Allen, W., M. Kilvington and C. Horn. 2002. Using Participatory and Learning-Based Approaches for Environmental Management to Help Achieve Constructive Behaviour Change. Landcare Research Contract Report LCO102/057. Landcare, Lincoln, New Zealand.

Vernooy, R. 200. Seeds that Give: Participatory plant breeding. IDRC. ISBN 1-55250-014-4. 100 pp.Today’s agriculture is like a huge inverted pyramid; globally, it rests on a precariously narrow base. Less than three percent of the 250 000 plant varieties available to agriculture are in use today. The top-down system of agricultural research, where farmers are seen merely as recipients of research rather than as participants in it, has contributed to this dependence on a relatively few plant varieties. This trend, and the increasing industrialization of agriculture, are key factors in what can only be called genetic erosion.A new approach to agricultural research and development is needed in order to conserve agricultural diversity, improve crops, and produce food of quality for all. This publication examines this new approach to agricultural research in light of 10 years of support by IDRC for projects promote agricultural biodiversity and participatory plant breeding. It examines key issues in detail, from the research questions, design of on-farm research to farmers’ and plant breeders’ rights. It argues for the development of new, supportive policies and legislation. A series of project stories illustrates how farmers and plant breeders are working together in remote regions from the Andes to the Himalayas and beyond. Analysing the results — both the successes and the shortcomings — of a decade of research, the author comes up with a series of specific recommendations for governments and organizations involved in agricultural research and development. Finally the author takes a speculative look 10 years into the future of participatory plant breeding.This book also serves as the focal point for an IDRC thematic web site on participatory plant breeding: www.idrc.ca/seeds. The full text is available online and leads the reader into a virtual web of resources that explores a decade of research on agrobiodiversity and participatory plant breeding.

Cárdenas, J.C. 2003. Rethinking Local Commons Dilemmas: Lessons from Experimental Economics in the Field. A shorter version of this paper was published in Isham, J., T. Kelly and S. Ramaswamy (Eds). Social Capital, Economic Development and the Environment, Edward Elgar Publishing. 2002. Northampton. Related papers in English and SpanishA rather recent development in economics is the formal study of how human groups device ways of governing the coordination of actions that produce externalities without the need of a Leviathan with perfect information and costless ways of enforcing rules, or without the need to individualize the property rights over the resource to allow the invisible hand to coordinate choices and results. Social Capital is one of the terms proposed by leading authors like Putnam (1993) to explain those mechanisms (e.g. norms or rules) that groups use to govern themselves. Self-Governance Institutions has been an alternative notion proposed by others like Ostrom (1990). Or a synonymous, Community Governance (Bowles, 1999) which also conveys the same notion. In general, economic analysis is now recognizing that individuals may put in place selfgoverned material and non-material incentives, which induce changes in behavior from self-oriented actions to group-oriented ones, which may produce social outcomes that are superior than those resulting from the purely selfish and short-sighted behavior of individuals. Usually these institutional arrangements achieve the result of correcting the failures of externalities without the intervention of an external agent or the rearrangement of property rights. In particular, the academic debate over the best prediction about the behavior of people that use a Common-Pool Resource (CPR), and the recommended policy approaches to the CPR dilemma have undergone a very interesting evolution throughout the last 3 decades of the past century, since the emergence of at least two seminal contributions; Garret Hardin’s “Tragedy of the Commons” (1968) and his reflections on the lack of individual property rights over resources under joint access; and Mancur Olson’s Logic of Collective Action (1965) on the difficulties for large and homogenous groups to achieve the voluntary provision of a public good. The empirical evidence on groups using common-pool resources, dating back for centuries, and still today remaining inconclusive, supports in many cases and rejects in many others the different hypotheses available today. Why in some cases groups succeed collectively in managing a resource for which they have joint access, while in similar situations other groups drive the resource closer to exhaustion and socially undesirable results? Why some individuals do act in these situations according to the theoretical prediction of the homo-economicus while others do not? Further, why do the same individuals do confirm the self-regarding maximizing behavior in competitive market institutions while showing other-regarding preferences under situations that generate outcomes that affect negatively others? The fact that these questions remain unsolved should challenge the way the problem of commons dilemmas is taught and studied in the economics profession, and in how it transpires to policy making debates. However, much of the teaching of this particular problem is done without much of the new theoretical, empirical and experimental contributions that have emerged since Hardin’s tragedy prediction. Today the problem of the commons is still presented to students as a free-rider problem where the individual rationality of those extracting the resource and the lack of private or state ownership of the resource would drive the common-pool to yields that are socially sub-optimal, and eventually to exhaustion. At best, some authors seem to acknowledge the difference in rights and rules between open access and common property. Nevertheless, the introductory level teaching ignores in most cases the possibility of groups devising endogenously institutions for self-management and control, or the possibility of human preferences that involve the welfare or actions of others inducing people to act more cooperative. Further, much of the policy textbook recipes still remain within the two orthodox approaches of assigning individual property rights to the resource (market approach), or transferring all property and control to the government for (state approach) a socially efficient management to emerge. However, a long and rich path has been covered by many social and natural scientists that explore the factors that drive human behavior when facing a CPR dilemma. This paper wants to respond to this concern in two ways. One, by providing in sections 2 and 3 elements from recent advances in the analysis of CPRs that could be easily introduced into the teaching and policy design regarding the social dilemmas arising from the use of commons. In particular, it will highlight the lack of importance given to community governance solutions and the focusing on the state and the market solutions, at least in the teaching and policy design arenas. The second contribution to the concerns mentioned is a set of results (Section 4) from field economic experiments conducted in actual CPR settings in rural locations; the results provide empirical evidence of some of the new developments in the literature, questioning much of the conventional views about these dilemmas and human behavior. Further, the methodological approach of applying experimental economics in the field and in the classroom might bring to the economics profession some lessons and challenges about participatory research and teaching techniques where the participants (villagers or students) become active part of the analysis and not mere subjects that produce data, as usually seen in the conventional literature, teaching and research.

