A.B. BOUBAKER, CONSULTANT,
Agricultural Engineer and Expert in Participation,
Women in Development Service, FAO
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WITH THE SUPPORT OF FAO, the Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) is currently preparing a national strategy and plan of action in favour of rural women within the programme framework of the country's Ninth Economic and Social Plan. In-line with that five-year development plan, the strategy in favour of women aims, above all, at:
This case study describes how the participatory method can be applied as a way of identifying projects that support women's activities in the agroforestry sector.
TUNISIA IS A NORTH AFRICAN COUNTRY demarcated by the Mediterranean to the north and east, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to the southeast and Algeria to the west. The climate is characterized by irregular rainfall and a dry period of five to six months a year in the north and seven to nine months in the centre and south. Rainfall from September to March varies between 1 200 mm in the north and 50 mm in the south. Natural plant formations are more important and more diversified in the north.
The total surface area is 16.4 million ha, of which 42 percent is uncultivated land; only 9 million ha is productive. Erosion is very marked and much soil (around 46 percent) shows signs of decreasing fertility. Desertification is on the rise in the centre and south of the country, caused by overexploitation of plant resources combined with the use of unsuitable agricultural practices.
In 1995, the population was 9 million inhabitants, of whom 39 percent lived in rural areas (down from 67 percent in 1956). Annual population growth is 1.8 percent. The actively employed population represents 23.3 percent of the total, while the annual growth rate is 3 percent.
In terms of gross domestic product (GDP), Tunisia ranks sixty-sixth out of 174 developing countries and the Human Development Index (HDI) places the country seventy-fifth (UNDP, 1995). GDP grew by 4 percent annually between 1986 and 1996. A policy of economic liberalization has stimulated private enterprise and encouraged foreign investment which rose from US$190 million in 1982-1986, to US$508 million in 1992-1995. Economic development efforts have been accompanied by a strong social policy. The country uses nearly 25 percent of its budget for education and 5.9 percent for health. In 1993-1994, the global schooling rate (six- to 13-year-olds) was 91 percent for boys and 82 percent for girls.
The cultivated area is around 5 million ha, 30.5 percent of the total. Irrigated cultivation occupies 7 percent of this area. The major farming activities are cereals, vegetables, olives, tree cultivation and animal breeding (sheep, cattle and goats). The population active in the primary sector is 21.6 percent (National Statistics Institute, 1994) and agriculture represents 15 percent of GDP and 14 percent of foreign trade. These percentages are declining to the advantage of the secondary and tertiary sectors (manufacturing industry, services, tourism) which are growing rapidly.
Although agriculture is subject to climatic hazards, it is still considered of prime importance for the country's food self-sufficiency. Incentives have been introduced in investment codes and methods of rural financing to stimulate the expansion of agricultural activities.
Forestry zones represent just over one-third of the total territory; grazing land and forests cover, respectively, 82 percent and 18 percent of this area. The forestation rate is 5.1 percent of the total surface area of the country. Forest zones, which are heavily populated (with an average density of 80 to 200 inhabitants per square kilometre), offer very diversified forest products and by-products: cork, wood, forage, aromatic plants (rosemary, myrtle), pine seeds, mushrooms and capers. They are of high economic value: Tunisia exports essential plant oils, essence of turpentine, mushrooms, capers and carob to Europe.
The most important forest production zone is the Kroumirie-Mogods region (which is also the case study zone). Despite its environmental, forestry and pastoral potential, it is the area most affected by poverty and degradation of natural resources and ecosystems. Development intervention bodies1 in this area have increasingly turned to a participatory and integrated approach and the concepts of agroforestry, science and integrated development.2
Agroforestry resources are of high value and satisfy the basic needs of populations living in forest zones. The importance of women's role in agroforestry is recognized - most maintenance activities and the rehabilitation of production systems based on subsistence and use of forest resources are carried out by women. In addition, the greater part of the workforce involved in the development of forest by-products is female. However, women are not sufficiently involved in the dynamics of development and their role remains marginal, even though they should be involved as decisive actors, given the weight of their activities in the forest sector.
Participation of civil society in development. During the first years of independence, Tunisia became a nation state. Traditional organizations, such as tribes, saw their prerogatives and influence dwindle to the advantage of the new state apparatus. Institutions and political and administrative structures became much stronger, to the detriment of civil society.
