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Assessing livestock husbandry, gendered decision-making and dietary quality among smallholder households in rural Timor-Leste
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This presentation was given by Gianna Bonis-Profumo (Charles Darwin University), as part of the Annual Scientific Conference hosted by the University of Canberra and co-sponsored by the University of Canberra, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and CGIAR Collaborative Platform for Gender Research. The event took place on April 2-4, 2019 in Canberra, Australia. Read more: https://www.canberra.edu.au/research/faculty-research-centres/aisc/seeds-of-change and https://gender.cgiar.org/annual-conference-2019/
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Assessing livestock husbandry, gendered decision-making and dietary quality among smallholder households in rural Timor-Leste
- Gianna Bonis-Profumo - PhD Candidate Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods – RIEL Charles Darwin University Supervisors: Assoc. Prof. Natasha Stacey – RIEL, Charles Darwin University Assoc. Prof. Julie Brimblecombe – Dept. of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food, Monash University Honor. Prof. Robyn Alders, AO – University of Sydney and Director of Kyeema Foundation Funding: Australian Postgraduate Awards, Charles Darwin University, Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition (BCFN) Seeds of Change Conference – Canberra 3rd April 2019 Assessing livestock husbandry, gendered decision-making and dietary quality among smallholder households in rural Timor-Leste
- CONTEXT – TIMOR-LESTE - Independent since 2002 - Post-conflict country - One of the poorest in Southeast Asia - Agriculture-based livelihoods - High child undernutrition 1.2 million-population (GSD and UNFPA 2016) 41% living below the poverty line (MOF and WB 2016)
- STUDY Setting • 4 rural, least developed and agrarian-based suku in Easter Timor-Leste • CDNIP participants: a nutrition sensitive-agriculture program (NSA) focused on nutrition education and agriculture diversification Aim • Examine gender relations, particularly women’s agency, related to livestock husbandry and sale, and animal-source food (ASF) consumption among semi-subsistence smallholders in Timor-Leste
- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
- RESEARCH SITES
- RESEARCH METHODS Longitudinal mixed-methods study September 2017 to September 2018 Tools and data Seasonal livestock production Adapted A-WEAI in dual-headed households (n=282) Semi-Structured Interviews (n=30) Seasonal child <5 and maternal dietary diversity and animal source foods (ASF) intake Fieldwork components 2017 2018 Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep I. Dietary & production diversity S1 S2 S3 S4 II. A-WEAI III. Semi-Structured Interviews
- RESEARCH METHODS Why choosing the A-WEAI • 5 domains of empowerment • 6 indicators vs 10 (WEAI) • Shorter administration time • Internationally validated tool DOMAIN INDICATORS WEIGHT 1 Productio n Input in productive decisions 1/5 2 Resources Ownership of assets 2/15 Access to and decisions on credit 1/15 3 Income Control over use of income 1/5 4 Leadershi p Group membership 1/5 5 Time Workload 1/5 TOTAL 100% Abbreviated Women´s Empowerment in Agriculture Source: Malapit et al 2015
- PRODUCTION PROFILE …yet low protein intake 33% 34% 46% 92% 94% 0% 50% 100% Buffalo Cow Goat Pig Chickens Ownership of animals (n=169) 0% 50% 100% Chicken Pig Buffalo / cow Goat Uses of livestock (n=174) Income Food Culture Across the seasons, at least 88% of households owned pigs and chickens, with half owning a herd size of 1-10 chickens and 1-2 pigs.
- LIVESTOCK OWNERSHIP Joint ownership and decision-making on livestock, reported similarly by men and women • Animals, irrespective of size, were generally considered household’s assets and not owned individually • Most reported making decisions on livestock jointly with their partner and/or family
- LIVESTOCK DECISION-MAKING However, decision-making is nuanced… 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Farmforfood Farmforcash Livestockraising Farmforfood Farmforcash Livestockraising Women Men Extent felt can make own decisions Often Sometimes …power differentials 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Farmfor food Farmfor cash Livestock raising Farmfor food Farmfor cash Livestock raising Women Men Level of input into decisions Always Sometimes Don't
- DECISION-MAKING ON SALE Men Women Women were more autonomous to sell eggs and chickens than pigs. Final decision-making on selling livestock
- DECISION-MAKING ON INCOME • Control over income from livestock sales was shared, with more men often deciding on its use. Men Women “My husband brings the money home so I need to ask if he agrees to using it. Having enough rice is the priority” Woman, Samalari • Despite women frequently reported as the sole deciders for small ASF purchases…
- ASF AND INTRA-HOUSEHOLD ALLOCATION • Around half interviewees described eating meat only during ceremonies, from hunting or when animals die • Differences in ASF allocation according to gender were not commonly portrayed • Eggs were often prioritised to children, corroborated by longitudinal dietary data
- DIETARY QUALITY Mothers and children 6 to 23 months old presented very poor diets with a maximum of 15% and 25% achieving the minimum dietary diversity respective thresholds 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% ASF consumption yesterday Child Mother 0 1 2 3 4 Late dry (n=196) Early rainy (n=142) Early dry (n=165) Late dry (n=164) Seasonal mean food groups eaten yesterday by children 6-59 months old 6-11 m.o. 12-23 m.o. 24-59 m.o.
