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PR, 2 Promoting Healthy Diets and Nutrition for all; IFPRI3; DCA; ISI; CRP4, Development Strategies and Governance (DSG); Transformation Strategies, CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH), This paper investigates the associations between agricultural diversification and dietary diversity among men, women and children of farm households in Bangladesh. Using three waves of nationally representative Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey (BIHS- 2011–12, 2015 and 2018) data and a panel data model, the study found that agricultural production diversification can emphasize the dietary diversification across the life cycle of farm household members. The balanced panel data reveals that agricultural production diversification has a statistically significant and positive impact on dietary diversity of individual members (men, women and children) of farm households. Moreover, other important factors that impact on agricultural diversification and improve dietary diversity like women’s education and employment, commercialization of farm households, access to non-farm income sources, and access to information facilities also have a strong association in improving dietary status, food and nutritional security as well. Although there is currently limited diversity in the diets of adult men, women and children of rural farm households, the situation can be improved over time with proper and consistent support. The findings suggest policy interventions should target not only agricultural diversification but also improve women’s education and on and off farm employment opportunities and facilitate better access to information for rural households. These recommendations can support improved dietary diversity for all household members under different settings.

PR, IFPRI3; 1 Fostering Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Food Supply; 3 Building Inclusive and Efficient Markets, Trade Systems, and Food Industry; DCA; ISI, Development Strategies and Governance (DSG); Transformation Strategies; PIM, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM), The COVID-19 pandemic not only imposed severe health risks but also raised major challenges to the economy, due to widespread and severe measures to control the spread of the disease. Food value chains were disrupted by restrictions of the movement of people and commodities, which had significant impacts on the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. The purpose of this research is to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Bangladeshi vegetable farmers. A total of 320 vegetable farmers were selected from the North-West region of Bangladesh. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected through a digital survey method. Analysis revealed that around 3–5% of the marketed surplus of the farms was reduced during the pandemic due to the disturbances. The majority of the farm households reported that there was a significant reduction in their family income and, as a consequence, around 38% of farm households had cut down on their food consumption during the pandemic. The farmers were found to follow different strategies to cope with the difficulties and respond to government initiatives to mitigate such impacts. Despite all the restrictions and risks, extension services were still available to help the farmers. On the basis of the findings, this study suggests the importance of collaborative participation of the relevant bodies to decrease the effects of COVID-19 on farm households by employing all available mechanisms and focusing more on identifying effective coping strategies that can be supported in the event of future shocks, for more sustainable and resilient food systems.

PR, IFPRI3; ISI; 2 Promoting Healthy Diets and Nutrition for all; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural Economies, Development Strategies and Governance (DSG); Transformation Strategies, This study used a panel data model to examine the relationship between agricultural diversification and dietary diversity of farm households across three waves of nationally representative Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey data (BIHS- 2011-12, 2015, and 2018). Prior research measured diversification in terms of crop cultivation and livestock rearing. However, this study takes a different approach to measuring agricultural diversification by combining the three major sectors—crop, fish, and livestock production—at the farm household level to evaluate the impact of such agricultural diversification on the diversification of diets in households. The panel data allows us to establish that agricultural production diversification has a significantly positive effect on the dietary diversity of farm households. Moreover, other important factors that impact agricultural diversification to improve dietary diversity, like women’s employment, market access, engagement with non-farm income sources, and access to information also have a strong association in improving the dietary status, food and nutritional security of households. Participation in the market helps farming households to become more commercially oriented but negatively affects the dietary diversification of the households. However, participation in non-farming activities was reported to have a significant positive influence on dietary diversity, though not as much as agricultural diversification. From the perspective of policy that requires nutrition into consideration, the findings suggest to focus on providing support for diversified farming systems can directly increase the nutritionally enriched dietary intake, increasing the employability of women. Promoting market participation through modern infrastructural facilities should be prioritized to improve the current scenarios.

Sustainability has become a major concern for any business. A large number of studies have linked a positive relationship between sustainability and brand equity. We have used seven factors model viz.; perceived quality, brand awareness, brand association, brand image, brand name, brand loyalty and overall brand equity to measure brand equity. Since, Brand Image and Brand Loyalty have loaded in Factor analysis of the study; we aimed at exploring the influence of brand image over brand equity of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL). Both Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were run to investigate the causal relationship and model fit analysis of the model respectively. Primary data was collected from 330 respondents after interviewing with structured questionnaire within Dhaka city. Interview period was December 2012. SEM resulted in four factors loading; where brand image and brand loyalty were found to have strong influence over brand equity. CFA signified the model fit and explained strongest influence of brand image. Keywords: Brand equity, Brand image, Factor Analysis

Sustainability has become a major concern for any business. A large number of studies have linked a positive relationship between sustainability and brand equity. We have used seven factors model viz.; perceived quality, brand awareness, brand association, brand image, brand name, brand loyalty and overall brand equity to measure brand equity. Since, Brand Image and Brand Loyalty have loaded in Factor analysis of the study; we aimed at exploring the influence of brand image over brand equity of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL). Both Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were run to investigate the causal relationship and model fit analysis of the model respectively. Primary data was collected from 330 respondents after interviewing with structured questionnaire within Dhaka city. Interview period was December 2012. SEM resulted in four factors loading; where brand image and brand loyalty were found to have strong influence over brand equity. CFA signified the model fit and explained strongest influence of brand image. Keywords: Brand equity, Brand image, Factor Analysis