DOI: 10.1002/cl2.1353
P RO TOCO L S
I n t e r n a t i o n a l d e v e l o pm e n t
PROTOCOL: The impact of infrastructure on low‐income
consumers' nutritious diet, women's economic
empowerment, and gender equality in low‐ and
middle‐income countries: An evidence and gap map
Gloria Adobea Odei Obeng‐Amoako1 | Clarice Panyin Nyan1 | Joseph Clottey1 |
Sheila Agyemang Oppong1 | Edward Kusi Asafo‐Agyei1 | Pacem Kotchofa1 |
Charles Yaw Okyere1,2 | Solomon Zena Walelign1,3 | Takyiwaa Manuh1 |
David Sarfo Ameyaw1
1International Centre for Evaluation and
Development, Tema, Accra, Ghana Abstract
2Department of Agricultural Economics and This is the protocol for an evidence and gap map. The objectives are as follows: this
Agribusiness, University of Ghana, Legon,
evidence and gap map (EGM) aims to identify, map, and provide an overview of the
Ghana
3School of Economics, University of Gondar, existing evidence and gaps on the impact of different types of physical infrastructure
Gondar, Ethiopia on various outcomes of low‐income consumers' nutritious diet, women's economic
empowerment, and gender equality in low‐ and middle‐income countries. The
Correspondence
Solomon Zena Walelign, International Centre specific objectives of the EGM are: (1) identify clusters of evidence that offer
for Evaluation and Development, Tema, opportunities for evidence synthesis and (2) identify gaps in evidence where new
Ghana.
Email: swalelign@iced-eval.org studies, research, and evaluations are needed.
1 | BACKGROUND (United, 2020b). Vulnerable social groups such as women, infants,
children, and adolescents are at higher risk of malnutrition. Also, poor
1.1 | Introduction people are more likely to experience different forms of malnutrition,
that is, undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and obesity
1.1.1 | The problem, condition, or issue (United, 2020a) Malnutrition also raises healthcare costs while
reducing productivity and slowing economic growth, which can
Malnutrition remains a major global health challenge, especially perpetuate a cycle of poverty and ill‐health. However, according to
among young children, despite the continued efforts of the (Marshak, 2021), malnutrition is mainly seasonal, particularly in
international community to address it (Ahmed, 2012). Malnutrition African drylands. Seasonality in malnutrition involves variability in
refers to deficiencies or excesses in nutrient intake, imbalance of nutritional outcomes correlated with changes in climatical conditions
essential nutrients, or impaired nutrient utilization (WHO, 2022). In such as temperature, rainfall, and vegetation affecting food produc-
2020, about 150 million children worldwide under the age of five tion systems. Seasonal changes in these variables, mediated through
were reported stunted, with almost 45 million wasted and 40 million livelihoods and institutions, can reinforce issues surrounding consist-
overweight or obese (United, 2020a). Similarly, about 1.9 billion were ent intakes of healthy and nutritious food, food security, health, and
overweight while 462 million of them were underweight driving malnutrition (Marshak, 2021; Young, 2020). Seasonality can
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.
© 2023 The Authors. Campbell Systematic Reviews published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Campbell Collaboration.
Campbell Systematic Reviews. 2023;19:e1353. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cl2 | 1 of 15
https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1353
2 of 15 | ODEI OBENG‐AMOAKO ET AL.
be measured through year‐round fluctuations in prices and food infrastructure and nutritious diet, women's economic empowerment
availability affecting producers and consumers, particularly in South (WEE), and gender equality for LICs in LMICs in sub‐Saharan Africa
Asia (SA) and Africa. (SSA) and SA.
Poor people's seasonal food accessibility, that is, year‐round
food availability and affordability, is a multifaceted problem with
few concrete solutions being deployed at scale. Hence, under- 1.1.2 | Why it is important to develop the EGM
standing factors influencing the agri‐food systems to enhance
nutritious food supply and shape people's nutrition and social To our knowledge, there is no existing EGM on the impact of physical
development is critical for geographically targeted policy inter- infrastructure on nutritious diets, WEE, and gender equality. There
ventions and trade‐offs associated with them. According to the are some general maps for instance on transport in LMICs
WHO 2020, the nutrition needs of low‐income consumers (LICs), (Malhotra, 2021), but the EGM has a broader focus in terms of
especially women and children, in low‐and middle‐income countr- outcomes, narrowly focused on one type of infrastructure (i.e.,
ies (LMICs) are often compromised due to poor infrastructure distribution infrastructure—roads, rail, trams, and monorail, ports,
underpinning the agri‐food systems (WHO, 2020). Also, even shipping, and inland waterways, and air transport) and restricted
where different types of infrastructure exist, their designs are not focus quantitative studies. Hence the study doesn't have a specific,
always gender‐inclusive, hampering women's and girls' access to detailed focus to be used in this map.
food (Morgan, 2020). While gender equality implies equal rights, Previous systematic reviews (see e.g., Nandi, 2021), in addition to
responsibilities, and opportunities for women, men, boys, and impact evaluations (see e.g., Kihiu, 2021), have analyzed the effect of
girls; women and girls are disproportionately affected by persist- specific infrastructure on the outcome variables of interest (see also
ent gender inequalities when accessing infrastructure (United Bryan, 2022; Dinkelman, 2011; Mahmud, 2018; Passarelli, 2018;
Nations Secretariat and United Nations Entity for Gender Equality Stifel, 2017). This study is the first to provide comprehensive evidence
and the Empowerment of Women, 2020). Women and girls are and gap on the impact of a wider typology of infrastructure on
unable to access the basic services to support their upward social nutrition, women empowerment, and gender equality in LMICs to
mobility and reduce the gender gap because most infrastructure in inform research and evidence on the impact of infrastructure on
developing countries is underdeveloped and gender‐blind. Conse- nutritious diet, WEE, and gender equality. By doing so, it will inform the
quently, “gender‐blind infrastructure fails to consider the different design and evidence‐informed decision‐making on infrastructure to
roles, responsibilities, and particular needs of women, men, girls, achieve broader goals enunciated in the SDGs (2, 3, 5, and 10).
and boys in a specific context and how this affects their ability to Additionally, this study would provide evidence and gaps on the level of
use or access infrastructure” (Morgan, 2020). Gender inclusivity advancement of gender equality as set out in the Beijing Declaration
must guide the design and uptake of future infrastructure, and Platform for Action (UN Women, 1995).
especially those related to agri‐food systems (Mohun, 2016;
Morgan, 2020).
