Effects of gender roles on legume production, utilization and complementary feeding in Dedza and Ntcheu districts of Malawi

Mulenga, H. 2018. Effects of gender roles on legume production, utilization and complementary feeding in Dedza and Ntcheu districts of Malawi. MSc thesis in Human Nutrition. Lilongwe, Malawi. Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Child undernutrition remains one of the health challenge among rural farming households in Malawi particularly during the first two years of life. Appropriate complementary feeding practice is essential for proper growth and development of infant and young children. To effectively promote child nutrition, it is important to understand the effect of gender roles, access to and control of resources on child feeding practices. A research study was conducted in Dedza and Ntcheu with legume farming households with children aged 6-23 months who were part of the Africa RISING ‗mother trial‘ or ‗baby trials‘ for two seasons (2014/2015 to 2015/2016). The key objective of the research was to understand and assess the effect of gender roles on infant and young child feeding practices. The research targeted 291 households with children 6-23 months. Eight focus group discussions (FGDs) for in-depth qualitative data were conducted to understand the social, economic and cultural aspects of gender roles in infant and young child feeding. Two 24-hour recalls and food frequency questionnaire were used to collect data on infant and young child feeding practices while women empowerment in agriculture index (WEAI) and Harvard analysis framework were used to collect data on gender roles, activity profile, access and control over resources at household level.

A high proportion of children (76.3%) from legume growing households where women had control over resources were provided with a diversified diet compared with only 23.7% of children where men had control over household resources. In addition control over use of income by women had a positive association with regards to minimum meal frequency (P < 0.05) and minimum acceptable diets (P < 0.05) among the children. Involvement of women in partial processing, budgeting and marketing, increased dietary intake of their children as it ensured availability of legumes for a long time. Children from households where women were actively involved in partial processing and budgeting received a diversified diet. Women farmers were more knowledgeable about legumes and played an important role in seed selection, storage and processing; however, the findings indicate that men would appropriate the crop if access to profitable markets is improved, which signals an opportunity to increase women‘s income by involving them in market information. It was also found that the practice of individuals selling small quantities, frequent price fluctuations, and the tendency for vendors and buyers to offer low prices to farmers (especially women) acted as a disincentive to expanding production of the legume as a means of improving child nutrition. In conclusion, efforts to scale multipurpose legumes to improve the food security, nutrition, and poverty situations of poor households in Malawi must consider intra-household dynamics and gender relations that give men the privilege to control income from legume sales and shape whether or not expansion in legume production could contribute to improved child nuturition within the household. Empowering women economically was essential for harvesting the potential food security and poverty reduction benefits of legume expansion and commercialization.