Women Agro-Entrepreneurship Promoting Vegetables at a Family Level: A Healthcare Approach towards Non-Communicable Disease Risk Reduction

Abstract

The role of women in promoting the production and consumption of vegetables at a family level towards mitigating the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is crucial. Women not only select and prepare food items consumed by their families but care about the health issues of family members. As research examining this critical role of women is scant, we attempted to understand how women as agro-entrepreneurs can promote vegetables to enhance healthcare situations. A field study was conducted in a northeastern district of Bangladesh from January to June 2019, adopting qualitative–participatory approaches that involved interviews, focus groups, and workshops. The study revealed that women play a vital role in taking care of the health of the family members, while their role in planning the family diet is exclusive. However, they have limited decision-making authority in the production and consumption of vegetables, and their knowledge and perception of NCDs are limited. The results imply that with enhanced capacity of vegetable production and better knowledge of nutrition and NCDs, women can improve family dietary habits by increasing the consumption of vegetables. Therefore, building the agro-entrepreneurial capacities of women in terms of knowledge, skills, access to finance, and decision-making authority at the family level would be a significant interventional approach for increased production and consumption of vegetables. We argue that public health strategies and policies addressing NCDs should incorporate this family-centric approach by promoting agro-entrepreneurship by women who would promote the production and consumption of vegetables.