Document Type: Lessons Learned

Lessons for Dialogue Among Wildlife and Community Forest Management Sectors in Zambia

October 17, 2023
Lessons Learned

Background

Community involvement in natural resource management in Zambia dates to the 1990s, when CBNRM was adopted as a model for co-managing the country’s protected areas with communities through CRBs. GMAs that border national parks cover over 20 percent of Zambia’s surface and are found in almost 30 percent of Zambia’s chiefdoms. While large portions of GMAs are not suitable for wildlife due to decades of agricultural expansion, they are still home to extensive forest habitat, and many have areas of
abundant wildlife. In the 1990s, donor-funded programs, including NORAD-funded Luangwa Integrated Rural Development Program (LIRDP) in Lupande GMA, aligned with DNPW (Department of National Parks and Wildlife Service (DNPWS) at the time) and subsequently Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) efforts to empower communities with hunting revenue and combat the poaching that had decimated Zambia’s national parks and GMAs in the 1980s. This model of CBNRM was exclusively focused on wildlife resources in GMAs, with limited oversight of other resources such as forestry, leading to progressive degradation of customary managed forests, particularly those with limited wildlife populations and areas on the edge of agricultural communities.

While community awareness and resource security has improved in the wildlife sector since the 1990s, forest resources largely remained vulnerable as essentially open access resources without any incentive for local forest protection or management. Zambia’s forest reserves cover approximately eight percent of the country, but forests are abundant across much of the remainder of the country. While the FD has management authority over these non-gazetted forests (but not the customary land that they sit on), they lack the human resources and financial capacity to actively manage forests outside of reserves. Therefore, involving local people in forest management has become increasingly necessary. In response to this growing need, the Zambian government introduced a CFM model to foster collective management of forest resources. Community involvement in forest management on customary land was first identified in the National Forestry Action Plan of 1997 as an approach to address the continuous deterioration of customary and gazetted forests. Since the 2015 Forests Act and subsequent Community Forest Management Regulations of 2018 were passed, over 200 communities have formed CFMGs and applied for forest management rights. In just five years, CFMGs now cover more than five million hectares. Importantly, CFM provides perhaps the only approach for self-defined communities to assert their community tenure over specific areas customary land and register these rights with government.

The 2015 Forests Act and the CFM Regulations of 2018 call for synergies between forest and wildlife management. This is further seen in the 2023 Community Based Natural Resource Management Policy, which was developed under the Ministry of Tourism. While the language identifies the need for management coordination, the practice to date has been lacking. The success of forest and wildlife management moving forward will largely depend on the interactions between the critical government agencies charged with separate legal responsibilities for managing forest and wildlife resources, and their approaches to supporting devolution of rights. The overlaps and gaps between wildlife and forest management are well understood in each department, as well as at the district level. The overlapping resources and local communities dictate constant engagement among field officials and there is natural coordination that occurs at the district level, albeit with little direction from the national level. However, a lack of institutional consensus on CFMG/CRB relationships regarding resource protection, revenue management, and community project support and development mechanisms using carbon and animal funds can spark antagonistic relationships between departments. This subsequently impacts their interactions with communities. There is furthermore a risk that devolution will be perceived as providing communities with responsibilities over management that they do not have the financial or technical capacity to implement. This underscores the importance of cross-department coordination.

Lessons Learned: Private Sector Engagement on Land and Gender

October 17, 2023
Reports, Lessons Learned

Introduction

Private sector engagement (PSE) is a key strategy for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Under this approach USAID “consults, strategizes, aligns, collaborates, and implements” with the private sector to leverage US government investments for greater scale, sustainability, and effectiveness, while also strengthening market-based systems in developing countries and contributing to economic growth and employment (USAID, 2022). Working with the private sector, USAID can demonstrate that investing in local development can be good for both a company’s bottom line and the wellbeing of communities. This brief explores USAID experiences partnering with the private sector to advance land tenure security and gender equality and women’s empowerment across five countries under the Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG) activity (2018-2023).

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are just one element of private sector engagement. USAID defines public-private partnerships as an arrangement between public and private sector entities to “share risks, and rewards in the delivery of services and infrastructure. Characterized by joint planning, joint contributions, and shared risk, PPPs are an opportunity to leverage resources, mobilize industry expertise and networks, and bring fresh ideas to projects” (USAID, 2022). The catalytic role of the private sector is well recognized in agricultural production because it contributes significantly to input delivery, storage and processing, transport, transfer of technical competencies to producers, and sale of commodities to national and international markets. Yet partnerships with the private sector on broader development goals, such as land tenure security or women’s empowerment, that have positive but diffuse downstream impacts on company profits, require significant effort to align visions, interventions, and outcomes. For example, some broad public-private partnerships have promoted policy and legal reforms around land governance to improve the business enabling environment, the enforceability of commercial land rights,1 and land markets. However, companies working in the agriculture sector may be wary of getting involved in policy issues around land tenure reform, which they see as outside of their core business interest. While women’s empowerment is oftentimes an easier entry point, many private sector efforts are confined to corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, rather than fully integrated into commercial supply chain operations. Many private sector entities may not have considered how proactively resolving land disputes and gender-responsive sourcing approaches can positively impact their bottom line. This is where public-private partnerships can help. USAID has done much work in this area and can help the private sector effectively engage on land rights to de-risk investments and improve community relations2, as well as empower women through increased land literacy, land registration work and by providing linkages to expanded access to finance

Through private sector partnerships under ILRG, USAID has generated a series of lessons on approaches to proactively work with companies to strengthen land security for rural populations, while also empowering women and expanding their access to agricultural supply chains. This brief documents approaches employed, focusing on private sector engagement in sectors and supply chains linked to land-based investments. This includes partnerships to clarify land rights and access issues, as well as those that combine engagement on land with efforts to increase women’s access to productive resources, agricultural inputs, and global supply chains. It is designed for USAID program staff and implementers who are attempting to facilitate private sector partnerships on these issues and sectors.

