Colleagues,
Agriculture and Different People
Everyone is different and, notwithstanding those differences, it is the mix of resources that they bring to their community which provides the basis for success or failure. And, even then, failure is not ‘failure’ as such, but simply just another step on the route to success – helping people to participate and leading to all those productive activities that feature in the summary paragraphs that have been assembled to encourage the wider debate in ‘care farming’.
People with disabilities
My contribution centres upon the most vulnerable of community people – those with disabilities; and, remember, in many countries this may comprise more than 10% local people, and many more if you bring in age, gender and poverty. Typically people look towards the public sector for the resources that they need – reflecting, as it does, an historical approach wherein government traditionally took responsibility for every aspect of social care and/or economic development.
You only have to look at the transition that takes place between the different groups of countries – developing/low-income, industrializing/middle-income and industrialized/rich to see how investment by the private sector begins to take priority – how education, access to information/technologies and a commercial approach to wealth creation quickly changes that original perception. This is when governments have to run to keep up with the private sector and, importantly, learn to manage that divergence in incomes between the majority poor and the minority rich; this is where the Gini Index, the Human Development Index and similar crop up in national planning.
Without some kind of focus people with disabilities will always be part of that majority poor and, in the low-income countries, this typically means part of the rural poor – with all that this implies for living at a distance from decision-makers in the capital/provincial cities. They become the forgotten. This is unfortunate
Empowering people with disabilities
Wherever you look there is general agreement that people with disabilities are entitled to the same life opportunities as everyone else, but no clear ideas on how to actually achieve objectives of this kind. Countries implement laws in support of people with disabilities, and the national agencies promote within the context of those laws to help marshal the resources with which these people are better able to integrate themselves into their local communities. Support, however, has traditionally focused upon health, social and welfare development but, notwithstanding the efforts made by many well-meaning laws, policies and programmes, most people with disabilities continue to be marginalized within their home communities. Issues are those of access to work and employment.
Employment
As people become better informed, they typically demand more and better services. The industrial countries struggle to provide social services to disabled citizens, and achieve limited success; the low-income countries are generally too poor to provide the additional resources with which to make a difference. There is fashion and urgency with providing employment, but this rarely focuses upon people with disabilities. Employment and opportunities for earning an income provide a logical route out of poverty and a step towards empowerment. This raises confidence.
Pro-disability investment programmes are essential and, importantly, link into the marketplace for activities, enterprises and social development that can be shown to be profitable. In this way there is long-term value. An approach of this kind highlights the majority people with disabilities in the low-income countries as typically dependent upon agriculture for their livelihood. The survival of self, family and/or community in which people with disabilities live ultimately depends on the successful exploitation of local industries as an income-provider (and the collective wealth of the people concerned).
Agriculture and care farming
Most supportive initiatives are piecemeal and short-term; representing small investments made on behalf of a handful of recipients over a limited period of time. Given the seasonality of agriculture, even a five year programme of investment may only encompass five growing/production seasons. This is unsatisfactory and restricts options.
Development of a strategy – particularly a national strategy – has long-term advantages for both recipients and providers; there is transparency, people know where they stand, priorities can be taken with confidence and investments made with longer-term opportunities in mind. Strategic guidelines provide opportunities for people with disabilities to take ownership of their future; and to re-appraise, change direction and to select alternative options as the framework of the original strategy becomes dated and new opportunities are recognized. Planning is essential - that people take control and ownership.
Want to explore this further?
The route to making a difference is relatively easy to navigate, and can be summarized within 10 key activity groups that apply to everyone working in support of the people with disabilities. Check out the ‘Guidelines for People with Disabilities in Agriculture’ contained in the draft report ‘Enhancing Opportunities in Agriculture for People with Disabilities: Guidelines for Getting People Involved’ attached to this contribution.
Peter Steele
Agricultural Engineer
Rome
Dr. Peter Steele