Shively (2017a) argues that well‐functioning infrastructure such 1.2 | Conceptual framework (the theory of change)
as market centers and roads could foster gender‐inclusive socio-
economic development and mitigate the adverse effects of The lack of well‐functioning infrastructure poses a substantial risk to
seasonality on the availability and price of nutritious food. Shively rural livelihoods and threatens food and nutrition security; depriving
(2017b) found that investments in health, market infrastructure, millions of LICs of safe, nutritious, and affordable food (WHO, 2020),
agricultural innovations, and transport infrastructure positively particularly women and girls. The conceptual framework of this EGM
correlate with child nutritional status in developing countries. explains how the interventions mentioned above are hypothesized to
Additionally, infrastructure is a game‐changer for development affect the three outcomes of interest ‐ nutritious diets, WEE, and
and enhances women's economic opportunities; because when gender equality (Figure 1). The framework demonstrates how
more women get the chance to work, it makes their families, infrastructure typologies lead to either short or intermediate‐term
communities and countries wealthier (Mohun, 2016). Hence, well‐ outcomes, which eventually result in long‐term outcomes. Four
designed and gender‐inclusive investment in infrastructure can infrastructure typologies are explained in this framework. They
support meeting various SDGs, among which are SDGs 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, include; production infrastructure where interventions such as
7, and 8 (World, 2020). Nonetheless, to the best of our knowledge, irrigation, greenhouse, and on‐farm energy are considered. The
no study has explored the extent of existing evidence and gap on second infrastructure is post‐production infrastructure where inter-
the impact of infrastructure on Nutritious Diets, while also ventions such as market facilities, processing facilities, storage
empowering women and promoting gender equality in LMICs. To facilities, and off‐farm energy were considered. The third infra-
address this gap, the International Centre for Evaluation and structure is distribution infrastructure where interventions such as
Development (ICED) is designing an evidence and gap map (EGM) roads, railways, and bridges were considered and finally, the fourth
to review all relevant evidence on links connecting some pertinent infrastructure is information infrastructure where interventions such
 18911803, 2023, 3, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cl2.1353 by University of Ghana - Accra, Wiley Online Library on [02/10/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
ODEI OBENG‐AMOAKO ET AL. | 3 of 15
F IGURE 1 Conceptual framework for the theory of change.
as telecommunication masts, radio stations, and information centers as employment to these women and creates both social and
were considered. economic opportunities for these women which eventually
Production infrastructure which comprises interventions like results in their empowerment as well as equality.
irrigation systems, greenhouse and energy systems used for on‐ Post‐production infrastructure comprises of market, proces-
farm activities impact all three outcomes through various sing, storage facilities as well as energy systems used for off‐farm
channels. For instance, by using irrigation facilities, farmers can activities. An intervention like market facility leads to reduction in
produce crops throughout the year reducing the effect of post‐harvest losses which enhances the income of the individual
seasonality. Production infrastructure does not only enhance and the household as well as improves the availability of food at
multiple crop cycles and reduce seasonality but also improves the market level. As a result of improvement in income, households
access to the market. These improve food productivity at the can afford food which in the long‐term leads to nutritious diet.
farm level. As a result of the improvement in food productivity at Similarly, with food being available as a result of reduction in post‐
the farm level, the income of farmers is improved, and food harvest loss, individuals or households enhance their consumption
becomes available at the farm gate as well as the market level. of food which also leads to nutritious diet in the long‐term. In SSA
The availability of food enhances both individual and household and SA most of the processing and storage facilities are operated
food consumption eventually leading to nutritious diet. Income of or owned by women (Negash, 2015). Operation of these facilities
farmers also enhances food affordability which also leads to leads to both social and economic opportunities for these women
nutritious diet. Production infrastructure also results in WEE and as well as employment. This in the long‐term leads to empower-
gender equality. The production infrastructure enhances the ment of these women as well as bridging the equality gap. Another
emergency of markets. Women take advantage of these markets channel where this post‐production infrastructure can lead to WEE
to open retail stores where they can sell commodities. This serves and gender equality is through ownership and operating of retail
 18911803, 2023, 3, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cl2.1353 by University of Ghana - Accra, Wiley Online Library on [02/10/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
4 of 15 | ODEI OBENG‐AMOAKO ET AL.
markets or stores. As shown in the overall theory of change, due to for use by relevant stakeholders such as researchers, research
the presence of storage facilities, food can be stored for future commissioners, policymakers, and practitioners (Saran, 2018). We
use. They can also be processed into another state other than will not synthesize the results as done in systematic reviews
the raw state from the farm. With this, women who are largely the (Potter, 2010). The proposed EGM will serve as a platform for a
operators or owners of small retail stores or outlets gain body of evidence on the relationship between infrastructure,
employment. nutritious diets, WEE, and gender equality. The EGM will be made
Distribution infrastructure enhances access to transportation accessible to its potential users.
networks which lead to reduction in transportation cost for
producers in both the input and product market. Reduction in
transportation cost of produce leads to a reduction in input prices 3.2 | Scope of EGM
which enhances food productivity. Food productivity will lead to
food availability at the farm level as well as improvement of We will apply the stipulated procedures and standards described in
income of both the farmer and the household. This eventually led the Campbell Collaboration checklist and guidance for EGMs
to nutritious diet in the long‐term. Also, with the reduction of (White, 2018; White, 2020). The scope of this proposed EGM will
transport cost, women are encouraged to establish market outlets be guided by the population, intervention, comparison, outcomes,
and retails stores. This creates employment for these women, and study designs (PICOS framework). It will cover studies that
improve their income levels as well as enable them to take up demonstrate the effect/impact of physical infrastructure—as a
social roles in the community. In the long‐term, the establishment result of establishing or upgrading ‐ on nutritious diets, WEE, and
of the road which is a distribution infrastructure intervention gender equality (see Table 2 for the indicators for the outcomes).
ensures that the women are empowered and bridged the gender We do not look at the intersection between the three outcomes of
equality gap. Investment in information infrastructure, like radio interest. Evaluation and studies examining the effects of infra-
stations and information centers, improves information dissemi- structural interventions on the outcomes of interest using quantita-
nation about nutrition. With enhanced knowledge of nutrition, tive (i.e., experimental, quasi‐experimental, and non‐experimental),
households or individuals make informed decisions about that systematic reviews, and meta‐analyses, will be covered in this EGM.
diet which eventually leads to nutritious diet. Unlike most other previous EGMs, we will also include studies with
qualitative study designs. Similar to previous EGMs (e.g.,
CGIAR, 2021; Moore, 2021), this EGM will include studies published
2 | OBJECTIVES in the year 2000 and beyond for two main reasons. First, based on a
preliminary search, we find out that most of the relevant studies are
This EGM aims to identify, map, and provide an overview of the from 2000, and hence doing an unrestricted search would result in
existing evidence and gaps on the impact of different types of more studies that are not relevant, which increases the screening
physical infrastructure on various outcomes of LICs' nutritious diet, task to the team. Second, we are interested in the evidence and gap
WEE, and gender equality in LMICs. The specific objectives of the in the recent literature.
EGM are:
• Identify clusters of evidence that offer opportunities for evidence 3.2.1 | Population
synthesis.
