________________________________________________________________________
Role of NGOs for Rural Development in
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Paper prepared for
the fifth International Conference on the Ethiopian Economy, Ethiopian Economic
Association
June 2007
Submitted
By:
Mr. A.W. Unas
Lecturer,
Department of Management,
Post Box No. 251, Haramaya.
Email:aw_unas@sancharnet.in
Ato. Mulugeta Damie
Lecturer,
Department of Accounting
Email:mulied75@yahoo.com
CONTENTS
Chapter Title Page
No.
1. Executive
Summary 3
2.
Introduction
4
3. Rural
Development- Concept and Approach 7
4. Non-governmental
organizations as agents of rural development 10
5. Performance of
SHDI for rural development in Haramaya Woreda
14
6. Conclusion and implication 26
6.
Bibliography 28
1. Executive Summary
Rural development is a strategy
designed to improve the socio-economic life of rural people with special
emphasis on rural poor. It covers, output, employment, healthy education,
transport, commerce, power supply and drinking water facilities in general and
political and social awakening in particular. SHDI is an Irish
development organization which was founded in 1984 in response to the Ethiopian
famine of that time. Haramaya project started in 1997 while
the second biannual of 1996 was the preparatory period for staffing and other
resource mobilization. The project phases out in 2001.The total cost of the
project was budgeted at 14.6 million Birr of which 86.2% was contributed by
SHDI and the rest by the beneficiaries and Haramaya University.
Development can be defined as a process
of improving the capability of a country’s institutions and value system to
meet increasing and different demands of a social, cultural, political as well
as an economic character. Thus the
essence NGOs for rural development can be defined as autonomous, privately set
up, non-profit-making institutions that support, manage or facilitate
development actions.
The SHDI launched the different components
which include crop production, livestock production, soil and water conservation,
public health, education, rural water supply, women’s programme and training.
Partners in this project are: local communities, Agriculture department (at
woreda and zonal level), Health department (at woreda and zonal level),
Education department (at woreda and zonal level), Water mines and Energy
development department (at woreda and zonal level), Cooperative promotion,
The SHDI
achieved many stuff for the rural development of Haramaya Woreda and launched
new programs without projects, plans and budgets especially in the area of
construction of model latrines, construction of shallow wells, training program
to staff and students of
2. Introduction
Best
known of major rural development projects are
Jon R. Moris (1981)
The
term IRD no longer serves to identify a specific set of problems, nor does it
suggest any distinct strategy.
Overseas
Development Institute (1979)
Rural development has assumed
considerable significance particularly in seventies. It is a strategy designed
to improve the socio-economic life of rural people with special emphasis on
rural poor. It covers, output, employment, healthy education, transport,
commerce, power supply and drinking water facilities in general and political
and social awakening in particular. It has, therefore, been accorded top
priority in recent plans. The emphasis is on the development of agriculture and
allied activities like rural industries and crafts. It is generally accepted
that non-governmental organization (NGOs) have become very important and
implementation of development programs and projects.
The
rural development project in
CADU
was one of the first and also one of the best known examples of the integrated
rural development approach tried in the 1960s and 1970s. From the outset it was
designed to meet all or most of the needs of small farmers for raising the
productivity. The project provided a wide range of different services from agricultural
research to rural water supplies and from livestock breeding to rural road
construction. It was designed as an autonomous entity outside of the local
administration, though gradually it was incorporated into the Ministry of
Agriculture.
This
project offers examples of most of the possibilities, potentials, pitfalls and
problems of integrated rural development projects. It has had several
significant successes and some notable failures. To this day it can be cited as
one of the most carefully planned rural development projects supported by SIDA.
It offers a rich body of experience for the Ethiopian Government and for SIDA.
From the outset its achievements have been documented in an exemplary fashion.
Few projects have been so carefully monitors and evaluated.
The
project has at times been highly controversial. This was the case in the early
1970s when the then Imperial Ethiopian Government was reluctant to implement a
much-needed land reform and the Swedish Government was contemplating
withdrawing its support. This has again been the case in recent years, at least
in
Throughout
the 1970s, integrated rural development was one of the most important
development intervention strategies used by
Integrated
rural development deserves a more enlightened critique based on detailed
knowledge of how such projects functioned. Too many resources have been
invested in this strategy to reject it one the basis of thin consulting reports
and in-house donor evaluations. Too much accumulated but unrelieved
project-related data has been generated to justify present tendencies of
critics to reject the approach on the basis of superficial knowledge of
troubled projects and deductive application of general principles from economics
and public administration.
