The material for this training process came from the following project case studies:
The focus was on the modular implementation approach, awareness raising and participatory monitoring.
Monitoring the impact of projects and their specific agricultural interventions is an important part of gender-responsive planning and involving farmers as monitors is a key ingredient to this approach.
In participatory impact monitoring, the emphasis is on identifying issues that farmers view as significant and, generally, the focus is on collecting qualitative data. Projects that employ participatory monitoring techniques highlight the usefulness of this approach for identifying not only the positive outcomes but also the negative effects that a project might have for rural women.
Three projects - Afghanistan, Pakistan and India - provide examples of participatory impact monitoring techniques. This training module draws mainly on the methods and techniques used in Afghanistan.
The aim of the Animal Health and Production Improvement Modules (PIHAM) project was to help farmers improve their livestock performance. PIHAM is a Persian term that means continuous and it was used to capture the spirit of the project, which was all about developing an approach that encourages veterinary staff to have continuous contact with farmers to provide them with the information and support that they need. Key to the success of this contact is the relationship between the field worker and the farmer. A farmer-oriented approach is encouraged. Field workers are trained in participatory methods that enable them to understand a farmer's situation and work with the farmer to formulate appropriate responses to his or her needs.
PIHAM is a process that:
It is based on a modular training system that includes:
PIHAM is based on a structured, modular approach called the Animal Health and Production Improvement Module. It has been adapted and used in a number of FAO-supported projects. The PIHAM project organizers, the Livestock Development Centre (a United Kingdom-based organization), revised and refined the modules to meet the needs of the Afghanistan situation. The training programme is based on five modules4:
In practical terms, these five modules introduce field workers (and farmers) to a process that systematically helps them to analyse the livestock farming situation of individual farmers. They are trained in techniques that will assist them to assess, with the farmer, the current situation, determine indicators for measuring success, identify problems and solutions, and assess progress and plan future action.
The seven steps of the analytical process |
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Step 1 (situation awareness) concentrates on explaining to the participants the basics of the PIHAM approach and on understanding the roles of the field worker and the farmer and the farming household's needs. During the training, field workers are encouraged to examine their own attitudes and how they relate to farmers. In short, the starting point is examining the relationship between farmers and field staff. A broad range of participatory training techniques and visual aids are used as a basis for discussing how field workers can build trust and work towards empowering farmers.
The training modules draw on and adapt techniques from a variety of sources. For example, exercises have been adapted from Srinivasan, 1990; Hope and Timmel, 1984; and Taylor and Jenkins, 1989. The exercises and visuals are adapted to suit local cultural and socio-economic conditions.
Women's role in livestock production is an integral part of the programme. In Step 1, gender roles and relationships are examined using the "two circles exercise" (Srinivasan, 1990) and the "fish bowl exercise" (Hope and Timmel, 1984). In Module 2, a more detailed analysis of men and women's livestock production system is made using a matrix ranking exercise.
The introductory guidelines to the modules draw the trainer's attention to the importance of gender in terms of planning training programmes. They suggest, for example, that in a cultural situation such as that found in Afghanistan, it may be necessary to run a women's programme parallel to the general programme - in the PIHAM project, only male initiators' or trainees were involved in the pilot phase, but it soon became clear that female trainees would be needed to complete the circle of information that is essential to providing better services to communities.
A key feature of the PIHAM project is participatory monitoring. In Module 2, approximately nine lessons are devoted to understanding the data and identifying the key indicators that farmers can use to measure production performance. Field workers are trained to identify key indicators with farmers. Various techniques and forms have been designed to help farmers record information about their livestock. These forms generally draw on visual PRA techniques, such as pictograms.
One of the techniques used to collect data on key indicators is the "progeny history exercise". It is a tool to help farmers remember key events and records information about each adult animal in a farmer's flock - where does it come from? how many times has it been pregnant? and how many abortions has it had? Data are also collected about each birth, recording what happened to the offspring, and why. A gender element is added to this process by indicating who (women or men farmers) has information about each stage of the animal's life.
An important part of the participatory monitoring process is feedback, and this is emphasized in the training. Talks, brainstorming sessions and case studies are used to help participants understand what is meant by feedback, and why it is important to the farmer. The training emphasizes the importance of discussing immediate results with farmers, and then discussing the results again after the performances of all the farmers in the group have been analysed. How well is a farmer doing compared with other farmers in the group?