• Identify gaps in evidence where new studies, research, and The population of interest for this EGM is LICs living in LMICs
evaluations are needed. across SSA and SA regions. We define LICs as “individuals whose
financial resources or income results in them being unable to obtain
the goods and services needed for an “adequate” and “socially
3 | METHODS acceptable” standard of living” (Darley, 1985). We will exclude a
study from the EGM if it was conducted in countries other than
3.1 | Defining an EGM LMICs as classified by the World Bank in 2022. We define LMICs
listed under SSA and SA with per capita Gross National Income
Several definitions of an EGM exist in the literature (e.g., Lum, 2011; (GNI) below USD12,695. This definition encompasses lower‐income
Saran, 2018; Snilstveit, 2013). Following Saran (2018), we define an countries (GNI less than USD1, 046), LMICs (GNI ranging from US
EGM as “a systematic visual presentation of the availability of $1046 to 4095), and upper‐middle‐income countries (GNI per capita
relevant evidence of effects for a particular policy domain.” The between US$4096 and US$12,695) (World Bank, 2022). However,
evidence is identified by a search following a pre‐specified, if a study conducted in the LMIC does not specifically focus on LICs
published search protocol. Along with the map, the study will but presents a general population that paper will be eligible for our
present a descriptive report that summarizes the evidence and gap study. Unless the authors state that the study population was urban
 18911803, 2023, 3, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cl2.1353 by University of Ghana - Accra, Wiley Online Library on [02/10/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
ODEI OBENG‐AMOAKO ET AL. | 5 of 15
rich then that paper will be illegible for the EGM. LMIC classification physical infrastructure have been implemented by government
was not based on the year of intervention or previous country and development organizations in improving welfare in develop-
status to avoid complications. We used the LMIC classification by ing countries to meet the needs of LIC as well as women and girls.
the World Bank as of 2022. We will use the World Bank's income
classification in 2022 as the basis for deciding which countries are
considered LMICs. 3.2.3 | Comparison
This EGM does not specify a comparison group. However, studies
3.2.2 | Intervention with comparison groups or designs that estimate impact using data
from treated and untreated observations (such as difference‐in‐
The intervention for this EGM is establishing new or upgrading differences) will be included.
existing physical infrastructure, which refers to establishing new
or upgrading existing physical infrastructures that are
relevant for agriculture, food production, marketing, and thus 3.2.4 | Outcomes
local development. While infrastructure can be broadly defined as
the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities (e.g., The EGM focuses on three outcomes: nutritious diets, WEE, and
markets, roads, power supplies, etc.) needed for a society or gender equality. The categories and sub‐categories are presented in
enterprise (Oxford, 2018; World, 2022), this EGM is limited in Table 2.
scope to the impact of the physical presence of infrastructures,
not services provided by them. This EGM will focus on four types
of infrastructure (see Table 1 for description): These are: (i.) 3.2.5 | Study designs
production (such as irrigation systems and water wells); (ii.) post‐
production (such as market centers and storage facilities); (iii.) This EGM targets both published and unpublished studies, reports,
distribution (such as transportation‐ roads, bridges); and (iv.) and reviews that had applied mixed methods, quantitative and/or
Information infrastructure (such as masts and radio stations). The qualitative methods with the following study designs:
choice of the categories is based on two considerations. First, the
focus of the study is on the physical infrastructure mostly used by • Effectiveness studies (impact evaluations studies that used
LICs whose welfare impacts could be quantified in developing Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) and quasi‐experimental
countries, particularly in SSA. Second, these broad categories of studies).
TABLE 1 Categories, sub‐categories, and intervention examples (infrastructure).
Categories of
infrastructures Definition Sub‐categorya
Production Facilities that are used in agricultural Irrigation systems, water wells, greenhouse, on‐farm power
infrastructure production or any other facilities that are in supply (energy)
place to enhance agricultural productivity.
Post‐production Facilities that are used for storing, processing, – Storage (warehouses and sheds, cold rooms, pack houses)
infrastructure and marketing products as well as facilities – Processing (grain mills)
that are used to ensure the supply of – Market place (spaces, stalls, and lockups, provided with
healthy foods in safe environments. sanitary facilities (toilets) and childcare centers)
– Off‐farm power supply (energy)
– Others (Slaughterhouses, landing sites, livestock
vaccination parks)
Distribution Facilities that are used for transporting inputs – Roads,
infrastructure and products to ensure that LICs, including – Railways,
farmers, have access to markets and – Bridges
increased access to nutritious and
diversified foods.
Information Facilities used to support the dissemination of Information centers, radio stations, provision of
infrastructure information on good agricultural practices, telecommunication masts to facilitate and enhance
nutritional knowledge, child feeding communication
practices, weather information, markets,
and credit, etc.
aSee Supporting Information: Appendix 1 for definitions of some of sub‐categories of infrastructure considered in the evidence and gap map.
 18911803, 2023, 3, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cl2.1353 by University of Ghana - Accra, Wiley Online Library on [02/10/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
6 of 15 | ODEI OBENG‐AMOAKO ET AL.
• Non‐experimental quantitative studies. Geographical location
• Process evaluations. Eligible studies for the EGM must have targeted LICs living in LMICs
• Summative evaluations. across SSA and SA regions. We will also include studies that
• Qualitative studies. considered both eligible and ineligible participants (population)
• Systematic reviews and meta‐analysis of eligible studies. irrespective of whether they reported their data and results
separately. These studies will be coded for the eligible population
during the data extraction. Nevertheless, we will enrich the rationale
3.2.6 | How we plan to handle adverse outcomes of the EGM when necessary, with relevant studies conducted in
other geographic areas as in CGIAR (2021).
Adverse effects of infrastructural intervention reported in the eligible
papers will be captured in the EGM to avoid one‐sided summaries of Timeframe
evidence (White, 2020). To accommodate this, we labeled our This EGM will include studies published/reported in the years
outcome as neutral so that studies that report either of the outcomes 2000 and onwards.
are coded in the relevant subdomains. Thus, if a paper reports
desirable outcomes as well as undesirable outcomes for the specific Language
subdomain, we will code the paper in the subdomain under Studies written in English will be included in the EGM. This is
consideration. If the paper reports a desirable outcome in one because most of the researchers of the current study are only
subdomain and an undesirable outcome in another subdomain, the English‐speaking meaning that considering studies that are not
paper will be coded in both subdomains. written in English will require additional resources for translation
(Neimann, 2018).
3.3 | Criteria for including and excluding studies
3.3.2 | Exclusion criteria
We will assess the eligibility of the included studies (i.e.,
published, and unpublished) based on the population, interven- Studies published in languages other than English and conducted in
tion, outcome, and study design (PICOS) defined for this EGM locations other than LMICs in SSA and SA will be excluded from this
(White et al., 2018). EGM. Furthermore, this EGM will not include studies in areas other
than LICs. Studies conducted in the period before the year 2000 will
be excluded. Also, studies on infrastructure that are relatively less
3.3.1 | Inclusion criteria prevalent in LMIC and less accessible to the LICs in the LMIC, such as
airports and harbors will be excluded from the EGM. Studies that do
Type of studies not assess the causal linkage of one or more of the infrastructural
This EGM will include all kinds of studies that applied all kinds of interventions on a nutritious diet, WEE, and gender equality as study
study designs, such as quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods. outcomes will not be included in the EGM.
