CGIAR Research Initiative on Transforming Agrifood Systems in South Asia (TAFSSA): Analysis and manuscript preparation on gender and affordability of diet in South Asia

1. Background

TAFSSA is a three-year initiative (2022-2024) that aims to propel evidence into impact through engagement with public and private partners across the production-to-consumption continuum, and to achieve productive environmentally-sound South Asian agrifood systems that support equitable access to sustainable healthy diets. Under TAFSSA, work package 4 includes research on gender and affordability related structural determinants of diets to generate equity-focused methods and recommendations for policies and programs to benefit poor consumers, including women and marginalized groups. The consultant will analyze data on gender and affordability collected as part of district agrifood systems assessments in five districts across Bangladesh, India, and Nepal in 2023. The consultant will prepare, under the guidance of IFPRI researchers, two journal manuscripts that report findings related to 1) gender: intrahousehold task allocation and empowerment in relation to diet outcomes, 2) affordability: cost of recommended diets.

TAFSSA developed and fielded a novel tool to measure who in households is responsible for doing tasks related to agriculture, food/fuel acquisition and preparation, and domestic care. Additionally, TAFSSA’s surveys included measures of women’s decision-making and dietary intake. Dietary intake was measured in adult women, adult men, and adolescent girls and boys using the Global Diet Quality Score application as well as a 7-day food frequency questionnaire, capturing both recent (previous day) and typical (previous week) consumption behavior.

As part of the plate-to-farm approach of TAFSSA, the agrifood system assessments included market surveys in each of the locations. Using data on food prices and national guidelines on recommended diets, the cost of the recommended diet can be generated. TAFSSA’s surveys also collected information from community leaders on agricultural wage rates, allowing us to understand how affordable recommended diets are, i.e. the percent of income that would be required for an individual/household to pay for a healthy plate.

2. Objectives

The primary objective of the consultancy is to analyze TAFSSA data on gender, diets and affordability and to produce two journal manuscripts that are submission ready and follow the guidelines of the targeted journals. The consultant would be included as a coauthor on the journal manuscripts.

3. Scope of Work

In partnership with IFPRI, the consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Journal manuscript on gender:
  • Analyze TAFSSA data from five districts on task allocation, empowerment, and diets
  • Produce descriptive statistics and run regression models
  • Generate well-formatted tables and figures
  • Prepare outline of journal manuscript
  • Write first draft of journal manuscript
  • Revise draft of journal manuscript based on feedback from other coauthors and prepare manuscript for submission
• Journal manuscript on affordability:
  • Analyze TAFSSA data from five districts on food prices, wages, and diets
  • Produce descriptive statistics and run regression models
  • Generate well-formatted tables and figures
  • Prepare outline of journal manuscript
  • Write first draft of journal manuscript
  • Revise draft of journal manuscript based on feedback from other coauthors and prepare manuscript for submission

4. Deliverables

• Well-formatted tables and figures for gender manuscript
• Well-formatted tables and figures for affordability manuscript
• First draft of gender manuscript
• First draft of affordability manuscript
• Submission-ready gender manuscript
• Submission-ready affordability manuscript

5. Duration and Timeline

The consultancy will be for a period of 3 months, starting from October 1, 2024 and ending on December 31, 2024.

6. Required qualifications

• A relevant advanced degree (Master’s) in economics or a related field
• In-depth knowledge of gender and nutrition issues in South Asia
• Extensive experience analyzing data using Stata software
• Strong writing and communication skills in the English language
• Experience writing and publishing in peer-reviewed journals in the social sciences, economics, nutrition, or public policy

7. Technical offer

Please include the following in your application:

• Short (half page) statement of interest and experience/qualifications
• Detailed CV presenting previous relevant experience
• Examples of relevant previous publications
• Names of references