IFPRI Global Nutrition Reports

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/141832

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The impact of feeding children in school: evidence from Bangladesh
(Brief, 2005) Ahmed, Akhter U.
Community-level relationships between prime age mortality and rural welfare: Panel survey evidence from Zambia
(Working Paper, 2005) Jayne, Thomas S.; Chapoto, Antony; Byron, Elizabeth; Ndiyoi, Mukelabai; Hamazakaza, Petan; Kadiyala, Suneetha; Gillespie, Stuart
Governments and development agencies require accurate information on the impacts of increased mortality rates caused by AIDS on the agricultural sector and rural livelihoods. Several previous studies have estimated the effects of prime-age mortality on afflicted households in relation to non-afflicted households. Given that HIV prevalence rates exceed 15-20 percent in many parts of southern Africa, we question whether non-afflicted households are a valid control group in hard-hit communities because non-afflicted households may nevertheless be adversely affected by the mortality occurring in neighboring households. Using nationally representative household panel data from rural Zambia, we measure the effects of prime-age adult mortality rates on changes in a set of community level welfare indicators. We find that a rise in community mortality rates from zero to 24.4 percent (which is the difference in mortality rates between the 25th and 75th percentile of all 393 communities) is associated with a 5 percent decline in the land area cultivated at the community level. We find little evidence that cropped area is shifting toward labor-saving crops such as cassava in hard-hit areas as is sometimes contended. Other factors related to agricultural policy need to be considered when examining the impact of HIV/AIDS on the agricultural sector. Most notably, many countries in eastern and southern Africa had formerly implemented state-led maize promotion policies featuring pan-territorial producer prices, major investments in marketing board buying stations, and subsidies on fertilizer distributed on credit to small farmers along with hybrid maize seed. These maize marketing policies in Zambia were either eliminated or scaled back significantly starting in the early 1990s as part of economy-wide structural adjustment programs. These policy changes clearly reduced the financial profitability of growing maize in the more remote areas where maize production was formerly buoyed by pan-territorial pricing, and has shifted cropping incentives toward other food crops such as cassava (Jayne et al).
High value products, supermarkets and vertical arrangements in Indonesia
(Working Paper, 2005) Chowdhury, Shyamal; Gulati, Ashok; Gumbira-Sa’id, E.
Indonesian economy has experienced some major changes during the last three decades and transformed from a predominantly agricultural economy to one that relies more heavily on its non-agricultural sector. Within agriculture, there has also been a change in the contribution of different sub sectors and high value products have grown relatively rapidly making agriculture more diversified. Similar to the changes in agricultural production, food consumption in Indonesia has shown a pattern of change over the past three decades, from a diet characterized primarily by the staple foods of cereals and cassava, to one that includes a larger share of fruits, fish, meats, dairy products and processed foods. Alongside the change in composition of food demand, newer forms of retail have also come up commonly known as supermarkets. However, the emergence of modern retailing has other consequences that go beyond consumers. It requires deep integration with farmers and can influence the production and transaction costs at farm level. It can also influence the distribution of value among different agents involved in production, intermediation, and retailing. In this paper we pursue three interrelated objectives. First, we review the structural changes that have taken place in Indonesian agriculture for the last three decades and the state of high value products. Second, we examine the driving forces behind the production of high value products and the constraints that limit their production. Third, we review the emergence of supermarkets and the vertical arrangements among farmers, traders/distributors, and supermarkets. We have relied both on primary and secondary data sources. Most of the secondary data has come from government directorates, different ministries and the central bureau of statistics (CBS) of the Government of Indonesia. In cases where secondary information was not readily available, we have also collected primary data. Our findings suggest that during the last three decades, there has been a significant structural change in Indonesian agriculture and the production of high value commodities and products –estate crops, livestock, fisheries, fruits and vegetables, and floriculture – has grown faster than the cereals. However, the extent of diversification towards high value products has remained limited to few regions and to few products within each sub sector. Factors that have contributed most in diversification are the rapid growth in income and accompanied changes in urban consumption in favor of high value products and agricultural mechanization. The economic crisis that was triggered by the currency crisis has had a long negative impact on agriculture sector. Structural changes