Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) for Agricultural Sustainability Assessment

Multi Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT), Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE) and Elimination methods of Multi-Criteria Decision analysis (MCDA) are tested to assess and compare the sustainability of different agricultural systems. Indicators and composite indicators are derived from data gathered using the agricultural sustainability categories of Productivity, Stability, Efficiency, Durability, Compatibility and Equity (PSEDCE). Agricultural systems around the world face challenges from current agricultural practices, over-exploitation of natural resources, population growth and climate change. As a result, understanding agricultural sustainability has become a global issue. Assessment is a first step in benchmarking and tracking agricultural sustainability and can support related policy and programmes. This thesis applied the PSEDCE categories to understand more about the complexities inherent to agricultural sustainability assessment. Agricultural sustainability assessment (ASA) requires a wide variety of ecological, economic and social information with various methods. In the first part of this thesis, a systematic analysis of the scientific soundness and user-friendliness of eight ASA approaches revealed that MCDA based ASA is the preferred holistic method. MCDA can take into account both qualitative and quantitative indicators of all dimensions of sustainability and analyze them to draw a comprehensive picture. As a multifaceted, complex issue, agricultural sustainability assessment is well-suited to MCDA, which is able to handle large data sets including stakeholders’ perspectives. Given that it is a relatively new analysis procedure in the study of agriculture, only a few researchers have applied this technique to measure sustainability. Considering these findings, three MCDA methods, MAUT, PROMETHEE and Elimination, were tested to measure the relative sustainability of five agricultural systems in coastal Bangladesh. To investigate the performance of MAUT, PROMETHEE, and Elimination, a total of 50 indicators from agricultural sustainability categories of PSEDCE were tested. From these 50 indicators, 15 composite indicators were developed through proportionate normalization and hybrid aggregation rules of arithmetic mean and geometric mean. The 15 composite indicators were used in MAUT and PROMETHEE analysis, and the 50 indicators were used in Elimination analysis. The analyses show that MAUT is able to aggregate diverse information and stakeholders’ perspectives to generate a robust score that enables a comparison of sustainability across the different agricultural systems. PROMETHEE is a non-compensatory approach that can also accommodate a variety of information and provide thresholds for ranking relative agricultural sustainability for each of the five agricultural systems. Elimination ranks the sustainability of agricultural systems through a set of straightforward decision rules expressed in the form of “if … then …” conditions. Elimination appears to be quick and less complex, whereas MAUT and PROMETHEE are regarded as fairly complicated and require software to find potential solutions. Overall, the study shows that MAUT, PROMETHEE and Elimination can handle multidimensional data and can be applied for relative assessment of sustainability of agricultural systems. However, selection of the appropriate criteria, stakeholders’ perspectives and the purpose of the assessment are very important and must be considered carefully for inclusion in MCDA methods for agricultural sustainability assessment. The results of the case studies also demonstrate that these approaches have the potential to become a useful framework for agricultural sustainability assessment and related policy development and decision-making

Regional Differences of Child Under-Nutrition in Bangladesh

Despite recent progress shown by some of the indicators of Millennium DevelopmentGoals in Bangladesh, the nutritional status among all children of the country is notso satisfactory. Growing evidence suggest that there exist regional differences in childunder-nutrition in Bangladesh. The present article is an attempt to identify the regionaldifferences of child under-nutrition across six divisions of Bangladesh and to understandsome of the determinants of under-nutrition using DHS-2007 Bangladesh dat. This datafocus on under-nutrition and some of the determinants related to household, child andmother. A multivariate model was employed to study the regional differences of undernutritionstatus among children. Across the divisions, a variation of under-nutrition isobserved among the children. The prevalence of under-nutrition is statistically significantin poor households. Economics status, mothers’ education, children’s age, number of familymembers and duration of breastfeeding are important determinants of under-nutritionacross divisions. Child under-nutrition in Bangladesh is still a concern for the householdwith poor economic status. The article calls for improvement of the economic status of thehouseholds across divisions keeping in view the nature of inequality in childhood undernutritionin the country and its differential characteristics across the divisions

Efficacy and Concerns of Technical Project in Bangladesh: An Assessment of the Managing at the Top 2 (MATT2) Project

Least-Developed Countries (LDCs) and developing countries receive various supports for their development and technical projects from developed nations and development partners. Bangladesh is no exception. Managing at the Top 2 (MATT2) is a technical development project that was designed in collaboration with the governments of the UK and Bangladesh and carried out in Bangladesh with funding of the UK. The primary aim of the project was to provide practical training for approximately 2000 top-level officials of the Bangladesh Civil Service to enhance their efficiency in developing and implementing innovative projects to deliver public services. In this paper, the purpose, process and results of the project are analyzed using a qualitative approach to understand the benefits and barriers of the project. It was found that MATT2 produced remarkable success, with 305 performance improvement projects (PIPs) were developed and implemented by the participating bureaucrats. Government employees were benefitted from practical knowledge on project preparation, skill development and the citizens were benefited from the outputs. Although the project claims 100% success in terms of implementation, projects were influenced by some bottlenecks that include unsuitability of PIPs, lower reform value, monetary motivation and selection of project area out of the participants’ jurisdiction.  The authors suggest considering the intended and unintended consequences of the MATT2 to undertaking similar projects in the future. Keywords: Bangladesh; Civil servants; Development; Experiential learning; PIPs; Skill developmen

Developing Composite Indicators for Agricultural Sustainability Assessment: Effect of Normalization and Aggregation Techniques

