Arundhita Bhanjdeo | Charles Sturt University (original) (raw)
Papers by Arundhita Bhanjdeo
Nutrients, Feb 2, 2024
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
IFPRI Discussion paper, 2024
Over the last decade in India, farmer producer organizations (FPOs) have emerged as a means of co... more Over the last decade in India, farmer producer organizations (FPOs) have emerged as a means of
collectivizing smallholder farmers and providing them access to extension, innovation, and market services.
FPOs that center women farmers, traditionally at a disadvantage vis-à-vis their male counterparts in access
to resources and extension, can serve to enhance women’s agency and collective action in agricultural value
chains. We used 59 key informant interviews and nine focus group discussions to examine the constraints
to, and facilitators of, women’s and men’s participation in three women-only FPOs in Jharkhand, an eastern
Indian state. Additionally, we study the gender and power dynamics in such FPOs and the potential of
collective efficacy to enhance agricultural and empowerment outcomes. The FPO intervention we evaluated
was supported by an NGO that provides FPO members with both agricultural and gender-based inputs to
improve agronomic practices, market linkages, agricultural yields and profits, and the role of women both
within the FPO and within their households and communities. In this paper, we provide contextual insights
on ‘what works’ to empower women in this context. Women’s perceptions of the benefits from FPO
membership were heterogeneous. Our qualitative analysis suggests a nuanced picture of women’s
autonomy and decision-making within and outside their household, further shaped by women’s and men’s
perception of shifts in women’s access to resources and services. The emerging lessons provide inputs for
development implementers and policymakers to recognize diverse contextual barriers in designing FPO
interventions to enable and enhance women empowerment outcomes. The research also contributes to the
body of knowledge on local gender norms and understanding of empowerment.
Current Developments in Nutrition
Objectives: Health and nutrition data in India reveal continued poor outcomes with stark geograph... more Objectives: Health and nutrition data in India reveal continued poor outcomes with stark geographical differences in nutritional indicators. The state health and welfare apparatus relies on Community Health Workers (CHWs) - Accredited Social Health Activists and Anganwadi Workers, part of the National Health Mission and Integrated Child Development Services respectively, to deliver national schemes in more vulnerable rural and remote contexts. These CHWs act as social brokers mobilising rural communities vis-a-vis the public health system, mediating access to health information and services. Yet there exist inadequacies in CHWs’ training contributing to gaps in knowledge and contextually-relevant practices. In this study, we seek to understand the readiness of the CHWs to tackle the issue of malnutrition, particularly amongst women and children, by assessing their health and nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and practices with a view to strengthening policies to build CHW’s capacities and their impacts on the ground.
Methods: The study was conducted in the Santhal Pargana region of Bihar and Jharkhand, known for high malnutrition levels. The FAO’s nutrition-related knowledge, attitudes, and practice survey was administered among 77 CHWs from January to April 2021 to assess responses across six modules: nutrition during pregnancy and lactation, undernutrition, iron, and vitamin deficiencies, food safety, and COVID-related
preparedness.
Results: Knowledge across modules ranged between medium to high and attitudes scored high. However, practices were consistently low to medium. On undernutrition, 81% of ASHAs had high knowledge, yet 65% could not articulate practices
utilising local resources to address it.
Conclusions: Lower adoption of context-appropriate practices indicates a gap in basic capacity levels of CHWs. Our study reveals their underutilised potential as key interlocutors between communities and the state health system due to a lack of attention to contextual practices and listening to local needs at the policy level. By empowering them and training them to respond to context-specific concerns especially around access to local micronutrient-rich food, CHWs can build a bottom-up networked rural health infrastructure to sustainably improve nutritional outcomes.
Funding Sources: EPSRC Global Research Translation Award
(EP/T015411/1UKRI).
8th International Summit on Nutrition and Health (2022) – Abstracts
About 3ie The International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) promotes evidence-informed equ... more About 3ie The International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) promotes evidence-informed equitable, inclusive and sustainable development. We support the generation and effective use of high-quality evidence to inform decision-making and improve the lives of people living in poverty in low-and middle-income countries. We provide guidance and support to produce, synthesise and quality assure evidence of what works, for whom, how, why and at what cost. 3ie working papers These papers cover a range of content. They may focus on current issues, debates and enduring challenges facing development policymakers, programme managers, practitioners and the impact evaluation and systematic review communities. Policyrelevant papers in this series synthesise or draw on relevant findings from mixed-method impact evaluations, systematic reviews funded by 3ie, as well as other rigorous evidence to offer new analyses, findings, insights and recommendations. Papers focusing on methods and technical guides also draw on similar sources to help advance understanding, design and use of rigorous and appropriate evaluations and reviews. We also use this series to publish lessons learned from 3ie grant-making and contributions from 3ie's senior research fellows. About this working paper This paper, Understanding India's self-help groups: an organisational anatomy of functionality in a district in Madhya Pradesh, presents findings of a qualitative research study on the functioning of women's self-help groups in one district in Madhya Pradesh. This paper is being made available as submitted. It has not been copyedited but has been formatted for publication by 3ie.
VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 2022
This paper introduces Development Led Inquiry (DLI) as an approach to improve situations incorpor... more This paper introduces Development Led Inquiry (DLI) as an approach to improve situations incorporating relationships between third sector organisations (TSOs) and agricultural scientists, universities, and the public-sector agricultural establishment. There is limited scholarly work on the role of TSOs in agricultural research. Current approaches appear premised on TSOs being researched upon, and recipients of research outcomes rather than partners in generation and application of new knowledge. DLI expands the boundaries of research systems and roles of TSOs as supporters within them. DLI builds on partnerships between NGOs, farmers’ organisations, and women’s associations; it integrates researchers and research organisations to develop, manage and report knowledge generation and application. DLI is dynamic and developmental with learning for all participants central to the process. DLI unsettles current power structures within research systems and sees research and knowledge gener...
Voluntas, 2022
This paper introduces Development Led Inquiry (DLI) as an approach to improve situations incorpor... more This paper introduces Development Led Inquiry (DLI) as an approach to improve situations incorporating relationships between third sector organisations (TSOs) and agricultural scientists, universities, and the publicsector agricultural establishment. There is limited scholarly work on the role of TSOs in agricultural research. Current approaches appear premised on TSOs being researched upon, and recipients of research outcomes rather than partners in generation and application of new knowledge. DLI expands the boundaries of research systems and roles of TSOs as supporters within them. DLI builds on partnerships between NGOs, farmers' organisations, and women's associations; it integrates researchers and research organisations to develop, manage and report knowledge generation and application. DLI is dynamic and developmental with learning for all participants central to the process. DLI unsettles current power structures within research systems and sees research and knowledge generation as a supporter rather than leader of development. DLI is embedded in an inquiring systems approach and applies six interrelated conceptual systems thinking tools. The approach emerged from, and was applied in, a twelve-year agricultural research project in India, and was subsequently introduced to, and further developed in a research project in Pakistan. Keywords Agricultural research Á Inquiring systems Á Systems thinking Á Development led inquiry Á Third sector organisations Á Non-governmental organisations
The European Journal of Development Research
The national lockdown of India announced on March 24th 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,... more The national lockdown of India announced on March 24th 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, left millions of migrant labourers stranded in their destinations. Thrown out of their informal labour arrangements in cities and industrial centres, unable to return to their villages in the absence of transportation, they were stranded for over a month with no income, improper housing and often lack of food. This paper discusses the experiences of men migrating from Chakai block, Jamui district, Bihar, to four Indian states, namely, Kerala, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. We compare their experiences across these four destination states in relation to the social policy response following the national lockdown. Most workers are young men (16–35 years old) and their migration pattern is seasonal and circular. The emerging lessons provide inputs for social policy measures related to migrant workers in India.
The objective of this research is to study, first how the multiple participants operating at vari... more The objective of this research is to study, first how the multiple participants operating at various levels of an agricultural project interpret its nature and outcomes and second, their journey of learning and transformation. This research builds on the hypothesis that different individuals perceive a project and get involved in it due to varied reasons. Moreover, the coming together of multiple actors enhances learning and gives rise to new knowledge. This research studies an agricultural research project working in East India Plateau. The perspectives of the multiple stakeholders of the project, coming from different disciplines, culture, life experiences and educational backgrounds have been studied with a transdisciplinary approach. In addition, to gain an integrated understanding of these diverse perspectives, systems thinking has been explored in this study. Data has been collected in the form of narratives, from 45 project participants chosen by purposive qualitative samplin...
European Journal of Development Research, 2020
The national lockdown of India announced on March 24th 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,... more The national lockdown of India announced on March 24th 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, left millions of migrant labourers stranded in their destinations. Thrown out of their informal labour arrangements in cities and industrial centres , unable to return to their villages in the absence of transportation, they were stranded for over a month with no income, improper housing and often lack of food. This paper discusses the experiences of men migrating from Chakai block, Jamui district, Bihar, to four Indian states, namely, Kerala, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. We compare their experiences across these four destination states in relation to the social policy response following the national lockdown. Most workers are young men (16-35 years old) and their migration pattern is seasonal and circular. The emerging lessons provide inputs for social policy measures related to migrant workers in India.
