Rural Development Workshop Findings: August 2014 Consultation

1. Dry Zone Consultation Results Planning Workshop 1. August 2014

2. Geographic focus • To avoid spreading resources and reach integrated results, focus on a cluster of adjacent townships • Consideration to select this cluster: • Based on 2010 JICA study of 51 tsp and the proposed typology • Townships with higher climatic constraints • Higher population density, importance of non-irrigated agriculture (no relevant poverty data) • Overlap with 3MDG interventions • This selection was confirmed through the FAO inception mission

4. Selected area • Intra-township variability is probably higher than inter-township variability • Within this area of over 2 million inhabitants focus on rural areas with limited access to water / irrigation

5. The thematic areas of intervention Based on aide memoire of FAO mission

6. Key vulnerability factors: • Limited natural resource base (soil, water) • High population density • Extreme poverty results in risk averse rural population • Limited capacity of government staff • Low level of service provision (extension, health, education) • High degree of reliance on remittances from migration

7. Credit: • Access to affordable credit for agriculture, livestock, petty trading and migration • Credit for livestock and micro-trading still limited • No significant coverage for social credits (health, education, emergency situations) • No significant coverage of insurances for the poor

8. Farm Technology: • Scope to improve productivity and profitability of farming • Farmers are well acquainted with different cropping system e.g. relay cropping, mixed cropping and also effective use of fertilizer • Seed availability and quality are poor • Soil & water conservation measures are necessary • Adoption rates from previous projects is mixed if workload is increased too much

9. Value Chains: • Critical area of the programme based on crop and livestock trade • Very little value is added to crops at local level e.g. village and township • Alternative crops (eg melons) to open new markets for (non bulk) cash crops • Livestock production is hampered by restrictive rules for slaughtering and trading

10. Livestock: • Improve livestock productivity through extension and support to CAHWs • Livestock Productivity Fund providing small amounts to village based projects based on business cases • Interventions along the livestock value chain are foreseen to improve quality and quantity of products • Advocacy to change policies and collaborate with research organizations

11. Water availability: • Has to be seen in the context of climate change and relevant adaptation measures • Domestic water for people and animals is the most pressing issue • Pond rehabilitation will be very effective if done well • Salinity of water is problem in some areas for human consumption and irrigation of gardens • Interventions need to be village based adapted

12. Social Protection: • community led SP aims to increase resilience against shocks and protecting livelihoods • Group focused SP develops savings group formation to fund small credit needs for emergencies • SP has to build adequately on existing social networks in the villages

13. Thank you