The assessment of the sustainability of agricultural systems is multidimensional in nature and requires holistic measures using indicators with different measurements and units reflecting social, economic, and environmental aspects. To simplify the assessment process, various indicators have different units, and measurements are grouped under broad indicator heads, and normalization and/or transformation processes are carried out in order to aggregate them. In this study, a total of 50 indicators from agricultural sustainability categories of productivity, stability, efficiency, durability, compatibility, and equity are employed to investigate which normalization technique is the most suitable for further mathematical analysis for developing a final composite indicator. To understand the consistency and quality of normalization measurement techniques and compare the benefits and drawbacks of the various selected normalization processes, the indicators of agricultural sustainability are considered. Each of the different techniques for normalization has advantages and drawbacks. This study shows that the proportionate normalization and hybrid aggregation rules of the arithmetic mean and the geometric mean are appropriate for the selected data set, and that this technique has a wider applicability for developing composite indicators for agricultural sustainability assessment.Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Canad

COVID-19's implications on agri-food systems and human health in Bangladesh

The COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh has put agri-food systems and resultant human health under serious pressure and this has thus become a priority concern for the country and its development partners. To understand, describe and analyse the impacts of COVID-19 on agri-food systems, human health issues and related SDGs, this study used systematic rapid literature review, analysis of blogs and news and engagement with key informants. The analysis reveals impacts that can be addressed through a set of recommendations for a coordinated effort to minimize the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on agri-food systems and related health issues in Bangladesh

Multi-indicator supply chain management framework for food convergent innovation in the dairy business

A comprehensive integrated framework of indicators currently used in lean, agile, sustainable and resilient supply chain paradigms is developed under the umbrella of convergent innovation (CI) and applied to the management of the supply chain of a dairy company, including procurement, processing and distribution of their products to customers. CI is a meta-framework that opens new frontiers for commercial innovation, supply chains and market systems by making the convergence of economic, social and environmental outcomes the target of business and actor decisions throughout society to build supply and demand for commercially viable outcomes. This framework provides a company with a multi-indicator supply chain management tool designed to accommodate the supply chain paradigms of being lean, agile, sustainable and resilient, as well as providing milk-based essential nutrition within a process called convergent innovation. The proposed analytical framework can serve as a decision support tool to systematically evaluate and improve the dairy supply chain from plant production to retailers. In jurisdictions without a quota system for milk production at the farm level, the system constructed in this paper could be expanded to handle farm production and shipment to dairy processing plants.The authors would like to express their appreciation to personnel at focal dairy manufacturer company for their thoughtful inputs that contributed to the quality of their paper. This research work is supported by funds PT76740 (MITACS - Multi-Criteria Supply Chain Design and Management Framework for Food Convergent Innovation in Dairy Business) to the first author with Parmalat Canada as an industry partner. Partial financial support was also provided by a SSHRC research grant (PT62411, Paths of convergence for agriculture, health and wealth: Foundational work for a Trans-disciplinary whole-of-society paradigm in food and nutrition context)

Elimination Method of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA): A Simple Methodological Approach for Assessing Agricultural Sustainability

In the present world context, there is a need to assess the sustainability of agricultural systems. Various methods have been proposed to assess agricultural sustainability. Like in many other fields, Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) has recently been used as a methodological approach for the assessment of agricultural sustainability. In this paper, an attempt is made to apply Elimination, a MCDA method, to an agricultural sustainability assessment, and to investigate its benefits and drawbacks. This article starts by explaining the importance of agricultural sustainability. Common MCDA types are discussed, with a description of the state-of-the-art method for incorporating multi-criteria and reference values for agricultural sustainability assessment. Then, a generic description of the Elimination Method is provided, and its modeling approach is applied to a case study in coastal Bangladesh. An assessment of the results is provided, and the issues that need consideration before applying Elimination to agricultural sustainability, are examined. Whilst having some limitations, the case study shows that it is applicable for agricultural sustainability assessments and for ranking the sustainability of agricultural systems. The assessment is quick compared to other assessment methods and is shown to be helpful for agricultural sustainability assessment. It is a relatively simple and straightforward analytical tool that could be widely and easily applied. However, it is suggested that appropriate care must be taken to ensure the successful use of the Elimination Method during the assessment process.Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Canad

Climate Change-Accelerated Ocean Biodiversity Loss & Associated Planetary Health Impacts

A planetary health perspective views human health as a function of the interdependent relationship between human systems and the natural systems in which we live. The planetary health impacts of climate change induced ocean biodiversity loss are little understood. Based on a systematic literature review, we summarize how climate change-induced ocean warming, acidification, and deoxygenation affect ocean biodiversity and their resulting planetary health impacts. These impacts on the planets’ natural and human systems include biospheric and human consequences for ecosystem services, food and nutrition security, human livelihoods, biomedical and pharmaceutical research, disaster risk management, and for organisms pathogenic to humans. Understanding the causes and effects of climate change impacts on the ocean and its biodiversity and planetary health is crucial for taking preventive, restorative and sustainable actions to ensure ocean biodiversity and its services. Future courses of action to mitigate climate change-related ocean biodiversity loss to support sound planetary health are discussed

Integrating Blue: How do we make Nationally Determined Contributions work for both blue carbon and local coastal communities?

Blue Carbon Ecosystems (BCEs) help mitigate and adapt to climate change but their integration into policy, such as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), remains underdeveloped. Most BCE conservation requires community engagement, hence community-scale projects must be nested within the implementation of NDCs without compromising livelihoods or social justice. Thirty-three experts, drawn from academia, project development and policy, each developed ten key questions for consideration on how to achieve this. These questions were distilled into ten themes, ranked in order of importance, giving three broad categories of people, policy & finance, and science & technology. Critical considerations for success include the need for genuine participation by communities, inclusive project governance, integration of local work into national policies and practices, sustaining livelihoods and income (for example through the voluntary carbon market and/or national Payment for Ecosystem Services and other types of financial compensation schemes) and simplification of carbon accounting and verification methodologies to lower barriers to entry