Nutrients, Feb 2, 2024
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
IFPRI Discussion paper, 2024
Over the last decade in India, farmer producer organizations (FPOs) have emerged as a means of co... more Over the last decade in India, farmer producer organizations (FPOs) have emerged as a means of
collectivizing smallholder farmers and providing them access to extension, innovation, and market services.
FPOs that center women farmers, traditionally at a disadvantage vis-à-vis their male counterparts in access
to resources and extension, can serve to enhance women’s agency and collective action in agricultural value
chains. We used 59 key informant interviews and nine focus group discussions to examine the constraints
to, and facilitators of, women’s and men’s participation in three women-only FPOs in Jharkhand, an eastern
Indian state. Additionally, we study the gender and power dynamics in such FPOs and the potential of
collective efficacy to enhance agricultural and empowerment outcomes. The FPO intervention we evaluated
was supported by an NGO that provides FPO members with both agricultural and gender-based inputs to
improve agronomic practices, market linkages, agricultural yields and profits, and the role of women both
within the FPO and within their households and communities. In this paper, we provide contextual insights
on ‘what works’ to empower women in this context. Women’s perceptions of the benefits from FPO
membership were heterogeneous. Our qualitative analysis suggests a nuanced picture of women’s
autonomy and decision-making within and outside their household, further shaped by women’s and men’s
perception of shifts in women’s access to resources and services. The emerging lessons provide inputs for
development implementers and policymakers to recognize diverse contextual barriers in designing FPO
interventions to enable and enhance women empowerment outcomes. The research also contributes to the
body of knowledge on local gender norms and understanding of empowerment.
Current Developments in Nutrition
Objectives: Health and nutrition data in India reveal continued poor outcomes with stark geograph... more Objectives: Health and nutrition data in India reveal continued poor outcomes with stark geographical differences in nutritional indicators. The state health and welfare apparatus relies on Community Health Workers (CHWs) - Accredited Social Health Activists and Anganwadi Workers, part of the National Health Mission and Integrated Child Development Services respectively, to deliver national schemes in more vulnerable rural and remote contexts. These CHWs act as social brokers mobilising rural communities vis-a-vis the public health system, mediating access to health information and services. Yet there exist inadequacies in CHWs’ training contributing to gaps in knowledge and contextually-relevant practices. In this study, we seek to understand the readiness of the CHWs to tackle the issue of malnutrition, particularly amongst women and children, by assessing their health and nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and practices with a view to strengthening policies to build CHW’s capacities and their impacts on the ground.
Methods: The study was conducted in the Santhal Pargana region of Bihar and Jharkhand, known for high malnutrition levels. The FAO’s nutrition-related knowledge, attitudes, and practice survey was administered among 77 CHWs from January to April 2021 to assess responses across six modules: nutrition during pregnancy and lactation, undernutrition, iron, and vitamin deficiencies, food safety, and COVID-related
preparedness.
Results: Knowledge across modules ranged between medium to high and attitudes scored high. However, practices were consistently low to medium. On undernutrition, 81% of ASHAs had high knowledge, yet 65% could not articulate practices
utilising local resources to address it.
Conclusions: Lower adoption of context-appropriate practices indicates a gap in basic capacity levels of CHWs. Our study reveals their underutilised potential as key interlocutors between communities and the state health system due to a lack of attention to contextual practices and listening to local needs at the policy level. By empowering them and training them to respond to context-specific concerns especially around access to local micronutrient-rich food, CHWs can build a bottom-up networked rural health infrastructure to sustainably improve nutritional outcomes.
Funding Sources: EPSRC Global Research Translation Award
(EP/T015411/1UKRI).
8th International Summit on Nutrition and Health (2022) – Abstracts
About 3ie The International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) promotes evidence-informed equ... more About 3ie The International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) promotes evidence-informed equitable, inclusive and sustainable development. We support the generation and effective use of high-quality evidence to inform decision-making and improve the lives of people living in poverty in low-and middle-income countries. We provide guidance and support to produce, synthesise and quality assure evidence of what works, for whom, how, why and at what cost. 3ie working papers These papers cover a range of content. They may focus on current issues, debates and enduring challenges facing development policymakers, programme managers, practitioners and the impact evaluation and systematic review communities. Policyrelevant papers in this series synthesise or draw on relevant findings from mixed-method impact evaluations, systematic reviews funded by 3ie, as well as other rigorous evidence to offer new analyses, findings, insights and recommendations. Papers focusing on methods and technical guides also draw on similar sources to help advance understanding, design and use of rigorous and appropriate evaluations and reviews. We also use this series to publish lessons learned from 3ie grant-making and contributions from 3ie's senior research fellows. About this working paper This paper, Understanding India's self-help groups: an organisational anatomy of functionality in a district in Madhya Pradesh, presents findings of a qualitative research study on the functioning of women's self-help groups in one district in Madhya Pradesh. This paper is being made available as submitted. It has not been copyedited but has been formatted for publication by 3ie.
VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 2022
This paper introduces Development Led Inquiry (DLI) as an approach to improve situations incorpor... more This paper introduces Development Led Inquiry (DLI) as an approach to improve situations incorporating relationships between third sector organisations (TSOs) and agricultural scientists, universities, and the public-sector agricultural establishment. There is limited scholarly work on the role of TSOs in agricultural research. Current approaches appear premised on TSOs being researched upon, and recipients of research outcomes rather than partners in generation and application of new knowledge. DLI expands the boundaries of research systems and roles of TSOs as supporters within them. DLI builds on partnerships between NGOs, farmers’ organisations, and women’s associations; it integrates researchers and research organisations to develop, manage and report knowledge generation and application. DLI is dynamic and developmental with learning for all participants central to the process. DLI unsettles current power structures within research systems and sees research and knowledge gener...
Voluntas, 2022
This paper introduces Development Led Inquiry (DLI) as an approach to improve situations incorpor... more This paper introduces Development Led Inquiry (DLI) as an approach to improve situations incorporating relationships between third sector organisations (TSOs) and agricultural scientists, universities, and the publicsector agricultural establishment. There is limited scholarly work on the role of TSOs in agricultural research. Current approaches appear premised on TSOs being researched upon, and recipients of research outcomes rather than partners in generation and application of new knowledge. DLI expands the boundaries of research systems and roles of TSOs as supporters within them. DLI builds on partnerships between NGOs, farmers' organisations, and women's associations; it integrates researchers and research organisations to develop, manage and report knowledge generation and application. DLI is dynamic and developmental with learning for all participants central to the process. DLI unsettles current power structures within research systems and sees research and knowledge generation as a supporter rather than leader of development. DLI is embedded in an inquiring systems approach and applies six interrelated conceptual systems thinking tools. The approach emerged from, and was applied in, a twelve-year agricultural research project in India, and was subsequently introduced to, and further developed in a research project in Pakistan. Keywords Agricultural research Á Inquiring systems Á Systems thinking Á Development led inquiry Á Third sector organisations Á Non-governmental organisations
The European Journal of Development Research
The national lockdown of India announced on March 24th 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,... more The national lockdown of India announced on March 24th 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, left millions of migrant labourers stranded in their destinations. Thrown out of their informal labour arrangements in cities and industrial centres, unable to return to their villages in the absence of transportation, they were stranded for over a month with no income, improper housing and often lack of food. This paper discusses the experiences of men migrating from Chakai block, Jamui district, Bihar, to four Indian states, namely, Kerala, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. We compare their experiences across these four destination states in relation to the social policy response following the national lockdown. Most workers are young men (16–35 years old) and their migration pattern is seasonal and circular. The emerging lessons provide inputs for social policy measures related to migrant workers in India.
The objective of this research is to study, first how the multiple participants operating at vari... more The objective of this research is to study, first how the multiple participants operating at various levels of an agricultural project interpret its nature and outcomes and second, their journey of learning and transformation. This research builds on the hypothesis that different individuals perceive a project and get involved in it due to varied reasons. Moreover, the coming together of multiple actors enhances learning and gives rise to new knowledge. This research studies an agricultural research project working in East India Plateau. The perspectives of the multiple stakeholders of the project, coming from different disciplines, culture, life experiences and educational backgrounds have been studied with a transdisciplinary approach. In addition, to gain an integrated understanding of these diverse perspectives, systems thinking has been explored in this study. Data has been collected in the form of narratives, from 45 project participants chosen by purposive qualitative samplin...
European Journal of Development Research, 2020
The national lockdown of India announced on March 24th 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,... more The national lockdown of India announced on March 24th 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, left millions of migrant labourers stranded in their destinations. Thrown out of their informal labour arrangements in cities and industrial centres , unable to return to their villages in the absence of transportation, they were stranded for over a month with no income, improper housing and often lack of food. This paper discusses the experiences of men migrating from Chakai block, Jamui district, Bihar, to four Indian states, namely, Kerala, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. We compare their experiences across these four destination states in relation to the social policy response following the national lockdown. Most workers are young men (16-35 years old) and their migration pattern is seasonal and circular. The emerging lessons provide inputs for social policy measures related to migrant workers in India.