This report, one of a series of three on livestock and water in Africa, defines the major agricultural production zones of tropical Africa with some account of the importance of land, livestock and water in each zone. Traditional and modern strategies used to overcome water shortages are discussed. The technical, administrative and environmental problems experienced in the past development of water supplies are then outlined as is the relationship between technology, equity, management and control. The implications of past experience for planning water development in the future are then considered. Proposals are made for future research which could lead to the formulation of improved policies and development programmes. An appendix gives a recommended nomenclature for the different kinds of water resources which could lead to greater precision and clarity in discussing water management.

Almekinders, C., and J. Jongerden. 2002. On visions and new approaches. Case studies of organisational forms in organic plant breeding and seed production. Working Paper Technology and Agrarian Development, Wageningen University, Netherlands. pp. 30This report is based on an exploratory study of the social, financial and legal organisation, and technology applied in five initiatives in the sector of biological seed production and plant breeding in the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland. The study is carried out by researchers of the Chairgroup Technologie en Agrarische Ontwikkeling (TAO) of the Wageningen University and Researchcentre (WUR), and was comissioned by Louis Bolk Institute and Platform Biologica. The report is an exploratory study of the social, financial and legal organisation, and technology applied in five initiatives in the sector of biological seed production and plant breeding in the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland. The experiences of the studied initiatives are relevant in a period in which interest for organic seed and plant breeding is increasing. A number of the actors in the organic sector consider organic breeding a guarantee the availability of suitable seeds and varieties for the organic sector in terms of agronomic and quality traits. An important requirement is that seeds are produced and developed with technologies that are accepted in the organic sector. In addition, the organic sector is interested in breeding strategies that aim not only at economic, but also at social sustainability. The analysis of the five initiatives concentrates on the limitations and the choices by the involved actors made in the course of their development. The main conclusion of the study is that the social and financial organisation, and technologies used in the initiatives show functional coherence. Two circuits are distinguished in the study, i.e. the bio-dynamic circuit and the bio-classic circuit. Each of the circuits shows its own characteristics and coherence. The perspective of the actors on the mission and function of plant breeding is an important factor in their choices. Choices of sources of capital for financing the initiatives play a crucial role. Those that opt for capital from donations and legates (biodynamic circuit) seem to have a different development path of breeding and seed production than those that use conventional capital arrangements (bio-classic circuit). The use from the two distinctive sources of funding corresponds, respectively, to organisations that develop a network structure and a more classical organised one. Both types of organisations can be seen as initiatives that have to conform to the principles of capital providers in the use of technology and marketing strategies. At the same time, however, they are both innovative. Summarising, it is concluded that the diversity of the perspectives of the actors in the organic sector provides opportunities to explore new pathways in breeding and seed supply for the organic sector. Over time, as their improved materials become available, the viability of the different approaches will become clear.

Pound, B., S. Snapp, C. McDougall and A. Braun (Eds). 2003. Managing Natural Resources for Sustainable Livelihoods: Uniting Science and Participation. Earthscan/IDRC.Management of local resources has a greater chance of a sustainable outcome when there is partnership between local people and external agencies, and agendas relevant to their aspirations and circumstances. Managing Natural Resources for Sustainable Livelihoods analyses and extends this premise to show unequivocally that the process of research for improving natural resource management must incorporate participatory and user-focused approaches, leading to development based on the needs and knowledge of local resource users.Drawing on extensive and highly relevant case studies, this book presents innovative approaches for establishing and sustaining participation and collective decision-making, good practice for research, and challenges for future developments. It covers a wide range of natural resources – including forests and soils, and water and management units such as watersheds and common property areas and provides practical lessons from analysis and meta-analysis of cases from Asia, Africa and Latin America. It offers insights on how to make research participatory while maintaining rigour and high-quality biological science, different forms of participation, and ways to scale up and extend participatory approaches and successful initiatives.This book will be invaluable for those professionally involved in natural resource management for sustainable development, and an essential resource for teachers and students of both the biophysical and social science aspects of natural resource management.

