Message-ID: <9603010011.AA02837@lan.vita.org> Date: Thu, 29 Feb 1996 19:11:40 EST From: DevelopNet News <mailto:dnn@VITA.ORG> Subject: Your VITA newsletter for March. To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L <mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU>
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March 1996 Volume 6, No. 3
IN THIS ISSUE
AGRICULTURE WATCH
New Farm Exports to Reduce Poverty
LITERATURE REVIEWS
The Missing Element: Operation and Maintenance
Legacies of Yesterday's Technology
After Beijing: The Role of Women
ORGANIZATIONS
Rescuing Families From Poverty
African Development Foundation
VITA PROJECTS
Global, On-Line Agriculture Conference
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Telecommunications in Africa
Technology Policies and Sustainable Development
* * *
DevelopNet News is published monthly by Volunteers in Technical
Assistance (VITA) in Arlington, Virginia, USA. For additional
information, please see the end of this newsletter.
* * *
A g r i c u l t u r e W a t c h
NEW FARM EXPORTS TO REDUCE POVERTY
Major international lending institutions are starting to encourage non-
traditional agricultural exports (NTAEs) as a way to reduce poverty,
increase income, and diversify risk. The banks are encouraging NTAEs in
Latin America and many African nations.
The idea of NTAEs is to promote labor-intensive agricultural exports of
crops that are nontraditional. NTAEs vary from country to country, but
may include winter vegetables, nuts, exotic tropical fruits, and orna-
mental plants and flowers. NTAEs are considered keys to economic growth
because of their high intrinsic value (high value added through proces-
sing) and their ability to command high prices at a time when prices for
other products stagnate or decline.
NTAEs, poverty reduction, and job creation
Failed agricultural growth feeds poverty where poverty already exists.
The Overseas Development Council finds that nontraditional agricultural
exports seem to be an ideal way to reduce rural poverty. NTAEs not only
hold the promise of higher income but, given the varying climate and
seasonal requirements, they give farmers a greater choice of what to
cultivate and can create significant new employment. In fact, NTAEs
assist in alleviating poverty in these ways: (1) When poor farmers
intercrop nontraditional with traditional crops they earn extra income.
(2) New jobs are provided to landless farm workers during harvest time.
For example, a 1992 study by the U.S. Agency for International Develop-
ment (USAID) showed in 1992 that in Guatemala alone, the NTAE sector had
created the full-time equivalent of 35,000 jobs. (3) Farmers recover
their initial investments early because nontraditional crops tend to
mature relatively quickly.
So it is not surprising that, at least in Latin America, nontraditional
crops seem to have become a necessary part of successful medium- and
long-term development strategy. This is particularly true because the
production of the traditional corn and beans for local consumption seems
to offer less and less chance of alleviating poverty. While the popula-
tion grows much faster than crop yields per hectare, countries are
increasingly turning to NTAEs for opportunities to reduce poverty and
improve living conditions. Consider Guatemala, which has been struggling
to recover from unstable international prices for its traditional agri-
cultural produce since the 1980s. Now it is turning from its traditional
reliance on coffee for its foreign exchange to miniature vegetables,
flowers, and other NTAEs for new sources of revenue. Costa Rica, after
the 1991 collapse of world coffee prices, also shifted its focus from
the production of coffee and other traditional crops to intensified
promotion of cassava, papaya, melons, strawberries, eggplants, pimentos,
macadamia nuts, ornamental plants, and cut flowers. If current trends
prevail, in 1996 alone the country's fruit and vegetable exports will
surpass the combined total of its major traditional agricultural exports
of coffee, sugar, bananas, and beef.
Meanwhile, NTAE promotion continues to be heavily supported by interna-
tional donors. Last November, Ecuador received $690,000 in nonreimburs-
able funding from the InterAmerican Development Bank to open new inter-
national trade opportunities for its nontraditional exports. And USAID
is funding at least two major NTAE projects in Central America and the
Eastern Caribbean.
The down side of NTAE promotion
If not introduced and managed properly, strategies focusing on NTAE
promotion can increase poverty and inequity, create food import depend-
encies, and result in uncertain export markets for producers of the new
crops as well as environmental damage from new cropping patterns.
