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Authors:Md. Tarikul Islam, Arnob Barua, S. M. Mahbur Rahman, Pennan Chinnasamy Pages: 56 - 75 Abstract: Asia-Pacific Journal of Rural Development, Volume 33, Issue 1, Page 56-75, June 2023. The combined effects of climate change and anthropogenic factors are causing the depletion of the groundwater level in the Northwest region of Bangladesh, leading to the rise of socio-economic stress among the rural marginalised communities. This research aims to assess the current water practices by identifying the changes in water supply sources and associated socio-economic stress to rural marginalised communities. Both social and hydrogeological factors have been taken into consideration for vulnerability assessment. The social factors are (a) percentage of indigenous households, (b) percentage of poor households, (c) percentage using unhygienic water sources and (d) percentage of households having water scarcity. On the other hand, the hydrogeological factors are (a) depth of topsoil, (b) elevation, (c) stream density, (d) slope of the elevation, (e) land use and (f) soil. The geospatial-based weighted linear combination technique combines all the social and hydrogeological factors. The resultant areas are characterised by five categories: very low to very high vulnerability. According to social and hydrogeological factors, Sapahar, Tilna, Dibar, Sihara and Nirmail unions are in the most vulnerable zone. Citation: Asia-Pacific Journal of Rural Development PubDate: 2024-05-06T11:47:32Z DOI: 10.1177/10185291241235066 Issue No:Vol. 33, No. 1 (2024)
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Authors:Akriti Sharma, Pragya Timsina, Anjana Chaudhary, Emma Karki, Brendan Brown Abstract: Asia-Pacific Journal of Rural Development, Ahead of Print. A vibrant fee-for-hire service provision economy is required in the Eastern Gangetic Plains (EGP) to ensure that resource-poor smallholder farmers can access and benefit from agri-mechanisation. While the literature on sustainable agri-mechanisation (with an emphasis on Conservation Agriculture-based Sustainable Intensification) has focused on the potential impact on farmer livelihoods, there has been a significant gap in understanding the supply constraints that limit the availability of machinery for smallholders. Using a novel qualitative thematic coding approach based on machinery owner experiences, this study aims to fill this gap, highlighting issues around the inclusiveness of current approaches to encourage machinery services provision and the economic viability of doing so. The findings of this study are not only informative but also have practical implications for future work. To address key constraints, we identify five focus areas for future research, alongside the need to explore with communities their preferred methods to access machinery. In doing so, this work enables a more holistic understanding of the next steps to encourage widespread and equitable agri-mechanization across the EGP. Citation: Asia-Pacific Journal of Rural Development PubDate: 2024-08-01T11:34:09Z DOI: 10.1177/10185291241259809
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Authors:Payal Seth, Palakh Jain Abstract: Asia-Pacific Journal of Rural Development, Ahead of Print. India has launched five national sanitation policies since independence, and among these, the Swachh Bharath Mission-Grameen is the world’s largest sanitation campaign. Despite this achievement, the literature on understanding the evolution and impact of these policies is scarce. We are one of the earliest studies to address this literature gap. We find that as the campaign progressed, the programmes gained rigour in constructing toilets and in terms of behavioural change to induce people to use these toilets. However, despite the government’s claim of India being declared an open defecation–free (ODF) nation at the end of SBM, other government of India data sources claim otherwise. Hence, tracing the evolution and impact of national sanitation policies gives us valuable lessons to make India ODF in the future: (a) efforts to implement context-specific behaviour change campaigns can bring a sustained change in the social attitudes of people regarding sanitation, (b) optimising toilet infrastructure and aligning its pace of construction, (c) allocating budget for upkeep of already-built toilets under government programmes will reduce and even eliminate reversion to open defecation and (d) moving the sanitation outcomes from access to adoption will present an actual state of the sanitation environment in India. This article is one of the earliest in exploring rural sanitation in India from a policy history perspective, considering how sanitation practices and trends changed every time there was a change in the rural sanitation policy. Citation: Asia-Pacific Journal of Rural Development PubDate: 2024-04-03T10:28:35Z DOI: 10.1177/10185291241232827
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Authors:Mohammad Walid Hemat, Md. Shahinur Rahman Abstract: Asia-Pacific Journal of Rural Development, Ahead of Print. Microfinance is important in a country’s rural development and poverty alleviation. In underdeveloped countries where a substantial fraction of the labour force is not gainfully employed, and the poverty rate rises over time, microfinance development is needed. In Afghanistan, the formal microfinance channels became active in 2003, and so far, they have provided considerable financing services to individuals and businesses. This article attempts to draw a clear picture of the impact of this sector on income, employment, women empowerment, and poverty. The article also attempts to highlight the prevailing challenges hampering the development of microfinance in Afghanistan. The findings of this article show that the microfinance sector has seen dramatic development over the past 20 years, and many microfinance institutions that provide financial services for thousands of households have been established. It further finds that there are cases of positive impacts from microfinance on income and employment. The effect of microfinance on women’s empowerment is less than expected; however, there is evidence of a positive effect for some women. The impact of microfinance on poverty is hard to conclude. In rural areas, impoverished people have not been targeted by microfinance because they might be unable to repay their debts. Citation: Asia-Pacific Journal of Rural Development PubDate: 2024-04-02T07:39:45Z DOI: 10.1177/10185291241235445
