Integrating Gender and Nutrition within Agricultural Extension Services

The country's agricultural sector contributes 18.6% to the country's GDP and employs 45% of the total labor force. Bangladesh has achieved national food security and a reduction in poverty levels in recent years, with declines in the proportion of underweight children and children with severe stunting. However, poverty and malnutrition remain a significant problem for one-fourth of the population, who have few assets and are vulnerable to shocks from disease, economic crises, and extreme weather. Gender disparities are significant in Bangladesh, with 78% of employed women working in agriculture, but their contributions are not fully recognized due to cultural norms that value female seclusion and undervalue female labor. These norms also limit women's ownership of land in their own names (3.5%) and restrict access to and control over other assets. The Bangladeshi national baseline survey of the Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index found that the domains contributing to low levels of women's empowerment were weak leadership and influence in the community, lack of control over resources, and lack of control over income. To address these issues, the Integrating Gender and Nutrition within Agricultural Extension Services (INGENAES) project aims to improve agricultural livelihoods by strengthening and engaging smallholder farmers, men and women. The project focuses on improving the dissemination of gender-appropriate and nutrition-enhancing technologies and inputs to enhance women's agricultural productivity and household nutrition. The project also aims to make technologies more attractive for men and women farmers, increase their benefits from using technologies, and design distribution models for extension agents, input suppliers, and mobile devices to reach men and women farmers. The Digital Fat Tester (DFT) is a technology designed to measure the fat percentage of milk, which is essential for determining the quality and price of milk. The DFT has four components: the machine testing the fat, the printer, the scale to weigh the milk, and the electrical supply. The machine requires a small sample of milk to test and produces a receipt in English that displays the fat percent, liters, weight, and solids-not-fat. Solids-not-fat measures all solids in the milk other than fat, including vitamins, minerals, and protein. The DFT was introduced in Bangladesh as part of the Strengthening the Dairy Value Chain (SDVC) project, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The SDVC project aims to improve the formal dairy value chain by working with farmers, processors, traders, and traders to add value to and improve returns from participation in the formal dairy market. The DFT is operated by collection point managers, who are responsible for testing milk and provide farmers with information about the quality of their milk. The DFT has been introduced in milk collection points managed by BRAC Dairy and Food, which are located near the community and within access of homesteads to encourage women's participation. The DFT has had a significant impact on milk production, with producers reporting an increase in milk production since they began working with SDVC. One woman reported increasing her production from 25-30 liters per day to 40 liters per day, while another producer increased her production from 3-4 liters per day to 6-7 liters per day. The DFT has also increased the demand for milk, with nutritional messages targeting women via women's groups, who are the predominant decision-makers surrounding the consumption of milk within the household. The DFT has also had an impact on the time and labor required for milk marketing, with the introduction of transparent pricing reducing the need for negotiations and allowing women farmers to sell milk more easily. Women farmers were previously restricted from marketing milk due to time and mobility restrictions, but the DFT has enabled them to participate in milk marketing. Collection points are now required to have two lines for depositing milk, one for men and one for women, with the women's line attended to first. Farmers must achieve at least 3.0% milk fat to sell to the collection point.