Since 1973, Tunisia has had fixed five-year economic and social development plans. Orientations for rural development have been established. In the 1970s, the main objectives of these were the promotion of employment and income improvement for deprived sectors of the population, but the programmes implemented did not bring the expected results. This led the government to draw up integrated rural development programmes in which living conditions were linked to the promotion of productive activities. In spite of this new concept and the accompanying decentralization of development efforts at the regional level, the population was still unable to participate fully, and it was difficult to capitalize on the new experiences acquired. With the economic crisis of the 1980s and a move towards greater democratization, the state started to mobilize civil society, thus coming into line with international trends. Use of the participatory approach, supported by NGOs, increased.
The political changes of 7 November 1987 and the adoption of a structural adjustment programme coincided with the Seventh Development Plan (1987-1991). The principal orientations of development became the withdrawal of state intervention to the advantage of private-sector actors and the promotion of people's organizations. Reforms that mobilized human resources and increased capacities affected the economic sector as much as the administrative, political and juridical systems. Decentralization of decision-making and management transferred full power for the design and implementation of development plans to the regions and local communities. As a result, from the Eighth Development Plan (1992-1996) onwards, national consultation became increasingly important. All sectors of society were approached for an input to the definition and elaboration of development strategy; the integration of women and promotion of their economic and social roles became central to this process.
Non-governmental organization (NGO) involvement in rural development. The involvement of NGOs in the project process is growing continually. Cooperation with state rural development bodies has been established and strengthened through agreements with, among others, APEH, FSDA, the Kef Foundation for Rural Development (KFRD) and the Tunisian Foundation for Community Development. Numerous projects have been implemented within this framework3 and demonstrate an enthusiasm for partnerships.
Public communities in the rural setting. The state took steps to organize rural communities. The rural council (at sector level), the local development council (at delegation level) and reinforcement of the regional council (at governorate level), are the links in a chain that connects the population to regional power centres. This community organization aims at ensuring coordination and coherence among projects and reinforces the decentralization process by providing a framework for community participation in local and regional development. Legislation gives administrations a consultative role in communicating the concerns of citizens and proposing solutions.
People's organization. Community organization has been an important step in involving rural populations in development. However, the population is still not a real partner in self-development, and grassroots-level groups have, as yet, no role in the development of local integrated participatory development strategies. Other forms of organization have been set up at an administrative level which is closer to rural communities. These organizations are:
The state still promotes older formal organizations that encourage farmers' participation in the management of production, equipment and resources.4
These older organizations are:
Main experiences of participatory rural development. The application of an integrated participatory approach to rural development and natural resource management projects has encouraged the participation of women. The main experience in this field is that of OSPDNW. Since 1990, the Office has been setting up village committees to integrate the population (men and women) into the planning and programming of activities. The committees' sphere of influence is limited to the village, which forms a homogeneous sociological group and territorial unit. Each committee is made up of men and women chosen by the population and represents the community. The committee plays the roles of communicator and decision-maker and acts on a contractual basis. Women are systematically involved in all stages of the process.
The most recent (1995) experience of the DGF project involved a dozen integrated rural development pilot operations in the forest zones of the centre and north of Tunisia (a forestry development project co-financed by the World Bank). DGF called on national NGOs to start the process of integrated participatory development with populations in order to design projects, which were first implemented in 1997.
Since independence, improvement to the status of women has continued to be a priority for human resources policy. The Personal Status Code, promulgated in 1956, directed reform towards equality between men and women and is regularly updated. Polygamy, forced marriage and unilateral divorce have been abolished; judiciary divorce has been introduced; and the rights of divorced women to the custody of children have been reinforced. These legal developments have been extended to the Tunisian Constitution, the work code and the promotion of women's associations.
At the institutional level, the Ministry for Women and Family Affairs, linked to the Prime Minister's office (since 1992), designs national policy for the promotion of women and families and oversees its implementation, as well as ensuring that laws in this field are improved. The Ministry provides advice and coordinates programmes and activities for integrating women in different development sectors. The Centre for Women's Research, Studies, Documentation and Information, set up in 1991, acts as an observer of the condition of Tunisian women.
Tunisia has aligned itself to international policy vis-à-vis the status of women, adapting it to the Arab-Muslim context of the country. In 1991, it ratified the Copenhagen convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women. In 1992, Tunisia participated in the Geneva summit on the economic advancement of rural women, subscribing to the principles of rural women's equal contribution to democracy and socio-economic development.
