Overcoming Barriers to Nutrition Garden Adoption: A Strategic Approach using Analytical Hierarchy Process

Background: Nutrition gardens have emerged as a sustainable solution to improve dietary diversity and address household-level food and nutrition insecurity. However, their adoption is often limited by multiple barriers such as a lack of space, time constraints, inadequate knowledge and poor access to quality seeds. In the Ludhiana district of Punjab, these constraints are particularly significant, necessitating a systematic approach to identify and prioritise effective interventions. Methods: The study employed a multistage sampling approach to survey 214 farmers across three villages in Ludhiana district. Additionally, 50 agricultural experts were consulted to formulate and assess potential strategies. An Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to prioritise the identified constraints and rank strategic interventions based on expert judgement and pairwise comparisons. Result: The AHP analysis revealed that space constraints were the most critical barrier, with vertical and terrace gardening identified as the most effective strategies. Knowledge gaps ranked second, with peer-to-peer learning and educational materials emerging as key solutions. Time-saving gardening techniques and improved access to quality seeds were also prioritised, but with relatively lower weights. The consistency ratios in all comparisons were within acceptable limits, confirming the reliability of the results.