Best practice for rural food security projects in Southern Africa?

It has been widely believed that commercialisation is the solution to food insecurity in rural Africa. Project designs have attempted to set up agricultural cooperatives and encourage entrepreneurial farmers. Yet the problems revealed in the 1950s are still widespread. In a counter-perspective, some have argued for the relevance of subsistence and low-input agriculture. This article examines three NGO projects in South and South-eastern Africa which prioritise food security through household subsistence, using low-input technologies, along with an encouragement to produce a surplus for cash. We look at what these projects share and why their strategies work.     

The marginalisation of participation “as an end” development: an Ecuadorean case study

The evolution of participatory practices clearly evidences movement away from local participatory projects implemented with the use of participatory methodologies such as participatory rural appraisal, and towards citizen participation in government activities. This trend reflects development discourse concerning participation, and in particular responds to the critique aimed at local participatory development. Using case study data from Ecuador, the article discusses the previously overlooked effects of this phenomenon, namely a uniformity of participatory development practice and a lack of opportunities for people to engage in development activities that provide participation “as an end” benefits such as empowerment and confidence-building.     

Challenges and lessons learnt from a sanitation project in rural Bolivia

The University of Arizona chapter of Engineers Without Borders USA has faced multiple challenges involving community participation in rural development, in the Andean community of Marquirivi, Bolivia, both in rural design and in community participation. Despite successful construction of a shower house in 2014, the EWB-USA UA team experience with community participation revealed the numerous complexities involved in engaging successfully with communities. The importance of previous aid in a community with development projects also emerged as critical in shaping actions. This article discusses lessons learnt and recommendations for rural infrastructure projects, as well as the EWB-USA model of sustainable development.     

Women’s NGOs as intermediaries in development cooperation: findings from research in Tanzania

This article employs research conducted with the Kivulini Women’s Rights Organization in Tanzania to discuss opportunities, constraints, and broader lessons about the role of women’s NGOs as intermediaries in development projects. Findings reveal that women’s NGOs often have insecure positions in development projects and are undervalued by executing agencies because advocating for gender equality is perceived as a “natural” extension of women’s roles in patriarchal societies. Women’s NGOs are “feminised” and consequently trivialised in their role as intermediaries, putting gender equality objectives at risk of attrition or abandonment. Under certain circumstances, women’s NGOs can be pushed out of partnership projects altogether.     

A cooperative Peru: Is centralisation of cooperatives better for local development?

Research shows that some agricultural cooperatives implement development projects in their local communities. What remains to be explained is why certain cooperatives pursue local development while others do not. Through a comparison of coffee cooperatives in two regions of Peru, this study examines the implications of a regional cooperative for local development. The creation of a regional cooperative leads to a concentration of resources and a decrease in the need and ability of local cooperatives to pursue independent development projects. At the same time, it allows for more equal access to those resources and to the benefits of cooperative-led development projects.     

One village one product: evaluations and lessons learnt from OVOP aid projects

The One Village One Product project that originated in Japan's Oita Prefecture is just one component of many official Japanese development assistance projects aiming to promote rural development in more than 30 countries. Not all efforts, however, result in the same level of sustainability. Oita Prefecture built its movement on three principles: local yet global, self-reliance and creativity, and human resources development. The projects that satisfy these principles are generally found to be sustainable. These principles can also be applicable to overseas projects.     

A case for integrated development: pathways to improve child well-being

Economic strengthening interventions may increase income, assets, and food security. Donors and implementers see the potential for improvements in child well-being. This article presents lessons learnt from the implementation of two economic strengthening interventions. It finds missed opportunities with regard to child nutrition, and recommends: (1) integrating economic strengthening interventions with complementary development activities; (2) deep formative assessment to inform programme design; and (3) the use of community-based feedback loops. Development practitioners, funders, policymakers, and researchers must take every opportunity to improve the lives of children as young as possible to build healthy families, communities, and nations.     