Women occupy an increasingly important place in public life. Improved schooling and political willingness have won them access to political positions (17 percent of members of parliament are women) and public structures. All the committees of the Destourian Party contain women members. The Tunisian Agricultural and Fisheries Union, a professional trade union, has created a National Federation of Women Agricultural Workers, with 15 regional delegations, all run by women.
It is difficult to make a general description of rural Tunisian women. There are major regional differences which MOA's statistical data do not interpret (although they do highlight the place of women in the agricultural sector). Women represent only 5 percent of heads of farming households, but constitute 64.3 percent of agricultural family workers (unpaid labour) and form a growing share of the temporary agricultural wage-earning sector (greenhouses, intensive open field irrigated cultivation).
Traditionally, women's main tasks are carried out at home and in agriculture. Women are more and more frequently de facto family heads, given the seasonal or permanent exodus of men and their double activities. They have excessive responsibilities and tasks at the level of family farming. Women are first and foremost a ready supply of labour and rarely have access to land and livestock as means of capitalization. Across the country, fewer than 15 percent of women own land and, in the forest zones, the percentage is lower. Land has always been inherited and most women give up their part of an inheritance to brothers in order to avoid the dispersal of the family patrimony. Absence of capital, lack of spatial mobility, inadequacy of training and information, and illiteracy all hinder women's access to production factors and support measures such as supplies, marketing, credit and participation.
Women play a dominant role in reproduction and household management, agricultural and extra-agricultural production and community services. The weight of these responsibilities often hinders women from investing in the development process in the same way as men. The growing visibility of women in agricultural activities has led to a growing awareness of the importance of their socio-economic role within the dynamics of rural development. From passive, socially assisted beneficiaries, they have become active economic actors in modern agriculture and regional development.
The policy of rural women's advancement advocates their integration into an equitable and sustainable development process. As the eighth and ninth five-year plans were being drawn up, cross-cutting women and development commissions were set up to deal with each field of development and a rural women subcommission has been created. With the adoption of an increasingly wide participatory approach, a number of projects are now developing the following components:
Most of these projects are in the initial or test phase and it is too early to draw conclusions. However, they indicate the willingness to take gender questions into account in development approaches.
THE OBJECTIVE OF THE TECHNICAL COOPERATION PROJECT (TCP) is to "define a strategy and plan of action for the integration of rural women written into the Ninth Five-Year plan for the economic and social development of the agricultural and rural sector". The project's principal aims are to:
The following activities have already been carried out:
These activities were, or will be, followed by:
Evaluation, analysis and participatory diagnosis were conducted with women and men in the forest zone of Tbaïnia (Aïn Draham). The objective of this participatory survey was to acquire more precise knowledge on the role of women in agriculture and natural resource management in forest settings and to improve techniques for the collection and analysis of data for grassroots planning.
MOA defined conditions to be applied to projects oriented towards rural women and implemented within the framework of the Ninth Plan. Such projects should:
In order to identify viable and sustainable projects that met these objectives, priority was given to participatory surveys and activities were implemented on the basis of three fundamental principles:
Participation. A participatory method is essential for encouraging the active and responsible involvement of men and women as well as local contributors. The use of communication and discussion techniques that focus on groups strengthens community dynamics. Participation also means that the population plays a determinant role in the collection and analysis of data and in the identification of priority problems and activities. The concept of participation extends beyond the simple level of expectations and requests for assistance in return for a symbolic contribution to the project.
Integration. The approach is integrated, meaning that the initiation and reinforcement of activities fall within the framework of social, economic and technical development that respects sustainability (compatible with ecological needs and social aspirations). An understanding of the community's situation5 and knowledge of the methods and systems it uses for exploiting and managing resources are fundamental. Activities are, therefore, adapted to the particular context and generate as few negative impacts as possible.
Gender. Respect for the principles of participation and integration implies the active involvement of all members of a community (men and women) and knowledge of their respective activities. Recognizing that the involvement of women in the development effort cannot be separated from that of men, the working method pays particular attention to social and economic gender relations, taking into account men's and women's different roles, responsibilities, expectations and constraints in relation to the development measures identified.
Within the framework of the project, women were the main actors in the participatory survey process. Men were consulted regularly to allow them to express their perceptions and needs.