in Indonesian agriculture have been accompanied by changes in consumption pattern in urban areas in favor of high value products and by a major change in retailing in the form of growth of modern supermarkets. To cater to the demand of changed urban consumption needs, supermarkets have been integrating with farmers through formal and informal contracts. This vertical relationship between farms and supermarkets that has been emerging in Indonesia has been helpful to follow grades and standards, to improve quality, and to reduce transaction costs and information asymmetries. It has also been helpful to reduce price and production risks at farm level and to ensure a higher price for farmers compared to traditional value chain. However, it seems that the participation of small holders in the vertical relationship depends largely on vendors. Within the vertical chain, supermarkets appropriate a monopsony rent. Important policies that can be drawn from this study are the greater emphasize on rural infrastructure, user right of state-owned estate to smallholders, promotion of public-private partnerships, encouragements of vertical arrangements, grades and standards, and bringing up the modern retailing sector under the purview of regulatory oversights." --Authors' Abstract
Orphans in Malawi: prevalence, outcomes, and targeting of services
(Working Paper, 2005) Sharma, Manohar
As in many Sub-Saharan countries, the issue of orphan-care has risen to the top of social protection agenda in Malawi, where the prevalence of orphaned children has dramatically increased because of early deaths of parents infected by the HIV/AIDS virus...In Malawi, most orphans, whether in rural or urban areas, live in households of the surviving parent or close relatives, not in institutional homes. This means that orphan-related policy and/or public assistance programs have to operate, not directly with the orphaned children themselves, but through the agency of the household unit they live in. Understanding the state of orphaned children living in these households is therefore important for policy. Further, it is also necessary to assess the extent to which public assistance programs can successfully target their service to orphan-caring households and ensure that benefits actually accrue to the orphan child in the household.
Children in the shadow of AIDS: Studies of vulnerable children and orphans in three provinces in South Africa
(Working Paper, 2005) Adato, Michelle; Kadiyala, Suneetha; Roopnaraine, Terry; Biermayr-Jenzano, Patricia; Norman, Amy
This paper examines the experiences of children affected by HIV/AIDS in three provinces of South Africa. By combining findings from two studies that focus on households at different stages of impact, the paper looks at the conditions of vulnerable children living in homes with HIV positive family members; children at risk of becoming orphans (i.e., children living with HIV positive primary caregivers); and children ‘orphaned.’ It also considers the conditions of other household members affected at each of these stages. The paper is concerned with understanding more about their daily lives, and about informal and formal forms of support available to them at each of these stages.
Child vulnerability and HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa: what we know and what can be done
(Working Paper, 2005) Gillespie, Stuart; Norman, Amy; Finley, Betsy
Among the many devastating consequences of the AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa, the rapidly growing orphan population demands particular attention. Today, over 12 million children in the region have been orphaned by AIDS, a population that is increasing by the minute as HIV-positive parents become ill and die from AIDS (UNAIDS/UNICEF/USAID 2004). Millions more children are living with chronically ill parents, and about three million are themselves infected with the virus. Estimates differ, but some organizations predict a tripling of orphan numbers in the next five years...In this paper, [f]irst, we briefly review the evidence for the different aspects of vulnerability experienced by children affected by HIV and AIDS...Second, we draw upon the small but growing body of evidence of what works in addressing child vulnerability in the context of HIV and AIDS in order to generate some key principles for policy and programming. We conclude by highlighting research priorities.
Orphans and discrimination in Mozambique: an outlay equivalence analysis
(Working Paper, 2005) Nhate, Virgulino; Arndt, Channing; Barslund, Mikkel; Van den Broeck, Katleen
The present study employs Deaton’s outlay equivalence approach to analyze potential discrimination in resource allocation within households against children who are not the biological descendant of the household head in Mozambique. High HIV prevalence in Mozambique motivates the study. The projected 800,000 AIDS related adult deaths over the period 2004-2010 will leave significant numbers of orphans in their wake. Of these, many will reside in families where the household head is not their biological parent. Results point to discrimination in the intra-household allocation of resources against children that are not direct biological descendants of the household head in poor households. This discrimination is identified at the national, rural, and urban levels In non-poor households, resource allocations between biological and non-biological children do not differ significantly.
