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With research staff from more than 60 countries, and offices across the globe, IFPRI provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

researcher spotlight

Kate Ambler

Kate Amber is a Senior Research Fellow in the Markets, Trade, and Institutions Unit. Kate’s research broadly focuses on interventions that can increase incomes for smallholders and other microenterprises in agrifood value chains, with a specific focus on the inclusion of women. This includes work on programming in fragile settings, innovations in agricultural finance, and regulatory solutions for food safety. 

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IFPRI currently has more than 600 employees working in over 80 countries with a wide range of local, national, and international partners.

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Development Strategies and Governance

Mohru Mardonova

Research Assistant

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Bio

Mohru Mardonova is a Research Assistant in the Development Strategies and Governance Unit, based in Dushanbe. Prior to joining IFPRI, Mohru worked with the World Food Programme’s Nutrition/ Research Assessment and Monitoring Unit, and with the Aga Khan Foundation’s Quality of Life project, and the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat Social Research Unit. As part of her bachelor’s thesis, Mohru  conducted a case study in Murghab, Tajikistan, analyzing water insecurity and its association with food insecurity. She received her bachelor’s degree in Global Economics from the University of Central Asia, and is certified as an IPC Acute Food Insecurity Level 1 Analyst.

Development Strategies and Governance

CV

Publications

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Working Paper

A mixed-method study on gender and intrahousehold differences in food consumption from Khatlon Province, Tajikistan

2024Pechtl, Sarah; Mardonova, Mohru; Ergasheva, Tanzila; Lambrecht, Isabel B.
Details

A mixed-method study on gender and intrahousehold differences in food consumption from Khatlon Province, Tajikistan

Tajikistan faces food insecurity and multiple forms of malnutrition in its population, with women particularly at risk. Social norms related to gender and intrahousehold hierarchy are pervasive and are commonly upheld in household roles. Yet, how gender may impact dietary intake in Tajikistan remains to be studied. Understanding this mechanism is critical to develop adequate strategies for effective, equitable progress in mitigating malnutrition and food insecurity. mixed-methods study was conducted to assess the extent and identify the drivers of gender-based and intrahousehold differences in dietary intake in Khatlon Province, Tajikistan. Predictors of food intake and dietary diversity were statistically assessed using quantitative survey data from 1,704 individuals collected in winter- and springtime 2023. Qualitative data from 12 focus group discussions, 20 individual interviews, and 22 Photovoice interviews collected in winter- and springtime 2024 was analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis to further ascertain and understand these drivers. We find gender differences in dietary diversity, with women reporting lower dietary diversity than men, even when comparing men and women living in the same household. Among women, there are significant differences in dietary diversity based on their role in the household. Gendered social norms and intrahousehold power relations influence food acquisition, preparation, distribution, and consumption. Men, particularly household heads, and children tend to be prioritized over women in consuming food products that are deemed more nutritious (e.g., meat). Women adapt their food intake to meet the expectations and needs of other household members. This study highlights the importance of considering household dynamics and gender roles when creating programs and policies aiming to equitably address food and nutrition insecurity and malnutrition. The findings suggest that mitigating malnutrition in Tajikistan will necessitate gender equity-focused social behavior change interventions targeting women and men across different generations.

Year published

2024

Authors

Pechtl, Sarah; Mardonova, Mohru; Ergasheva, Tanzila; Lambrecht, Isabel B.