The methodology adopted aimed at identifying development activities in which women contribute expertise, knowledge and experience. For data collection and analysis, participatory analysis calls largely on tools selected from the accelerated participatory research method (APRM), such as semi-structured interviews (SSIs), diagrams, matrices of priorities and focal groups. These tools are adapted to situations and complemented by a conventional survey carried out at community level and by reference to available documentation on rural development experiences in the region. The following working rules, underlined by APRM, were taken into account:
Visual didactic supports were used to facilitate the collection of data, communicate with the population and initiate reflection and dialogue. The charts encouraged structured discussion and helped to keep the group's interest; they also built up information that can be reused on other occasions. The tools used during the key phases of the methodology are presented below in chronological order of use.
So-called secondary information is taken from any document (report, study, chart, etc.) that can be used to reinforce and support the analysis to be carried out with men and women. SSIs with staff from state or non-governmental training structures also generate information. Secondary information includes:
Primary information is information collected from the population; it is cross-checked with and complements secondary information. This phase is broken down into two parts: the collection of basic information and the collection of women-specific information.
Collection of basic information is effected through group surveys (so-called "community surveys") using the following lines of investigation:
The community survey is completed by SSIs to increase the information concerning activities and centres of interest. If possible, the data are broken down and collected according to gender.
Parallel to the community survey, the team makes direct observations, the results of which are compared, and an initial identification of problems and potentialities linked to the setting and living conditions is made. These observations make it possible to form links with the community, to inform and to reinforce a climate of confidence and cooperation. In the community survey phase, the following information is collected:
Women-specific information is obtained at the time of the community survey and concerns two issues in particular: women's productive activities and the components of their household income. The tool used is the composite seasonal calendar which allows easy and immediate analysis of:
The following are the results obtained using this tool:
Income composition is outlined by an SSI with five or six women who represent the different interest groups identified during the course of the community survey.
At the end of this phase, information is reviewed by the entire team and interpreted to:
This phase leads to a diagnosis of people's perceptions of the situation. It is conducted with women and then with men.
With women. After a presentation of key information (existing productive activities, current income sources, tasks), the women discuss and identify the activities that they would like to develop themselves and those to which they would like to contribute. These activities are classified in order of importance using a paired matrix of priorities. The activity with the highest score becomes the development priority for the group.
Once the order of priorities has been established, analysis is aided by a pre-feasibility analysis chart of activities. Ecological feasibility (the availability of resources) is studied, as well as technical and human feasibility (the capacities of financial investment, work, labour, competence, etc.) and social feasibility (what is needed for successful implementation, organization, decision-making, etc.) For each activity, the following aspects are discussed:
With men. The process is practically the same as it is with women, but different tools are used. One of the most important aspects of these discussions is the comparison of remarks and proposals made by men with those expressed by women. Such a comparison highlights the similarities, complementarities and differences, and also sensitizes men to the analytical capacity demonstrated by women.
The activities that men think can be carried out by women are discussed, listed and classified with the help of the matrix of priorities. An analysis of the problems that could obstruct their implementation are inserted into an activity-problem matrix in which activities, entered line by line, are compared with problem categories, entered in columns. In this way, the precise nature of the problem can be identified for each option. Subsequently, a problem-solution chart is prepared with two columns: one for the problem, and the other for the possible solutions.
Synthetic feedback and verification of activities and measures
Before this phase, the data are synthesized from the following three points of view:
Then additional (complementary) proposals, which have not been identified by the population but which are necessary for the successful implementation of priority activities, are put forward. These are based on suggestions and problems raised by project officers on activities under way or envisaged in the zone. The proposals generally call for accompanying or organizational measures. All these data are presented in the following three charts, which makes them easier to synthesize:
In the first instance, feedback is conducted with women, then with men. Feedback meetings encourage women to recognize and ratify the problems and potentials that they have identified and some of these will be modified during the feedback stage. Discussion focuses on the objective of the participatory survey; i.e. definition of a plan of action in favour of women.
The complementary proposals are presented by the officers who demonstrate that they are consistent with the needs and solutions expressed by the population. Their social acceptability and feasibility are examined and, as a final step, consensus and ratification are sought for the plan of action (activities, measures) with the entire population and all actors.
The methodology for a participatory approach aimed at development planning and programming is summarized in Table 1, which also lists the objective, tools and instruments used (charts, conventional surveys, APRM tools, etc.), and expected results of each phase.
