Perceived Constraints to Attain Nutrition Security by Rural Farm Women of Adilabad, Telangana: An Application of Garrett Ranking Technique

Abstract

Nutrition security among rural farm women is shaped by interacting workload, economic, household, sanitation, health, and information constraints. The study identified and ranked the constraints perceived by rural farm women according to their perceived importance. A total of 90 respondents were randomly selected from three villages (30 respondents from each village) for the study. The Garrett Ranking Technique (GRT) was applied to eight major constraints faced by rural farm women in Adilabad by converting ordinal ranks into scores, thereby allowing meaningful comparisons among items. The Garrett Ranking Technique determines the relative importance of different factors based on respondents’ preferences. The results revealed that the major constraint faced by rural farm women was heavy agricultural workload and time poverty, reflecting the dual burden of farm and domestic labour borne by women with little institutional support (GMS: 77.44). Economic and poverty-related barriers ranked second (GMS: 68.33), limiting dietary investment and access to health and sanitation services. Limited empowerment, resources, and systemic gaps ranked third (GMS: 59.13), consistent with women’s restricted access to land, credit, and extension services nationally. Intra-household food allocation biases and gender norms ranked fourth (GMS: 50.42), contributing to lower dietary diversity among women within households. Monotonous and cereal-dominant diets ranked fifth (GMS: 48.43), indicating persistent inadequacy in micronutrient-rich food consumption. WASH and sanitation constraints ranked sixth (GMS: 43.32), with poor sanitation increasing disease burden and impairing nutrient absorption. Health and intergenerational factors, including high maternal anaemia prevalence, ranked seventh (GMS: 27.99). Communication, information, and knowledge barriers ranked last (GMS: 24.92), suggesting that limited exposure to extension services has reduced women’s awareness of their information needs. The findings showed that nutritional security is rooted in structural gender inequity and economic marginalisation rather than solely in dietary behaviour.