The brief opens by framing the rationale for private sector engagement on land tenure, gender equality, and women’s empowerment and shares best practices and promising approaches. Next, it describes the varying structural design elements of public-private partnerships within the USAID ILRG activity and what impact each of these design choices had on partnership implementation. Third, it outlines both the successes experienced in the nine private sector partnerships under the USAID ILRG program as well as the lessons learned. Finally, it concludes with recommendations for other donors looking to engage with the private sector around land, gender equality, and women’s economic empowerment (WEE).

Lessons Learned from Pilot Fee-for-Service Customary Land Documentation in Zambia

January 17, 2022
Lessons Learned

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been supporting first-time customary land documentation in Zambia’s Eastern Province since 2014, first with the Tenure and Global Climate Change program (TGCC) from 2014 to 2018, and now through the Integrated Land and Resource Governance program (ILRG). ILRG is working to identify opportunities to sustainably scale customary land documentation and administration processes as a way to support Zambia on its Journey to Self-Reliance.

ILRG has supported two local partners, the Petauke District Land Alliance (PDLA) and the Chipata District Land Alliance (CDLA) to test a fee-for-service model for first-time land documentation in selected chiefdoms in Eastern Province, following the land documentation methodology developed under TGCC. It is intended that the results of the tested model pave the way for these organizations, and other civil society organizations to provide beneficial, needed services to local communities without being entirely reliant on donor or government funding.

Although the fee-for-service model is still in its initial pilot, ILRG and its partners have already captured some important lessons learned which are useful not only for the project, PDLA, and CDLA, but also potentially for other organizations considering offering land documentation under a fee-for-service model.

Download the full document here. 

KEY LESSONS

STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH TRADITIONAL LEADERS AND COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES ARE CRITICAL. The willingness of chiefs to implement a fee-for-service model in their chiefdoms, combined with collaboration with community governance structures, was key to early success in generating community demand and interest in land documentation services. Strong interpersonal relationships between PDLA and CDLA staff and village headpersons and other local stakeholders helps ensure commitment, transparency, and accountability. Relationship building and training for village headpersons and community governance structures can help spread awareness and create demand for services. This requires a significant investment of time but can help mitigate the risk of confusion and misunderstanding. Village land committees can also help manage and organize the land documents produced.

SIGNIFICANT DEMAND FOR LAND DOCUMENTATION SERVICES EXISTS. Initially, not all community members saw the value in paying for land documentation services; with sensitization around the importance and potential benefits of land certificates, greater interest was generated. Most community members expressed willingness to pay the fees imposed under the pilot to document their land rights. Feedback in community consultations indicated that the demand was primarily driven by the desire for increased tenure security. Many community members expressed fear that pressure on land and resources from investors could lead to their dispossession, especially if their rights are undocumented.

MORE TIME NEEDS TO BE INVESTED IN STRATEGIZING AND DEVELOPING SOLUTIONS FOR ESTABLISHING A SUSTAINABLE FEE-FOR-SERVICE MODEL. While both organizations are working to refine their pricing and fee collection process, there are currently no set standards; fees vary from chiefdom to chiefdom depending on consent from traditional leaders. More consideration of cost recovery, cost effectiveness, and sustainability is required. Neither PDLA nor CDLA has thought through what fees to charge for modifying documents (for example, when land rights are transferred through inheritance upon the death of a community member, or where an individual marries and wishes to add their spouse to the land certificate). More research and analysis may be needed to assess household willingness and ability to pay and whether fees can be increased to come closer to cover the total cost of the service. In addition, the organizations need to consider whether the process can be streamlined and how delays in activities and fee collection can be reduced. ILRG has engaged a consultant with expertise in social enterprise to help think through some of these questions.

TARGETING OF LOCATIONS AND ADEQUATE SCALE IS NECESSARY FOR A FEE-FOR-SERVICE MODEL TO SUCCEED. Service providers need to be able to mobilize teams for many weeks, and thus need to ensure that there will be hundreds (if not thousands) of paying clients. While demand exists for documentation across the country, the need for it to protect households varies, as do the costs of providing the service. Extremely rural areas often present high logistical costs associated with documentation, and often include the poorest individuals who can least afford to pay. It is therefore unlikely that these areas will be prioritized by fee-for-service providers. In contrast, while in peri-urban customary areas near towns there is high demand and a greater ability to pay, many of these areas are already subject to tensions and conflicts that dramatically increase the price of service delivery. It is most likely that service providers will largely focus on a middle area of accessible agricultural land in close proximity to urban centers, where development and tenure pressures are expected, but may not be immediately present. Securing tenure in high pressure or active conflict areas, or in rural communities, will likely continue to require outside subsidization.