Vaughan, C., Katjiua, J.B. and Branston, N., and Bundra K.2003. CBNRM in the Kunene Region Proceedings of a Workshop Held to Discuss WILD Project Key Findings and Build Stakeholder Consensus. Ombinda Lodge. WILD Working Paper 18.The Kunene WILD Project and MET regional staff conducted a workshop with regional CBNRM stakeholders. This workshop created a unique opportunity for individuals to come together at a regional level to evaluate and discuss WILD project research findings. The workshop purpose was to share WILD research findings for discussion, validation and dissemination to support the CBNRM programme in the north-west and nationally. The workshop was prepared as part of the WILD engagement strategy, which involved individual consultations with Windhoek-based stakeholders to discuss findings, and further workshops based on this one for Caprivi and Windhoek. The outcomes of the other consultations are available as separate WILD working papers.WILD Project staff presented the main research findings, their livelihood implications and recommended action points on the four following topics:1) Livelihoods and conservancies2) Tourism and enterprises3) Livelihoods and wildlife findings4) Policy, institutions and practice findingsThe CBNRM stakeholders then held discussions and contextualised a number of research findings and issues on each topic, and made a number of recommendations based upon their knowledge and experience.

Vaughan, K. and Katjiua, J. 2002. An Overview of Community-based Natural Resource Management and Rural Livelihoods in ≠Khoadi //Hoas Conservancy. Kunene. WILD Working Paper 5.Peoples’ livelihoods within the ≠Khoadi //Hoas conservancy area comprise a dynamic mix of using and accessing a variety of resources and dealing with complex and diverse transforming processes (for example, different kinds of localised power relationships, rules, and institutions and the effects of national policy and legislation) People are critically dependant on the natural resource base, with drought being seen as the major influence on vulnerability. Water and grazing are the most critical assets and are directly related to livestock keeping activities. The importance of these assets varies depending on people’s primary livelihood strategies and their location within the conservancy. Some people live in population centres and can therefore be considered more urban based, and reliant on formal employment. Others live in the more rural areas and rely primarily on livestock farming. The numbers and types of stock owned differentiate people. Wildlife utilisation ranging from insects to small mammals plays a critical role in sustaining livelihoods, with some types of wildlife being seen as beneficial whilst others cause conflict with existing livelihood activities (for example predators killing livestock).The impacts of the conservancy programme on household livelihoods are both positive and negative with costs and benefits associated with impacts. Whilst the broader community appears to support the conservancy initiative the majority see little if any direct benefits and are in some instances still incurring costs associated with living with wildlife such as predator and elephant threats and damage. The community has so far seen limited and few tangible and direct benefits. At present those benefiting most are either directly employed through the conservancy, or are closely linked to conservancy employees and committee members. Greater levels of localised control on illegal hunting activities may have reduced hunting or made hunters change their behaviour away from commercial to more subsistence forms of hunting. Poorer and marginal households who have traditionally relied on wildlife utilisation to secure their household livelihoods especially in times of vulnerability and stress may have been unduly or adversely affected.

Matsaert, H., Z. Ahmed, N.Islam and F.Hussain. 2004. Actor oriented tools for analysis of innovation systems: Some guidelines from experience of analysing natural resource based innovation systems in Bangladesh. DRAFT.These guidelines are based on our experiences of using actor oriented tools to analyse chilli and livestock innovations systems and identify pro poor interventions in the char lands of Bangladesh, and in sharing and discussing these tools with other development partners. These tools are drawn from a wide range of sources. These include social anthropological and social network research techniques (see Long and Long 1992, Lewis 1998), stakeholder analysis (see Grimble and Wellard 1997), agricultural information knowledge systems (see Roling and Jiggins 1997) and process monitoring and documentation (see Mosse et al 1998). However, the tools are not commonly found in the analysis and planning of interventions in natural resource based innovation systems. Actor oriented tools complement other planning, monitoring and evaluation tools by focusing on the structure of social relationships between the key actors involved in a development scenario. We have found them useful for:- Analysis of a given institution (e.g organisation or enterprise, project or sector) in terms of strong and weak linkages between its actors; planning: visual presentation of critical links which should be supported or developed to meet the overall development goals e.g poverty reduction, inclusion of marginal groups and in monitoring and evaluation for visualising how interventions have impacted on critical linkages over time.

