Executive summary of final evaluation: ActionAid women’s right to land

The Women’s Rights to Land (WRL) programme aimed to support women’s movements from marginalised communities, including indigenous women in Guatemala, Dalit women in India, and women living with HIV/AIDS in Sierra Leone, to improve their access and control over land. Theprogramme ran from November 2010 to October 2013 and was funded by the European Commission (EC). ActionAid commissioned the Natural Resources Institute to conduct a final evaluation of the programme, the results of which are presented in this summary report

Introduction: The Young People and Agriculture ‘Problem’ in Africa

In introducing this collection of articles we argue that policy framing and policy responses to the ‘problem’ of young people and agriculture in Africa are hampered by a lack of research and evidence that is theoretically and historically informed, conceptually sound and context sensitive. The result is policy that is well intentioned, but unlikely to address the underlying social or agricultural concerns. To address this we outline a research agenda that places the notion of ‘opportunity space’ at centre stage. We suggest that an analysis of the changing structure of opportunity space for young people in agriculture and agri-food in the context of broader agrarian transitions will be particularly useful. Social difference as it affects young people’s ability to exploit the agri-food opportunity space must be central to this analysis

Regional special care nursery environments : Navigating the role of mother

Premature birth presents challenges for most mothers assuming a parenting role with their infant. Living in rural and regional areas provides additional hardship due to isolation, distances and limited support services. The predominant focus of research in the area of premature birth has been on the survival of infants. There has been limited investigation of the experiences of women with infants in special care nurseries (SCNs), in regional Australia. The ways in which mothers ‘navigate their way’, physically and emotionally, in SCN environments was the focus of this study. Using a qualitative interpretive design data were collected through in-depth interviews with mothers and analysed thematically. Women related a dislocation in their lives as a result of their infant’s hospitalisation. The nursery space and the various ways space was used to marginalise or sanction mothers was revealed and resulted in women adopting conflicting roles throughout this time. These findings provide direction for developing more supportive environments for parents relying on SCNs for the care of their infant. This study provides new insight into the experiences of women and their environmental sensitivity within SCN settings. Findings will increase regional midwives’ understanding of mothers’ interpretations of the neonatal nursery environment. Insights into maternal perspectives will assist in the provision of better family-centred care and improved outcomes for the vulnerable families of premature infants

Introduction: The Young People and Agriculture ‘Problem’ in Africa

In introducing this collection of articles we argue that policy framing and policy responses to the ‘problem’ of young people and agriculture in Africa are hampered by a lack of research and evidence that is theoretically and historically informed, conceptually sound and context sensitive. The result is policy that is well intentioned, but unlikely to address the underlying social or agricultural concerns. To address this we outline a research agenda that places the notion of ‘opportunity space’ at centre stage. We suggest that an analysis of the changing structure of opportunity space for young people in agriculture and agri-food in the context of broader agrarian transitions will be particularly useful. Social difference as it affects young people’s ability to exploit the agri-food opportunity space must be central to this analysis

From learning plot to main field: scaling-out soil health innovations in Malawi

Farmer-centred approaches are applied to engage smallholder farmers in agricultural research and development with the purpose of identifying and scaling out context specific innovations. Understanding the underlying processes that influence the decision of smallholder farmers to scale-out innovations is, therefore, paramount to effective farmer-led research and development programmes. This study analysed how smallholder farmers in rural Malawi were involved in evaluating soil health management options as well as how they scaled-out the lessons from the learning plots to their main farms. Data were collected through observations and face-to-face interviews in 109 learning plots and 197 main fields managed by farmers who participated in interventions that applied farmer-centred approaches. The findings reveal that farmers’ capacity to engage in systematic experimentation depended on their knowledge of basic research principles and their social capital (bridging and bonding). Farmers observing and interacting in the learning plots formed different perceptions about the performance of the tested options. The variations in the perceptions were associated with biophysical (plot characteristics) and socioeconomic factors (time of planting). Likewise, variations were observed in the way farmers scaled-out the tested options. Whilst some farmers integrated many different options (>3), others applied few options in their main fields (<3). The majority of farmers adapted the options to suit their contexts. Farmers’ decision to scale-out options was associated with their perceived benefits of the options, gender, and wealth status. The study findings have implications for research and development programmes that use farmer-centred approaches to push for adoption of blanket recommendations

A food-based approach could improve dietary adequacy for 12-23-month-old Eastern Ugandan children.