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Authors:Sandeep Agrawal, Nilusha Welegedara, Debadutta Parida Abstract: Asia-Pacific Journal of Rural Development, Ahead of Print. This study tracks the spatiotemporal changes in high-population growth and high-density rural regions of India, also called ‘urural’. The urural areas are remote, high-density rural areas far from zones of urban influence. Deriving the land use and land cover changes from the Global Land Cover and Land Use Change dataset and analysing them in the most populated and dense districts, the study confirms the hypothesis that land uses are continuously changing and have accelerated in high population growth and density in rural districts in India. The findings demonstrate significant changes in land use patterns in the last two decades, that is, 2000–2020, particularly in the last decade. Almost all physical changes, such as an increase in built-up areas, a reduction in agricultural lands, and depletion in vegetative cover and water bodies, were significant. This means that high population density, combined with population pressure in remote rural regions, is a leading contributing factor to considerable land use transformations, essentially turning them into areas with urban characteristics, that is, making them urural. Citation: Asia-Pacific Journal of Rural Development PubDate: 2024-04-01T11:42:21Z DOI: 10.1177/10185291241236307
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Authors:Ziaul Hasan Rana, Debra B. Reed, Wilna Oldewage-Theron, Saiful Islam, M Akhtaruzzaman, Conrad Lyford, Malinda Colwell, John A. Dawson Abstract: Asia-Pacific Journal of Rural Development, Ahead of Print. With long-term detrimental consequences of irreversible physical and intellectual impairment, stunting remains one of the most prevalent public health problems. This study aimed to identify the factors contributing to stunting among children aged 24 to 59 months in Bangladesh. An analysis of nutrition survey data from the Nutrition, Health and Demographic Survey of Bangladesh analysed the data from a sample of 4,182 children. A predictive model was constructed to identify the association of stunting with family socioeconomics and children’s characteristics. The study found that the development of stunting among 24- to 59-month-old children has been attributed to several factors such as household food security, child feeding practices, parental education and domestic violence. Mothers with secondary education had lower odds of having stunted children. Houses with better flooring quality reduced the probability of stunting by 50%. Children growing up in a moderately food-insecure family had higher odds of becoming stunted. Better child-feeding practices also had lower odds of stunting by 33%. The presence of domestic violence in the household increased the odds of having a stunted child. However, household sanitary conditions, safe water sources and maternal nutritional knowledge and practice were not significantly associated with stunting. Citation: Asia-Pacific Journal of Rural Development PubDate: 2024-03-29T09:48:46Z DOI: 10.1177/24551333241232795
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Authors:Tanvir Shatil, M. Rezaul Islam Abstract: Asia-Pacific Journal of Rural Development, Ahead of Print. The literature provides a comprehensive understanding of the scientific definition of food security in terms of its conceptual meaning, measurement and analysis. However, this definition contrasts significantly with the non-scientific or local understanding of food security. This article illustrates this disparity by examining the scientific definition and perception of food security in rural Bangladesh. Data was collected through qualitative research using focus group discussions and in-depth case interviews with smallholder farmers. The results reveal a significant difference between the scientific and local definitions of food security, with the latter being defined as having a sufficient supply of rice to last the entire year. Their food security is largely influenced by their socio-economic realities, coping strategies, and social networks, and the disparity in understanding of food security differs across the categories. This study highlights the importance of understanding the local perspective of food security for development practitioners, experts and policymakers, which has serious implications from a policy perspective. Citation: Asia-Pacific Journal of Rural Development PubDate: 2024-03-29T09:47:17Z DOI: 10.1177/10185291241235469
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Authors:Ruchira Bhattacharya, Joseph K. Ravi Abstract: Asia-Pacific Journal of Rural Development, Ahead of Print. Malnutrition remains one of the most rigid outcomes to be addressed by policies and interventions. Although the forms and predictors of malnutrition have been extensively studied, relatively less focus has been placed on the micro-realities of policy implementation that can explain the barriers to achieving better service utilisation outcomes. To fill this gap and gain insights into the socio-environmental barriers to the supplementary nutrition programme, a micro-level qualitative study was undertaken on the beneficiary experience from one of the largest nutrition services in the world, the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) in India. Combining qualitative phenomenological with a retrospective design, the study compared the service experience of current ICDS to its erstwhile regime called the ‘UNICEF-Dular’ using data from a 2018 study in Bihar. Thirty beneficiaries, including 12 mothers with children in both regimes, 10 front-line workers (FLW) and erstwhile second-line workers, and two Bihar-UNICEF officials, were included in the FGDs and interviews. The analysis revealed that strategic changes in the programme regarding downscaling personnel by removing second-line workers, selective coverage in supplementary nutrition, hazardous work conditions, the low capability of FLW, and social incoherence are barriers to service delivery in nutrition. Citation: Asia-Pacific Journal of Rural Development PubDate: 2024-03-26T06:37:19Z DOI: 10.1177/10185291241235446
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