Kanyama-Phiri, G.,S. Snapp, B. Kamanga and K. Wellard. 2000. Towards integrated soil fertility management in Malawi: incorporating participatory approaches in agricultural research. IIED Series on Managing Africa's Soils. No. 11.In order to effectively develop integrated soil fertility management strategies and disseminate the resulting technologies, we need new approaches that will enable farmers and researchers to build working partnerships. Participatory research is one option, but it is often considered too time-consuming and criticised for not generating quantitative data. Researchers in Malawi have taken up the challenge to overcome these constraints, and have developed both a short-term and a longer-term approach to participatory research. This paper describes the various steps followed in two case studies that followed each approach. The short-term approach tested and disseminated ‘best bet’ technologies in target villages in four different agro-ecological zones. Over three years researchers developed a ‘mother & baby’ satellite trial that was designed to meet both their own and farmers’ requirements. They used innovative trial designs and consultative methods, and in many sites obtained promising results from on-farm trials with intensified cropping systems incorporating legumes. Biological performance was measured against the farmers’ assessments of the new technologies, and farmers also stressed the importance of testing a range of options, such as a wide range of legumes grown with small amounts of mineral fertiliser. The longer-term programme was implemented over a period of more than five years. This involved a participatory, community-oriented approach to work in a watershed located in a densely populated area of southern Malawi. The research addressed the problem of eroded slopes used by farmers with limited access to resources. It was difficult to make progress on these degraded sites: maize generally performed very poorly on the steep slopes, and without nitrogen fertiliser the legume-based technologies were not very productive. In flatter areas and valleys the Sesbania sesban inter-crop system produced the highest yields, but the drawback of this system was that it required the highest investment in terms of labour. We believe that it is important for researchers and farm advisors to have a long-term commitment to working with farm communities, particularly for problematic areas such as the eroded, degraded sites and small land holdings typified by the Songani watershed in Southern Malawi. Our findings indicate that there is considerable scope for using participatory research methods to develop more appropriate technologies. These two case studies show how farmers’ input can be incorporated regularly into the early stages of research. Policy makers may need to be drawn into this work as well, as there appear to be no easy answers to the problems posed by degraded sites. Dissemination of ‘best bet’ technologies for other, better-endowed sites may also benefit from policy interventions.

Bigman, D. and M.E. Loevinsohn, 2003. Targeting agricultural research and development for poverty reduction: General principles and an illustration for Sub-Saharan Africa. In: Mathur, S.; Pachico, D. Agricultural research and poverty reduction: Some issues and evidence. Economics and Impact Series 2. Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT), Cali, Colombia. p. 131-152.In 1997, the CGIAR System adopted new policy guidelines that gave the highest priority to the achieving poverty alleviation through resource conservation and management, increasing the productivity of commodity production systems, improving the policy environment, and strengthening national research capacity. 14 The implementation of these guidelines requires a coherent methodology that will provide a comprehensive impact assessment of agricultural R&D programs in terms of their effect on poverty. Most of the analytical work in the past two years on the development of the necessary methodology focused on poverty mapping. The analytical model developed in this paper suggests, however, that poverty mapping is only one component of the required methodology. An equally important component is a detailed mapping of the incidence of the benefits from the R&D program across geographical areas and farming systems. Another necessary component is a method of estimating the incidence of poverty in the target areas for agricultural R&D programs. The paper also emphasizes that, even when the goal of poverty reduction is given the highest priority, agricultural R&D program may not always be the most effective policy instrument to achieve this goal. In some countries, the underlying socioeconomic and geographic conditions in the areas where the poor concentrate, or the characteristics of the new technology that was developed in the program, may slow down the rate of adoption of this technology and thereby reduce the impact of agricultural R&D program on the poor. In many developing countries, the alternative distributive policy instruments are either non-available or highly ineffective, and targeted agricultural R&D programs can play a significant role in alleviating poverty and reducing income inequalities.

Aarnink, W., S. Bunning, L. Collette, P.Mulvany. 1998. Sustaining Agricultural Biodiversity and Agro-ecosystem functions: Opportunities, incentives and approaches for the conservation and sustainable use of agricultural biodiversity in agro-ecosystems and production systems . Report of International Technical Workshop organized by FAO and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, with the support of the Government of the Netherlands. 2 - 4 December 1998, FAO, Rome, Italy.

ETC-RUAF and SIUPA. 2001. Proceedings of the expert workshop on Appropriate Methodologies for Urban Agriculture: Research, Policy development, Planning, Implementation and Evaluation. 1-5 Oct, 2001. Nairobi, Kenya. ETC Resource Centre on Urban Agriculture and Forestry, Leusden, the Netherlands and CGIAR Strategic Initiative on Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture SIUPA, Lima, Peru.Urban agriculture is an ancient practice but a recent focus of attention for a wide range of professionals associated with urban management, urban planning and agriculture. In the past these fields have been quite separate, and have elaborated their own approaches and methods associated with policy development, planning, research and monitoring and evaluation. The organisers of the workshop believe that to strengthen and develop agriculture in the urban environment, there is a pressing need not only to explore the adaptation of the wide range of methods used in rural agricultural research and development, but also to provide an innovative integration of these procedures with the specifically urban methods applied to understanding planning and policy issues. In order to stimulate such a process CGIAR-SIUPA and ETC-RUAF decided to jointly organise a multi media process of collection, discussion and synthesis of a set of appropriate methods for urban agriculture research, policy developoment, planning, implementation and evaluation. We started with a brain-storming meeting (in Leusden, the Netherlands )with a small group invited resource persons. As a result six thematic areas were chosen through which to identify and debate appropriate methods for urban agriculture. These themes, which are elaborated in more detail below, are: • Situation analysis/diagnosis and baseline studies on UA • Participatory UA policy formulation and action planning • Integration of UA in urban land use planning • Participatory technology development in UA • Marketing assessments and micro-enterprise development related to UA • Monitoring and evaluation of the impacts of UA As a next step we invited experts on each of these themes to prepare a synthesis paper. The topic coordinators identified interesting experiences, commissioned the preparation of case study papers and synthesized current methodological experiences. The synthesis papers were used as the basis for the discussions during the expert consultation held in Nairobi in October 2001, on which we report in this document. The objective of the workshop was: to bring together, exchange and discuss experiences gained with a variety of methodologies applied in intra-urban and peri-urban agriculture (UA)1 research, policy development, spatial urban planning, project planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