The project aimed at establishing a solid base of knowledge concerning the position of women in the exploitation and management of natural resources at the national, and then at the regional, level. The regional level was reached through acquiring knowledge of the zone, sensitizing and informing those responsible for training structures (the RCAD and NGOs), and training men and women members of the research team in participatory diagnosis (principles and tools). Transfer to the community level followed. The project team came with a knowledge and spirit favourable to establishing constructive communication between the population and the staff of regional and national development bodies.
As the process unfolded, the community's priorities were made known to those responsible for training so that the technical, economic and institutional feasibility of the proposals could be assessed. This feedback process brought the community's development proposals to the attention of those in charge, and led to the establishment of a truly participatory approach in which sector planners and decision-makers used their expertise to assess and modify proposals, rendering them viable and, at the same time, widening their own vision of development thanks to the new openings and measures identified by the communities.
The process, deliberately conducted in a "zig-zag" fashion, created an environment that is favourable to partnerships between the community and the development institution and, therefore, conducive to the design of projects that are compatible with people's expectations and the objectives of agricultural development and sustainable natural resource management policies. Joint assessment (by men and women participants, and trainers) of feasible and realistic proposals for action on a local scale is a shared exercise of reflection and decision-making that leads to change.
The following is a summary of the lessons learned about entry point:
Methodology for participatory analysis and diagnosis |
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PHASES |
OBJECTIVES |
TOOLS |
RESULTS |
1 Collection of secondary information from development administrations, authorities and bodies. |
Collect existing information on the village(s) and community(ies), to prepare groundwork; Inform participants. |
SSIs at the levels of local and regional development services and with local authorities. |
Creation of a documentary base; Information from institutional and non-institutional sources. |
2 Sensitizing and informing the population and other actors concerned. |
Inform and sensitize on the objectives of the study, the participatory approach and phases of work; Ensure everyone participates, including women. |
Information charts; White-boards, pens, etc. |
Calendar of work; Modalities for the participation of all actors, including women. |
3 Participatory collection of data. |
Collect information for diagnosis of the situation with men and women; Identify interest groups and subgroups, above all among women. |
Community surveys; Specific SSIs; Composite calendars; Direct observation. |
Completed survey cards; Observation; Completed diagrams; Groups identified. |
4 Synthesis and use of the data collected. |
Make the most of data Identify information to transmit to women; Discover problems, capacities and solutions. |
Diagrams; Completed survey cards; Observation; SSI notes. |
Summary of information to share with the population. |
5 Participatory analysis with women. |
Analyse women's aspirations in terms of productive activities development; Identify problems, capacities and support needs; Learn about men's perception on the same issues. |
Information summaries; Matrix of priorities (W); Pre-feasibility analysis chart; Matrix of activities and problems (M); Chart of problems and solutions (M). |
Order of priority for activities; Analysis of constraints; List of capacities; Identification of support; Men's perceptions taken into account. |
6 Analysis of people's perceptions and identification of complementary proposals. |
Prepare the feedback and ratification phase with the population, men and women. |
All the results obtained during the course of the preceding phases. |
Chart of relevant data; List of main problems; Summary of proposals. |
7 Feedback to the population (men and women) on the synthesis in relation to the problems and possibilities of development in the zone. |
Complete population information; Discuss the acceptability of complementary proposals; Identify supplementary measures expressed by the population; Discuss and ratify the activities decided on. |
Chart of relevant data; List of main problems; Summary of proposals. |
Plan of action; Consensus on which activities and complementary proposals can be implemented. |
The tools used in great part encouraged the active and constructive participation of women in all phases of assessment and analysis, without apparent social constraints. For the first time, women were mobilized and, as they themselves declared, were able to:
At the beginning of the participatory survey, women tended to express individual and specific needs; an attitude that indicates the "dependence mentality" provoked by development projects. (This tendency is even greater among men, since they have always been the direct target for projects.) The progressive introduction of rapid appraisal tools (matrices and charts) and wider access to the necessary information facilitated reflection on common objectives and problems, while respecting the needs and expectations of different interest groups.
Solutions to development problems can best be identified with reference to a vision of the future in which those problems have been solved. The vision of a better future motivates and encourages people to identify and implement feasible development actions
Analysis was progressive and carried out through self-evaluation and spontaneous reflection: "Why do people want to do that? What stops them? What can be done to solve these problems? What is missing?" This form of questioning provokes awareness of the problems and, above all, of the capacity that encourage self-confidence at the personal and collective levels.
