Browsing by Author "Herrington, Caitlin"

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    Assessing the Adoption of High Iron Bean Varieties and Their Impact on Iron Intakes and Other Livelihood Outcomes in Rwanda: Listing Exercise Report
    Asare-Marfo, Dorene; Herrington, Caitlin; Birachi, Eliud; Birol, Ekin; Tedla Diressie, Michael; Dusenge, Leonidas; Funes, Jose; Katungi, Enid; Labarta, Ricardo; Larochelle, Catherine; Katsvairo, Lister; Lividini, Keith; Lubowa, Abdelrahman; Moursi, Mourad; Mulambu, Joseph; Murekezi, Abdoul; Musoni, Augustine; Nkundimana, Jean d’Amour; Oparinde, Adewale; Vaiknoras, Kate; Zeller, Manfred (Harvest Plus, International Food Policy Research Institute, 2016-10-01)
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    Assessing the Adoption of High Iron Bean Varieties and Their Impact on Iron Intakes and Other Livelihood Outcomes in Rwanda: Main Survey Report
    Asare-Marfo, Dorene; Herrington, Caitlin; Birachi, Eliud; Birol, Ekin; Cook, Kristy; Tedla Diressie, Michael; Dusenge, Leonidas; Funes, Jose; Katsvairo, Lister; Katungi, Enid; Labarta, Ricardo; Larochelle, Catherine; Lividini, Keith; Moursi, Mourad; Mulambu, Joseph; Murekezi, Abdoul; Musoni, Augustine; Nkundimana, Jean d’Amour; Vaiknoras, Kate; Zeller, Manfred (2016-12-30)
    An impact assessment (IA) study was conducted in Season B 20152 to establish the reach of high-iron bean (HIB) varieties to Rwandan bean farmers since these varieties were released in 2010, and to understand the adoption and diffusion patterns that have occurred so far. The IA was carried out in two parts. The first part was a listing survey, which was conducted at the beginning of Season B 2015, during the planting period. A total of 19,575 households were enlisted in 120 randomly selected villages throughout the country, and 93 percent of those households were bean-producing households. The listing exercise revealed that 28 percent of bean farmers had grown at least one HIB variety in at least one season, since 2010—the equivalent of approximately half a million households. In Season B 2015, 20 percent of bean farmers were reported to be growing an HIB—the equivalent of approximately 350,000 households. Detailed results of the listing exercise are available in a separate report.
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    Farming Practices and Crop Varietal Choice among Uganda Bean and Sweet Potato Producers
    Larochelle, Catherine; Labarta, Ricardo; Katungi, Enid; Herrington, Caitlin; Alwang, Jeffrey R.; Asare-Marfo, Dorene; Ball, Anna-Maria; Birol, Ekin (2018)
    The common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, and white- or yellow-fleshed sweet potatoes, Ipomoea batatas, are widely grown in Uganda as both food and cash crops. Beans and sweet potatoes are common staples in Uganda, providing hearty, affordable nourishment to rural households. However, throughout the country, iron and vitamin A deficiency (VAD) remain high. Diets low in iron intake are a major cause of iron-deficiency anemia, which is associated with fatigue, decreased productivity, and reduced immune function. Childhood anemia is associated with impaired mental and physical development. Among pregnant women, anemia may lead to premature delivery and low birth weight (WHO 2008). VAD further impedes child growth, contributes to blindness, lessens immune function, and increases the morbidity and mortality of children and pregnant women (WHO 2009). According to data from the Uganda Demographic and Health Survey 2011 (the most recent available), 49 percent of children ages six months to five years and 24 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 49 years suffer from anemia; for VAD, those statistics are 38 percent of children and 36 percent of women (UBOS 2012).
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    Promoting rapid and sustained adoption of biofortified crops: What we learned from iron-biofortified bean delivery approaches in Rwanda
    Vaiknoras, Kate; Larochelle, Catherine; Birol, Ekin; Asare-Marfo, Dorene; Herrington, Caitlin (2018-11-18)
    Micronutrient deficiencies, also known as hidden hunger, affect two billion people worldwide, curtailing their ability to lead healthy, productive lives. Biofortified staple crops, bred to be rich in micronutrient content, are a cost-effective and scalable solution to alleviating micronutrient deficiency, particularly among rural households who consume what they produce. Delivery of biofortified planting material in Rwanda began in 2012, and it is important to learn from the efforts undertaken to date to inform the design of higher impact – lower cost delivery strategies for scaling up these crops. In this paper, we use a nationally representative household survey of bean producers and delivery data from seven consecutive seasons and apply duration analysis to estimate the impact of different delivery approaches on household time to adoption, disadoption and readoption of iron-biofortified beans in Rwanda. Proximity to formal delivery via sales of small packets of planting material quickens adoption and readoption, while delivery of larger quantities of planting material to small-scale producers within a village slows disadoption of iron-biofortified beans. Informal dissemination within social networks and access to extension are also major drivers of rapid adoption. In addition, households whose main decision maker for bean production is a woman, has some formal education, and more years of experience growing beans disadopt iron-biofortified beans more slowly than other households. These findings provide evidence that current efforts to promote iron-biofortified crops have been successful and are expected to inform future development of sustainable and cost-effective delivery models for biofortified crops in Rwanda and elsewhere.