Innovation adoption among smallholder farmers in Bangladesh and effects on agricultural production and dietary quality

Securing sufficient and diverse, nutritious food for all is challenging, especially in developing countries, where the economy is often largely dependent on agriculture. Governments are introducing various interventions for smallholder farmers; however, these are not always successful in practice. Even if food production improves, poor dietary quality and malnutrition still persist among rural smallholders. Adoption of different farming techniques, access to information technology, and changes in land-use policies may be helpful in supporting smallholders. In three essays, this dissertation empirically investigates the effects of rice-aquaculture adoption, internet use for information access, and land fragmentation on certain dietary outcomes and time allocation among farm households in rural Bangladesh. Primary survey data were collected from 720 farm households and are analysed using various econometric techniques.