Eligible study designs will consist of studies that assess infrastruc-
ture's impact on nutritious diets, WEE, and gender equality and will
include, but not be limited to the following: effectiveness studies 3.4 | Search strategy, screening, and coding
(impact evaluations/experimental studies); modeling studies (only if
the model was based on primary data and not hypothetical values) 3.4.1 | Search strategy
process evaluations; summative evaluations; qualitative assess-
ments; and analytical frameworks. Having a wide range of study With the support of an information specialist, we will adopt a search
designs in this EGM will provide the opportunity (i) to include all strategy that will identify all potential published and unpublished
potential studies given the paucity of literature on the topic of studies for this EGM. This will help minimize publication bias. We will
interest and (ii) to assess the extent of evidence across a spectrum search for potential studies from three relevant scientific and
of study designs. Eligible qualitative studies should have a clear academic databases: CAB Abstract, Greenfile Ebsco, and Medline
description of research methods (such as e.g., exploratory, narrative, Pubmed. Also, we will search for additional potential papers using
deductive, inductive, ethnographic, and grounded theory ap- OpenAlex in Eppi‐reviewer software (Thomas, 2010). OpenAlex is an
proaches) and a detailed description of data collection techniques index of hundreds of millions of interconnected entities across the
(focus group discussion, in‐depth interviews, key informants, sample global research system (Priem, 2022). We will also do a search on
size). Systematic reviews and meta‐analyses of the eligible primary databases such as Agriculture, Nutrition and Health (ANH) Academy
studies will be included in the EGM. We will consider peer‐reviewed for proceedings of conferences and abstracts.
papers, pre‐prints, reports, and other documents (e.g., discussion We will also search for studies and papers/reports from websites
papers, working papers). of relevant organizations, such as theWorld Bank, International Fund
 18911803, 2023, 3, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cl2.1353 by University of Ghana - Accra, Wiley Online Library on [02/10/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
ODEI OBENG‐AMOAKO ET AL. | 7 of 15
TABLE 2 Definition of outcomes.
Outcome domains Sub‐outcomes Examples of indicators
Nutritious diets Food availability: Farm level Quantity of food produced per area (kg/hectare)
Food Availability: Market Availability of nutritious foods (fruits, vegetables, dairy, eggs,
level food meat, fish, legumes, nuts) (e.g., specific metrics could be
market volumes sold or transported or aggregated, number
of market stands selling these items, etc.), Market Level
Dietary Score (MLDS): Number of foods or food groups
available in local markets at a given point in time
Food accessibility: Affordability – The volatility of food prices
– Income variation in food access
– Market Level Dietary Score (MLDS): Number of foods or
food groups available in local markets at a given point
in time.
– Weather seasonality indexes in agriculture
– Women empowerment in nutrition index (WENI)
Food accessibility: Consumption Per capita dietary energy supply (DES)kcal/per capita/day,
and experiences Food Consumption Score (FCS), Food Groups Consumed,
food variety score, Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES),
HOusehold Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS),
Household Hunger Scale (HHS)
Diet qualitya (nutrient adequacy) Individual dietary diversity scores (DDS), Minimum Acceptable
individual dietary diversity Diet (MAD) for infant/child (6–23 months), Minimum
Dietary Diversity (MDD) for infant/child (6–23 months),
Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women between 15–49
years (MDD‐W), Mean adequacy ratio (MAR): measures an
individual's intake of the nutrient
Diet qualitya (nutrient adequacy) Household dietary diversity scores (HDDS)
household dietary diversity
Socioeconomic and cultural Women empowerment in nutrition index (WENI), food
dimensions of foods preferences
Women's Economic Agricultural production Input in production decisions, autonomy in production
Empowerment
Access and control over Ownership of assets; purchase, sale, or transfer of assets: access
productive resources to, and decisions on credit
Income Control over the use of income
Time allocation – Workload, Leisure
Leadership Group Member, Speaking in Public
Women Empowerment in Women Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI)b
Agriculture
Gender Parity Index (GPI)c Women's achievements in the 5 domains (5DE),d relative to the
men in their householdse
Gender Equality Economic Opportunities and Women and men have equal opportunities in agricultural
Outcomes production systems, value chains, markets, resources (GAGP),f
and entrepreneurship
Social outcomes Discriminatory and unequal social, cultural and gender norms
change to enable women and men to participate equally in
household and community institutions
Leadership, Agency, and – Women's agency, leadership, and decision‐making are
Collective Action recognized and affirmed in the household and community
– Women can engage in collective action to protect their
interests
(Continues)
 18911803, 2023, 3, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cl2.1353 by University of Ghana - Accra, Wiley Online Library on [02/10/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
8 of 15 | ODEI OBENG‐AMOAKO ET AL.
TABLE 2 (Continued)
Outcome domains Sub‐outcomes Examples of indicators
Reduced Exposure to Risk – Gender‐based violence (Cf. Pro‐WEAI +MI)‐ legislation and
institutions exist to protect against GBV, and women are
empowered to take action, leading to low and reduced rates
of GBVg
aDietary diversity represents qualitative measures of individual or household food consumption that reflect access to a variety of food groups and is used
as a proxy for nutrient adequacy of the diet of individuals (INDDEX, 2015; INDDEX, 2018). We usually count 9 food groups listed as follows: (1) cereals,
(2) starchy roots, (3) legumes, (4) vegetables and fruits, (5) sugars, preserves, and syrups, (6) meat, fish, and eggs, (7) milk and milk products, (8) fats and oils,
and (9) beverages.
bThis is measured using theWomen's Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) (Alkire, 2013). WEAI is an aggregate index and is composed of two sub‐
indexes‐ the five domains of empowerment (5DE), and the gender parity index (GPI). 5 Domains of empowerment (5DE), specified in the sub‐outcomes
(Alkire, 2013). The overall WEAI is a weighted average of 5DE and GPI, with weights of 0.9 and 0.1, respectively (Malapit, 2015).
cThe GPI measures women's achievements in the five domains compared with the men in their households. All these indexes have values ranging from 0
to 1, where higher values reflect greater empowerment. Households are classified as having gender parity if either the woman is empowered (her
empowerment score is 80% or higher), or her score is greater than or equal to the empowerment score of the male decision‐maker in her household. It is
only calculated for dual‐headed households.
dThe 5DE is constructed from individual level empowerment scores which reflect each person's achievements in the five sub‐outcomes (see Table 2) and
measured by the 10 indicators with their corresponding weights. Each indicator measures whether an individual has surpassed a given threshold, or has
adequate achievement, with respect to each indicator.
eAs in Malapit (2015) (op cit.), note, gender parity is not equal to gender equality.
fGender Assets Gap Project. Cf. (Deere, 2013).
gAccording to Nationen (2015), unsafe market spaces, transport, and public spaces expose women workers and traders to violence and limit their
economic opportunities.