Vincent, L. 2003. Participatory Research, Natural Resource Management and Rural Transformation: More Lessons from the Field. IN: B. Pound, S. Snapp, C. McDougall and A. Braun (Eds.O Managing natural resources for sustainable livelihoods: Uniting Science and Participation. Earthscan/IDRC.The word ‘lesson’ can refer to a teaching exercise that is structured to provide facts, skills and information, or to the meaning and awareness that is extracted from an experience. By reflecting on what we are doing and why, we can hope to limit our mistakes and create new ways of seeing, negotiating and resolving problems and opportunities. Lessons are important to the future of participatory research, as the recent critique of participatory development as a ‘tyranny’ shows (Cooke and Kothari, 2001). They call for a critical review of participatory development approaches and research methods – to study the controls on the processes behind ‘participation’ paradigms, and to demonstrate why it should be preserved as an approach. However, even ten years ago, Fals-Borda and Rahman (1991) were also warning of the take-up of participatory methods by agencies as a requirement and new form of control and social engineering, that would bring criticism of the role of participatory research methods. They emphasized the need for reflection to counter such outcomes, going on to stress instead how the importance of participatory research might increase in the future. This is through its demonstration of the complexities and stresses of local joint action in changing social and political conditions, at the same time as showing the changes achievable by people in such joint action – to continue to understand the commitment, understanding and support their ever-changing context might require. Although participatory research may also provide better ‘knowledge’ for more enlightened action by planners and policy-makers, or create more local civic action, the changes it achieves are part of a more profound self-awareness about the taking of action for change. This chapter aims to show that this critical review and personal reflection is taking place for participatory research, in both methodological and personal practice, to make it better placed to meet the challenges and critiques of research for transformation in natural resources management (NRM) (see also Hobart, 1994). It illustrates why and how people at the Chatham workshop have continued learning with participatory processes in research supporting development, despite the many stresses in their conduct. Chapter 6 has already reviewed certain key ‘good practices’ from the case studies, emphasizing ‘the field’ as a critical alternative to controlled, narrowly focused pilot trials and models of conventional scientific agricultural research. It showed how to build bridges between different research methodologies, both for better work with stakeholders and new learning possibilities for users of natural resources and for those researching NRM. This chapter brings together lessons from the wider range of practitioners at the Chatham workshop, and the wider field of development-related and action-oriented research they represented. These lessons reflect on why participatory research was being done, why collegiate research was important and difficult, how new frameworks help those involved to rethink the relations between action and knowledge, and what ‘ownership’ means in research terms, going well beyond a ‘restatement of methodologies’ (Biggs and Smith, 1998). It thus looks beyond the ‘learning’ discussion of Chapter 6, to look at the complex questions of action if research is to have real transforming power. Much of the recent effort and critique of participatory research has been about recognition and sharing of different knowledge to enable action to be planned, and giving local people a clearer voice However, there is a wider effort and critique within participatory research – to bring understanding and confrontation of social relations and dynamics into the design of action, beyond just those experienced in knowledge and its synthesis. This chapter tries to look at the impact of these new lessons on action, learning and knowledge as presented at the Chatham workshop.

Hilhorst, T. and F. Muchena (Eds.) 2000. Nutrients on the Move: Soil Fertility Dynamics in African Farming Systems IIED. 146pp.ContentsChapter 1: Managing soil fertility in AfricaChapter 2: Impact of policy change on soil fertility management in UgandaChapter 3: The dynamics of soil fertility management in communal areas in ZimbabweChapter 4: Soil enrichment and depletion in Southern EthiopiaChapter 5: Fallows and field systems in dryland MaliChapter 6: Rehabilitating soil fertility in Burkina FasoChapter 7: Soil fertility regeneration in Kenya

C√°rdenas, J.C., J.K. Stranlund and C.E. Willis. 2000. Local Environmental Control and Institutional Crowding-out. World Development. 28 (10): 1719-1733. Access from the author's websiteRegulations that are designed to improve social welfare typically begin with the premise that individuals are purely self-interested. Therefore, in a situation in which private and social interests diverge, it should be possible to bring about a welfare improvement by imposing rules that provide the necessary incentives for more socially efficient choices. However, experimental evidence shows that individuals do not typically behave as if they are purely self-interested; they tend to make choices that strike a balance between self and group interests. From experiments performed in several villages in Colombia, we found that a regulatory solution for an environmental dilemma that standard theory predicts would improve social welfare clearly did not. This surprising result occurred because individuals confronted with an external regulation began to exhibit less other-regarding behavior and, instead, made choices that were more consistent with pure self interests; that is, the regulation itself appeared to crowd out other-regarding behavior. The implication is that a policy design aimed simply at establishing incentives that move purely self-interested individuals toward more efficient choices will not necessarily improve social efficiency if the institution itself lessens civic-mindedness and encourages more selfish behavior.