Lessons Learned from Community Pilots of the Land Rights Act in Liberia: Final Report

April 23, 2021
Lessons Learned

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

STUDY PURPOSE, AUDIENCES, AND INTENDED USES

As part of its activities related to the evaluation of the Community Land Protection Program (CLPP) in Liberia, NORC’s CLPP evaluation team conducted a desk-based synthesis of lessons learned from community pilots of customary land formalization under the Land Rights Act (LRA) in Liberia. The activity utilized desk-based document review and synthesis together with remote qualitative data collection and coding of Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) held with relevant project points of contact. The work was conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago under the Communications, Evidence, and Learning (CEL) project.

The key objective of this activity was to collect and synthesize information on ongoing or recently completed donor-supported community pilots under the LRA and synthesize learning on these pilots into an integrated report. The report aims to be useful for USAID and other donors in the Liberian land and resource governance space as the sector moves forward with coordination and next-generation activity planning related to customary land formalization and governance in Liberian communities. The intended audience for this synthesis is USAID/Washington and USAID/Liberia, together with other donors in the land space as above.

KEY QUESTIONS AND METHODS

The activity included the following steps:

  • Conduct desk-based scoping to identify and compile information on potentially 15 currently ongoing or recently completed donor-supported projects implementing the LRA, including where they are working, description of activities, extent of community-based implementation of land formalization, current status, and related information.
  • Catalogue these LRA community-level implementation efforts in the country, including spatial locations and community names if available. To do so, the NORC team built out existing work collated by the USAID- supported Land Governance Support Activity (LGSA), supplemented by additional outreach via web searches and direct outreach to non-governmental and civil society organizations (NGOs/CSOs), other donors, and other stakeholders as identified on a snowballing basis.1
  • Synthesize desk-based information and lessons learned where available from existing documentation, to inform development of tailored KIIs guides for project points of contacts.
  • Conduct additional outreach via emails and remote KIIs with relevant points of contact from donors and implementers, with the aim of (1) obtaining and synthesizing systematic information on field-level donor and Implementing Partner (IP) experiences implementing key aspects of customary land formalization and governance in communities under the LRA; (2) challenges encountered and potential solutions, and (3) higher level lessons learned and/or recommended best practices guidance.
  • Compile a high-level synthesis of findings into an integrated report that may be useful for USAID and other donors in the Liberian land and resource governance space as the sector moves forward.

NORC identified 15 donor-supported projects related to LRA implementation support in communities from internet keyword searches, the USAID-supported Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG) program Implementation Plan for Liberia, and communication with USAID. Some projects were also identified through snowballing off other project documentation. NORC emailed implementing partners and CSOs affiliated with 12 of these projects. The key inclusion criteria for this outreach was that the project had confirmed or possible community-level implementation of customary land formalization. The purpose of this outreach was twofold. First, we asked implementers for any non-public documentation they could share with additional information on project progress or lessons learned on LRA implementation in communities based on their direct experiences. Second, we requested to schedule short interviews with the project point of contact or a designee to facilitate discussion on implementation experiences and lessons learned.

In total, we conducted 11 semi-structured interviews with 16 individuals who agreed to be interviewed based on this outreach (Annex B). Respondents represented 11 organizations and 10 projects involved in community-level piloting of customary land formalization.2 Interviews were conducted virtually between October 21 and November 25 using Zoom. The team audio recorded all interviews with respondent consent and took detailed notes. When needed, notes were reconciled with the audio recordings to ensure accurate records. The interview guide is provided in Annex C.

The team used content analysis techniques to analyze interview notes in Microsoft Excel, coding text according to key themes of interest across interviewees. The team then generated summaries to provide an overview of key themes and any major areas of congruence or divergence in respondents’ perspectives.

LIMITATIONS

To stay within budget and keep the activity scope closely relevant for the CLPP endline evaluation that the NORC team will conduct, this activity focused on capturing high-level challenges and lessons learned from field-based community-level implementation activities directly related to customary land formalization and governance in communities. The activity did not focus on experiences related to implementing aspects of the LRA on private, public or government land (unless it existed within the boundaries of community land). This activity also did not focus on activities or experiences related to broader strengthening of the Liberia Land Authority (LLA) or other aspects of LRA implementation, including: LLA and county land office institutional development, capacity building and operational support; land information system support; stakeholder coordination; community forest demarcation and forest management/governance issues, and issues related to urban land. Given that it was still pending or in planning stage for the projects covered, this synthesis also does not focus on lessons learned related to formal land use planning activities within self-identified communities.

While our outreach was to staff from projects and organizations involved in implementing customary land formalization in communities, and we particularly aimed to speak with field staff and project managers familiar with on-the-ground implementation, we acknowledge that the views and experiences shared by these individuals in no way fully capture a project’s implementation experience, nor do they reflect the experiences of community members themselves. The primary aim here is to summarize emergent issues and themes across multiple donor-funded projects and implementing organizations and a range of field-based experiences, rather than highlight differences in experiences or key challenges and solutions on the basis of project or partner.