The first prerequisite for the successful promotion of NTAEs is the
decision of farmers to switch to nontraditional crops. For these deci-
sions, farmers must have information on seed selection, cultivation
requirements, yields, markets, and pricing. Unfortunately, access to this
type of detailed information on NTAEs is largely generated in the devel-
oped world and its distribution elsewhere is limited. In most developing
countries, agricultural extension services are inadequately funded and
often irrelevant to the needs of small farmers. As a result, the infor-
mation is often accessible only to medium- to large-scale well-to-do
farmers who have the large holdings and the money to acquire it. The
information doesn't reach small farmers at the village level until large
growers and their intermediaries find they need to establish supplier
networks.
Another impediment to the successful adoption of NTAEs is their high
initial capital investment needs. For example, in 1992, USAID estimated
that using traditional methods a Honduran grower of corn or beans
needed to make an initial investment of only $130 to $160 per hectare,
whereas the cost of growing such alternative crops as grapefruit, pine-
apple, and cucumbers, could require as much as $1,000. Such investments
are well beyond the means of the smaller producers and thus create
inequities.
Switching to nontraditional agricultural crops can damage the environ-
ment. Because of the need to yield higher quality produce acceptable in
foreign markets NTAEs often require more intensive use of pesticides.
Although many traditional crops such as cotton, bananas, and coffee have
long been associated with higher levels of pesticide use, farmers in
many developing countries use more pesticide than necessary. This behav-
ior has been largely the result of insufficient education and training;
it underscores the need to ensure education and the wide dissemination
of information.
Finally, NTAEs run many of the risks of traditional commodity exports.
Because of diversity, a drop in the price of one or two commodities may
not have a devastating effect on the economy as a whole. But NTAEs are
often severely hampered by protectionism in the targeted export markets.
These problems can be minimized if the promotion of nontraditional agri-
culture doesn't focus exclusively on international markets but also pro-
motes production for domestic and regional uses.
The future of nontraditional crops
The experiences of such countries as Costa Rica in the promotion of non-
traditional agricultural exports make a strong case for the long-term
benefits of NTAE promotion. As in all strategic decisions, however, a
country must weigh many things before adopting this type of export-led
growth. For one thing, if it is adopting the strategy as part of its
effort to reduce poverty, it must carefully consider the existing land
and income distribution patterns among its farming population. It must
design its export promotion strategy to benefit the majority of small
farmers. Similarly, as a strategy, investment in nontraditional exports
will yield the greatest results if they are not seen as a way of
accessing only international markets but domestic and regional markets
as well. Finally, as with all other new endeavors, in order to succeed
and have minimal adverse effects, nontraditional agricultural export
should be accompanied by the dissemination of needed information and
training.
L i t e r a t u r e R e v i e w s
THE MISSING ELEMENT: OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE
Nocolette Wildeboer (ed.), 1995. "Operation and Maintenance Today: Con-
straints and Trends." Water Newsletter (The Hague), No. 236/237
(October).
It is widely understood that technology transfer involves more than just
making a technology available. The missing element is often "operation
and maintenance" (O&M), crucial for the successful management and sus-
tainbility of most technologies. This issue of Water Newsletter contains
short articles about the O&M of water supply and sanitation systems, but
the ideas presented are equally applicable to a large variety of other
technologies.
Often, governments and support agencies focus on capital construction
and expansion, which are highly visible "results" of technical support.
Said otherwise, policymakers often give low priority to O&M, and it thus
suffers from a low profile. Other management shortcomings, if present,
just make things worse; they include lack of clear policy, political
interference, inappropriate technology, inadequate access to data and
field experience, and inappropriate management at the community level.
Wildeboer argues that "O&M is not just a technical issue -- it encompas-
ses social, gender, economic, institutional, political, managerial, and
environmental aspects."
LEGACIES OF YESTERDAY'S TECHNOLOGY
George R. Heaton, Jr., R. Darryl Banks, and Daryl W. Ditz, 1994. Missing
Links: Technology and Environmental Improvement in the Industrializing
World. Washington, D.C.: World Resources Institute.
This brief, well produced report describes seven ways to accelerate the
use of environmentally superior technologies in the developing world.
The authors say, "Pollution and global warming are legacies of yester-
day's technology -- products, processes and systems designed in an age
when environmental concerns were largely ignored." But prospects for
environmentally superior technology in most developing countries are
weakened by inadequate technical capabilities, a low demand for new
technologies, and absent financial resources. The "missing link," the
authors say, is the failure of governments, firms, and nongovernmental
organizations to cooperate.
