Does linking women farmers to markets improve food security? Evidence from rural Bangladesh
Abstract Background This study examined the effect of linking small-scale women farmers to markets, referred to as community marketing, and homestead food production extension services in two districts of rural Bangladesh. Method We particularly focused on identifying the relationship between treatm...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2022-05-01
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| Series: | Agriculture & Food Security |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40066-022-00373-6 |
| _version_ | 1817978653967908864 |
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| author | Han Bum Lee Paul E. McNamara Kamal Bhattacharyya |
| author_facet | Han Bum Lee Paul E. McNamara Kamal Bhattacharyya |
| author_sort | Han Bum Lee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background This study examined the effect of linking small-scale women farmers to markets, referred to as community marketing, and homestead food production extension services in two districts of rural Bangladesh. Method We particularly focused on identifying the relationship between treatment and food security, monthly expenditure patterns, and food production and marketing by adopting a doubly robust method that mediated bias from project site selection and potential misspecification of the postulated outcome or treatment model. Results The main results showed that establishing community marketing sites along with extension services provided women farmers a secured marketing outlet for food production, plausibly associated with a decreased likelihood of a reduction in monthly expenditures on healthcare (12.7 percentage points), child education (19.4 percentage points), and transportation (51.5 percentage points) during the lean season. However, if farmers did not spend extra income generated from marketing on food purchases, it would be difficult to anticipate an improvement in food security. Conclusion Community marketing was devised to link women smallholders to the markets without conflicting with social and cultural norms for which women were responsive, and our research findings supported the claim that they benefited from community marketing participation. Therefore, government, NGO, or other extension providers looking for a culturally appropriate approach to address women farmers’ limited mobility may consider using or modifying community marketing. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T22:32:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dde55f7a0a414ff4b285bccca03e28bd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2048-7010 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T22:32:52Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agriculture & Food Security |
| spelling | doaj.art-dde55f7a0a414ff4b285bccca03e28bd2022-12-22T02:26:53ZengBMCAgriculture & Food Security2048-70102022-05-0111111410.1186/s40066-022-00373-6Does linking women farmers to markets improve food security? Evidence from rural BangladeshHan Bum Lee0Paul E. McNamara1Kamal Bhattacharyya2Urban Education Institute, University of Texas at San AntonioDepartment of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignIndependent ConsultantAbstract Background This study examined the effect of linking small-scale women farmers to markets, referred to as community marketing, and homestead food production extension services in two districts of rural Bangladesh. Method We particularly focused on identifying the relationship between treatment and food security, monthly expenditure patterns, and food production and marketing by adopting a doubly robust method that mediated bias from project site selection and potential misspecification of the postulated outcome or treatment model. Results The main results showed that establishing community marketing sites along with extension services provided women farmers a secured marketing outlet for food production, plausibly associated with a decreased likelihood of a reduction in monthly expenditures on healthcare (12.7 percentage points), child education (19.4 percentage points), and transportation (51.5 percentage points) during the lean season. However, if farmers did not spend extra income generated from marketing on food purchases, it would be difficult to anticipate an improvement in food security. Conclusion Community marketing was devised to link women smallholders to the markets without conflicting with social and cultural norms for which women were responsive, and our research findings supported the claim that they benefited from community marketing participation. Therefore, government, NGO, or other extension providers looking for a culturally appropriate approach to address women farmers’ limited mobility may consider using or modifying community marketing.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40066-022-00373-6Agricultural extension servicesCollective actionMarketingFood securitySmall-scale women farmerRural Bangladesh |
| spellingShingle | Han Bum Lee Paul E. McNamara Kamal Bhattacharyya Does linking women farmers to markets improve food security? Evidence from rural Bangladesh Agriculture & Food Security Agricultural extension services Collective action Marketing Food security Small-scale women farmer Rural Bangladesh |
| title | Does linking women farmers to markets improve food security? Evidence from rural Bangladesh |
| title_full | Does linking women farmers to markets improve food security? Evidence from rural Bangladesh |
| title_fullStr | Does linking women farmers to markets improve food security? Evidence from rural Bangladesh |
| title_full_unstemmed | Does linking women farmers to markets improve food security? Evidence from rural Bangladesh |
| title_short | Does linking women farmers to markets improve food security? Evidence from rural Bangladesh |
| title_sort | does linking women farmers to markets improve food security evidence from rural bangladesh |
| topic | Agricultural extension services Collective action Marketing Food security Small-scale women farmer Rural Bangladesh |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40066-022-00373-6 |
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