SHDI is an Irish
development organization which was founded in 1984 in response to the Ethiopian
famine of that time. The organization has started to operate in Haramaya Woreda
of
Eastern Hararghe Zone for Project I which involved
for 15 peasant associations in 1996. The project-II was started in 2003 after
the completion of the first project is still ongoing and it has involved 18
peasant associations which were not included in the first project. Both the
completed and the ongoing projects of SHDI are aimed at developing women,
increasing local food production and farm income, improving access to basic
social services, and conserving natural resources of the area. The beneficiaries are 85.000 rural
people of Haramaya Woreda under Project-I.
As a result of high population pressure, erratic rainfall,
poor cropping practices etc. the project intervention area remained food
deficit for many years. The major development problems that attracted the
project were low crop and livestock productivity, high level of natural
resource degradation, low access to education, lack of human health care, lack
of clean potable water, Low participation of women in development and low
awareness of the community (lack of participation). The core objective of the
project is:
“Sustainable
agricultural development through increasing agricultural productivity and
conserving the natural resources base, there by improving the livelihood of the
rural population.”
The total cost of the project was budgeted
at 14.6 million Birr of which 86.2% was contributed by SHDI and the rest by the
beneficiaries and
3. Rural Development- Concept, Approach
and objectives
Since the Second World War the whole
world has become developmental and plan minded as it was never before.
Development through planning has become the major concern of the underdeveloped
countries of the world and the developed countries also have been taking keen
interest in this endeavor of the poorer counties. Most of the recent studies by
social scientists as well as by physical scientists are by and large economic
development and plan oriented. At a symposium on social policy and planning
organized by the United Nations in 1970, a working definition of ‘Development’
was formulated as follow:
“Development can be defined as a
process of improving the capability of a country’s institutions and value
system to meet increasing and different demands of a social, cultural,
political as well as an economic character.”
This definition rightly indicates that
development has many facets. The reference to the demands is to be thought of
in terms of the ‘quality of life’ of the people which in itself is rather
difficult to be precisely defined. There is no absolute norm against which one
can measure the ‘quality of life’. However, it may be said that gainful
employment securing a derived balance between work and leisure, better and
diversified consumption, preventing pollution and health hazards, healthier
living conditions, attaining higher cultural levels are all undisputed elements
in any measure of quality of life.
Thus, development in its comprehensive
and real sense must refer to an improvement in the ‘quality of life’ of the
people in all its inter-related aspect. In this sense ‘development’ is the
progress of human welfare and civilization. Hence rural development has to be
understood in a broad manner from covering increased production to the creation
of a hygienic and sound environment and continued happiness to the people
living in rural areas.
3.1
Concept of Rural Development
Rural development has been defined as a
strategy to promote the social life of village people in general and
particularly to extend the economic and social benefits to the rural poor.
Rural development specialists have defined the term rural development in many
ways. According to Ensminger:
“Rural development seeks to involve a
process of transformation from traditionally oriented rural cultural towards an
acceptance and reliance on science and technology.”
Lele defines “Rural development as an
improvement in the living standard of the masses of low income population
residing in rural areas and making the process of self-sustaining.”
In fact, rural development involves a
process in which the rural society as a whole moves from one step of the
economic ladder to the next step ahead, thereby enhancing its social and
economic status. However, the gist of all the definitions of rural development
filters down to a primary goal of providing an opportunity for decent living to
the masses of the low income population residing in rural areas on a self
sustaining basis.
The concept of rural development was
first used in
(i)
To achieve enhanced production and productivity in rural
areas.
(ii)
To bring about a greater socio-economic equity,
(iii)
To bring about a spatial balance in social and economic
development.
(iv)
To bring about improvement in the ecological environment so
that it may be conductive to growth and happiness, and
(v)
To develop broad based community participation in the
process of development.