Citation

Pechtl, Sarah; Mardonova, Mohru; Ergasheva, Tanzila; and Lambrecht, Isabel B. 2024. A mixed-method study on gender and intrahousehold differences in food consumption from Khatlon Province, Tajikistan. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2296. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/162924

Country/Region

Tajikistan

Keywords

Central Asia; Food Security; Malnutrition; Gender; Diet; Intrahousehold Relations; Dietary Diversity

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

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Working Paper

Migration and employment in Tajikistan: Evidence from twelve districts in Khatlon Province, 2015 – 2023

2024Lambrecht, Isabel B.; Akramov, Kamiljon T.; Aliev, Jovidon; Mardonova, Mohru
Details

Migration and employment in Tajikistan: Evidence from twelve districts in Khatlon Province, 2015 – 2023

Tajikistan’s economy is highly dependent on personal remittances (World Bank, 2023). Lack of formal well-paid jobs and of private business opportunities locally to earn sufficient household income has motivated people to migrate abroad since the beginning of the 2000s (Shimizutani and Yamada, 2023; World Bank, 2023). Since 2006, the value of personal remittances was more than 25 percent of the country’s GDP, and by 2022, remittances were an estimated 51 percent of Tajikistan’s GDP (World Bank, 2022; Figure 1). Remittances are thus key to poverty reduction in Tajikistan (World Bank, 2023), yet such large reliance on remittances, while providing major opportunities for households to exit poverty, also poses significant vulnerability to reenter poverty and food insecurity in case of any negative shocks affecting employment at the migration location. This study looks at changes in migration characteristics in twelve districts in Khatlon Province in the past 8 years, using data collected in 2015 and 2023; and at employment patterns in this area in 2023. The 2015 survey was administered during a time when many Tajik migrants were returning to the country as a result of worsening economic conditions in Russia. Indeed, as shown also in Figure 1, personal remittances dropped sharply between 2013 and 2015. In 2015 they were 27 percent of GDP, the lowest level in a decade (World Bank 2023). In contrast, personal remittances were at their highest relative to the country’s GDP in 2022.1 The 2023 survey, therefore, was administered during a time of relatively better conditions for migrants. Migrants were modestly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as after a sharp decline in employment and remittances in April and May 2020, they quickly returned to their former levels (Shimizutani and Yamada, 2021). Strong labor demand in Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and an appreciation of the Russian ruble (before it depreciated again towards end of 2022) benefited labor migrants and the remittances they were able to send home (World Bank, 2023).

Year published

2024

Authors

Lambrecht, Isabel B.; Akramov, Kamiljon T.; Aliev, Jovidon; Mardonova, Mohru

Citation

Lambrecht, Isabel B.; Akramov, Kamiljon T.; Aliev, Jovidon; and Mardonova, Mohru. 2024. Migration and employment in Tajikistan: Evidence from twelve districts in Khatlon Province, 2015 – 2023. Central Asia Working Paper 5. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/152496

Country/Region

Tajikistan

Keywords

Asia; Central Asia; Migration; Employment; Households; Income; Household Surveys; Socioeconomic Environment; Remittances

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Record type

Working Paper

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Brief

Gendered farm work and decision-making: Quantitative evidence from Tajikistan

2024Mardonova, Mohru; Lambrecht, Isabel B.; Mahrt, Kristi
Details

Gendered farm work and decision-making: Quantitative evidence from Tajikistan

Quantitative data collected in August and September 2018 in 12 districts of Khatlon Province, called “The Assessment of Nutrition-Sensitive Value Chains in the FtF ZOI in Tajikistan” were employed to analyze gender differences in participation in crop production and marketing activities, and to understand the association between women’s employment and their decision-making power at home. The dataset contains general information on the households’ farm activities, and detailed information of production practices for households’ main horticultural crops (vegetables, fruits, melons and cucurbitae).

Year published

2024

Authors

Mardonova, Mohru; Lambrecht, Isabel B.; Mahrt, Kristi

Citation

Mardonova, Mohru; Lambrecht, Isabel; and Mahrt, Kristi. 2024. Gendered farm work and decision-making: Quantitative evidence from Tajikistan. Central Asia Policy Brief 11. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/145188

Country/Region

Tajikistan

Keywords

Central Asia; Asia; Nutrition; Value Chains; Gender; Crop Production; Marketing; Women’s Empowerment; Employment; Decision Making

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Gender

Record type

Brief

Research

Topics/Countries