Almekinders, C.J.M. (comp.), 2002. Incentive measures for sustainable use and conservation of agrobiodiversity. Experiences and lessons from Southern Africa. Proceedings of a workshop, Lusaka, Zambia, 11-14 September 2001.These proceedings share the results of a Workshop that was the first of its kind in the SADC region dealing with identification of incentive measures to enhance the sustainable use and conservation of agrobiodiversity. The subject ‘incentive measures’ was chosen because of its high political importance. Article 11 of the Convention of Biological Diversity stipulates that “Each contracting party shall as far as possible and as appropriate, adopt economically and socially sound measures that act as incentives for the conservation and sustainable use of components of biological diversity”. This implies that contracting parties need to implement incentive measures. Other articles of the CBD are of importance, e.g. Art.13 (provision of information), art.15 (benefit sharing), and Art. 16 (technology transfer). Despite a growing global awareness of the importance of agrobiodiversity little attention has been paid to the need for incentive measures to manage agricultural genetic resources such that they can play a role in poverty alleviation and sustainable development. Next to incentives for farmers, this workshop wanted to specifically include the need for incentives that indirectly support farmers’ use of agrobiodiversity, such as in marketing, policy, education and public awareness. The introductory part of the proceedings contains an introduction to the workshop by the organizing group, the workshop statement by the participants, and the opening addresses. The following part of the proceedings contains the papers underlying keynote and case presentations in the workshop.

Ngwira, N., S. Bota and M.E. Loevinsohn, 2002. HIV/AIDS, Agriculture and Food Security in Malawi: Background to Action. RENEWAL Working Paper 1.In many cases there is little reliable evidence to guide agricultural-linked actions that seek to prevent HIV’s spread or mitigate AIDS’ impacts. It is essential that future actions are well monitored and evaluated using a consistent set of indicators, that the findings are used in planning and are made widely available. The impact of AIDS on agricultural sector institutions is still not well quantified but has been severe. This must be stabilized if these institutions are to play their necessary role, through their “core business”, in rural areas. There is need for detailed information to form the basis for personnel replacement program e.g. training and deployment. The tendency is for the government to leave grassroots activities to NGOs. These are the activities that can really make an impact on the quality of lives of families at risk of HIV and affected by AIDS. Government programs and policy in agriculture are still largely blind as concerns HIV/AIDS, and may be having unintended effects, beneficial and detrimental. Possibly the most difficult barrier for agricultural RD&E to get over so as to contribute to prevention and mitigation will be in understanding the situations of at risk and affected people, and responding accordingly. Existing technology employed in different ways will probably be capable of meeting many of their needs. Innovation in institutional relationships, at the community level and among agricultural and health sector organizations, will be key. • There are important opportunities for collaboration between organizations in the public health/AIDS sector and the agricultural/rural development sector. This can be seen in the convergence around common concerns at the intersection of their interests.

Gupta, A.K., S. Chokkakula, R. Sinha, K. Patel, S. Muralikrishna and D. Koradia. 2001. Harnessing Wisdom for Managing Watersheds:Honey Bee Perspective on Innovations, Institutions and Policies for Marginal Environments. SRISTI.Household survival in marginal environments such as mountains, dry lands, and flood prone regions requires tremendous creativity. As was noted in Alice in Wonderland, you have to move very fast and work very hard even to remain where you are. The choice for large number of households is to sustain the livelihood support systems such as the catchments, biodiversity, other natural resources, etc., in a manner that they do not get trapped in downward spiral of erosion of resources, self-esteem, and of course, economic opportunities. The fact that despite various odds, including lack of policy support, so many communities and individuals manage not only to conserve resources but also augment them is something that this monograph is all about. The Honey Bee perspective builds upon what poor people are rich in i.e. their knowledge, creative potential, and institutional heritage. The discourse on participation often is restricted to the concept of either physical participation in terms of labour or social participation in implementation of externally designed policies and programmes. In this study, we draw attention to the scope of intellectual, moral, and institutional participation of local communities in reconceptualizing the watershed approach and implementation process. The greatest irony of watershed projects is that they founder after they are ‘handed over’ to the people by the project implementation authorities. If the watershed projects are designed, owned and implemented by the people, why should the question of handing over arise at all. Unless we, the external facilitators, learn to participate in peoples’ own plans, the possibility of building upon peoples’ knowledge is very remote. It is extremely opportune that international and national institutions are recognizing the need for incorporating indigenous knowledge and institutional heritage in the design and implementation of modern watershed projects. This blending of traditional knowledge and contemporary innovations developed by people without outsiders help will not take place unless we understand the policy and institutional context of technology generation and diffusion for rainfed, mountain, and dry regions. The macro policy and the framework for organizing incentives to ensure peoples’ participation in design and implementation of watershed are discussed in part one. In part two of the paper we critique the formal models of technology development and transfer. We argue that technology development process in highly ecologically heterogeneous environments cannot take place in the classical lab to land framework. The last part three deals with the framework for institution building in watersheds. In part four, we provide illustrations of more than fifty technological and institutional innovations from Himalayan region as well as western Indian dry regions.