HOW THIS RESOURCE AIMS TO BE DIFFERENT

Many organizations have long been active in the customary land space in Liberia, and there are several useful resources that organizations have produced over the years to document their experiences, highlight challenges, and provide lessons learned and best practices on various stages or elements of work to support communities in formalizing their customary land rights.3 Some of these resources are aimed directly at Liberian communities as the end user, and others are oriented for CSOs, NGOs and other implementing organizations who are supporting communities to formalize their customary land rights. Several were produced prior to the passage of the LRA in 2018, and others since. Many include sample checklists, documents or tool templates, and best practices for specific steps in the land formalization process. All were derived from the respective organizations’ substantial depth of experiences working with communities in Liberia to raise awareness on customary land rights and implement various aspects of the LRA.

This synthesis does not attempt to duplicate those existing efforts.5 Instead, it aims to serve a different purpose by using a rapid assessment approach across multiple donor-funded projects and several of the NGOs, CSOs and other partners that implement them to obtain and highlight a broad sweep of experiences related to selected issues that IPs face in supporting Liberian communities to formalize their customary land rights under the LRA. In doing so, the intent is to focus on summarizing key learning and broader best practices from the perspectives of multiple implementing organizations as they reflect on their experiences working in communities to implement different aspects of the LRA, and provide synthesis on common experiences and challenges across respondents from these multiple organizations working in this space since the passage of the LRA in 2018.

 

 

Lessons on Gender, Youth, and Social Inclusion in Zambézia Province, Mozambique

March 26, 2021
Lessons Learned

 INTRODUCTION

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG) program is working to improve land tenure security for women and youth as part of broad-based economic empowerment. In early 2020, the ILRG team in Mozambique carried out an assessment of gender, youth, and social inclusion in Zambézia Province to better understand gender and youth relationships regarding land in a matrilineal context and how they influence decision-making related to land access and use within families and in community land associations. The lessons help clarify how activities to secure tenure in a matrilineal context interact with women’s and men’s land use and tenure and how land delimitation and titling have affected land rights in the area. The information will be used to guide ILRG’s activities and to support the development of communications and training materials. This learning note summarizes the key findings and recommendations from the assessment.

The assessment involved interviews combined with analysis of data from the two communities of Mucoe and Monegue in Ile District, Zambézia Province, Mozambique. These two communities were selected in order to offer insight into different contexts, challenges, and opportunities related to land issues and gender relationships. Both communities are directly affected by or adjacent to huge concessions granted to Portucel, an international company investing in the production of timber for paper pulp and energy. Mucoe is situated only 20 km from the district town of Errego and has a female community leader. Delimitation of Mucoe community and of family land within the community was supported by the Department for International Development (DFID)-funded Land: Enhancing Governance for Economic Development (LEGEND) program in 2018 – 2019. Monegue is much farther from Errego and has only male community leaders. Land delimitation in Monegue was funded by USAID’s ILRG program3 in 2019. The community of Monegue is also interesting because residents agreed to participate in a project co-funded by Portucel and the World Bank to build a small-scale earthen dam and micro-irrigation scheme for use by smallholder farmers.

The assessment involved interviews with 71 women, men, and youth in the two communities, as well as eight interviews with the district government and other local stakeholders. The report compares information from the qualitative interviews with quantitative data from all 25 communities and 13,000 family land parcels that were involved in the LEGEND and ILRG projects.

MOZAMBIQUE’S LEGAL FRAMEWORK ON LAND RIGHTS

Mozambique’s land policy context was established in the 1990 Constitution and built upon in the National Land Policy of 19954 and the Land Law of 1997.5 These note that land belongs to the state and cannot be sold, alienated, or mortgaged, but that Mozambican nationals can acquire land rights through inheritance, via peaceful occupation, and through application to the state. Foreign entities can acquire rights to implement land-based projects; the state is obliged to consult all interested parties, including local communities, in the process of land rights allocations. The law allows for the confirmation of rights acquired by local communities and individuals. The use rights, known by the Portuguese acronym DUAT (Direito de Uso e Aproveitamento da Terra), can be held individually or jointly.

In practice, the most important day-to-day land administration activities in rural areas are undertaken by communities and traditional leaders. Most rural residents acquire their land rights through occupation based on customary norms and practices (such as allocation of land by the local leaders) or by good faith occupation for at least 10 years. Traditional leaders are vital both to the initial allocation of land to families and in the resolution of conflicts or disputes over land. The traditional leaders are usually older men, with some few exceptions as in the case of Mucoe. These customary channels for acquiring DUAT rights are recognized and protected by the Land Law, regardless of whether they are registered with government. The law also states that rights based on occupation can be legally proven through oral evidence provided by community members.

 

 

Increasing Women’s Participation in Community Resources Boards in Zambia: Outcomes and Lessons Learned from the Election process

March 4, 2021
Lessons Learned

Introduction

In October and November 2020, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG) task order provided technical and financial support to Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) to facilitate gender integration in the election process of community natural resource governance structures in the game management areas (GMAs) around the North Luangwa National Park, Zambia. This intervention aimed at increasing women’s participation in village action groups (VAGs) and community resources boards (CRBs), serving as a pilot to engage stakeholders, including the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) and the Zambia Community Resources Board Association (ZCRBA), on broader reforms to increase gender equality in community natural resource governance in Zambia. The approach included convening key stakeholders before and during the election process to support women and address practical and social barriers to their participation.