The tools used also led to:
The collection and analysis of data with women and men separately, validated the information gathered and made it easier to assess information according to gender.
The following is a summary of the lessons learned about tools and methods:
The survey demonstrated that women are involved in all phases of the agroforestry project through:
Information obtained during the collection phase confirmed the importance of women's socio-economic role in agriculture and in the exploitation of forest natural resources. Women try to diversify sources of income far more than men do. They are prepared to commit themselves to casual employment and to acquire new expertise, even if doing so turns them into exploited labour, as in the case of gathering myrtle twigs for distilling companies. The composite calendar demonstrates that income sources are multiple, seasonal, sporadic, typical of subsistence agriculture and low, except in the case of animal breeding. Women's incomes are lower and come from a smaller range of sources than men's. Women's motivation and involvement can be explained in terms of an interest in:
A comparison of the priorities established by men and women demonstrated great similarity between the two. However, men tend to prefer activities for women that are close to the home. They also, apparently, have a wider view of the range of possibilities open to women - for example, adding the planting of cactus as a potential activity for women which women did not list. This activity has a number of advantages; for example, as a source of income, thanks to the sale of fruit, or as a complement to beekeeping (melliferous resource), tree cultivation and market gardening (protective hedges). Women regard animal breeding as their primary interest - it takes up much of their time and they are in charge of all operations. At the same time, the activities chosen demonstrate women's concern for the full range of agricultural practices. Their perception of the situation also demonstrates women's, as well as men's, interest in the existing constraints and development possibilities of the zone.
In the course of the participatory survey, the men's initial attitude was marked by an underestimation of women's capacity and of the desirability of their participation. Men thought that women could neither conduct useful analysis together nor provide a significant or interesting contribution. This view was modified in light of the results of work done by women. Women's analysis of problems and identification of productive activities and development measures was just as valuable and appropriate as men's - a fact that was greeted with much astonishment by the men who did, however, integrate and recognize the dominant, even determinant, role of women in the issues under discussion.
Women are, however, still unable to express their needs with regard to organizational methods and do not seem to feel any particular need to do so. The creation of a mixed development committee in the zone, started and sustained by FSDA, demonstrates a willingness to involve women, but women do not properly understand the role of the committee and their representation is not really assured. Women can "carve out their niche", express themselves and demand respect for their rights to be full, constructive and effective partners, but there is still a need to design and implement sensitization and training programmes at all levels - population, development structures (state and other), formal and informal organizations.
It can, therefore, be concluded that women's role in development cannot be advanced through projects that are exclusively oriented towards women, or through implementation in so-called "women-specific" activities. Such an approach still seems to be used in rural development projects even though the evidence shows that women do not perceive themselves in this light. Continuing in this direction could lead to the isolation and reinforced marginalization of women, rather than to women's advancement. This is where the gender approach (in which gender issues are mainstreamed into all policy- and decision-making institutions and procedures) becomes more relevant and operational.
The main lessons learned about gender information can be summarized as follows:
At the community level. The men and women involved in the participatory analysis said that they had:
People complained that their enthusiasm, involvement and clear interest in conducting this participatory analysis did not result in the design of a definitive project, and both men and women have proposed that such an activity be taken up with FSDA and the Directorate-General of Forestry. This demonstrates the willingness of men and women to give their ideas concrete form. The dynamic of community action can also be seen in the partnership launched with FSDA and in negotiations with development services at the time of calling for intervention or support.
For participatory processes to work, capacity building must be supported and the consensus reached must be accepted, not only by the population but also by development planners and implementers.
At the level of institutional staff. The participation of male and female officers from the RCADs and from FSDA, permitted:
Given that the team was inexperienced in the field of APRM, participatory exercises represented an important first step but needed to be reinforced with practical experience of applying the new techniques without supervision. For the RCAD officers, whose main function is that of popularization, such a learning process leads to a gradual about-turn in professional practice; it is a move away from the simple top-down dissemination of technical messages towards the establishment of cooperative relationships, with beneficiaries, to identify needs, plan response methods and implement them.
The following is a summary of the lessons learned about capacity building:
As well as the participatory analysis in the forest setting, two other analyses were carried out with women, in the sectors of fishing and irrigated agriculture. The results of these three analyses, at both the methodological level and the level of a development plan of action, were used for the gender and development training that the project organized for MOA officers at central and regional levels.
