawi: Quantitative baseline report

Duchoslav¹,

Kenamu²,

Gilbert³

et al. 2020

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“…However, for developed countries like the U.S., there have been changes in AGCOM focus, one of which include the inclusion of the general public and not only farmers as the audience for AGCOM (Tucker, Whaley, & Cano, 2003). While for most developing countries like Malawi, AGCOM is still used as a promotional and awareness creation tool among rural farmers to facilitate adoption of improved technologies for increased productivity in small farms (Masambuka-Kanchewa, 2013;Masangano, Kambewa, Bosscher, & Fatch, 2017;Ragasa, Aberman, & Mingote, 2017).…”

Section: Impact Of Agricultural Communication Interventions On Improvmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Inorder to improve efficiency and increase extension coverage, most of these organizations adopted the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) as a tool for delivering information on improved technologies to farmers (Steinfield, Wyche, Cai, & Chiwasa, 2015). After several decades of using different communication tools to promote emerging technologies, low productivity among most small holder farms remains a challenge (Lunduka, Fisher, & Snapp, 2012;Ragasa et al, 2017). Furthermore, access to information to guide farmers production practices is still highlighted as a major constraint (GoM, 2016, p4).…”

Section: Impact Of Agricultural Communication Interventions On Improvmentioning

confidence: 99%

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2020

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Does providing agricultural and nutrition information to both men and women improve household food security? Evidence from Malawi

Cited by 66 publications

References 63 publications

Is there a role for agricultural committees and stakeholder panels in improving information and accountability in extension service provision: Evidence from Malawi

Is there a role for agricultural committees and stakeholder panels in improving information and accountability in extension service provision: Evidence from Malawi

Building resilience and adaptation to climate change in Malawi: Quantitative baseline report

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