This report details the strategies used and the outcomes in the election results, and reflects on lessons learned, challenges, and opportunities for scaling the approach. The report further makes recommendations for stakeholders to facilitate gender-responsive election processes to increase opportunities for women’s participation in natural resource governance in Zambia and elsewhere.

Background

Natural Resources and Gender Equality

In Zambia, women and men have distinct traditional social roles and responsibilities at the household and community level regarding their access to and use of the local environment and natural resources. Likewise, depletion of natural resources tends to impact women and men differently. Despite this, gender inequalities and the different ways men and women access, use, control and their knowledge of natural resources are often ignored in natural resource management, thereby undermining the effectiveness, impact, and sustainability of development and conservation efforts. By failing to adopt gender-responsive approaches, programs in the sector fail to sufficiently address the different needs of women and men and consider their unique concerns, points of view, and knowledge.

There is growing evidence in Africa and elsewhere that inclusion of women in natural resource governance has significant positive effects on conservation and development outcomes, though this has been examined primarily in the forestry sector. A comparative study in East Africa and Latin America found the presence of women in community forest governance structures to enhance positive behavior and forest sustainability (Mwangi et al., 2011). In Asia, increasing women’s representation in community forest governance institutions improved resource conservation and regeneration (Agarwal, 2009). The benefits of women’s participation were linked to their indigenous knowledge of the forest, greater rule compliance and adoption of sustainable practices, and greater cooperation among women. Increased participation in natural resource governance can be a pathway for wider empowerment of women in the household and in the public sphere, also leading to opportunities for growth in families’ income from economic activities related to natural resources. In addition, private companies in value chains related to natural resources are more likely to certify products and practices if women have active participation in resource governance (Beaujon Marin & Kuriakose, 2017).

The Government of Zambia recognizes the need for community involvement in the governance and conservation of natural resources and over the past decades has promoted devolution approaches that enable communities to share responsibilities for natural resource management. The legal and policy framework, including the 2015 Wildlife Act No. 14 and the 2018 National Parks and Wildlife Policy, provide for community participation and gender equality in accessing, controlling, benefiting from, and managing natural resources. The policy has an explicit objective of mainstreaming gender, HIV/AIDS, and youth empowerment in wildlife conservation, creating equal opportunities and conditions for women, men, and youth to benefit equally and reduce inequities in conservation. The 2014 National Gender Policy and the 2016 Gender Equity and Equality Act No. 22 ensure gender equality and offer redress for existing gender imbalances by tackling gender-based violence (GBV) and gender disparities in positions of decision-making at all levels and across sectors. Despite progress in policy reforms, women’s actual and meaningful participation in natural resource governance and benefit sharing have lagged behind and remain a challenge.

Community Resource Governance in Zambia

Community governance institutions offer an important opportunity for promoting gender equality and women’s participation in the natural resources sector. In Zambia, such institutions are CRBs for wildlife management and community forest management groups (CFMGs) for forestry. DNPW manages national parks and has responsibilities in GMAs and in open areas where wildlife resides. GMAs were established primarily to serve as buffer zones around national parks, which is where most CRBs are established to co-manage wildlife resources.

CRBs are formed from the lower-level VAGs, which comprise not more than 10 elected members and are responsible for deciding on community needs and interests in the utilization of wildlife resources. The members with the highest votes from all VAGs in a chiefdom then form the CRB, which is a higher-level executive body of the community that also has 10 members. The CRB is the decision-making and coordinating body of the community. There are 77 CRBs in the country, grouped together in four regions to form the membership of the regional CRB associations and at the national level, the ZCRBA. Each regional CRB association has a leadership position in the ZCRBA National Executive Committee. Some of the key functions of the ZCRBA are to coordinate the CRBs, unify CRBs to advocate and address collective issues, and provide capacity building to the membership.

The election process for VAGs and CRBs is governed by the 2013 CRB Election Guidelines, developed by DNPW. The following figure illustrates the steps in the CRB election process:

According to the CRB Election Guidelines, the VAG and CRB positions are up for election every five years, though in practice this happens every three years. The election process starts with publicity about the annual general meeting (AGM) a few days prior to the meeting. All community members are eligible to attend the VAG AGM meeting. Publicity is done through megaphones and headpersons informing people of the date of the AGM, the agenda, and the venue. During the AGM, all individuals interested to run in the election are required to file their nominations, receive an animal symbol as their identity for campaigning and receiving votes, and immediately start the campaign to get elected. The campaign is often for a short period of two to three days. Experience from previous elections show that women are often not reached by awareness-raising efforts and lack information about the process and criteria to participate in the election. The short campaign period also disadvantages women, who have limited financial resources and competing household responsibilities.

During the election, representatives of the candidates sit in as observers throughout the process to ensure transparency; votes are openly cast using symbols. Voters line up outside the voting room and in small groups are allowed to enter, pick the symbol of the candidate of choice, put a thumb print on it, and cast the vote in a transparent box. The top two candidates with the highest number of votes in the VAG election automatically qualify to represent the community at the CRB executive level or board. In the case of CRBs with more than five VAGs, only the top voted candidates get onto the CRB board. The elections for CRB board positions generally happen shortly after concluding VAG elections. The CRB Election Guidelines do not set this timeline, which is left to the electoral committee to determine based on various factors, among them available resources, geographical coverage of the CRB, and capacity within the chiefdom.