The concept of rural development has
been engaging the attention of international agencies and Asian countries in
the last few years. Because of local variations and administrative or financial
limitations no omnibus proposition can be advanced though some exercises in
outlining the broad objectives have been undertaken, For example the ESCAP , in
consolation with member countries and in partnership with international
organization and specialized agencies of the United Nations has indicated that
the objectives of rural development are:
(a) To draw the
entire rural labour force into main stream of economic activity.
(b) To realize the
creative energies of the rural people.
(c) To bring down
into the countryside and check the drift of the rural population to cities.
(d) To enhance the
participation of towns, men and youths in the development process.
(e) To improve the
living conditions of the rural majority and the quality of their life,
particularly through the integration of development with environment.
(f)
To ensure the all-round development of the population its
economic and social productivity and work satisfaction.
3.2
A New Approach to Rural Development
In recent years, the concept of
integrated rural development its very much used in the plan documents and in
different studies on rural development. The frame work of rural development
based on this concept aims at removal of poverty, inequality and unemployment
by area planning in two ways.
3.3
Objectives of Rural Development
Rural development needs accelerated
attention for any fact of development. Primarily it requires change sin the
economic, social, political and psychological behavior of rural people who are
illiterate and ignorant. According to Azmat Nayeem “Rural development is both
problem and solution.”
The fundamental objectives of rural
development imply the standard of living of the rural population. The real
rural development should have the following main objectives:-
(a) Improvement in
the quality of life of the rural poor.
(b) Improvement of
services of rural masses in the process.
(c) Improvement of
know-how which is to be implemented to the rural people to infuse in them a
sense of pragmatism in the process of development.
4. Non-governmental organizations as agents of
rural development
Based
on the vast expanse of literature that has tried to explain what constitutes non-governmental organizations, Kane
(1990:14) argues that the concept may vary from “charity in the noble and/or
religious sense of the term, to political associations, and local and popular
development initiatives” which makes a definition extremely difficult.
The
problematic nature of NGOs and therefore the difficulty in finding a definition
for them is illustrated by
Kane’s three criteria for the definition of an NGO
In
accordance with the first criterion identified by Kane, Padron (1987:71) argues
that one of the central characteristics of NGOs is the fact that they are “not
part of a government and others have not been established as a result of an
agreement between governments.”
Kane’s
second criterion, namely the non-profit dimension of NGOs, is also supported by
the Development Bank of
4.1 FUNCTIONING OF NGOs
Before
proceeding to a discussion of the specific aspects regarding the functioning of
NGOs, it is necessary to construct a general overview of the backdrop to the
dynamics involved in the processes of NGO-related development. Pardon (1987:71)
states that the context within which NGOs function is made up of four interrelated
dimensions (see Figure 5.1). They are:
In
terms of its functionality, Padron (1987:71-2) argues that NGO exists by
establishing a working relationship with the popular sector, which also
functions within a historical context. The historical context is of importance
as it defines the specific nature of the given social reality within which both
the NGO and the popular sector/community function.
It
is important to note that, in terms of participation, communities are able to
express their own conception of what development entails: in terms of
participation in their own societies and expression of what development means
for them; in their understanding of participation, and the way they define
their role in the development process (Padron 1987:72).
The
NGO is not only engaged in a relationship with the popular sector but also with
the institutional sector. In terms of this relationship, NGOs engage in a
mutually beneficial relationship with other agents of change which are active
in the same area (Padron 1987:72). NGOs are not only influenced by the popular
and the institutional sectors, but also by their own internal dynamics,
institutional development and characteristics. All the abovementioned dynamics
determine the way in which NGO projects are to be implemented (pardon 1987:72).
The interrelated nature of this process, as illustrated by Padron (1987), is
supported by
4.2 STRENGTHS OF NGOs
Some
of the strengths of NGOs include the following:
4.3 WEAKNESSES OF
NGOs
From
what has been discussed thus far it appears that NGOs are very well suited as
instruments that facilitate the process of development. In spite of this
apparent endowment it is important to note that there are certain limitations
that can inhibit the effective functioning of NGOs. Merrington (1992:16) summarizes
the limitations of NGOs as follows:
In
addition to this,
Another
serious problem is their inability to learn from the mistakes that other NGOs
make. This is due to the high level of isolation and rivalry that exists among
NGOs which hampers the process of social learning (Clark 1990:60). One of the
advantages of NGOs is that they are very specific in terms of their actions and
the needs of communities that they serve. But because they are so specific in
their actions, they sometimes tend to ignore the larger context, in which they
operate, and the other agencies and forces that also function in the same
system. This makes it almost impossible to implement truly integrated
development actions which would benefit from the economy of scale (see also
Unit 3).
