International Food Policy Research Institute

About: International Food Policy Research Institute is a nonprofit organization based out in Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Agriculture & Food security. The organization has 1217 authors who have published 4952 publications receiving 218436 citations.

Iodine Deficiency and Schooling Attainment in Tanzania

Abstract: Cognitive damage from iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) has impor tant implications for economic growth through its effect on human capital. To gauge the magnitude of this influence, we evaluate the impact on schooling of reductions in IDD from intensive iodine sup plementation in Tanzania. Our findings suggest a large effect of in utero iodine on cognition and human capital: treated children attain an estimated 0.35-0.56 years of additional schooling relative to sib lings and older and younger peers. Furthermore, the effect appears to be substantially larger for girls, consistent with laboratory evi dence indicating greater cognitive sensitivity of female fetuses to maternal thyroid deprivation. (JEL112,121, J16, 015)

Women's empowerment and child nutritional status in South Asia: a synthesis of the literature.

Abstract: Women's disempowerment is hypothesised to contribute to high rates of undernutrition among South Asian children. However, evidence for this relationship has not been systematically reviewed. This review of empirical studies aims to: (1) synthesise the evidence linking women's empowerment and child nutritional status in South Asia and (2) suggest directions for future research. We systematically searched Global Health, Embase (classic and Ovid), MEDLINE, Campbell Collaboration, Popline, Eldis, Web of Science, EconLit and Scopus. We generated 1661 studies for abstract and title screening. We full-text screened 44 of these, plus 10 additional studies the authors were aware of. Only 12 studies fulfilled our inclusion criteria. We included English materials published between 1990 and 2012 that examined the relationship(s) of at least one women's empowerment domain and nutritional status among South Asian children. Data were extracted and synthesised within three domains of empowerment: control of resources and autonomy, workload and time, and social support. The results showed women's empowerment to be generally associated with child anthropometry, but the findings are mixed. Inter-study differences in population characteristics, settings or methods/conceptualisations of women's empowerment, and the specific domains studied, likely contributed to these inconsistencies. This review also highlights that different women's empowerment domains may relate differently to child nutritional status. Future research should aim to harmonise definitions of women's empowerment, which key domains it should include, and how it is measured. Rigorous evaluation work is also needed to establish which policies and programmes facilitate women's empowerment and in turn, foster child nutritional well-being.

Gender Differences in Access to Extension Services and Agricultural Productivity

Abstract: Purpose:This article contributes new empirical evidence and nuanced analysis on the gender difference in access to extension services and how this translates to observed differences in technology adoption and agricultural productivity.Approach:It looks at the case of Ethiopia, where substantial investments in the extension system have been made, but the coverage and effect of these investments on female and male producers are not well-understood. This article employs a cross-sectional instrumental-variable regression method using a regionally representative data set of more than 7500 households in four major regions in Ethiopia during the 2010 main season.Findings:Female heads of households and plot-managers are less likely to get extension services through various channels and less likely to access quality services than their male counterparts after controlling for other factors. Receiving advice from extension agents is positively related to adoption of improved seed and fertiliser for both fema...

Impact of Zinc Supplementation on Morbidity From Diarrhea and Respiratory Infections Among Rural Guatemalan Children

Abstract: Objective. A community-based, randomized, double-blind intervention trial was conducted to measure the impact of zinc supplementation on young Guatemalan children9s morbidity from diarrhea and respiratory infections. Methods. Children aged 6 to 9 months were randomly assigned to receive 4 mL of a beverage containing 10 mg of zinc (as zinc sulfate) daily (7 d/wk) for 7 months (n = 45) or a placebo (n = 44). Morbidity data were collected daily. Diagnoses of diarrhea, fever, and anorexia were based on mothers9 definitions. Respiratory infections were defined as the presence of at least two of the following symptoms: runny nose, cough, wheezing, difficulty breathing, or fever. Results. High rates of diarrhea and respiratory infections were reported. Children from the placebo group had a 20% episodic prevalence of diarrhea, with 8 episodes/100 d, and a 7% episodic prevalence of respiratory infections, with 3 episodes/100 d. The median incidence of diarrhea among children who received zinc supplementation was reduced by 22% (Wilcoxon rank test), with larger reductions among boys and among children with weight-for-length at baseline lower than the median of the sample (39% reductions in both subgroups). Zinc supplementation also produced a 67% reduction in the percentage of children who had one or more episodes of persistent diarrhea (χ2 test). No significant effects were found on the episodic prevalence of diarrhea, the number of days per episode, or the episodic prevalence or incidence of respiratory infections. Conclusions. The large impact of zinc supplementation on diarrhea incidence suggests that young, rural Guatemalan children may be zinc deficient and that zinc supplementation may be an effective intervention to improve their health and growth.