 

 

Working with Community Agronomists to Reach Women Farmers: Outcomes and Lessons Learned

November 24, 2020
Lessons Learned
Community Agronomist training in November 2019 JEN PETERSON/TETRA TECH

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and PepsiCo are partnering to promote women’s economic empowerment in the potato supply chain in West Bengal, India, with funding from the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Fund at USAID. The partnership aims to demonstrate the business case that empowering women makes good social and economic sense, leading to the adoption of sustainable farming practices, improved yields and income for farming families, and increased profitability for companies. The project uses multiple approaches to reach, benefit, and empower women in the potato supply chain, strengthening women’s land tenure security, creating improved livelihoods and entrepreneurial opportunities for women, and promoting increased social acceptance of women’s role as farmers. This project is implemented under the Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG) task order, led by Tetra Tech in collaboration with Landesa.

During the 2019 – 2020 potato season, ILRG worked with four women Community Agronomists in two communities to reach, support, and empower women potato farmers who are part of PepsiCo’s supply chain in West Bengal. Women (like men) can benefit from mentoring support not only on agronomic practices but also in household and group decision-making, access to credit, use of time-saving techniques and technologies, safety measures, and market negotiation to successfully engage in the PepsiCo potato supply chain. While external experts may be useful for training in these technical areas, they are not always available when needed for continued capacity-building, mentorship, and problem-solving assistance. Thus, ILRG trained women as Community Agronomists to support local women potato farmers, with the goal of ensuring easy and timely provision of extension support services and access to modern potato cultivation techniques for women in PepsiCo communities and farming households. It was also important to empower these Community Agronomists in becoming community-recognized change makers, mentors, trainers, and support service providers.

Four women in two communities – Dhuluk (Purba Burdawan District) and Boragori (Hooghly District) – were selected to participate in this project in the first year. Project support included a three-day Community Agronomist training program that covered potato agronomy and women’s empowerment principles, on-call support from ILRG Field Agronomists and the ILRG Country Coordinator, and a monthly stipend. Agricultural cooperative societies and PepsiCo staff also provided support to identify potential candidates. PepsiCo, ILRG, and agricultural cooperative societies provided female Community Agronomists with continued technical support. ILRG offered hands-on training, mentoring, and problem-solving support on data collection, data analysis, how to organize field visits, and how to engage with women farmers. PepsiCo Agronomists provided direct guidance on PepsiCo potato production.

The purpose of the activity was to test the effectiveness of using Community Agronomists to help PepsiCo staff reach more women farmers within their supply chain. ILRG selected literate women with some schooling (up to grades 8 – 12), with previous farming experience, as well as experience supporting community development programs. The role of these Community Agronomists was to act as a bridge between women farmers organized in women’s self-help groups and PepsiCo staff to disseminate information, technologies, and other services. In Year 1, they supported training in PepsiCo’s package of potato farming practices (POP) and in sustainable farming practices (SFPs), and monitored field-level activities during household visits. In Year 2, they will provide mentoring and support to increase gender equality and address harmful gender norms within the project, as well as support for women who participate in an upcoming Empowered Entrepreneurship training (EET). Developed by the Johns Hopkins University SEE Change Initiative, EET is an entrepreneurship program focused on comprehensive business, self-empowerment, and leadership skills.

Outcomes 

Community Agronomist training with PepsiCo staff
JEN PETERSON/TETRA TECH

Over the course of the potato production season (November – March), these four female Community Agronomists supported 71 women organized in seven women’s groups in two farming communities. In addition to providing much-needed local support and mentoring, they also developed their own agronomic, personal, and professional skills. They learned new farming techniques related to potato seed cutting, use of personal protection equipment, safe storage and use of agrochemicals, and grading and packaging of potatoes, as well as learning about harmful production practices such as crop residue burning, which have negative environmental impacts. They also learned how to organize training events, prepare reports, and interact with local farm families in a professional capacity.

Their main achievements this year include increased self-confidence and community acceptance of women in non-traditional roles. Quantitative and qualitative data on agency and self-confidence were collected at baseline and throughout the activity. Community Agronomists developed confidence to meet with farmers – including male farmers – to discuss agricultural issues and provide them with guidance. Community acceptance was a critical success, with farmers welcoming Community Agronomists during field visits, asking them questions, and taking their advice. Farmers in the community have even requested Community Agronomists to continue field visits beyond the potato season and into the rice season. Working as Community Agronomists helped women overcome personal and social barriers related to women’s public speaking. Engaging Community Agronomists was key to begin to shift social gender norms in these communities, leading men and communities to increasingly acknowledge and respect women as valuable sources of agricultural knowledge, change agents, and leaders.