Little is known about dietary adequacy, for young Ugandan children, or context-specific food choices to improve it. This study estimated the percentage of breastfed 12-23-month-old rural Eastern Ugandan children (n = 114) at risk of inadequate intakes of 12 nutrients; and identified realistic food choices for improving it. In this cross-sectional survey, dietary (weighed food records), anthropometric and socioeconomic data were collected. The percentages of children at risk of inadequate nutrient intakes were estimated, assuming 541 g/day of breast milk was consumed. The median nutrient densities of their complementary feeding diets were also compared with desired levels. Linear programming analyses were used to identify 'problem nutrients' (where requirements will be difficult to meet given dietary practices) and model food choices to improve dietary adequacy. Overall, 21.2% of children were stunted and 3.8% were wasted. A high percentage (>45%) of children were at risk of inadequate intakes, for nine of the 12 nutrients assessed, and dietary nutrient densities were below desired levels for seven of the 12 nutrients. Iron, calcium, thiamine and niacin were 'problem nutrients'. Through careful selection of foods, modelling indicates that population level dietary adequacy can be achieved for eight of the 12 nutrients modelled. These choices include cows' milk, legumes, green leafy vegetables, sweet potatoes and fruits. Overall results suggest these high percentages of children at risk of inadequate nutrient intakes can be reduced through behaviour change interventions, although additional interventions may be required to ensure population-level dietary adequacy for iron, thiamine and niacin

The household welfare impacts of an agricultural innovation platform in Uganda

Technical approaches to food production are important to the food security of growing populations in developing countries. However, strategic investments in research and farm-level adoption require greater coherence in agricultural, societal, and local policies. The Agricultural Innovation System (AIS) and the formation of the Cassava Innovation Platform (CIP) in Uganda were designed to stimulate interactions between researchers and farmers, leading to the development of improved cassava varieties through Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB) and Participatory Variety Selection (PVS). Moreover, the establishment of a community-based commercialized seed system allied Cassava Seed Entrepreneurship (CSE) has made an important contribution to the rapid multiplication and dissemination of clean planting materials in Uganda. The impact of CIP participation on rural household welfare was measured by household consumption expenditure per capita. The Endogenous Switching Regression (ESR) model was applied to data from a formal household survey conducted in the Eastern, Northern, and Mid-Western regions of Uganda. The education, farm size, livestock size, access to credit, cost of cassava planting materials, access to extension service, access to training, and social group membership are significantly associated with CIP participation. CIP participation resulted in a 47.4% increase in household consumption expenditure. This important evidence highlights the need to promote agricultural innovation platform for improving rural livelihoods. Moreover, CIP participation has impact heterogeneity within the participant group that is conditional on household characteristics such as the gender of the household head, pointing to the need to tailor specific interventions and target specific groups within farm households

Validation of a life-logging wearable camera method and the 24-h diet recall method for assessing maternal and child dietary diversity.

Accurate and timely data are essential for identifying populations at risk for undernutrition due to poor-quality diets, for implementing appropriate interventions and for evaluating change. Life-logging wearable cameras (LLWC) have been used to prospectively capture food/beverage consumed by adults in high-income countries. This study aimed to evaluate the concurrent criterion validity, for assessing maternal and child dietary diversity scores (DDS), of a LLWC-based image-assisted recall (IAR) and 24-h recall (24HR). Direct observation was the criterion method. Food/beverage consumption of rural Eastern Ugandan mothers and their 12-23-month-old child (n 211) was assessed, for the same day for each method, and the IAR and 24HR DDS were compared with the weighed food record DDS using the Bland-Altman limits of agreement (LOA) method of analysis and Cohen's κ. The relative bias was low for the 24HR (-0·1801 for mothers; -0·1358 for children) and the IAR (0·1227 for mothers; 0·1104 for children), but the LOA were wide (-1·6615 to 1·3012 and -1·6883 to 1·4167 for mothers and children via 24HR, respectively; -2·1322 to 1·8868 and -1·7130 to 1·4921 for mothers and children via IAR, respectively). Cohen's κ, for DDS via 24HR and IAR, was 0·68 and 0·59, respectively, for mothers, and 0·60 and 0·59, respectively, for children. Both the 24HR and IAR provide an accurate estimate of median dietary diversity, for mothers and their young child, but non-differential measurement error would attenuate associations between DDS and outcomes, thereby under-estimating the true associations between DDS - where estimated via 24HR or IAR - and outcomes measured

Actions in global nutrition initiatives to promote sustainable healthy diets

Multiple recent global nutrition initiatives have recommended actions to transform food systems to improve food environments and food choice. This study aimed to identify actions recommended by these initiatives and understand their similarities and differences. Twelve global nutrition initiatives were reviewed, collectively spanning 13 action themes and accompanying strategies. Action themes were analyzed according to primary focus on either food environments and their food system drivers or food choice. Representation of the 13 actions varied across initiatives. Some actions overlapped; others were infrequently represented. Strategies targeting food environments and their food system drivers were more frequently recommended than strategies targeting food choice for 11 of the 13 action themes. Although these global initiatives share a mission to improve nutrition through food systems and food environments, less attention has been allocated to individual food choice and sustainability

Official wisdom and rural people's knowledge A study of environmental perceptions, policy and practice in southern Malawi (1895-1995)

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