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Women's access to agriculture extension amidst COVID-19: Insights from Gujarat, India and Dang, Nepal.

ABSTRACT: COVID-19 induced lockdowns have had far reaching impacts on the rural sector, particularly on women farmers. These impacts have been exacerbated by lack of access to reliable and timely agriculture information. Using panel phone survey data from India and Nepal, we study how women's access to agricultural extension was impacted by the lockdowns and its effect on agricultural productivity. We find that women's already low access to formal extension was reduced further, leading to an increased reliance on informal social networks. In both countries, nearly 50% farmers reported negative impacts on productivity due to inaccessibility of information during the lockdown. In India, we find that access to formal extension is mediated by crop type, geographic location and caste identity. We discuss ways in which extension systems in India and Nepal can be made more inclusive and resilient to future crisis, including by adapting group and community-based approaches to post-pandemic best practices.

SUBMITTER: Alvi M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9757924 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Women's access to agriculture extension amidst COVID-19: Insights from Gujarat, India and Dang, Nepal.

Alvi Muzna M Barooah Prapti P Gupta Shweta S Saini Smriti S

Agricultural systems 20210107

COVID-19 induced lockdowns have had far reaching impacts on the rural sector, particularly on women farmers. These impacts have been exacerbated by lack of access to reliable and timely agriculture information. Using panel phone survey data from India and Nepal, we study how women's access to agricultural extension was impacted by the lockdowns and its effect on agricultural productivity. We find that women's already low access to formal extension was reduced further, leading to an increased rel ...[more]

PMID: 36570044

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Project description:ObjectivesUnderstanding quality of contraceptive care from clients' perspectives is critical to ensuring acceptable and non-harmful services, yet little qualitative research has been dedicated to this topic. India's history of using incentives to promote contraceptive use, combined with reports of unsafe conditions in sterilisation camps, make a focus on quality important. The study objective was to understand women's experiences with and preferences for contraceptive counselling and care in the public sector in India.DesignQualitative study using eight focus group discussions (FGDs). FGDs were thematically analysed using a framework approach.SettingRural and urban areas in one district in Gujarat.Participants31 sterilisation and 42 reversible contraceptive users who were married and represented different backgrounds. Inclusion criteria were: (1) female, (2) at least 18 years and (3) receipt of contraception services in the last 6 months from public health services.ResultsProviders motivate married women to use contraception and guide women to specific methods based on how many children they have. Participants found this common practice acceptable. Participants also discussed the lack of counselling about reversible and permanent options and expressed a need for more information on side effects of reversible methods. There were mixed opinions about whether compensation received for accepting long-term methods affects contraceptive decision making. While many women were satisfied with their experiences, we identified minor themes related to provider coercion towards provider-controlled methods and disrespectful and abusive treatment during sterilisation care, both of which require concerted efforts to address systemic factors enabling such experiences.ConclusionsFindings illuminate opportunities for quality improvement as we identified several gaps between how women experience contraceptive care and their preferences, and with ideals of quality and rights frameworks. Findings informed adaptation of the Quality of Contraceptive Counselling Scale for India, and have implications for centring quality and rights in global efforts.

Project description:BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic led to surging concerns about food insecurity status throughout the world. In response to global and national concerns on food and nutrition security, this study aimed to examine the prevalence and determining factors of household food insecurity and dietary diversity among people from selected rural municipalities of Lalitpur district, Nepal.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 432 households. Pretested structured questionnaires were used to collect socio-demographic characteristics of the participants, household income; influence of COVID-19 on their income and livelihood, household's access to food and dietary diversity. Food insecurity was measured using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) and the Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS). A multivariable analysis was done using binary logistic regression model following a bivariate analysis to assess the association between the dependent and independent variables.ResultsMore than one-third (36%) of the households reported some form of food insecurity. The overall mean score for Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) was 6.0 (±1.1). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that participants aged 41-64 years (aOR = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.21-0.59), those over 64 years (aOR = 0.22, 95% CI: 0.07-0.66), as well as those in service occupation (aOR = 0.22, 95% CI: 0.06-0.77) were associated with lower odds of HFIAS. Conversely, Participants belonging to a disadvantaged ethnic group (aOR = 2.73, 95% CI: 1.23-6.07), having no education (aOR = 3.70, 95% CI: 1.16-11.71) or primary education (aOR = 3.67, 95% CI: 1.23-9.89), and those suffering from chronic illness (aOR = 3.12, 95% CI: 1.53-6.35) were associated with higher odds of HFIAS. As for HDDS, participants aged 41-64 years (aOR = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.28-0.83) were associated with lower odds of HDDS, while participants having no education (aOR = 10.05, 95% CI: 4.05-24.01) were associated with significantly higher odds of HDDS.ConclusionOwing to the pandemic, our study showed a substantial prevalence of food insecurity among diverse community residing in rural outskirts of Kathmandu Valley, particularly among disadvantaged ethnic group and people with lower level of education. Interventions targeting these particular groups may help in improving HFIAS and HDDS among them during emergencies.

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Dataset Information

Women's access to agriculture extension amidst COVID-19: Insights from Gujarat, India and Dang, Nepal.

Publications

Women's access to agriculture extension amidst COVID-19: Insights from Gujarat, India and Dang, Nepal.

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