“ In the past, the seeds I planted often didn’t grow.” A Mixed-Methods Feasibility Assessment of Integrating Agriculture and Nutrition Behaviour Change Interventions with Cash Transfers in Rural Bangladesh

Ashraful Alam, Wajiha Khatun, Mansura Khanam, Gulshan Ara, Anowarul Bokshi, Mu Li and Michael J. Dibley
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Ashraful Alam: School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Edward Ford Building, Sydney 2006, Australia
Wajiha Khatun: School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Edward Ford Building, Sydney 2006, Australia
Mansura Khanam: International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Gulshan Ara: International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Anowarul Bokshi: School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia
Mu Li: School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Edward Ford Building, Sydney 2006, Australia
Michael J. Dibley: School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Edward Ford Building, Sydney 2006, Australia

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 11, 1-15

Abstract: Combining agriculture with behaviour change communication and other nutrition-sensitive interventions could improve feeding practices to reduce maternal and child undernutrition. Such integrated intervention requires rigorous design and an appropriate implementation strategy to generate an impact. We assessed feasibility and acceptability of an intervention package that combines nutrition counselling, counselling and support for home-gardening, and unconditional cash transfers delivered to women on a mobile platform for improving maternal and child nutrition behaviours among low-income families in rural Bangladesh. We used mixed-methods including in-depth interviews with women (20), key-informant interviews with project workers (6), and a cross sectional survey of women (60). Women well-accepted the intervention and reported to be benefited by acquiring new skills and information on home gardening and nutrition. They established homestead gardens of seasonal vegetables successfully and were able to find a solution for major challenges. All women received the cash transfer. Ninety-one percent of women spent the cash for buying foods, 20% spent it on purchasing seeds or fertilizers and 57% used it for medical and livelihood purchases. Project staff and mobile banking agent reported no difficulty in cash transfer. Combining nutrition-specific and -sensitive interventions is a feasible and acceptable approach. Using mobile technologies can provide additional benefits for the intervention to reach the disadvantage families in rural settings.

Keywords: nutrition-sensitive agriculture; nutrition behaviour change; social safety net; feasibility study; mixed-methods; mHealth; Bangladesh (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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