deGrassi, A. 2003. Genetically Modified Crops and Sustainable Poverty Alleviation in Sub-Saharan Africa; an assessment of current evidence. Third World Network-AfricaThis paper recasts the debate over biotechnology by moving past overly general hyperbole and instead empirically evaluating current experiences with genetically modified crops in Africa. The debate is moved from hypothetical risks to actual results. The 'appropriateness' of GM cotton, sweet potatoes and maize is evaluated using six criteria widely accepted in crop breeding: [whether the crop is] demand-led, site-specific, poverty-focused, cost-effective and institutionally and environmentally sustainable. I conclude by examining potential reasons for considerable attention to these three crops despite their generally inappropriate nature for poverty alleviation in sub-Saharan Africa.

Hambly Odame, H., N. Hafkin, G. Wesseler, and I. Boto. 2002. Gender and Agriculture in the Information Society. ISSN 1021-2310. 8 pp. ISNAR Briefing Paper.While in most developing countries women constitute the majority of the population working in agriculture, they are still being marginalized with respect to access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) for economic and social empowerment. ISNAR and the Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation (CTA) have formed a partnership to study the theme of gender and ICTs in agriculture and rural development and to increase the awareness of policymakers, donors, researchers, nongovernmental organizations, and farmers’ organizations, of the need for dialogue and action on issues of ICT and gender in the context of food security, poverty reduction, and sustainable development. This Briefing Paper is one of the collaborative activities through which ISNAR and CTA endeavor to prepare inputs to future international deliberations.

Okike, I., M.A. Jabbar, V.M. Manyong, J.W. Smith and S.K. Ehuia. 2004. Factors Affecting Farm-specific Production Efficiency in the Savanna Zones of West Africa. Journal of African Economies, Volume 13, Number 1, 134-165. Request reprintAgricultural intensification involving greater crop–livestock interactions and integration is emerging as the most promising strategy for improving agricultural production and productivity in much of Sub-Sahara Africa. In West Africa, where this process is at various stages of evolution, 559 farm households from the Sudan Savanna (SS) and Northern Guinea Savanna (NGS) zones were studied to examine the factors affecting production efficiency. The farms in each zone were divided into four socio-economic domains using a combination of population density and market access as criteria. Estimation of stochastic frontier production function indicated the need to include ecological and socioeconomic variables in both the production function and the accompanying inefficiency equation, failing which such models may suffer from omitted variables bias. The results showed that inefficiency effects of a stochastic nature existed among the sample farms and average efficiency was 76%: 68% in the SS and 86% in the NGS zones. Further, increased resource use associated with agricultural intensification was not always accompanied by an increase in production efficiency; and while agricultural intensification based on high external input strategies yields higher marginal returns in the NGS, a similar strategy is not critical to success in the SS given current use levels and the biophysical endowments of the latter ecological zone.

Groenfeldt, D. Electronic Learning Guidebook on Participatory Irrigation. Prepared and developed under the sponsorship and guidance of a partnership between the Management.Environment and Natural Resources Division (EDIEN) and New Products and Outreach Division (EDINP) World Bank Institute (WBI), of the World BankParticipatory Irrigation Management (PIM) refers to the involvement of irrigation users in all aspects of irrigation management, and at all levels. This electronic learning guidebook is a self-paced learning tool for acquiring knowledge about PIM and how to implement and promote PIM at the country level. The intended users of are task managers, staff of borrowing countries, irrigation managers, consultants, trainers, and NGOs