Food security in rural Uganda: assessing latent effects of microfinance on pre-participation

This article assesses the effects of microfinance on food security, using data from a group of Ugandan women from two rural villages: Bulike and Kaliro. Approximately 130 in-person questionnaires were completed over the summer of 2013. Statistical modelling techniques are used to shed light on the variability of access to food and additional income. Specifically, researchers identify latent effects of MFO participation-based literature and test these constructs using survey data collected from women who are about to begin participation in an MFO. Results provide evidence that a structural linkage exists between women’s social capital, empowerment, and collective action and access to additional income.     

Identification and analysis of smallholder producers’ constraints: applications to Tanzania and Uganda

This article puts forward a method for the analysis of constraints faced by developing countries’ smallholder producers. It is consistent with theories of constraints, efficient in terms of cost and researchers’ time, and accessible to a non-technical audience. A hybrid of workshop discussion and individual data collection, it also draws on data and analyses available in most developing countries. The article presents an application to smallholder livestock systems in Tanzania and Uganda, reporting results and analysis relating constraints to households’ characteristics and conditions, and their stated goals. While limitations are identified, it is proposed for application in other development fields.     

Participatory community analysis: identifying and addressing challenges to Ethiopian smallholder livelihoods

In 2012, Africa RISING conducted participatory community analysis (PCA) as the first phase of a participatory development approach in the Ethiopian highlands. The PCA identified trends, constraints, and opportunities – and shed light upon how farmers perceive livelihoods to be changing. Inputs, diseases, pests, soil fertility, post-harvest management, and fodder shortages were seen as challenges, while off-farm income has become increasingly important. Gender differences in livestock and crop preferences for food security and income sources were observed. PCA established development priorities in a way that researchers may have approached differently or missed, providing research development priorities for Africa RISING scientists.     

越南农村地区环境问题:现状及解决措施

越南农村地区面临着环境污染问题,越南政府已颁布了多项环境保护政策和措施以有效保护环境和促进农村的可持续发展。这些政策包括:提高人口素质、减少贫困、增加农村基础设施投入、扶助农村和农村家庭经济发展、环境保护,以及保障清洁水供应、提高农村环境卫生质量、修建畜牧业沼气站、建立生态示范村、鼓励新鲜食品生产和采取有效措施应对气候变化等。     

Extreme poverty alleviation through community-based entrepreneurship: PRODECO in Paraguay

Community-based entrepreneurship projects have been advocated as a potential approach to alleviate extreme poverty as they provide opportunities for income generation and capacity enhancement. This practical note provides an overview of the PRODECO project undertaken jointly by the Paraguayan government and the World Bank (1999–2008) in three southern departments of Paraguay (Itapúa, Misiones, and Ñeembucú). It describes and analyses the context, scope, operations, and results of this project, and identifies five main lessons related to frequent challenges faced by this approach; on size, access to skills, distance from government agencies, pace, and technology.     

Ethnocompetitiveness,relations, and networks: towards rural sustainability

Small producers face various obstacles in placing their products on the global market. The most important obstacle is associated with the generation of innovative products in a dynamic context. This article presents a case study which provides support for a methodology designed to quantify the competitiveness of small and medium-sized local producers in relation to other producers in the same region and nation. It explores how the evolution of knowledge relates to the ability of agricultural producers to sell their products in regional and international markets. To do so, it utilises the concept of ethnocompetitiveness, which can be understood as the hybridisation of local knowledges with external or codified knowledge.     

Social and economic inclusion of people with disabilities: practical lessons from Bangladesh

People with disabilities remain one of the most excluded minorities, often deprived of the benefits of mainstream development programmes. This practical note reports on lessons learnt in delivering a programme combining a community based rehabilitation (CBR) and self-help group approach with disabled persons in rural Bangladesh. Our findings demonstrate how targeted programmes can bring about the social and economic inclusion of disabled persons. We also highlight the greater effectiveness of CBR programmes when targeting a more diverse client base, when not based on debt recovery, and how targeted programmes can even benefit the wider community.     

