Presentation in Dhaka / Bangladesh INGENAES Regional Symposium Kamal Bhattacharyya, Protima Roy and Saleh Ahmed 7 – 9 March 2017

Egiye Jai & Nijera Gori Projects Update from Bangladesh –

Duration: Jan, 2013 – Sep, 2016 Acknowledgement – Caritas Bangladesh Project teams and INGENAES

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Project Priorities

• Production focus on - Homestead vegetable gardens, livestock, poultry, aquaculture;

• Joint decision making to carry out improved production practices;

• Post-harvest marketing engagement; • Cluster approach;

• Using village change agents• Nutrition (dietary diversity);• Linkages to government, institutional, NGO, and private sector

services;• Household savings;

Each cluster has a community

representative called either VDT or

VPMT who supports project implementation and works with project staffs.

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Some PicturesSome PicturesSSome PicturesS

Intra-Household decision making and gender equity (wife of head of HH taking decision)Poultry – Control villages 7%; Treatment villages 46%

Vegetables – Control villages 3%; Treatment villages 32%

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Cluster approach and its implications on participation of men and women

• The cluster approach appears to be an effective way of reaching women with information

• Proximity to homestead makes it easy for women to participate in multiple tasks in the family

• Cluster level trainings are not reaching men in target households -

• Only homestead based interventions will not attract men.

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Women’s Participation in Market –A close look at the village market

Trader sales non-perishable items to wholesaler

• Rules guiding marketing

• Trader collects products from farmers on Village market day.

• Both parties (Trader and Consumer) agreed that regular market day price will guide the transaction cost.

• Market price information collected from mutually agreed vendors from Union markets and notified in the cluster market place.

• Farmers agreed to receive a discounted price to meet traders transaction cost

• Trader arrange alternative to farmers incase unable to collect on stipulated day and time.

• On the spot payment.Market, Gender and local Culture• Traders visit villages to collect produce / Little or no

transparency / Terms of payment flexible/ Trader covered a big catchment area.

• Existing traders have a strong cooperating network, that must be carefully considered and negotiated when introducing new traders to the market.

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HH Nutrition in project areaAs compared to control villagesEgiye jai – Increased the likelihood of a vegetable garden by 37-45 percentage points, and increased plating by about four types of vegetables in the garden Nijera Gori – Increased the likelihood of a vegetable garden by about 20-21 percentage points, and increased planting by about two types of vegetables in the gardenEgiye Jai - Increased the likelihood that they would have poultry by 25-30 percentage pointsNijera Gori - Increased poultry in the household by about three percentage points.

Pathways for nutritionAgriculture Production – Nutrition PathwayIncome and Assets / Income – Nutrition Pathway: Nijera Gori project increased wealth index values, and Egiye Jai and Nijera Gori projects increased HH’s average monthly expenditures. Women’s empowerment – Nutrition pathway: Egiye Jai and Nijera Gori had a positive impact on wife’s assets and decision-making on marketing poultry and vegetables.

Gender and Generation in Nutrition Decision Making* Traditionally men market their own as well as women’s produce, purchase items at the market. Involve men in nutrition decision making.

* Life expectancy of farmers has increased, mothers who live longer also tend to become frailer; meanwhile, younger women assume the nutritional decisions of the household.

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Questions

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Thank you