Direct feedback to the farmer is important because it allows farmers to compare their achievement levels with other local farmers. Over time, the farmer knows whether his or her herd performance is improving or getting worse. Of course, the challenge is to provide the feedback in a way that the farmer can understand and this, too, is discussed in the training. Participants are asked to design innovative, visual methods for giving feedback. These help to overcome barriers of illiteracy and enable farmers to record the number of births or deaths in their herds.
Pictorial records can be used by the extension worker to discuss with the farmer the reasons and causes of improved or declining production. Identifying the causes of poor performance helps the farmer, with the assistance of the field worker, to identify solutions and plan how targets can be met in the future.
In the Kanak Valley conservation and development project, participatory monitoring was an important component in the empowering of women's associations and has been one of the project activities from the onset. As part of the monitoring process, the position of an association monitor was created.
The monitor's task is linked to income-generating activities. For example, the association monitor is expected to pay weekly visits to each chicken house to check that it is clean and healthy. The monitor then meets the association's treasurer and reports her findings and together they fill out a simple monitoring chart. The results of the monitoring are discussed in the group meetings and solutions to problems are sought.
Training for the project staff also focused on participatory monitoring and evaluation activities and on understanding the concept of participatory monitoring. It involved such exercises as the "blind trust walk" and practice in facilitating group meetings on the monitoring findings.
Monitoring methods and tools have evolved gradually, largely reflecting the women's understanding of what monitoring means for them and the growth in their confidence to participate in monitoring activities. The different methods are briefly summarized in the following subsections.
Polaroid photos were taken of various stages of an activity, including follow-up, and placed in a village album. Women in a group reviewed the stages of an activity by looking through the photos and commenting on problems or positive points. One of the difficulties with this method was ensuring that everyone in the group had a chance to express herself - sometimes there was a tendency for one woman to state an opinion and for the entire group to repeat it.
Experience with the photo album method varied. Initially the women regarded the holding of the monitor's position as a "punishment", something that only a weaker women, who could not say "no", would do. However, as trust between project staff and village women developed, monitoring, and the position of association monitor, became accepted as non-threatening activities.
In some villages the album was carefully maintained and became an important tool for discussing progress and planning future activities. In one village the women complained that the men beat them for allowing themselves to be photographed, so the project team decided to let the album stay with its keeper until the group organization had been strengthened.
The photo album method was eventually replaced by a project staff-led evaluation at the end of each activity. This was essentially a discussion of what had taken place, the problems encountered and possible solutions. This technique allows problems to be solved in a cultural context. The discussion and decisions were recorded by the project staff. An example of the approach to this discussion is shown in following figure.
Sample activity evaluation |
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OBJECTIVES |
INDICATORS |
SCORE |
REMARKS |
To introduce new activity to the village |
Taught five womenhow to make jam. |
Very good |
Completely new activity. Tried to sell jam in the village but expensive for people to buy. |
To become financially independent |
Women can now ownthings through selling without consulting men. |
Very good |
Women like to buy things for their children with their own money. |
PROBLEM |
CAUSES |
SOLUTIONS |
|
Buying jars |
Women cannot go outside. |
Women should keep trying to convince men. |
|
The women's associations were also involved in the final evaluation of the project. Women from the more progressive associations were given the task of producing a list of indicators, with the aid of the photo albums. A summary of the list is given on the following page.
Representatives of all the associations involved in the project met to rank and sort the indicators. Pictures representing the indicators were pasted on flip charts but, unfortunately, this made it difficult for the women to rearrange the pictures in order of priority. Ranking was therefore done with beans. In addition, the women selected two qualitative indicators: trust, which comes with partnership; and self-confidence.