 

 

Self-Help Group Land Leasing: Outcomes and Lessons Learned

November 24, 2020
Lessons Learned

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and PepsiCo are partnering to promote women’s economic empowerment in the potato supply chain in West Bengal, India. The partnership aims to demonstrate the business case that empowering women makes good social and economic sense, leading to the adoption of sustainable farming practices, improved yields and income for farming families, and increased profitability for companies. The project uses multiple approaches to reach, benefit, and empower women in the potato supply chain, strengthening women’s land tenure security, creating improved livelihood and entrepreneurial opportunities for women, and promoting increased social acceptance of women’s role as farmers. This project is implemented under the Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG) task order, led by Tetra Tech in collaboration with Landesa, with funding from the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Fund at USAID. During the 2019 – 2020 potato season, ILRG supported two women’s self-help groups (SHGs) to lease land and produce commercial potatoes as part of PepsiCo’s supply chain in West Bengal, India.

 

 

Self-Help Group Land Leasing Final Report: Outcomes and Lessons Learned

November 24, 2020
Lessons Learned

During the 2019 – 2020 potato season, the Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG) program supported two women’s self-help groups (SHGs) to lease land and produce commercial potatoes as part of PepsiCo’s supply chain in West Bengal, India. ILRG undertook this novel initiative as part of an innovative partnership between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and PepsiCo in India, with funding from the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Fund at USAID. The partnership aims to demonstrate the business case that empowering women makes good economic and social sense, leading to adoption of sustainable farming practices, improved yields and income for farming families, and increased profitability for companies. The project uses approaches to reach, benefit, and empower women in the potato supply chain, strengthening women’s land tenure security, creating improved employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for women, and promoting increased social acceptance of women’s role as farmers. This project, implemented under the ILRG program, is led by Tetra Tech in collaboration with Landesa.

This report details the outcomes and lessons learned from piloting SHG land leasing groups with the two SHGs – Subho Chandimata and Eid Mubarak – selected to participate in group leasing in the first year of the USAID-PepsiCo partnership.

The project supported SHG leasing groups for several reasons. First, supporting SHG leasing groups helps to increase women’s participation in potato farming and the proportion of potatoes sourced from women-managed farms. Second, SHG leasing groups demonstrate women’s capacity and ability to manage all aspects of PepsiCo potato farming operations, which can help to break down social and economic barriers inhibiting women’s full participation in the potato supply chain. Third, women benefit from gaining knowledge and skills from their increased involvement in potato farming and participation in PepsiCo training, which helps to increase their personal agency and income. Fourth, SHG leasing groups provide an opportunity for women to test and adopt innovative and sustainable farming practices, which could in turn influence women’s families and the community at large to adopt similar practices and improve women’s standing in their households and communities. Fifth, the fact that SHGs are federated as a statewide network may provide a strong platform for replicating this work in other districts. Overall, piloting land leasing with SHGs empowered the women involved, helped to raise awareness of and sensitivity to gender issues within PepsiCo staff, and provided a scalable example of a means to increase women’s participation within the potato supply chain.

Despite some unfavorable weather conditions and blight infection that affected yields, both groups successfully cultivated PepsiCo potatoes and made a small profit. While the women were somewhat disappointed in the financial outcome, they also recognized that they fared similarly or better than other PepsiCo farmers this potato season. Despite a somewhat discouraging financial result (see Table 1), women stated that they were proud of the knowledge, experience, and skills they gained over the course of the season. Both groups tentatively plan to cultivate PepsiCo potatoes again next year, when they hope this year’s lessons and experiences can help them achieve greater financial success.

Briefly, lessons learned this season include:

  • SHGs provide a valuable foundation for group farming and leasing because of their pre-existing group dynamics, their existing access to credit, the foundation of training in record keeping and decision making that they already have through SHG training, and the network of support that the government and non-governmental organizations provide to them.
  • SHG members chose to lease and farm as groups; the project should continue to encourage them to make arrangements that suit their needs.
  • Fixed-cost, cash-based land leases provide greater financial certainty than leases based on the market price of local potatoes.
  • Crop insurance, piloted through a private company by PepsiCo this season, provided financial security for both groups, even if ultimately unneeded.
  • Gender sensitivity and support for women farmers by PepsiCo staff is important. The aggregators and agronomists involved reflected that working with their respective SHGs required more time than working with other farmers in their supplier base, but they considered this time spent to be a worthwhile investment in a new initiative.
  • Meticulous care in selecting suitable land to lease is important for group success.
  • Group members must have farming experience, although they will also need consistent support and agronomy training throughout their first season.
  • There is significant demand for group leasing and farming from a diverse range of SHGs.
  • Flexibility in labor arrangements allows a wider range of women to commit to farming.
  • Intensive oversight was necessary this first year from PepsiCo and ILRG project staff. The project aims to reduce this dependence by empowering the groups through scalable training and experience sharing amongst themselves.

 

 

Working with Community Agronomists to Reach Women Farmers Outcomes and Lessons Learned Brief

October 14, 2020
Lessons Learned

 Background

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and PepsiCo are partnering to promote women’s economic empowerment in the potato supply chain in West Bengal, India. The partnership aims to demonstrate the business case that empowering women makes good social and economic sense, leading to the adoption of sustainable farming practices, improved yields and income for farming families, and increased profitability for companies. The project uses multiple approaches to reach, benefit, and empower women in the potato supply chain, strengthening women’s land tenure security, creating improved livelihoods and entrepreneurial opportunities for women, and promoting increased social acceptance of women’s role as farmers. This project is implemented under the Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG) task order, led by Tetra Tech in collaboration with Landesa, with funding from the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Fund at USAID.