Local preferences of mung bean qualities for food autonomy in India

The concept of food autonomy draws attention to qualities of local food and food networks that can facilitate connectivity between local food production and consumption. This article reports on a study conducted in Hisar, India, that reveals how rural producer, processor, and consumer preferences of mung bean quality interact with their aim to maintain and develop a territorial mung bean connectivity so as to reinforce food autonomy. The study showed that local mung bean food qualities related to suitability in the local cropping system, processing requirements, and consumption choice. It suggests that local preferences be integrated into a reorientation of research and scientific development agendas, and should become an essential consideration of development and extension efforts, which also carries implications for the food autonomy of local producers, processors, and consumers.     

Whole-person health and development: two South Indian initiatives

ABSTRACT

In responding to the 2016 reformulation of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, the development community’s efforts are focused on a sweep of initiatives aiming to promote whole-society, sustainable development. The ambition of the SDGs is inspiring, but also daunting, and does not always sit easily within national models of economic development. This viewpoint profiles two organisations in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, that have decades of experience in whole-person development among scheduled tribes and disability communities. Both organisations serve as timely examples of ongoing holistic, whole-person health and development in the context of new ideals and economic realities.     

Exploring project sustainability: using a multiperspectival,multidimensional approach to frame inquiry

In development studies, programme sustainability has gained significant attention in recent years. One challenge to sustainability is the range of stakeholders involved in international development projects, presenting multiple perspectives and priorities, not always in harmony, nor necessarily communicated. This article presents an approach to facilitating stakeholder sustainability dialogue, an analytic framework for programme sustainability inquiry comprising five dimensions: political; economic; institutional; ownership; and practice. To demonstrate this framework we describe inquiry into stakeholder perspectives in one Afghanistan education development project. The results indicate the value of multidimensional, multiperspectival inquiry in identifying areas of potential sustainability challenge and strength.     

Moving from nos/otros to nosotros: a transcendent approach to sustainable development

Traditional top-down approaches to community development reinforce nos/otros binaries within provider/recipient relationships; transcendent approaches, on the other hand, create space for nosotros collaborative development. This article describes an instance of the nos/otros binary, in which a foreign volunteer in a rural community in Ecuador assumed the role of practitioner and limited community members’ roles to recipients or beneficiaries of her development projects. Inspired by findings from this experience, the article presents a case study highlighting an alternative, transcendent, nosotros approach in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where community members work together to imagine, implement, and sustain projects.     

NGOs as intermediaries in post-disaster rural reconstruction: findings from research in India

Drawing upon research conducted in Gujarat, India, this article identifies the potential and limitations for NGOs to serve as intermediaries (between beneficiaries, governments, and international relief/development organisations) on post-disaster rural reconstruction projects. Findings reveal that NGOs can play important roles in facilitating the design and construction of high-quality, culturally appropriate housing; revitalising and diversifying livelihoods; and reducing physical and social vulnerability to future disasters. NGOs should have clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and accountability measures in post-disaster reconstruction projects, but they also need a certain amount of autonomy to protect their organisational philosophies and flexibility to make day-to-day decisions.     

Shea butter: connecting rural Burkinabè women to international markets through fair trade

Processed by rural West African women and desired by wealthy Northern consumers of natural beauty products, shea butter seems a prime candidate for fair trade, yet to date there has been little study of the industry. This article analyses the opportunities and constraints of the development of fair-trade exports of shea butter from Burkina Faso, taking into account the context in which shea is produced and sold locally and internationally, the concept of fair trade, and the impact of gender relations on shea production. Although a definitive positive or negative determination cannot be made, given the complex and divergent factors affecting the potential international market and the production process, the author finds that the development of the fair-trade shea butter industry in Burkina Faso has great potential. However, such development must occur with restraint and consideration of possible challenges and limitations, in order to remain sustainable and viable for rural female producers.