Research Fellow
Department of Geography and Institute of Sustainable Food
The University of Sheffield
Dr Gregory Cooper, from the Department of Geography and Institute for Sustainable Food, arrived in Sheffield in early 2021 to work on the UKRI-GCRF Action Against Stunting Hub. Since then, Gregory has been involved in both the INFUSION project and its predecessor (the INFUSION planning grant), as well as the NutriShed project in collaboration with the University of Ghana.
What is your research background and what are your current research interests?
I am a geographer interested in the broad range of human-natural interactions that underpin regional social-ecological systems, including natural resource systems and food systems. I am particularly interested in the natural (e.g., climatic and biophysical) and human (e.g., social and economic) drivers of food and nutrition security, and how such dynamics interact out over both space and time, and across different spatial scales (e.g., individual neighbourhoods through to regions and nations). Based around this central theme, my current research is split across three projects. My research on the Indian Food Systems for Improved Nutrition (INFUSION) project focuses on the ways in which novel markets may be created and supported to improve the availability, affordability, safety, and desirability of nutrient-dense foods (e.g., fruits and vegetables and animal-source foods) for rural populations. Similarly, my research on the Action Against Stunting Hub (AASH) project focuses on the experiences and determinants of healthy food environments in three study locations (Kaffrine, Senegal; Hyderabad, India; East Lombok, Indonesia), including efforts to create a novel ‘multidimensional food environment experience metric’ to understand the perceptions of local consumer communities towards their food environment. Moreover, my contributions to the Ghana-based NutriShed project include the use of system dynamics modelling and GIS tools to visualise the flows of nutrient-dense foods towards our study communities in Asesewa and Takoradi.
What are you focusing on in the INFUSION project?
As part of the Sheffield-based team, my research is particularly focused on two elements of INFUSION. First is the design and evaluation of the ‘Didi Haats’ intervention, which involves working with local decision-makers and stakeholders to develop new rural marketplaces (known as haats in Hindi) for nutrient-dense foods. Critically, we aim for these Didi Haats to be ‘model markets’, incorporating various design features which at least in theory should help to reduce food loss and waste within the market (e.g., cold storage facilities), improve access to credit facilities for nutrient-dense foods, and improve the sense of personal safety experienced by women in the market (e.g., working as vendors or visiting as shoppers). Alongside my colleague Dr Martin Watts, I will be helping to lead the process evaluation aspects of the intervention – essentially collecting various datasets to ascertain the efficacy of the intervention (i.e., whether Didi Haats achieve what they set out to do) over the course of one year. Furthermore, I am also involved in the ‘Workstream One’ elements of INFUSION. Here, as a form of feasibility study to help inform the rapid collection of market data by the Government of Bihar, we are collecting high frequency information on prices and arrivals from 300 markets across Bhojpur and Samastipur districts. Alongside my colleague Dr Anjali Purushotham, I am contributing to survey and sampling design, as well as the collections and analysis of data over the next year.
What excites you about your work on INFUSION?
I would say I am particularly excited about two main elements of INFUSION. First are the opportunities to visit and conduct research in places such as Bihar and Odisha; two states of India that have exceptionally vibrant cultures, histories, and traditions (both in terms of the ‘food cultures’ and more generally as well). The second is the opportunity to conduct research that may directly inform public policymaking both today and in future! We are very fortunate to work closely with senior officials based at the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (known locally as JEEViKA), and having their frequent inputs into the co-design of the Didi Haats and the Nutrition Security Fund interventions will hopefully mean we are conducting research that decision-makers and local stakeholders will find valuable and informative.
Tell us a fun fact about you
I’m known for my particular love of paneer (cottage cheese) amongst the INFUSION team. During team meals in Bihar, I can often be found insisting that we eat at least one paneer dish – much to the dismay of my colleagues Prof Bhavani and Prof Suneetha!