HIV/AIDs and food and nutrition security: from evidence to action
(Report, 2005) Gillespie, Stuart; Kadiyala, Suneetha
The HIV/AIDs pandemic is a global crisis with consequences that will be felt for decades to come. Thirty-nine million people are currently infected with the virus, including more than 25 million from Sub-Saharan Africa. Many millions are affected in different ways. The ability of households and communities to ensure their own food and nutrition security is increasingly being threatened. With the most detailed evidence base yet assembled, this review systematically maps our growing knowledge of the interactions between HIV/AIDS and food and nutrition security, pointing to where and how future policy needs to change to remain relevant and effective.
An assessment of the causes of malnutrition in Ethiopia: a contribution to the formulation of a National Nutrition Strategy for Ethiopia
(Working Paper, 2005) Benson, Todd
Assessing the effectiveness of community-based targeting of emergency food aid in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Malawi
(Brief, 2005) Gilligan, Daniel O.; Hoddinott, John F.; Quisumbing, Agnes R.; Sharma, Manohar
...IFPRI examined the effectiveness of community-based targeting following three recent emergencies: the 1998 floods in Bangladesh; the 2002 drought in Ethiopia; and the 2001-02 failed maize harvest in Malawi.
Comparing food and cash incentives for schooling in Bangladesh
(Brief, 2005) Ahmed, Akhter U.
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) evaluated the FFE programme based on surveys of households and schools conducted in 2000. In 2003, IFPRI resurveyed the same households and schools to assess the impacts of the PES and compare them with those of the FFE. Econometric models captured the impacts of FFE and PES on enrollment and food consumption, isolating the effects of income and other factors.
Agriculture and health: addressing the vital links
(Brief, 2005) International Food Policy Research Institute
Using food aid to empower communities: concepts and examples from Madagascar and Honduras
(Brief, 2005) Garrett, James L.
...IFPRI examined the effectiveness of community-based targeting following three recent emergencies: the 1998 floods in Bangladesh; the 2002 drought in Ethiopia; and the 2001-02 failed maize harvest in Malawi.
Assessing the longer-term impact of emergency food aid in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Malawi
(Brief, 2005) Gilligan, Daniel O.; Hoddinott, John F.; Quisumbing, Agnes R.; Sharma, Manohar
...IFPRI examined the effectiveness of community-based targeting following three recent emergencies: the 1998 floods in Bangladesh; the 2002 drought in Ethiopia; and the 2001-02 failed maize harvest in Malawi. All three cases show limited long-term impact in the aggregate from either food for- work or free food distribution, although positive impacts were found for some groups of recipients in all three studies. The sparse average impacts appear to be related to quantity, timing, and targeting. Households received only small amounts of food aid, when compared with their total consumption. In addition, some of the transfers arrived months after the crisis began. In many instances, they were not regularly available or sustained for more than a season. And targeting was in many cases inconsistent or ambiguous as to whether to focus on the poorest or those most affected by crisis.
Operations research: how it can strengthen food-aid programmes
(Brief, 2005) Ruel, Marie T.
Given the large amount of funds allocated to food-assisted Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition (MCHN) programmes. . .it is critical to improve their effectiveness. Operations research holds promise for helping achieve this goal. Effective programmes, in turn, can help accelerate progress toward improved child nutrition, health, and survival.”
How fair is workfare?: gender, public works, and employment in rural Ethiopia
(Brief, 2005) Quisumbing, Agnes R.
...Workfare programmes have been used across Asia, Africa, and Latin America to provide the poor with income transfers, help them cope with income shocks, and create assets by constructing much-needed infrastructure—which, once built, can continue to generate employment. Recently, policymakers have begun paying attention to gender issues in workfare programmes... The authors of this brief used the Ethiopian Rural Household Survey (ERHS) to explore gender dimensions of public works programmes... The ERHS results imply that food for-work programmes have a number of levers to increase the participation of women.
