Fish

GOOD PRACTICES IN GENDER MAINSTREAMING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BEIJING PLATFORM FOR ACTION

FAO

PROJECT SHEET - INDONESIA

Project Title:

Cendrawasih Coastal Area Development - Phase III

Project Duration:

5 Years

Executing Agency/agencies:

Directorate General BANGDA, Ministry of Home Affairs

Cooperating Agency:

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Project cost

Amount

Source of funds

US $ 2,500.000
US $ 910,200 (Equivalent)

Rp 2,267,800,000 (in kind)

UNDP
Government of India Parallel
financing
Government Contribution

Overview

This development project focuses on participatory village development and institution building for local government and non-governmental organizations. The project provides extensive in-service training for government officers, extension agents, NGO field workers, and villagers in fisheries, food crops, food processing, livestock, marketing and cooperative development. It assists NGOs in establishing four sea transportation services for isolated villages and two road transport links to district markets.

Specific changes resulting from the project included:

Utilizaton of participatory Planning at the village level. This result was achieved through the training of 25 government extension agents in Participatory Rapid Appraisal techniques. The participatory aspect of these planning exercises provided a forum for the women to express their desires and needs. This resulted in village plans that demonstrated a more appropriate gender balance than would have been the case had the planning been undertaken solely by the traditional male hierarchy.

Village programmes involving women received very strong support from district and village level authorities. The potential for this support was created by Gender Sensitivity Training Workshops through which a total of 54 persons received training. These individuals were from various levels of local government, aid agencies, NGOs, Cooperative Management Units and groups with government connections.

Women undertook sustainable productive activities, with the involvement of local community groups, leading to the improvement of living standards. This result can be measured by the creation of 469 saving accounts in the project villages, where none existed prior to the implementation of the project. Of these 469 accounts, 48% were held by women, 27% by children and 25% by men. The saving accounts of the children result from the fact that the children tend to work with the women, consequently, they received earnings for their efforts.

What was planned

Both men and women from previously market-isolated rural communities obtained capital resources, inputs and improved their skills to increase agricultural, livestock, and marine production and to produce high-quality processed food stuffs. Men and women, on both individual and group basis, developed marketing skills such as the ability to anticipate marketing costs and to understand price fluctuations. Marketing groups functioned successfully in at least half the villages in which the project operated. Marketing cooperatives were established in a few villages and operated successfully. As a result of increased and more efficient production and marketing, both men and women in target village households had increased their incomes from agriculture, fisheries, and cottage industries (micro-enterprise). Household saving accounts were established, and villagers, individually and collectively, invested in productivity-enhancing technologies.

What was the strategy

-Training of extension workers in:

- Participatory assessment and planning;
- Goal oriented planning.

-Inclusion of relevant aid agencies in all project activities.
-Field visits.
-Study tours for villagers.
-Cooperative learning through demonstration.
-Training in marketing.

Who was involved

UNDP was involved as the primary funding agency.
GOI was involved through the provision of funding and in-kind contribution and having overall responsibility for the project.
The Provincial Government of Irian Jaya was involved in the allocation of funds and as the provincial supervising authority.
The District Government and aid agencies were directly involved as project counterparts.
FAO was involved as a Cooperating Agency providing backstopping.

What was learned / which were the factors contributing to the success of the initiative

-Importance of training of extension agents and aid agency support officers in the techniques of participatory development. It is important that enough time for learning and appropriate field practices are given to the trainees.
-Importance of village-level participatory approaches. When targeted directly, the local populations, especially women, respond more effectively to extension workers. The amount of contact time is very important. In most cases, the villagers can develop various micro-projects and carry them out. However, although they are doing the work themselves, they require guidance from the extension agent, the latter should be supportive without being intrusive.
-Adequate timing for project activities: The project document, as well as the work plan and the associated logical framework, represent obstacles in this area. Too often these documents, intended to aid the execution of the project activities, become the goal in themselves. Work gets carried out according to a work plan schedule rather than according to the ability of the clients to absorb new skills. Activities tend to be channelled or twisted to reflect the criteria or verification envisioned in the logical framework. In order to make these documents relevant to the local reality, a new set would have to be produced each day based on the changes of the clients' situation. Project documents, work plans and logical frameworks are donor driven not client driven.

For more information, contact :

Ronald A. Maine, Fishery Industry Officer (Training & Extension)
Fisheries Department
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
00100 Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
Rome Italy


Project Title:	Cendrawasih Coastal Area Development - Phase III
Project Duration:	5 Years
Executing Agency/agencies:	Directorate General BANGDA, Ministry of Home Affairs
Cooperating Agency:	The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Project cost	Amount	Source of funds
	US $ 2,500.000 US $ 910,200 (Equivalent) Rp 2,267,800,000 (in kind)	UNDP Government of India Parallel financing Government Contribution
Overview
This development project focuses on participatory village development and institution building for local government and non-governmental organizations. The project provides extensive in-service training for government officers, extension agents, NGO field workers, and villagers in fisheries, food crops, food processing, livestock, marketing and cooperative development. It assists NGOs in establishing four sea transportation services for isolated villages and two road transport links to district markets.
Specific changes resulting from the project included:
Utilizaton of participatory Planning at the village level. This result was achieved through the training of 25 government extension agents in Participatory Rapid Appraisal techniques. The participatory aspect of these planning exercises provided a forum for the women to express their desires and needs. This resulted in village plans that demonstrated a more appropriate gender balance than would have been the case had the planning been undertaken solely by the traditional male hierarchy. Village programmes involving women received very strong support from district and village level authorities. The potential for this support was created by Gender Sensitivity Training Workshops through which a total of 54 persons received training. These individuals were from various levels of local government, aid agencies, NGOs, Cooperative Management Units and groups with government connections. Women undertook sustainable productive activities, with the involvement of local community groups, leading to the improvement of living standards. This result can be measured by the creation of 469 saving accounts in the project villages, where none existed prior to the implementation of the project. Of these 469 accounts, 48% were held by women, 27% by children and 25% by men. The saving accounts of the children result from the fact that the children tend to work with the women, consequently, they received earnings for their efforts.