Each of the seven proposals is expanded to about two pages of explana-
tion -- probably not enough. One of them, "Proposal 7. Build Capacity
for Technological Innovation," is based on these four principles: envi-
ronmental technologies that are developed outside Third-World countries
are incomplete; the technologies should be developed cooperatively by
persons from inside and outside the country; knowledge and skills devel-
opment must be a component of all technology development and technology
adaptation; and long-term connections between users and sources of tech-
nology need to be established. Proposal 7 lists initiatives for provi-
ding site-specific expertise.
The report is the result of joint effort by the World Resources Insti-
tute, Japanese counterparts, and a consultative body in Latin America.
Consultations involved industry, government, and nongovernmental organi-
zations, much the same organizations that would be responsible for car-
rying out the recommendations.
AFTER BEIJING: THE ROLE OF WOMEN
News and Views; A 2020 Vision for Food, Agriculture, and the Environ-
ment, 1995. 6 pages. Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy
Research Institute (October).
This issue of IFPRI's newsletter contains short articles on the role of
women in agriculture in developing countries. Gender issues were empha-
sized in Beijing last September, during the Fourth World Conference on
Women and the associated Nongovernmental Organization Forum. The resul-
ting "Declaration and Platform for Action" covers some areas considered
critical for reform, by experts on the role of women in agriculture,
food security, and nutrition. The areas include women's lack of access
to appropriate technology, exclusion from most agricultural extension
programs, and fewer educational opportunities than men.
This newsletter issue contains an interview with James Gustave Speth,
administrator of the UN Development Programme. His comments are summar-
ized as follows: The Beijing conference produced the strongest declara-
tion so far on the role of women in economic and political decision-
making. It included equal rights to inheritance, recognition of unpaid
work, and condemnation of violence against women. It preserved the
agreements reached by the Cairo International Conference on Population
and Development. The UNDP can help achieve the goals of the Beijing
Declaration by assisting countries in the follow-up strategies and to
"put the gender perspective and the advancement of women at the heart of
all our programs."
O r g a n i z a t i o n s
RESCUING FAMILIES FROM POVERTY
The Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) is an
international nonprofit organization that aims to support the upward
transformation of families trapped in severe poverty. To accomplish
this, the organization creates "village banks," peer groups of 20 to 50
members --predominantly women -- who receive (1) working capital loans
to finance self-employment activities, (2) a safe place to accumulate
savings and (3) mutual support for personal growth. Loans are backed by
the collective guarantee of all members for each other. Village banks
are run by their members, who elect management committees, draft their
own by-laws, manage funds, supervise loans and are collectively respon-
sible for repayment. FINCA has programs in Costa Rica, the Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Kyrgyzstan,
Malawi, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Uganda and the United States.
Information: Foundation for International Community Assistance, 901 King
Street, Suite 400, Alexandria, Virginia 22314; tel. +1 (703) 836-5516;
fax +1 (703) 836-5366.
AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION
For 10 years, the African Development Foundation has provided direct
assistance to small businesses, supporting them "in their own efforts,
to design and implement their own strategies, to resolve their own prob-
lems, to promote their own economic progress." ADF concentrates on
achieving attainable goals, alleviating poverty, and creating small-
scale market economies in desperately poor, mostly rural areas of Africa
where no such economies previously existed. During this period, ADF
assisted some 300 projects in 23 countries. Forty-three percent of the
projects were agriculture related.
Proposals are initiated by prospective grantees, which must be nongov-
ernmental organizations. Proposals are evaluated according to published
criteria by a network of African professionals. ADF is a small foreign-
assistance agency of the U.S. government with an annual budget of $17
million. Funding of each project is subject to approval by the U.S.
Congress to ensure that it meets broad U.S. foreign-policy objectives.
In 1993, ADF initiated its own 10-year self-assessment in which a sample
of 26 of the supported projects was studied by outside experts and in-
country assessment teams. The projects were located in Cameroon, Ghana,
Guinea, Senegal, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. More than two-thirds of the
projects had produced increased income or provided needed services for
the participants. Participants' skills and knowledge were increased.
Participants were actively involved in implementing the vast majority of
projects. Most projects produced, or appeared likely to produce, bene-
fits long after ADF funding ceased.
Source: Sustaining Development at the Grassroots; the African Develop-
ment Foundation, Lessons Learned 1984-1994, 1995. Washington, D.C.: The
African Development Foundation, 1400 Eye Street, N.W., Tenth Floor,
Washington, D.C. 20005. Tel. +1 (202) 673-3916, fax +1 (202) 673-3810.