Placing HIV-positive mothers at the centre of planning for orphans and vulnerable children: a case study of South Africa
(Working Paper, 2006) Norman, Amy; Kadiyala, Suneetha; Chopra, Mickey
Worldwide, more than 14 million children have lost a parent to HIV/AIDS. In South Africa, the current epicentre of the epidemic, it is estimated that by 2010, 16% of children will be orphaned by AIDS. The implication of the term “AIDS orphan” has been that parents with AIDS have no plan in place to provide for the care of their children in the event of their deaths. In the majority of policy discourse, women are not seen as agents in the process of preparing their children and future caregivers, or of planning for the future. Effective responses to the challenge of AIDS-induced orphanhood require an understanding of the challenges HIV-positive women face in mothering, as well as the dynamics and strategies used in planning for the future of their children. The inclusion of mothers before the death of a parent is necessary so as to privilege a thus far underutilized resource. The aim of this paper is to present the results of a study that examined the experiences of women undergoing shocks related to the impact of HIV/AIDS in two South Africa communities- Paarl and Umzimkhulu. A total of 25 HIV/AIDS-affected people from 18 households were interviewed, as well as ten key informants. This paper highlights the challenge of maternal disclosure in the African context, the planning for future caregiving, the financial constraints mothers face, and the opportunity undertaken by women to foster future resistance and resilience in their children.
HIV/AIDS, land-based livelihoods, and land reform in South Africa: Report to the International Food Policy Research Institute and the Department of Land Affairs, South Africa
(Working Paper, 2006) International Food Policy Research Institute
This study is an effort to understand the relationship between HIV/AIDS and land reform in South Africa. It is conceptualised as a longitudinal study covering three years. The study is presently concluding its first year, which has focused on 10 sites in three provinces and the information herein is considered baseline data. Much of the analysis in this report pertains to the nature of land reform projects and land-based livelihoods, and infers the connection to HIV/AIDS rather than observes it directly. The ultimate aim of the research is to generate actionable policy recommendations and programme responses, first of all by answering basic questions such as to what extent and in what way the HIV/AIDS epidemic poses a threat to South Africa’s land reform programme, and secondly by identifying specific ways in which land reform policy and practice should be adjusted. The study is about the impact of HIV/AIDS on land reform and rural livelihoods, and also whether and how land reform can serve as an intervention to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on affected households.
The impact of an experimental nutritional intervention in childhood on education among Guatemalan adults
(Working Paper, 2006) Maluccio, John; Hoddinott, John F.; Behrman, Jere R.; Martorell, Reynaldo; Quisumbing, Agnes R.; Stein, Aryeh D.
Early childhood nutrition is thought to have important effects on education, broadly defined to include various forms of learning. We advance beyond previous literature on early childhood nut ition on education in developing countries by (1) using unique longitudinal data from a nutritional experiment with lifetime educational measures; (2) avoiding confounding the estimates by excluding potentially endogenous right-side variables; and (3) using estimators that allow for nonnormal distributions. Our results indicate significantly positive, and fairly substantial, effects of the randomized intervention a quarter century after it ended: increased grade attainment by women, via increased likelihood of entering and completing primary school and some secondary school; speedier grade progression by women; higher scores on cognitive tests for both men and women; and higher scores on educational achievement tests for both men and women. To account for possible biases in the calculation of standard errors and to control for sample attrition, alternative estimations were run and found to be robust.
Gender, labor, and prime-age adult mortality: evidence from South Africa
(Working Paper, 2006) Yamauchi, Futoshi; Buthelezi, Thabani; Velia, Myriam
This paper examines the impact of prime-age adult mortality on the transition from school to the labor market of adolescents and on decisions by female adults to participate in the labor force in South Africa. The analysis focuses on that period—1998–2004—when South Africa experienced excess mortality due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. We find, first, that deaths of prime-age adults significantly increase both male and female adolescents’ labor force participation because they stop their schooling in order to help support their families. Female school enrollment may also decrease because girls are required to stay at home to take care of the sick. Therefore, the total negative impact on schooling is larger among female adolescents than among male adolescents. Second, we find that female adults tend to join the labor force following the death of prime-age adult males. This change could cause a decrease in the time they spend on housework and child rearing. Combined, these findings imply that excess mortality of prime-age adults disrupts human capital formation.

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