During the 2019 – 2020 potato season, ILRG supported four women Community Agronomists in two communities to reach, support, and empower women potato farmers who are part of PepsiCo’s supply chain in West Bengal. Women (like men) can benefit from mentoring support not only on agronomic practices but also in household and group decision-making, access to credit, use of time-saving techniques and technologies, safety measures, and market negotiation to successfully engage in the PepsiCo potato supply chain. While external experts may be useful for training in these technical areas, they are not always available when needed for continued capacity-building, mentorship, and problem-solving assistance. Thus, ILRG trained women as Community Agronomists to support local women potato farmers, with the goal of ensuring easy and timely provision of extension support services and access to modern potato cultivation techniques for women in PepsiCo communities and farming households. It was also important to empower these Community Agronomists in becoming community-recognized change makers, mentors, trainers, and support service providers.

Community Agronomist training with PepsiCo staff. Photo: JEN PETERSON/TETRA TECH

Four women in two communities – Dhuluk (Purba Burdawan District) and Boragori (Hooghly District) – were selected to participate in this project in the first year. Project support included a three-day Community Agronomist training program that covered potato agronomy and women’s empowerment principles, on-call support from ILRG Field Agronomists and the ILRG Country Coordinator, and a monthly stipend. Agricultural cooperative societies and PepsiCo staff also provided support to identify potential candidates. PepsiCo, ILRG, and agricultural cooperative societies provided female Community Agronomists with continued technical support. ILRG offered hands-on training, mentoring, and problem-solving support on data collection, data analysis, how to organize field visits, and how to engage with women farmers. PepsiCo Agronomists provided direct guidance on PepsiCo potato production.

The purpose of the activity was to test the effectiveness of using Community Agronomists to help PepsiCo staff reach more women farmers within their supply chain. ILRG selected literate women with some schooling (up to grades 8 – 12), with previous farming experience, as well as experience supporting community development programs. The role of these Community Agronomists was to act as a bridge between women farmers organized in women’s groups and PepsiCo staff to disseminate information, technologies, and other services. They supported training in PepsiCo’s package of potato farming practices (POP) and in sustainable farming practices (SFPs), and monitored field-level activities during household visits. In Year 2, they will provide mentoring and support to increase gender equality and address harmful gender norms within the project, as well as support for women who participate in an upcoming Empowered Entrepreneurship Training (EET). Developed by the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) SEE Change Initiative, EET is an entrepreneurship program focused on comprehensive business, self-empowerment, and leadership skills.

Outcomes

Over the course of the potato production season (November – March), these four female Community Agronomists supported 71 women organized in seven women’s groups in two farming communities. In addition to providing much-needed local support and mentoring, they also developed their own agronomic, personal, and professional skills. They learned new farming techniques related to potato seed cutting, use of personal protection equipment (PPE), safe storage and use of agrochemicals, and grading and packaging of potatoes, as well as learning about harmful production practices such as crop residue burning, which have negative environmental impacts. They also learned how to organize training events, prepare reports, and interact with local farm families in a professional capacity.

Field visit and interaction with farmers by CA in Dhuluk. Photo: 
MALA GOSWAMI/TETRA TECH

Their main achievements this year include increased self-confidence and community acceptance of women in non-traditional roles. Community Agronomists developed confidence to meet with farmers – including male farmers – to discuss agricultural issues and provide them with guidance. Community acceptance was a critical success, with farmers welcoming Community Agronomists during field visits, asking them questions, and taking their advice. Farmers in the community have even requested Community Agronomists to continue field visits beyond the potato season and into the rice season. Working as Community Agronomists helped women overcome personal and social barriers related to women’s public speaking. Engaging Community Agronomists was key to begin to shift social gender norms in these communities, leading men and communities to increasingly acknowledge and respect women as valuable sources of agricultural knowledge, change agents, and leaders.

Challenges

Initially, Community Agronomists were not sure if they could play this role and do their jobs effectively. They were unsure of their capacity, the support they would receive from their families, and acceptance from the community. Their biggest initial challenge was convincing their husbands and family members that they could successfully perform the required tasks while simultaneously ensuring that their regular household duties and roles were fulfilled. In some cases, it took almost two months to prove this personal “business case.” Another challenge was visiting farmers and farm families in their fields and at home, at a time that was convenient to them. This required a lot of flexibility and negotiation, and the Community Agronomists had to adapt their schedules to provide required support. In some cases, farmers were hesitant to share information about their farming practices, especially fertilizer doses and agrochemical use. In addition, in March 2020 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) restricted the ability of ILRG Field Agronomists to reach these two communities, so having Community Agronomists living in these communities became even more important.

However, the biggest challenge was community acceptance of Community Agronomists, even from women’s group members. Social gender norms establish the roles that men and women are allowed or expected to hold, with advisory roles usually associated with men. With their own determination and support from agricultural cooperative societies to engage and convince key community members, technical support from PepsiCo staff, programmatic support from the ILRG team, and moral support from family members, Community Agronomists were able to overcome these barriers and demonstrate their value.