V I T A P r o j e c t s
GLOBAL, ON-LINE AGRICULTURE CONFERENCE
Last month, VITA announced plans for a global, on-line conference among
experts in renewable energy and sustainable agriculture. It will take
place in a few weeks from now and will address such questions as the
following: Is there a useful niche for information exchange among such
experts, using the Internet? How can people in developing countries
benefit from this practical knowledge on a regular basis?
The full electronic linkage for the conference will be achieved in
steps. At first, the network will link the University of Cape Town
(South Africa) with the International Rice Research Institute (Los
Banos, The Philippines). Later it will be extended through gateways,
built and exclusively managed by VITA, that pass messages between VITA-
sat and the Internet grid in those countries and in Chile, and Norway.
The use of VITAsat, VITA's low earth orbiting satellite for developing
countries, permits electronic mail to and from areas of the world that
are not yet connected to the Internet.
The conference will be based on messages between the invited partici-
pants and the moderator. Other persons can access the conference results
and exchange messages with the moderator.
Design of the conference is based on a variety of skills of, and contin-
uing cooperation among, VITA, the Winrock International Institute for
Agricultural Development (Arlington, Virginia), and the Center for
Renewable Energy in Sustainable Technology, the Renewable Energy and
Energy Efficiency Training Institute, and the U.S. Export Council for
Renewable Energy (all of Washington, D.C.)
Information: Joe Sedlak <mailto:jsedlak@vita.org>.
A n n o u n c e m e n t s
TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN AFRICA
The Fifth U.S.-Africa Telecoms and Broadcasting Conference (AFCOM96)
will take place 3 to 5 June in Herndon, Virginia, close to Washington,
D.C. Its theme is "Interconnecting in the Global Village;" it aims to
provide private-sector and government officials the opportunity to learn
about the current status of telecommunications and broadcasting in
Africa from leaders who are responsible for guiding policies and trends
in those sectors. The conference will be immediately followed by a spe-
cial two-day forum and hands-on training seminar, designed for top offi-
cials from the telecommunications sectors in Africa, and entitled,
"Global Internet Connectivity for Africa."
AFCOM96 is organized by AFCOM International, publishers of Africa Com-
munications magazine.
Information: AFCOM International, Inc., 10560 Main Street, Suite 510,
Fairfax, Virginia 22030; tel. +1 (703) 691-3570, fax +1 (703) 691-3572,
e-mail <mailto:afcom@us.net>.
TECHNOLOGY POLICIES AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
>From 8 to 10 October the International Association for Technology
Assessment and Forecasting Institutions (IATAFI) will hold its second
international conference, in Brussels. The theme of the conference is
sustainable development. The conference will explore what can be done to
successfully link science and technology policies with sustainable
development; clarify the technology assessments and forecasting models
that can be used to aid sustainable development; seek to illustrate the
main challenges in developing nuclear, space, and environmental technol-
ogies; and discuss the cultural, demographic, and ethical aspects of
technological innovation.
The conference is expected to benefit policy makers and government offi-
cials of both developed and developing countries, as well as scientists
and engineers.
Information: IATAFI96 Secretariat, c/o Statoil, 5020 Bergen, Norway. E-
mail <mailto:iatafi@hibinc.no>.
* * *
HOW TO JOIN VITA'S ELECTRONIC FORUM
VITA's free, public, online discussion forum, DEVEL-L, provides for the
exchange of ideas and information on a wide range of issues and topics
related to technology transfer in international development; for exam-
ple, technologies, communications in development, sustainable agricul-
ture, women in development, the environment, small enterprise develop-
ment, meetings, and book reviews.
Subscribers to DEVEL-L automatically receive this newsletter. To join
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You can subscribe to DevelopNet News without joining the discussion
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Please do not send these messages to VITA or to DEVEL-L.
* * *
DevelopNet News is an electronic newsletter published monthly by Volun-
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Editor: Vicki Tsiliopoulos <mailto:vickit@vita.org>
Editorial Assistant: Rafe Ronkin, VITA Volunteer <mailto:rronkin@vita.org>
VITA specializes in information dissemination and communications tech-
nology. It offers services related to sustainable agriculture, food
processing, renewable energy applications, water sanitation and supply,
small enterprise development, and information management. It has pro-
jects in 6 African countries.
VITA's publications, on a variety of practical subjects, are designed to
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