for Agricultural Development (IFAD), United Nations Women, United All the eligible papers will be converted into Research Information
Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Food System (RIS) and uploaded into EPPI‐Reviewer software
Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Alliance for a Green (Thomas, 2010). We will keep a log of literature search activities
Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and IMMANA grant database (Support- for reporting purposes.
ing Information: Appendix 2). We will also search the organizational
websites and repositories of CGIAR group, IFAD, IIED, AgriProFocus,
Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation, Donor Committee for Enterprise 3.4.2 | Search terms
Development, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation,
Department for International Development (DFID), Innovation Based on the PICOS framework, we will generate search terms for
Poverty Action (IPA) and The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action retrieving published studies or reports from electronic databases. As
Lab (J‐PAL), USAID Development Experience Clearinghouse and indicated earlier, we intend to include studies with any study designs,
United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). including qualitative studies and process evaluation. Hence, the
We will use the backward‐track citations approach to check for search terms for this EGM will not be restricted to any study design.
additional primary studies, reviews, and meta‐analyses that may not Rather, we will use study designs as filters in displaying the EGM.
be identified in our search but are eligible for our EGM. We will Supporting Information: Appendix 2 shows the list of organizational
particularly look out for authors who are most cited in papers in the websites for gray literature search. While Supporting Information:
subject matter field for additional information on completed or Appendix 3 shows examples of the search terms we will use to search
ongoing studies to ensure that we capture all important evidence in for the studies/papers.
the EGM. We will also look for ongoing and completed studies in
trials, as well as reviews, and EGMs in registries or repositories.
Including ongoing studies will provide information on emerging 3.4.3 | Screening and coding
future studies and hence inform future plans for updating the EGM.
However, we will restrict a timeframe of not more than 5 years within Before screening the potential studies or papers, all duplicates
which a new study was registered as a decision rule to avoid including will be identified and removed using the EPPI‐Reviewer software.
uncompleted studies which are long overdue. To make screening of the papers faster, we will adopt a machine
We will glean additional studies in gray literature, evaluation learning model to aid the ordering of the identified papers by
reports, and academic theses. Existing relevant EGMs conducted by relevance/priority based on the eligibility criteria for the
organizations such as Campbell Collaboration and 3ie will be a proposed EGM review. Eligibility screening of published and
valuable resource for potential studies we could include in our EGM. unpublished studies or papers for the EGM will involve two
 18911803, 2023, 3, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cl2.1353 by University of Ghana - Accra, Wiley Online Library on [02/10/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
ODEI OBENG‐AMOAKO ET AL. | 9 of 15
stages. First, the studies will be screened for title and abstract 3.4.4 | Data cleaning
based on the eligibility criteria (inclusion and exclusion criteria) as
shown in Figure 2. Second, a full‐text screening will be under- The coded data set in the EPPI‐Reviewer will be cleaned before
taken for the studies to be included based on title and abstract analysis. We will use univariate analysis to examine any out‐of‐range
screening. All studies will be screened by two reviewers codes. We will investigate the reasons for the outliers and address
independently. In cases of discrepancies in the decision to them. The team will thoroughly review random samples of the data.
include or exclude a paper for the EGM, the reviewers will All missing papers will be identified, and if possible, corresponding
discuss and if they disagree, a third reviewer will conduct the authors will be contacted them to ensure that all relevant literature is
screening independently to resolve the differences. Then studies included in the EGM (White, 2020).
that are included in the EGM will be coded and extracted. We will
use EPPI‐Reviewer for coding, data management, and analysis
(Thomas, 2010). Each study or paper will be coded in EPPI‐ 3.4.5 | Data analysis plan
Reviewer based on a predefined form and duplicate data
extracted for comparison (refer to Supporting Information: The unit of analysis of the EGM will be a study, meaning that each
Appendix 4: Coding form). item entered in the EPPI‐Reviewer will represent a study. A study is
F IGURE 2 Screening tool showing inclusion and exclusion criteria.
 18911803, 2023, 3, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cl2.1353 by University of Ghana - Accra, Wiley Online Library on [02/10/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
10 of 15 | ODEI OBENG‐AMOAKO ET AL.
defined as an analysis of a unique sample, which may include multiple employed by the eligible studies as filters for displaying the EGM
time points for the same sample (White, 2018). As in other EGMs, (White, 2020).
when multiple publications are identified on a single study, for
instance, a working paper and a published paper, we will consider
including the most recent open‐access publication in the EGM 3.5 | Pilot study of EGM
(Malhotra, 2021). Suppose a study reports on multiple interventions
or outcomes or study designs, the study will be considered as one Before creating our EGM, we pilot our search strategy, screening, and
entry in the EGM but will be assigned codes for the interventions or coding tools for the proposed EGM. In a pilot study, we will test and
outcomes, or study designs. Similarly, if a single study has multiple develop our search strategy in an iterative process. We will assess the
interventions with some being ineligible for our EGM, we will only suitability of the coding form with a small number (20–30) of the
consider the interventions relevant to our EGM. eligible studies for the EGM (Albers, 2019; White, 2020). The EGM
However, primary studies appearing in a systematic review that framework, that is, the row and column headings for the interventins
qualify for our EGM will be considered as a unit of analysis and will be and outcomes with their sub‐categories, search strategy, and the
counted once. coding form will be revised, refined, and re‐defined based on
Summary statistics such as percentages will be used to describe the findings of the pilot study after each round of the pilot exercise
the distribution and characteristics of the studies in the EGM. The (White, 2020). While we will consider refining the labels of
findings will be presented in graphs, tabulations, and cross‐ the categories of interventions, outcomes as well as filters, which
tabulations of intervention versus outcomes categories, regions, we have not previously thought of in the iterative pilot exercises, we
and study design in a narrative report for the EGM. We will then will be cautious not to make our map cumbersome and not
summarize and synthesize the results to identify clusters of evidence user‐friendly (White, 2020). We will conduct a trial of the EGM to
and gaps. The utility of the EGM and any potential limitations assess the practicality of EGM presentation and features as part of
identified will be discussed. EPPI‐Reviewer software will be used to the pilot exercise. The trial EGM will be shared with our stakeholders
generate descriptive statistics for the technical report and to create (development practitioners, academicians, policymakers, Campbell
the EGM based on the data uploaded into the EPPI‐Reviewer Collaboration, and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) to seek their
(Thomas, 2010). feedback on the EGM features such as the searchable filters, and
labels for the row and column headers. We will include the final
search strategy and coding forms in our EGM protocol. The principal
3.4.6 | Presentation of EGM investigator (PI) and the same team of researchers dedicated to EGM
development will conduct both the pilot exercise as well as the actual
Like the EGM on transport by Malhotra (2021), our EGM will consist EGM (White, 2020).
