Working Title: "The interaction between institutions and social protection in promoting food resilience amongst farmers in Ahmedabad."

Research Countries: India

Research Themes: food systems, health governance, social protection

Biography:

Sanjana’s research is centered in agriculture economics. She has completed her Master’s in Development Economics at the University of Göttingen where she also worked as a student assistant with the Chair of Development Economics/Centre for Modern Indian Studies. Sanjana has worked on projects pertaining to food security, social protection, and livelihoods in various parts of India. She has experience designing and supervising large-scale surveys and facilitating focus groups. Her primary research interests include the political economy of social protection, institutions, governance, and health.

Abstract:

Farmers have faced the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing climate crisis through limited access to markets, and threats to livelihoods and food security. This project aims to understand the role of governance and institutions in mitigating shocks and promoting health and food security among vulnerable, disaster-prone populations. The research will also incorporate a gender-lens to analysing One Health to further understand the linkages between gender, agriculture and health. Questions that will be tackled include: What is the effect of social protection instruments in promoting One Health, and subsequently, food resilience? How could social protection be better designed to achieve its objectives? What is the role of community-led governance in health and food resilience outcomes of a disaster-prone social network? How could social protection and community governance be designed to promote sustainable health outcomes among women specifically? A household-level cross-sectional survey will be the
primary source of data, complemented by a series of focus group discussions and social network analyses.

Supervisor(s):

Prof. Dr. Katja Bender (HBRS)