5. Performance of SHDI for rural
development in Haramaya Woreda
As the project is an integrated one it
tried to solve the complex rural development problems through its various
components. These components include crop production, livestock production,
soil and water conservation, public health, education, rural water supply,
women’s programme and training. Partners in this project are: local
communities, Agriculture department (at woreda and zonal level), Health
department (at woreda and zonal level), Education department (at woreda and
zonal level), Water mines and Energy development department (at woreda and
zonal level), Cooperative promotion,
5.1
Crop Production
The objectives of crop production
To meet these objectives, distribution
of improved seeds, and promotion of vegetable production and construction of
improved potato stores were undertaken. In the seed distribution scheme,
improved seeds of maize, sorghum and potato were distributed in credit to
potential farmers who can properly produce the improved seed and can repay the
seed credit.
In case of maize and sorghum, a king of
informal seed multiplication by farmer’s strategy was followed. Here potential
target farmers were identified by the project and agriculture department staff
and given seed credit. In this scheme 445 and 300 farmers participated in maize
and sorghum seed production respectively and produced 8680 and 3625 quintals of
maize and sorghum respectively. Framers produce the improved seed and repay the
seed credit in kind at harvest to other target farmers in their vicinity
identified by the project. The recovery percent of the seed credit is more than
90% Moreover, the seed producing farmers were encouraged to share the improve
seed to other 3-5 farmers in the same village on sale, in kind exchange or as
gift. This strategy was found effective and fast method for the diffusion of
improved varieties among farmers with low cost However, the system demands
close follow-up and continuous supply of the improved seeds. For the
sustainability of the system, the department of agriculture is closely working
with project and will adopt the system once the revolving seed scheme is
installed. Benefits resulting from the production of improved maize and sorghum
is expressed by increased crop productivity of maize from 10 quintals per
hectare in the local variety to 30-40 quintals per hectare in the improved
variety and for that of sorghum form 15 quintals per hectare in the local
variety to 15 quintals per hectare in the improved variety for the
participating farmers.
As response to the request from the
communist, 450 and 880 quintal of maize and sorghum seeds respectively were
distributed to 4,904 farmers who faced seed shortage due to the drought
occurred in 1999 crop season. In case of potatoes improved seed is given as
credit. In this system 2,263 quintals of different varieties of potato tuber
seed was distributed to 1,233 farmers. The seed credit repayment rate is 100%.
The system resulted in a high rate of improved seed diffusion to the farming
community. This has resulted in an increase of potato productivity from 125
quintals per hectare to 275 quintals per hectare and potato production areas
steadily increased in the area. To ensure the sustainability of improved potato
seed tuber distribution, the Alemaya Farmers’ cooperative
To reduce potato post harvest crop 14
diffused light stores were constructed on cost sharing basis between the
project and the beneficiaries against 7 DLS earlier planned. Presently these
stores are effectively used by the farmers to store potato until the planting
time. These stores were found to reduce post harvest losses by up to 75% for
farmers who have adopted the stores. In response to the community request, 200,
153, and 39 quintals of haricot been, chickpea and groundnut seeds respectively
were distributed to farmers who faced crop failure in the years 1999 and 2000
to be used for planting late in the season.
In an effort to promote vegetable
production, access was created to improved vegetable seeds and irrigation pumps
to farmers who have potential to produce vegetables More than 2000 farmers participated
in improved vegetable production. In this scheme 803kg of different vegetable
seeds were distributed to farmers. The irrigation facility provided to the
farmers has resulted in flooding of vegetables in the farming system as
compared to the years before the project.
In most cases, targets were
substantially exceeded in crop production component. This is substantiated by
the increase in percentage of number of farmers to 23% as compared to the
target set to 15% producing of two or three crops per year, a wide range of
food production, diets and nutrition improved through production of wide range
of crops, distribution of improved seed through farmer to farmer seed
diffusion, efficient marketing of vegetables and input supply by the Union and
increased income through the sale of surplus produce.