Tag: impact assessment
Assessment of spatial and temporal dynamics of livelihoods: A methodological perspective
Increased international attention to rural poverty alleviation and sustainable development underscores the need for better tools for analyzing the factors and conditions that shape livelihoods and for assessing the livelihood impacts of project- and policy-interventions. The first aspect encompasses important spatial dynamics, while the second addresses both temporal and spatial dynamics. To be effective, such approaches must accommodate the complex and multidimensional nature of livelihood systems by: i) using appropriate indicators of livelihoods outcomes and embracing multiple components of a livelihood system; ii) analyzing the influence of multiple and complex factors, including development interventions; iii) addressing differential impacts by taking appropriate aggregation at the village level. Powerful new geomatics technologies offer new ways to deal with spatial variability, and can be combined with innovative social-science approaches for more efficient socio-economic data collection and analysis. This paper discusses key principles for designing appropriate methods and reports lessons learned from our own experience in Jharkhand state, India and Kutai Barat district in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. In these two study areas, with relatively low levels of development and high forest cover, we assessed livelihood systems by: i) using available, broad range data of assets and socio-economic data in indices of development from secondary source; ii) using geomatics tools for sampling and analyses that encompass a range of theoretically important variables (e.g. road access; market access; proximity to large projects; tribal affiliation; topography; land suitability); iii) identifying key factors that characterize within-village stratification and designing household sampling accordingly; iv) aggregating unit of analysis to address differential impacts and relationships among livelihood components. Multilevel regression analysis is used to address hierarchical or differential structure in the data. The paper provides guidance for improved landscape-scale livelihoods analysis and targeting and identifies a way forward for further method improvement.
Increasing DryDev’s effectiveness and efficiency through probabilistic decision modelling
This working paper describes the Decision Analysis work done on the Drylands Development Programme (DryDev) in Sub-Saharan Africa. The programme was designed to address water management, food security and rural economic development in the drylands of Kenya, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. The initiative was geared towards supporting the transition of smallholder households from subsistence farming and reliance on emergency aid towards more sustainable agribusiness enterprises. Decision Analysis was used as a quantitative ex-ante impact assessment tool to prioritize interventions based on their projected impacts. The assessment simulated the potential of four interventions in six project sites of Eastern Kenya, incorporating risk and uncertainty in decision modelling. The result delivered to the decision makers was a range of plausible outcomes from a cost benefit analysis and a description of the variables with the highest critical uncertainties whose measurement would most facilitate decision-making. This paper describes the modelling process, which was both participatory and probabilistic, for each intervention. It gives details on the quantitative approach used for each of the four interventions separately, highlighting the benefit, cost and risk variables and the interactions between them. It then discusses the results of each decision model and from these makes recommendations to the decision makers. The penultimate section highlights the limitations and constraints faced by the analysis, and this is followed by general conclusions. The DryDev Programme is funded by the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with ICRAF as the lead implementing agency and SNV, CARITAS, ADRA and World Vision as implementing partners.
Viability of an Irrigation Development Intervention in Tigray: an Application of Stochastic Impact Evaluation
Assessing the feasibility of an irrigation daminvestment and optimizing expected returnsrequire detailed ex-ante appraisal.• Due to the inherently complex and uncertainconsequences of irrigation dam investmentsand often severe data scarcity, traditional costbenefitassessment methods face limitations.• Stochastic Impact Evaluation (SIE; Luedelingand Shepherd 2016) attempts to overcome theparticular challenges of evaluating investmentsin such contexts.
Technology impact evaluation in agroforestry projects
To identify appropriate methods for evaluating the impact of new agroforestry technologies, ICRAF in 1988–89 contacted 166 projects worldwide about their activities in agroforestry technology monitoring and evaluation. Of the 108 which responded, 45% were involved in some type of impact evaluation. This review revealed common difficulties in selecting impact indicators and methods of evaluation. Emphasis to date has been on evaluating numbers of trees planted and area under agroforestry, rather than socioeconomic impacts. Defining agroforestry adoption and distinguishing intermediate and final impacts were problematic. Impact studies were often difficult to interpret or compare, limiting their value for the rest of the agroforestry community. An analytical framework for planning impact evaluation in agroforestry projects is proposed, based on lessons learned from the review. Selection of indicators should depend upon whether project objectives relate to changes in: number and type of trees grown, land use, farmer knowledge and attitudes, availability of agroforestry products and services, and/or socioeconomic welfare. Data collection tools may include sequential photography or mapping, informal or formal farmer surveys, informal or formal field surveys, farmer meetings and workshops, trend analysis of project records, and case studies of households or communities, depending upon the audience for project evaluation and project resources.