- CONCLUSIONS • Ownership and decision-making among rural smallholders in Timor-Leste is shared • Decision-making is nuanced and requires unpacking through qualitative enquiry • Women display stronger agency in small livestock management despite unequal bargaining power informed by traditional notions of gender norms • ASF intake and dietary diversity are low, vary with the seasons, and eggs are prioritised to children • Findings suggest that programs focusing on poultry embed large potential to support women’s empowerment, poverty alleviation and dietary quality outcomes
- OBRIGADA BARAK! GIANNA.BONIS- PROFUMO@CDU.EDU.AUPhotos credit: Author 2017-18
- REFERENCES General Directorate of Statistics (GDS) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), 2016. Timor-Leste National Census 2015. Government of Timor-Leste National Statistics Directorate and United Nations Population Fund. Herforth, A., and Harris, J., 2014. Understanding and Applying Primary Pathways and Principles. Brief #1. Improving Nutrition through Agriculture Technical Brief Series. Arlington, VA: USAID/Strengthening Partnerships, Results, and Innovations in Nutrition Globally (SPRING) Project. Malapit, H., Kovarik, C., Sproule, K., Meinzen-Dick, R. and Quisumbing, A.R., 2015. Instructional Guide on the Abbreviated Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (A-WEAI). Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. Ministry of Finance (MOF) and World Bank (WB), 2016. Poverty in Timor-Leste 2014. Government of Timor-Leste Ministry of Finance and World Bank. Ruel, M.T., Alderman, H. and Maternal and Child Nutrition Study Group, 2013. Nutrition-sensitive interventions and programmes: how can they help to accelerate progress in improving maternal and child nutrition?. The Lancet, 382(9891), pp.536-551.
Editor's Notes
- Timor-Leste became an independent country in 2002, after more than 4 centuries of colonial Portuguese rule, 24 years of Indonesian occupation and conflict. This history has resulted in institutional fragility and one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia, with 41% of its 1.2 million-population living below the poverty line Nutrition, gender and agriculture and their intricate links to food security and livelihoods are relevant and important issues for Timor-Leste, a largely agricultural subsistence society where child undernutrition is extremely high
- The PhD aims to investigate the linkages among women’s empowerment in agriculture, animal-source foods production-consumption, and child dietary quality in rural Timor-Leste. Today I will present the preliminary results of one chapter of my thesis that focuses on examining gender relations, particularly women’s agency, related to livestock husbandry and sale, and animal-source food (ASF) consumption among semi-subsistence smallholders in Timor-Leste. The study setting was in 4 rural, least developed and agrarian-based suku or villages in the East. The CDNIP was a nutrition sensitive-agriculture program focused on nutrition education and agriculture diversification activities targeted at mothers with children under 2. I’d like to clarify that this study was not an impact evaluation of the NSA program, which was much larger, but it was used as an engagement platform. The program had no explicit gender activities beyond the group-based delivery of information sessions.
- The study is underpinned in this theoretical framework, which most of you will be familiar with. Agricultural livelihoods and interventions have the potential to improve both production and consumption of nutritious foods (IFPRI, 2012) The pathways by which these programmes can improve nutritional outcomes have been widely discussed (Kadyiala et al., 2014; Herforth, 2013; Gillespie, 2012; Hoddinott, 2011; WB, 2007) and conceptualised in multiple routes and interactions Yet, all converge in that Women “are key mediators in the pathways between agriculture inputs, intra-household resource allocation, and child nutrition” as stated by Ruel and Alderman, 2013:538-9
- Sites were 4 suku in 2 municipalities - 200 surveyed households: 100 inland + 100 coastal due to different agro-ecological zones and potential access to ASF Participants were beneficiaries of the CDNIP, including mothers, husbands and children <5. Myself and the research team visited these households 4 times in one year to account for seasonality.
- This longitudinal mixed-methods study was conducted from September 2017 to September 2018. Data presented includes seasonal animal production, selected questions from the Abbreviated Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index which was contextualised, expanded and administered to mothers and male adults living in the dual-headed household (n=282 individuals). 30 Semi-structured interviews with mothers, husbands and families enabled to explore gender and social norms around the intra-household distribution of ASF. Seasonal child and maternal ASF intake and dietary diversity quantified their dietary quality outcomes.
- Used the A-WEAI because it assesses the same 5 domains as the WEAI, is shorter to administer and enables comparability across contexts. This is the first time a tool form the WEAI family is used in Timor-Leste, we used tablets and ODK open-source software. For this study, instead of using the overall score, I will focus on key A-WEAI responses from 3 domains to understand gendered decision-making around livestock and animal-source foods.
- Quantitative results showed that over 90% of participating households farmed for food and raised livestock, while only 50% grew cash crops and 9% had aquaculture ponds - Showing how livestock is a leading livelihood strategy. The majority of households owned chickens and pigs, with poultry used for income and consumption while pigs satisfied cultural requirements and income to a smaller degree. Large animals were often dedicated towards cultural ceremonies. Ownership of pigs and chicken was constant through the seasons and with small herd sizes. However, protein intake is low.
- Most decision-making is joint with the respondents' partner and/or another households family member, reported by at least 80% of both men & women for all productive activities. This finding confirms that Timor-Leste understands the household as the farming unit and that decision-making tends to be shared across family members.
- Yet decision-making is nuanced. Looking at who tends to make the decisions for each productive activity shows lower level of input into decisions for women(g2.02), as well women feeling can makes less of their own decisions (g2.04). Thus, indicating power differentials in decision-making. Livestock had the highest level of input and self-efficacy among women
- When further unpacking final decision-making…. Found that women were more autonomous to sell eggs and chickens than pigs.
- Control over income from livestock sales was shared, with more men often deciding on its use. Despite women frequently reported as the sole deciders for small ASF purchases, qualitative findings suggest that the disparity in control over household resources is greater than what quantitative data indicated.
- Seasonality influenced ASF intake – children consumed more ASF than their mothers, basically eggs and dairy Less than a quarter of mothers and children 6-23 months old achieved dietary diversity adequacy.
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