of a matrix with searchable filters. The interventions and outcomes
are the two main dimensions of an EGM matrix. Through a
consultative engagement with critical stakeholders (Campbell Collab- 3.6 | Stakeholder engagement
oration and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), we will define the
map framework: the row and heading titles and filters. We anticipate We will consult development practitioners, academicians, and
that the matrix will have intervention categories and subcategories as policymakers familiar with the subject matter of the scope, design,
row headings against outcomes domains and subdomains as column and production of the EGM. We will work closely with the Campbell
headings. The matrix cells will contain the studies relevant to that Collaboration from the conceptualization, design, and production of
intervention and outcome combination. The searchable filters will the EGM. We will also consult the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
cover interventions, study design, study status (completed and and other similar stakeholders (e.g., MasterCard Foundation) for their
ongoing), country and region, and location (Malhotra, 2021; input at every stage of the EGM development. We will work with
White, 2018). relevant stakeholders to disseminate the final EGM amongst relevant
organizations, institutions, and networks. The EGM will be a public
good; it will be published in an open‐access journal so that it is
3.4.7 | Critical quality appraisal of studies accessible to everyone. We anticipate that the findings of our EGM
will inform future decision‐making on research and funding priorities
Appraising the quality of the primary studies will require the use of on infrastructure, nutritious diets, WEE, and gender equality.
a checklist per the study design employed in each primary research,
which is time‐consuming. Hence, given the tight deadline for
delivering the EGM, we will not appraise the quality of the primary 3.7 | Plans to update EGM
studies. We are not also appraising the quality of reviews included
in the EGM as the number of reviews included in the EGM is very The proposed EGM will be updated every two years when sufficient
few. However, we will code and present the study designs further studies and resources become available.
 18911803, 2023, 3, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cl2.1353 by University of Ghana - Accra, Wiley Online Library on [02/10/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
ODEI OBENG‐AMOAKO ET AL. | 11 of 15
3.8 | Sources of technical and financial support • Gloria Odei Obeng‐Amoako, a nutrition specialist at ICED
and experienced in research, has been working in the field of
This EGM will be developed in collaboration with Campbell nutrition, public health, and epidemiology for over a decade.
Collaboration. Campbell Collaboration has a track record of
experience in EGM production and capacity building for EGM. EGM methods expertise
Campbell Collaboration will provide technical backstopping, while • David Sarfo Ameyaw, the CEO/President of ICED and the
the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will give technical input principal investigator (PI) of this EGM. He has several years
from the funder's perspectives and financial support to produce of experience in international development, monitoring, and
the proposed EGM. evaluation, EGM, and research.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS All team members are skillful in research methodologies,
We wish to thank Prof. Howard White for his valuable feedback and including literature search, data collection, and statistical analysis.
guidance on the design of this EGM. We are thankful to The team has been trained by Campbell Collaboration and is
Suchi Malhotra and Ashrita Saran for their dedication and support to therefore capable of carrying out the EGM processes like searching
the team throughout the EGM development process. Our appreciation for studies, assessing their eligibility, critical quality appraisal of
goes to the Associate. Prof. Hamdiyah Abena Alhassan at the University studies, and data extraction and coding.
of Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana, and Dr. Armah Ralph Nii Armah
affiliated with the Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research, Information retrieval expertise
the University of Ghana for their contribution to the development of the The authors will be supported by Mr. Rodney Malesi, an experienced
EGM. We also wish to thank Campbell Collaboration for their technical Senior Librarian affiliated with the United States International University,
support and the training programs offered to our team on EGM. We are Kenya. Mr. Malesi is an astute librarian and expert in literature retrieval
grateful to the BMGF team for their review and invaluable feedback on and has been involved in several systematic reviews and EGMs. Two
the scope of the EGM. The authors are also thankful to the BMGF for research assistants, Edward Kusi Asafo‐Agyei and Clarice Panyin Nyan (a
providing financial support for this EGM. Ph.D. candidate at the University of Ghana) will assist with screening,
coding, and quality appraisal of studies and papers to be included in the
CONTRIBUTIONS OF AUTHORS EGM under the daily supervision of Gloria Odei Obeng‐Amoako and
Content expertise: Pacem Kotchofa. Gloria Odei Obeng‐Amoako will assist with the
• David Sarfo Ameyaw, the CEO/President of ICED, is the PI for the coordination of the daily EGM‐related activities to ensure smooth
proposed EGM and a content expert in food security and implementation of the protocol and the production of the EGM. Ashrita
infrastructural projects in developing countries. He has over 30 years Saran will provide support on any methodological issues that may arise
of experience in leadership and practical experience in international during the EGM production.
development, monitoring and evaluation, learning, research, and EGM.
• Takyiwaa Manuh, the gender specialist and a distinguished University Statistical analysis
Professor, Emerita, is a subject matter expert in women's empower- All the team members are skillful in statistical analysis useful for the
ment and gender equality. She brings to the team several years of proposed EGM production and the generation of the technical report
experience, skills, and knowledge of women's empowerment and that will accompany the EGM.
gender equality in shaping the content of the EGM.
• Charles Yaw Okyere is a lecturer at the Department of Agricultural DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Economics and Agribusiness, University of Ghana, Legon, and a The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Research Associate at ICED. Charles Yaw Okyere holds a Doctor Though the BMGF team will be consulted for their perspectives
of Agricultural Sciences (Dr. Agr.) degree from the University of on the design of the EGM, they will not be involved in the search
Bonn, Germany. His research interest is to generate rigorous for literature, screening, coding, and quality appraisal of the
evidence for policy making through applying behavioral, experi- papers to be included in the EGM as well as the production of
mental, and quasi‐experimental economic techniques to agricul- the EGM.
ture, health, education, and welfare.
• Solomon Zena Walelign, the research director of ICED, is an SOURCES OF SUPPORT
experienced environmental and resource economist with expertise in Internal sources
forest sciences. He is also a consultant at the World Bank and an
Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Gondar. He brings • New Source of support, Other
research experience from Nepal, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania to
the team. External sources
• Pacem Kotchofa, the nutrition specialist at ICED, has expertise
in international development and agricultural economics. • No sources of support provided
 18911803, 2023, 3, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cl2.1353 by University of Ghana - Accra, Wiley Online Library on [02/10/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
12 of 15 | ODEI OBENG‐AMOAKO ET AL.
ORCID Bryan 2022
Gloria Adobea Odei Obeng‐Amoako https://orcid.org/0000-0001- Bryan, E., & Garner, E. (2022). Understanding the pathways to women's
5004-3701 empowerment in Northern Ghana and the relationship with small‐
scale irrigation. Agriculture and Human Values, 39(3), 905–920.
Joseph Clottey https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4317-1630
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-021-10291-1
Charles Yaw Okyere https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1794-7001
Solomon Zena Walelign https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8408-6005
CGIAR 2021
CGIAR GENDER Platform. (2021). Gender in agriculture and food systems: An
REFERENCES evidence gap map. https://cgspace.cgiar.org/handle/10568/114123
OTHER REFERENCES
ADDITIONAL REFERENCES Constructor 2021
Agritech 2022 Constructor. (2021). Types of railway systems. https://theconstructor.org/
Agritech. (2022). Agricultural Marketing: Storage and warehousing. https:// transportation/types-railway-systems/554358/
agritech.tnau.ac.in/agricultural_marketing/agrimark_storage%20and
%20ware%20housing.html
Darley 1985
Darley, W. K., & Johnson, D. M. (1985). A contemporary analysis of the low
Ahern 2007 income consumer: An international perspective. ACR Special Volumes:
206–210. https://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/12145/
Ahern, J. (2007). Green infrastructure for cities: The spatial
dimension. In Cities of the future: Towards integrated sustainable
water and landscape management (Vol. 13, pp. 267–283). IWA
Publishing.