Life cycle assessment of Jatropha biodiesel as transportation fuel in rural India
Since 2003 India has been actively promoting the cultivation of Jatropha on unproductive and degraded lands (wastelands) for the production of biodiesel suitable as transportation fuel. In this paper the life cycle energy balance, global warming potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential and land use impact on ecosystem quality is evaluated for a small scale, low-input Jatropha biodiesel system established on wasteland in rural India. In addition to the life cycle assessment of the case at hand, the environmental performance of the same system expanded with a biogas installation digesting seed cake was quantified. The environmental impacts were compared to the life cycle impacts of a fossil fuel reference system delivering the same amount of products and functions as the Jatropha biodiesel system under research. The results show that the production and use of Jatropha biodiesel triggers an 82% decrease in non-renewable energy requirement (Net Energy Ratio, NER = 1.85) and a 55% reduction in global warming potential (GWP) compared to the reference fossil-fuel based system. However, there is an increase in acidification (49%) and eutrophication (430%) from the Jatropha system relative to the reference case. Although adding biogas production to the system boosts the energy efficiency of the system (NER = 3.40), the GWP reduction would not increase (51%) due to additional CH4 emissions. For the land use impact, Jatropha improved the structural ecosystem quality when planted on wasteland, but reduced the functional ecosystem quality. Fertilizer application (mainly N) is an important contributor to most negative impact categories. Optimizing fertilization, agronomic practices and genetics are the major system improvement options.
Assessing research impact on poverty: the importance of farmers’ perspectives
In this paper we provide evidence to show that farmers’ perspectives on poverty processes and outcomes are critical in the early stages of evaluating impact of agricultural research on poverty. We summarize lessons learned from farmer impact assessment workshops held in five African locations, covering three agro-ecological zones and five different agroforestry and livestock technologies arising from collaborative national–international agricultural research. Poverty alleviation is a process that needs to be understood before impact can be measured. Workshops such as those we describe can help researchers to identify farmers’ different ways of managing and using a technology and likely effects, unanticipated impacts, major impacts to pursue in more quantitative studies, the primary links between agricultural technology and poverty, and key conditioning factors affecting adoption and impact that can be used to stratify samples in more formal analyses. Farmer workshops inform other qualitative and quantitative impact assessment methods. We discuss the linkage of farmer-derived information with GIS-based approaches that allow more complete specification of recommendation domains and broader-scale measurement of impact.
Measuring the costs of African animal trypanosomosis, the potential benefits of control and returns to research
This paper addresses issues surrounding measurement of the potential productivity gains from new livestock tech- nologies and the returns to international livestock research. The approach, applicable to many livestock production constraints and technologies, uses geographic information systems (GIS) to spatially link a biophysical herd simulation model with an economic surplus model. The particular problem examined is trypanosomosis in cattle in Africa, and the potential research product is a multi-component vaccine. The results indicate that the potential benefits of improved trypanosomosis control, in terms of meat and milk productivity alone, are $288 million, with an internal rate of return of 33%, and a benefit/cost ratio of 34:1 .
Realising the potential of agroforestry: integrating research and development to achieve greater impact
For more than two decades agroforestry has been heralded and actively promoted as a practical and beneficial land-use system for smallholders in developing countries. This promise led to the establishment of the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF) in 1978 and its support by the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) since 1991. Functioning initially as an information council during the 1980s, in 1991 ICRAF shifted its emphasis towards strategic research to strengthen the scientific basis for advocating agroforestry. This significant investment in process-oriented research greatly enhanced understanding of the opportunities and limitations of agroforestry and led to more critical assessments of its potential use (Sanchez 1995, 1999). As a result, agroforestry progressed from being an indigenous practice of great potential and romantic appeal to becoming a science-based system for managing natural resources.
Are Village Forest licences for rural development or conservation? A case study from Jambi Province, Indonesia
The Government of Indonesia has initiated a forest and agrarian reform process aiming to bring at least 30% of state forests under Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) schemes (10 million ha in 2015, 40 million ha to 2019). Additional elements of this reform process include the restitution of use rights in indigenous territories and resolution of conflict over forest land.Jambi has been seen as a successful province in terms of CBFM development. One of the schemes promoted is called Village Forest (Hutan Desa). A local conservation and development NGO based in Jambi, has supported local governments to extend the Village Forest scheme. It has been recognized as a mechanism to resolve land disputes and for communities to be ready for REDD+. It has also been expected to help increase forest sustainability and improve community welfare.Governmental Regulation PP.49/Menhut-II/2008 sets the legal foundation for the establishment of a Village Forest. The objective is the welfare and development of village communities. The official body supervising the application process is the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, which receives formal proposals from the head of a district that have been drafted by an applicant village.Village Forest areas are state forests managed by a village institution through a management licence for a period of 35 years. The licence is allocated based on the administrative area of the village and can be granted over areas categorized as either ‘protection’ or ‘production’ state forests. In protection forest areas, permitted activities are limited to reforestation, harvesting of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), eco-tourism and protection efforts through REDD+ and rewards for environmental services’ schemes. Inproduction forests, the village community, besides collecting NTFPs, can harvest 50 m3 of timber per year for village use. A village that is granted the licence (Surat Keputusan) is required to establish a committee (Lembaga Pengelola Hutan Desa/LPHD) to manage it. The committee is also responsible for submitting detailed annual (RTHD) and long-term (RKHD) work plans.At the time of writing, more than 30 villages have been granted Village Forest licenses in Jambi Province. However, little research has been done into how villages manage after receiving a licence. This brief analyses the challenges and threats posed by the licence in three villages in Jambi.