The importance of taking account of the perceptions of communities (women and men) in all phases of planning was clearly demonstrated and recognized, and provided the basis for the methodology adopted by the RCAD officers concerned with the launching of projects based on a participatory strategy, particularly in the field of sustainable management of natural resources.
The results were also presented to those in charge at DGF and FSDA during an information and sensitization day organized by the national project coordinator, with the participation of women and men involved in the analysis. Dialogue was, thus, established between foresters and the NGO, and gave a framework round which to develop the community's ideas and suggestions.
The results of the participatory analysis carried out in Tbaïnia are consistent with the objectives of the rural sector for the Ninth Five-Year plan. Women's involvement in increasing and diversifying agriculture and improving natural resource management was developed through:
The identification of development activities based on the population's (men's and women's) perceptions is a fundamental step in designing projects that follow an integrated participatory approach. Participatory analysis must be followed by the planning and implementation of development projects.
All phases of projects (planning, programming, implementation and follow-up/evaluation) should be designed and carried out in a spirit of research followed by action. Women must be directly and continually involved as active members of organizations and direct beneficiaries of accompanying measures (credit, training, etc.).
To encourage participatory projects and mobilize the necessary supports that guarantee efficient consideration of gender issues, a horizontal approach and support structure should be developed. Given the diversity of the development areas concerned, it would be advisable to set up multidisciplinary teams within the framework for the restructuring of RCADs that is currently under way. Each RCAD has at its disposal a team comprising forestry, rural engineering and popularization agents, etc., and they should be given the task of designing and implementing projects on a regional scale that follow an integrated participatory approach taking account of gender. Such an option would support the current MOA decentralization to widen the responsibility of RCADs to the entire project cycle.
All the work of the project, as well as the experience gained during its implementation, aims at the establishment of gender and development units at the central and regional levels of MOA. The central unit, coordinated by the Cabinet of the Ministry, would comprise representatives of the Directorate-General for Development Planning and Agricultural Investment, the Directorate-General for Financing and Patronage and the Agricultural Popularization and Training Agency. Its main tasks would be to ensure:
The central unit would have functional links to the units set up in the RCADs for the sharing of information and training support. Regional units would be multidisciplinary and their tasks would be to:
The following is a summary of the lessons learned about institutionalization:
THIS CASE STUDY CONCERNS a forest zone situated in the northwest of Tunisia. The zone is representative of the problems of natural forest resource management, in which the relationship between state forestry services and users is being transformed. The new forestry development strategy recommends the use of an integrated participatory approach that favours people's involvement in the development and management of forest resources. The forestry code has been revised to create conditions that are conducive to this.
The integrated participatory rural development that was adopted aimed, in particular, at restoring or promoting (in cooperation with users) the ecological and socio-economic functions of complex and fragile ecosystems. The implementation of this strategy implies appropriate procedures and tools that permit the effective and constructive integration of the community, men and women, into the development process.
The following points and recommendations can be made to others involved in similar projects:
The following can be added to these practical recommendations aimed at the realization of participatory analysis:
This case study was written with support from the Formulation of Policy, Strategy and Plan of Action in Favour of Rural Women project, implemented in Tunisia within the framework of the FAO/Tunisia TCP/TUN/4555. The original language version was edited by Agnèse Le Magadoux.
1 The Office for Silvipastoral Development in the North-West (OSPDNW), the Directorate-General for Forestry (DGF), MOA and several NGOs including the Foundation for Self-Development and Solidarity (FSDA) and the Association for the Promotion of Employment and Housing (APEH).
2 Agroforestry is defined as "an integrated system for the development and management of rural space, associating trees and the practices of agricultural production, and applying methods of intervention that are compatible with the conditions of the rural population" (Maghrebian Seminar on Agroforestry, Tunis 1989).
3 For example: the Sidi Bouzid and Siliana microcredit projects, co-financed by the French Development Fund (FDF); the development project for the northwest mountainous zones, co-financed by the World Bank; and the pilot integrated rural development initiatives in forest zones, in cooperation with DGF.
4 The association and presence of women in these organizations is limited, or non-existent.
5 The community is defined as the sum of households and individuals who are linked socially, have common interests and exploit resources together.
National Statistics Institute. 1994. National Census. Tunis.
UNDP. 1995. Annual Report. New York.