Deere 2013
Deere, C. D., Oduro, A. D., Swaminathan, H., & Doss, C. (2013). Property
Ahmed 2012 rights and the gender distribution of wealth in Ecuador, Ghana and
India. The Journal of Economic Inequality, 11(2), 249–265. https://doi.
Ahmed, T., Hossain, M., & Sanin, K. I. (2012). Global burden of maternal
org/10.1007/s10888-013-9241-z
and child undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies. Annals of
Nutrition & Metabolism, 61(Suppl. 1), 8–17. https://doi.org/10.1159/
000345165
Definit ions 2022
Definitions. (2022). What does slaughterhouse mean? Retrieved August 12,
Albers 2019 2022, from https://www.definitions.net/definition/slaughterhouse
Albers, B., Fiennes, C., Shlonsky, A., Finch, M., Bjørndal, L., Hennessy, J.,
Krapels, J., Featherston, R., & Mildon, R. (2019). PROTOCOL:
Evidence and gap map protocol: Institutional responses to child
Dinkelman 2011
maltreatment. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 15(3), e1039. https://
doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1039 Dinkelman, T. (2011). The effects of rural electrification on employment:
New evidence from South Africa. American Economic Review, 10(7),
3078–3108. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.101.7.3078
Alkire 2013
Alkire, S., Meinzen‐Dick, R., Peterman, A., Quisumbing, A., Seymour, G., &
Vaz, A. (2013). The women's empowerment in agriculture index. Ferrovial 2022
World Development, 52, 71–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.
Ferrovial. (2022). What are railway or railroad infrastructures? Ferrovial.
2013.06.007
Retrieved August 12, 2022, from https://www.ferrovial.com/en/
resources/railway-infrastructures/
Austral ian 1992
Australian Road Research Board. (1992). Road & transport research. A Garg 2010
journal of Australian and New Zealand research and practice. Garg, V. (2010). Wireless communications & networking. Elsevier.
Bel lo 2010 Gaval i 2016
Bello, M. (2010). Effects of the location of GSM base stations on Gavali, M., Dhus, B., & Vitekar, A. (2016). A smart irrigation system for
satisfaction of occupiers and rental value of proximate residential agriculture based on wireless sensors. International Journal of Innovative
property. Computer and Information Science, 3(4), 159–170. Research in Science, Engineering and Technology, 5(5), 6893–6899.
 18911803, 2023, 3, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cl2.1353 by University of Ghana - Accra, Wiley Online Library on [02/10/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
ODEI OBENG‐AMOAKO ET AL. | 13 of 15
Groundwater 2022 Malapit 2015
Groundwater. (2022). Wells: The basics: Get informed. The Groundwater Malapit, H. J. L., & Quisumbing, A. R. (2015). What dimensions of women's
Foundation. Retrieved August 12, 2022, from https://www. empowerment in agriculture matter for nutrition in Ghana? Food
groundwater.org/get-informed/basics/wells.html Policy, 52, 54–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2015.02.003
Heeks 2002 Malhotra 2021
Heeks, R. (2002). Information systems and developing countries: Failure, Malhotra, S., White, H., de la Cruz, N., Saran, A., Eyers, J., John, D.,
success, and local improvisations. The Information Society, 18(2), Beveridge, E., & Blöndal, N. (2021). PROTOCOL: Evidence and gap map:
101–112. https://doi.org/10.1080/01972240290075039 Studies of the effectiveness of transport sector interventions in low‐ and
middle‐income countries. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 17(1), e1136.
INDDEX 2015 Marshak 2021
INDDEX Project. (2015). Dietary diversity. https://inddex.nutrition.tufts. Marshak, A., Venkat, A., Young, H., & Naumova, E. N. (2021). How
edu/data4diets/data-source/dietary-diversity seasonality of malnutrition is measured and analyzed. International
Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 1828.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041828
INDDEX 2018
INDDEX Project. (2018). Data4Diets: Building blocks for diet‐related food
security analysis. https://inddex.nutrition.tufts.edu/data4diets Mohun 2016
Mohun, R. R., & Biswas, S. (2016). Infrastructure: A game‐changer for women's
economic empowerment. https://www.empowerwomen.org/en/
resources/documents/2016/11/infrastructure-a-gamechanger-for-
Jimenez 2020
womens-economic-empowerment?lang=en%202016
Jimenez, A. F., Pedro, F. C., Antonio, C., Fabian, J., & Alfonso, P. (2020). A
survey on intelligent agents and multi‐agents for irrigation schedul-
ing. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 176, 105474. https://
Moore 2021
doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2020.105474
Moore, N., Lane, C. E., Storhaug, I., Franich, A., Rolker, H. B., Furgeson, J.,
Sparling, T., & Snilstveit, B. (2021). The effects of food systems
interventions on food security and nutrition outcomes in low‐ and
Kelly 1983
middle‐income countries. 3ie Evidence Gap Map Report 16. https://
Kelly, W. W. (1983). Concepts in the anthropological study of irrigation. doi.org/10.23846/EGM01
American Anthropologist, 85(4), 880–886.
Morgan 2020
Kihiu 2021 Morgan, G., Bajpai, A., Ceppi, P., Al‐Hinai, A., Christensen, T., Kumar, S.,
Kihiu, E. N., & Amuakwa‐Mensah, F. (2021). Agricultural market access Crosskey, S., & O'Regan, N. (2020). Infrastructure for gender equality
and dietary diversity in Kenya: Gender considerations towards and the empowerment of women. https://www.unops.org/news-and-
improved household nutritional outcomes. Food Policy, 100, 102004. stories/news/infrastructure-for-gender-equality-and-the-
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2020.102004 empowerment-of-women///
Law 2022 NAMA 2021
Law Insider. (2022). Road and bridge infrastructure projects. Definition. NAMA. (2021). What is Milling? NAMA. https://namamillers.org/
https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/road-infrastructure consumer-resources/what-is-milling
Lum 2011 Nandi 2021
Lum, C., Koper, C. S., & Telep, C. W. (2011). The evidence‐based policing Nandi, R., Nedumaran, S., & Ravula, P. (2021). The interplay between food
matrix. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 7(1), 3–26. market access and farm household dietary diversity in low and
middle income countries: A systematic review of literature. Global
Food Security, 28, 100484. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2020.
100484
Mahmud 2018
Mahmud, M., & Sawada, Y. (2018). Infrastructure and well‐being:
Employment effects of Jamuna bridge in Bangladesh. Journal of Nationen 2015
Development Effectiveness, 10(3), 327–340. https://doi.org/10.