Indicators for evaluation |
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PROJECT OBJECTIVE: |
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INDICATORS: knowledge gained about why the groundwater table is lowering being able to define what are natural resources village women making slides about natural resources the slide competition the number of focus group meetings about the water problem |
INCOME GENERATING ACTIVITIES number of loans repayment rate of loans types of income-generating activities time spent on income-generating activities |
TRAINING: number of participants time spent on training utilization of training, i.e. number of women who started sewing their clothes after finishing tailor training |
PARTICIPATION: time spent on PRA and associationmeetings high number of women's associations in larger villages |
The next step in the process was the selection of a community evaluation team. Four representatives of the associations were chosen to work in two teams in two villages. The teams then made a list of questions from the key indicators to ask association members and non-members. The names of non-members were selected by putting 20 names in a box from each village and drawing out ten names. After the interviews, the two teams met to assess the results, which were positive. Both members and non-members rated the project favourably. The credit programme was most popular, but over 50 percent of non-members also understood the objectives of the project.
Further information about the participatory monitoring methods can be obtained from FAO, 1997b; and FAO, 1994c.
The Women in Development Service would like to thank the Government of Norway for funding the GCP/INT/602/NOR project, "Improving Information on Women's Contribution to Agricultural Production for Gender Sensitive Planning" which made it possible to produce the From Farmer to Planner & Back package and video.
SPECIAL THANKS GO TO:
Vicki Wilde in her role as key advisor to the project and author of the Responsive Planner; Jeanne Koopman for writing the Key Issues Paper; Nancy Hart for producing the video and acting as editorial liaison with the publication team; Jane Shaw for editing the texts; Roberto Faidutti for photography; Maxtudio for illustrations, layout and graphic design; and Cornelia Koenraadt of the FAO Women in Development Service for coordinating the project.
1 Further information on the approach and methods of integrating environmental issues and income-generating activities in the Kanak valley project can be found in: FAO. 1997. The credit programme and income-generating activities of Brahui women. FO:GCP/INT/542/ITA Working Paper No. 3. Quetta.
2 A detailed description of the slide competition is given in: FAO. 1997. A Slide Competition on Natural Resource Conservation. FAO InterRegional Project for Participatory Upland Conservation and Development, Quetta.
3 The tool kits in the SEAGA Programme Field-Level Handbook are an adaptation of the gender analysis framework. The tool kits describe training activities and suggestions on issues that need to be examined in each of the analytical steps.
4 Copies of these modules can be obtained from the Animal Production and Health Division at FAO.
FAO. 1989. Guidelines on communication for rural development. A brief for development planners and project formulation. Development Support Communication. Rome.
FAO. 1994a. Farming systems development. A participatory approach to helping small-scale farmers. Rome.
FAO. 1994b. The group promoter's resource book. Rome.
FAO. 1994c. Participatory assessment, monitoring and evaluation, Written by D. Davis-Case. Rome.
FAO. 1994d. The community toolbox. The idea, method and tools for participatory assessment, monitoring and evaluation in community forestry. Community Forestry Field Manual No. 2. written by D. Davis-Case. FAO.
FAO. 1995a. Resource management for upland areas in Southeast Asia. An information kit. Rome, FAO/IRR.
FAO. 1995b. Animal health and production improvement module. An approach to designing and implementing herd health and production programmes in developing countries. Written by S.J. Holden et al. Rome.
FAO. 1995c. Gender analysis and forestry. Training package. Written by V. Wilde and A. Vainio-Mattila. Rome.
FAO. 1995d. The group enterprise resource book. A practical guide for group promoters to assist groups in setting up and running successful small enterprises. Rome.
FAO. 1996. Working with rural women. Trainer's manual. Rome.
FAO. 1997a. SEAGA. Socio-economic and Gender Analysis. Rome, ITC and FAO.
FAO. 1997b. Improving agricultural extension. A reference manual. Written by B.E. Swanson, R.P. Bentz and A.J. Sofranko. Rome.
FAO. 1997c. A rural women's evaluation of an environmental project. Rome, FAO Interregional Project for Participatory Upland Conservation and Development.
Grandstaff, T.B. & Messerscmidt, D.A. 1995. A manager's guide to the use of rapid rural appraisal. Farm Programme, FAO/UNDP and Suranaree University of Technology.
Hope & Timmel. 1984. Training for transformation. Mambo Press.
Srinivasan, L. 1990. Tools for community participation. Prowess UNDP, World Bank.
Taylor & Jenkins. 1989. Time to listen - the human aspect in development. Intermediate Technology.
Wilde & Mooij. 1998. Participatory gender analysis for community-level disaster response planning. WFP.
Williams, S. 1994. Oxfam gender training manual. Oxfam United Kingdom and Ireland.
