Browsing by Person "Fatema Sarker"

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Livestock, gender, food security and nutrition: A case study from Bangladesh
(2022) Fatema Sarker; Birner, Regina
Policymakers and development agencies increasingly adopt livestock interventions to enhance livelihood strategies and ensure the food and nutrition of poor people in the Global South to achieve the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs). Livestock interventions in many developing countries target women, given their crucial role in livestock production. While livestock interventions envision to benefit women by providing increased access to resources and higher incomes, there is a concern that programs tailored to women can jeopardize this objective due to increased work burden and women's time poverty. Moreover, while programs tailored to women promise to have a more positive effect on food and nutrition security than programs tailored to men, important knowledge gaps remain on how gender relations shape livestock production and how food security is achieved within the household. Knowledge on how animal-sourced food is allocated among the household members for better nutritional status has also not been fully uncovered. To address these knowledge gaps, this dissertation investigates the relationship between women's empowerment and food security and nutritional outcomes in livestock farming households. The thesis comprises an introduction, a chapter that presents a literature review, two chapters that present empirical findings and a final chapter that discusses the findings and develops conclusions. Following the introduction, the second chapter of this dissertation lays the foundation by providing a systematic literature review of the relationship between livestock interventions, women's empowerment, and food and nutrition security in developing countries. The third and fourth chapters focus on two livestock interventions in Bangladesh to further examine the influence of women's empowerment on household food security and nutrition and nutritional status of the household members. The reasons for selecting this South Asian country are the following: The country has a high population density and a high prevalence of malnutrition that is inconsistent with the country's recent economic development. Moreover, rural livelihoods are vulnerable due to decreased agricultural land per capita. From a gender perspective, the country offers interesting insights as it is characterized by a rigid patriarchal society. The country features large-scale livestock interventions, but limited knowledge is available on their effectiveness, especially with regard to gender and nutrition. Chapter 2 assesses the existing literature to analyze the current knowledge on how livestock interventions affect gender relations and food and nutrition in developing countries. Based on a systematic literature review of 27 studies following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis) framework, the findings suggest that livestock interventions have a considerable potential to empower women. Still, some unintended adverse effects arise, for instance, an increase in women's work burden. The review further indicates that women's empowerment in livestock farming tends to increase household food and nutrition security. Since a livestock intervention changes intrahousehold gender dynamics, a specific pathways assessment of all household members' food security and nutritional status is necessary. Many interventions and many research studies did not consider specific pathways by which livestock interventions and women’s empowerment may lead to improved food and nutrition security. Consequently, intended food and nutrition security outcomes could not be achieved. Similarly, the review suggests that in view of context-specific gender roles and liabilities in livestock farming, interventions that solely target women may jeopardize food security objectives. Therefore, the chapter concludes that researchers and development agencies that study or introduce livestock interventions should pay more attention to the types of animals to be promoted, the specific rearing requirements of different breeds or animal types, gender demands, the economic condition of the respective households, and socio-cultural norms. The third chapter of this dissertation seeks to assess how prevailing gender norms accelerate or impede the success of livestock interventions. The chapter is based on case studies in Bangladesh, which feature a qualitative analysis of the linkages between different livestock interventions, women empowerment, and food and nutrition security. The main data collection method were gendered focus group discussions, including participatory impact diagrams, involving 231 livestock farmers. The chapter reveals that women who manage small ruminants and low-yielding local cow breeds were more empowered and capable of addressing their household's food and nutritional needs than their peers with access to cross-bred livestock. Contrary to expectations, such women also had a higher bargaining power over intra-household expenditure than those managing large and improved ruminant breeds. The reason is that when households adopt cross-bred animals, men acquire more control over them than they have over local cows. The fourth chapter examines the intrahousehold allocation of animal-sourced food with quantitative data from 275 farm households and qualitative data from nine focus group discussions in rural Bangladesh. In households with a higher empowerment level of women, adolescent girls' animal-based protein food intake turned out to be less than that of adolescent boys. Empowered women were still found to have a lower protein food intake than their spouses. These inequal patterns of intrahousehold allocation of nutritious food nullify the development organizations' assumptions of more equal food and nutritional outcomes as an obvious consequence of women's empowerment in livestock keeping households. Thus, policies and interventions that aim to empower women in livestock for better food security and nutritional outcomes need to be based a deeper understanding the intrahousehold allocation of nutritious food. Overall, this dissertation confirms that women's empowerment in livestock farming matters for the rural population's household food security and nutritional outcomes in developing countries. However, the thesis also highlights the significance of understanding gender norms, roles and responsibilities concerning livestock farming and intra-household food allocation, before formulating any livestock interventions that aim to improve food security conditions, provide better livelihood options to eliminate poverty, or tackle other development issues. The thesis further points to the inequities in intrahousehold resource allocation behavior in the case of animal-sourced foods. The findings reaffirm the importance of considering gender relations and bargaining power in implementing development initiatives to improve household members' nutritional outcomes, especially that of female members of the household. The dissertation concludes that to release the maximum potential of livestock interventions to improve food security and nutrition, it is essential to empower women in livestock farming while avoiding unintended burdens and ensuring that the nutritional benefits of livestock reach all household members.