Okumu, B.N., N Russell, M.A. Jabbar, D. Colman, M.A. Mohamed Saleem and J. Pender. 2004. Economic Impacts of Technology, Population Growth And Soil Erosion At Watershed Level: The Case Of the Ginchi in Ethiopia. Forthcoming in the Journal of Agricultural Economics Volume 55 (4).A dynamic bio-economic model is used to examine natural resource use, the resulting nutrient balances and economic outcomes in a poor country under a range of technological and policy intervention scenarios. With limited technological intervention over a twelve year planning period, incomes rise by 50% from a very low base and average per ha nutrient balances stand at –58kgs for nitrogen, -32kgs for phosphorous and –114kgs for potassium. Associated soil losses are 31 tons per ha. With a set of new technologies involving use of new high yielding crop varieties, agro-forestry, animal manure and inorganic fertilizers, construction of a communal drain to reduce water logging and some limited land user rights, results show a tenfold increase in incomes, 20% decline in aggregate erosion levels and an increase in the dependence on livestock for dung manure, oxen draft, milk and ready cash over time. Moreover, a minimum daily calorie intake of 2000 per adult equivalent is met from on-farm outputs and per ha nutrient balances after intervention are as low as –25kgsN, -14kgsP and –68kgsK on the average. There is hence an obvious reduction in nutrient losses despite the higher reliance on the watershed for subsistence food requirements. The bias towards replenishment of nitrogen and phosphorous nutrients at the expense of potassium may, however, not be resolved. Emissions (leaching, gaseous losses, and erosion) could be higher than immissions (atmospheric deposition, nitrogen fixation) in both situations. From a policy perspective, these results imply an increasing need for a more secure land tenure policy than currently prevailing and provision of credit to ensure uptake of the above land management technology packages. They also imply a shift from a general approach to land management to a relatively more site specific approach that emphasizes spatial and intertemporal variability in input use based on land quality. Such variable rate technology may be an efficient nutrient management strategy as it enables farmers to apply optimal rates of fertilizer for each field and in each period. Moreover, residual nutrient loading is simultaneously reduced. Implementation of such a strategy may be difficult in a developing country situation but an attempt to do so may yield results that are significantly better than at present.

Harrington, L. J. White, P. Grace, D. Hodson, A.D. Hartkamp, C. Vaughan and C. Meisner. 2002. Delivering the Goods: Scaling out Results of Natural Resource Management Research. Special Feature on Integrated Natural Resource Management (INRM). Conservation Ecology 5(2).To help integrated natural resource management (INRM) research "deliver the goods" for many of the world's poor over a large area and in a timely manner, the authors suggest a problem-solving approach that facilitates the scaling out of relevant agricultural practices. They propose seven ways to foster scaling out: (1) develop more attractive practices and technologies through participatory research (2) balance supply-driven approaches with resource user demands, (3) use feedback to redefine the research agenda, (4) encourage support groups and networks for information sharing, (5) facilitate negotiation among stakeholders, (6) inform policy change and institutional development, and (7) make sensible use of information management tools, including models and geographic information systems (GIS). They also draw on experiences in Mesoamerica, South Asia, and southern Africa to describe useful information management tools, including site similarity analyses, the linking of simulation models with GIS, and the use of farmer and land type categories.

Bagré, A. S., H. Bary, A. Ouattara, M. Ouédraogo, D. Thiéba, T. Hilhorst, and G. Baltissen. (Eds) 2003. Challenges for a viable decentralisation process in rual Burkina Faso. Groupe de Recherche et Action sur le Foncier. Bulletin 356, Royal Tropical Institutie (KIT) Publishers, Amsterdam. 64 p. ISBN 9068328433.This bulletin focuses on access to land and natural resources, particulary by groups with the least political muscle, and considers the opportunities and risks that rural decentralisation poses for management of these resources at the local level. Going beyond the specifics of the current progress of decentralisation in Burkina Faso, the studies in this publication also deal with themes relevant to other West African countries, and reflect upon the role that devolutionary processes play in natural resource management and local economies.

Gillespie, S., Kisamba-Mugerwa, W. and Loevinsohn, M.E., 2004. Assuring food and nutrition security in the time of AIDS. 2020 Africa Conference Brief no. 3 .HIV/AIDS is a long-wave global crisis whose impacts will be felt for decades to come. Nearly 30 million people in Sub- Saharan Africa—more than 70 percent of the global total—are infected with the virus.Whatever the impact of the planned rollout of antiretroviral (ARV) therapy, AIDS-related morbidity and mortality will continue to increase for years, and food and nutrition will remain critical priorities. This brief highlights the main interactions between HIV/AIDS and food and nutrition insecurity and suggests an approach for addressing them.

Long, S.A., Murphy, C. and Vaughan, K. 2001. An Overview of Project Approach, Concepts and Methods. Windhoek, Namibia. WILD Working Paper 1.This document provides an overview of the Wildlife Integration for Livelihood Diversification (WILD) project in terms of aims and objectives; key concepts, framework and questions for the research and analysis; Methods; and outputs. It is aimed at a wide audience, from regional Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) and Non Government Organisations (NGO) staff in the field to members of the Project Steering Committee and other stakeholders based in Windhoek. It is organised around a simple overview of the project in terms of both concept and practice.The WILD Project operates as an applied, participatory research project that is development oriented. It addresses the following key questions:1. What are the implications for livelihoods of changing NRM activities and options within conservancies?2. Which critical factors affect these and how?3. Who within communities is affected and in what ways?Central to the research will be an analysis of livelihoods (current practice in the context of changing approaches to natural resource use and management). A comprehensive livelihoods analysis will include consideration of a range of critical factors including local institutional and political contexts, the interventions of service providers, policy and legislation, prices and markets etc. While many factors have shaped the livelihoods of communal area residents in different ways, perhaps the single most important change with respect to the natural resource use and management practices has come about through the implementation of a national programme of support to Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM). This programme concentrates on the development of conservancies as a means to achieving strong institutions for natural resource management and developing opportunities for communities to benefit from (among other things) tourism (consumptive and non-consumptive).