Vereinte Nationen. (2015). Transforming economies, realizing rights:
1080/19439342.2018.1483415
Progress on the world's women. UN Women.
 18911803, 2023, 3, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cl2.1353 by University of Ghana - Accra, Wiley Online Library on [02/10/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
14 of 15 | ODEI OBENG‐AMOAKO ET AL.
Negash 2015 Shively 2017b
Negash, M. D. (2015). Impact of Akaki small‐scale irrigation scheme on Shively, G., & Thapa, G. (2017). Markets, transportation infrastructure, and
household food security. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2624598 food prices in Nepal. American Journal of Agricultural Economics,
99(3), 660–682. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajae/aaw086
Neimann 2018
Neimann, R. L., & Montgomery, P. (2018). The prevalence of and factors Sni lstveit 2013
associated with inclusion of non‐English language studies in Camp- Snilstveit, B., Vojtkova, M., Bhavsar, A., & Gaarder, M. (2013).
bell systematic reviews: A survey and meta‐epidemiological study. Evidence gap maps: A tool for promoting evidence‐informed policy
Systematic Reviews, 7(1), 129. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-018- and prioritizing future research (Working Research Paper No
0786-6 6725). https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/
16941
Oxford 2018
Oxford Press. (2018). INFRASTRUCTURE. Meaning & Definition for UK Square 2022
English. Lexico.com. Lexico Dictionaries. English. Squareup. (2022). Tips for how to set up a successful market stall. https://
squareup.com/au/en/townsquare/how-to-set-up-market-stall
Paris 2022
Paris, B., Vandorou, F., Balafoutis, A. T., Vaiopoulos, K., Kyriakarakos, G., Stifel 2017
Manolakos, D., & Papadakis, G. (2022). Energy use in open‐field Stifel, D., & Minten, B. (2017). Market access, well‐being, and nutrition:
agriculture in the EU: A critical review recommending energy evidence from Ethiopia. World Development, 90, 229–241. https://
efficiency measures and renewable energy sources adoption. doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2016.09.009
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 158, 112098. https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2022.112098
Thomas 2010
Passarel l i 2018 Thomas, J., & Brunton, J. (2010). EPPI‐Reviewer 4: Software for research
Passarelli, S., Mekonnen, D., Bryan, E., & Ringler, C. (2018). Evaluating the synthesis. ER 4 flyer 2014 v7.pdf (ioe.ac.uk).
pathways from small‐scale irrigation to dietary diversity: evidence
from Ethiopia and Tanzania. Food Security, 10(4), 981–997. https://
doi.org/10.1007/s12571-018-0812-5
Tomarchio 2017
Tomarchio, A. (2017). Livestock vaccination campaigns to support the
Potter 2010 breeders. ACTED.
Potter, S. (2010). Evidence for policy and practice (Vol. 27). EPPI‐Centre
Methods for Conducting Systematic Reviews. https://www.
betterevaluation.org/sites/default/files/Methods.pdf
UN Women, 1995
Women, U. N. (1995). Beijing declaration and platform for action—Beijing+ 5
political declaration and outcome. https://dspace.ceid.org.tr/xmlui/
handle/1/1272
Priem 2022
Priem, J., Piwowar, H., & Orr, R. (2022). OpenAlex: A fully‐open index of
scholarly works, authors, venues, institutions, and concepts. https://doi.
org/10.48550/arXiv.2205.01833
United 2020a
United Nations Secretariat. (2020). United Nations entity for gender
equality and the empowerment of women. https://www.un.org/en/
un-coronavirus-communications-team/gender-equality-time-
Saran 2018
covid-19
Saran, A., & White, H. (2018). Evidence and gap maps: A comparison of
different approaches. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 4(1), 1–38.
United 2020b
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization, &
Shively 2017a International, Bank for Reconstruction and Development. (2020).
Shively, G. (2017). Infrastructure mitigates the sensitivity of child growth Levels and trends in child malnutrition. UNICEF/WHO/The World Bank
to local agriculture and rainfall in Nepal and Uganda. Proceedings of Group joint child malnutrition estimates: Key findings of the 2020
the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, edition . https://www.who.int/publications-detail-redirect/
114(5), 903–908. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1524482114 9789240003576
 18911803, 2023, 3, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cl2.1353 by University of Ghana - Accra, Wiley Online Library on [02/10/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
ODEI OBENG‐AMOAKO ET AL. | 15 of 15
Ward 2022 World 2022
Ward, A., & Penarubia, O. (2022). Landing sites in small‐scale fisheries. Food loss World Bank. (2022). World Bank country and lending groups. World Bank Data
and waste in fish value chains. Food and Agriculture Organization of the Help Desk. https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/
United Nations. https://www.fao.org/flw-in-fish-value-chains/value- articles/906519-world-bank-country-and-lending-groups
chain/wholesale/landing-sites-in-small-scale-fisheries/en/
White 2018 Wright 2011
White, H., Welch, V., Pigott, T., Marshall, Z., Snilstveit, B., Mathew, C., & Wright, H. (2011). Understanding green infrastructure: the development of a
Littell, J. (2018). Campbell Collaboration checklist for evidence and contested concept in England. Local Environment, 16(10), 1003–1019.
gap maps: Conduct standards title and protocol checklist DRAFT
version 1.2. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 1–10.
Young 2020
White 2020 Young, H. (2020). Nutrition in Africa's drylands: A conceptual framework for
White, H., Albers, B., Gaarder, M., Kornør, H., Littell, J., Marshall, Z., addressing acute malnutrition (Working Paper Draft 5). Feinstein
Mathew, C., Pigott, T., Snilstveit, B., Waddington, H., & Welch, V. International Center, Tufts University. ReliefWeb. pp. 1–24.
(2020). Guidance for producing a Campbell evidence and gap map.
Campbell Systematic Reviews, 16, e1125. https://doi.org/10.1002/
cl2.1125 SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information can be found online in the
Supporting Information section at the end of this article.
WHO 2020
WHO. (2020). The state of food security and nutrition in the World 2020:
Transforming food systems for affordable healthy diets (2020 ed.).
Food & Agriculture Organization. http://www.fao.org/3/ca9692en/ How to cite this article: Odei Obeng‐Amoako, G. A., Nyan, C.
CA9692EN.pdf P., Clottey, J., Oppong, S. A., Asafo‐Agyei, E. K., Kotchofa, P.,
Okyere, C. Y., Walelign, S. Z., Manuh, T., & Ameyaw, D. S.
WHO 2022 (2023). PROTOCOL: The impact of infrastructure on low‐
WHO. (2022). Malnutrition. https://www.who.int/health-topics/malnutrition income consumers' nutritious diet, women's economic
empowerment, and gender equality in low‐ and middle‐income
countries: An evidence and gap map. Campbell Systematic
World 2020 Reviews, 19, e1353. https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1353
World Bank. (2020). Infrastructure in Asia and the Pacific.
 18911803, 2023, 3, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cl2.1353 by University of Ghana - Accra, Wiley Online Library on [02/10/2023]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License