Gender Strengthening Programme for Eastern and Southern Africa Division: Toolkit

TOOLKIT

FOR PRACTITIONERS

Gender and Poverty Targeting in Market Linkage Operations

November 2002

The study on Gender and Poverty Targeting in Market Linkage Operations andthis Toolkit was financed by a grant from the Government of Norway to IFADs

Gender Strengthening Programme.

The judgements made herein do not necessarily reflect the views of IFADsMember Countries or the representatives of those Member Countries appointed

to its Executive Board. The contents of this document may be freely reviewed,quoted, reproduced or translated in part or in full, provided the source is

acknowledged. IFAD does not guarantee accuracy of data included in thisdocument and accepts no responsibility for any consequences of their use.

Gender Strengthening Programme for Eastern and Southern Africa Division

Toolkit_actual 1/1/03 10:53 AM Page 2

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THE PURPOSE OF THE TOOLKIT 1

PART 1 DIAGNOSTIC STUDY TOOLS 3

FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN PLANNING AND MANAGING GENDER AND MARKET LINKAGE VILLAGE DIAGNOSTICS 3Purpose of Field Diagnostic Studies with a Focus on Gender and Poverty Targeting in Market Linkage Operations 3Balance between Gender, Poverty and Marketing Focus 3PRA Sequencing 3Factors to Consider in Selecting Participatory Tools 5

PREPARATIONS FOR THE FIELD VISIT 9Putting Together a PRA Team 9Team Briefing Prior to Visiting the Field 9Best Practices for PRA Team Members and Local Facilitators 10Advance Preparation of PRA Materials 11Contacting the Authorities and the Community 11Arranging for Meals 12Getting the Right PRA Participants 13Meeting with the Community 14Avoiding Raised Expectations 15Assigning Roles within Each PRA Group 15Alternation of Group Work and Plenary Sessions 16Wealth Ranking and Household Interview Logistics 16Household Interviews 17Further Adaptation of PRA Tools to Gender Concepts 17

PRA TOOLS FOR MARKET ENVIRONMENT DIAGNOSTIC STUDIES 211. Enterprise Ranking Module 232. Price Differences by Season and Location Module 293. Enterprise Trends Module 334. Markets and Mobility Map 375. Timeline of Village Money Sources and Markets 396. Problem Analysis Module 43

TOOLS FOR POVERTY ANALYSIS AND TARGETING 491. Wealth Ranking Module (with card sorting) 512. Group Profiles Module 593. Household Interviews 63Household Data Analysis by Wealth Category - Illustration 67

GENDER DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS 731. Main Income Sources and Expenditures of Men and Women 75

2. Main Expenditures of Men and Women 77

3. Seasonal Activity Calendar 79

4. Cash Inflow and Cash Outflow Calendar 87

Contents


5. Access and Control Profile 91

6. Gender Roles in Marketing Module for Leaders 99

7. Responsibilities of Husband and Wife as Family Providers 103

8. Gender Roles in Marketing Checklist for Womens and Mens Groups 107

PART 2 STAKEHOLDER WORKSHOP TOOLS 111

STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS TOOLS 113Stakeholder Analysis - Dummy Table 1: Stakeholder Listing 113

Stakeholder Analysis - Dummy Table 2: Ranking by Impacts and Influence 116

Stakeholder Analysis - Dummy Table 3: Plan for Stakeholder Consultation 118

TOOLS FOR PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION AND PARTICIPATORY PLANNING 1211. Using a Problem Tree to Identify Key Issues 121

2. Linking Problem Trees to the Problem Analysis Matrix 123

3. Using the Problem Analysis Matrix to Formulate Action Plans 127

4. Moving from Sub-Focal Area Planning to Focal Area Planning 129

5. SHEMPs Tool for Integrating a Gender Dimension in Focal Area Planning 131

6. SHEMP Guidelines for Selection of Members of Focal Area Resource Groups 133

7. Enterprise Prioritisation Tools for Stakeholder Workshops 135

PART 3 GENDER AND POVERTY SENSITIVE M&E 137

GENDER AND POVERTY SENSITIVE IMPACT ASSESSMENT 139Site Selection for Rapid Impact Assessments 1391. Change Matrix - Before/After and Without and With Project

Comparisons 141

2. Before/After or Without and With Project Wealth Ranking 145

TOOLS FOR ANNUAL STAKEHOLDER EVALUATION WORKSHOPS 1511. SWOT Analysis 151

ATTACHMENT TEMPLATES

Main PRA Module (Focus Groups of Women and Men)

Key Informant PRA Module (Village Leaders)

Household Interview Checklist

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TOOLKIT FOR PRACTITIONERS

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FAPP Focal Area Planning Process

FARG Focal Area Resource Group

FHH Female-headed household

HH Household

MoA Ministry of Agriculture (generic)

NAADS National Agricultural Advisory Services, Uganda

NGO Non-Governmental Organization

PAMA Agricultural Marketing Support Project, Mozambique

PCO Project Coordination Office

PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal

SHEMP Smallholder Enterprise and Marketing Programme, Zambia

SWOT Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

List of Acronyms and Abbreviations


THE PURPOSE OF THE TOOLKIT

The Toolkit is designed for practitioners who will be involved in planning andimplementing village-level gender and market linkage diagnostic studies, facilitatingstakeholder workshops and carrying out participatory impact assessments. It isdesigned to complement the information presented in the Sourcebook, byproviding a detailed inventory of the tools available and how to use them. It alsocomplements the Field Diagnostic Study Manual published in a separate volume byIFADs Gender Strengthening Programme in Eastern and Southern Africa.

The overall purpose of the Toolkit is to explain to practitioners: what participatorytools are available for rapid market problem diagnosis, socio-economic and gendertargeting and for each tool - how to use it, how to analyze the information and howto use the findings in designing, implementing and evaluating projects. Each sectionand tool is meant to be self-standing, so that it can be detached from a loose-leafbinder for use in fieldwork. The English versions of the templates used for theParticipatory Rural Appraisals (PRAs) and the household interviews are appendedas attachments. An electronic version of the templates in Portuguese is also availableon request from IFAD.

The Toolkit is divided into three parts: (a) Diagnostic Study Tools, (b) StakeholderWorkshop Tools and (c) Gender and Poverty-sensitive M&E Tools.

Part 1 of the Toolkit Diagnostic Study Tools capitalizes on the teams experiencewith participatory gender and market linkage diagnostic studies in nine sites inthree countries. It is divided into two parts.

The first section on Diagnostic Study Tools provides hands-on practitioners withan overview of the factors to consider in planning and implementing participatorygender and market linkage diagnostic studies. It should be read in conjunctionwith the Sourcebook section on participatory diagnostic studies.



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1 The team for the Gender Focus/Targeting in Market Linkage operations are the following: Vibecke Kubberud,Coordinator of IFADs Gender Strengthening Programme for Eastern and Southern Africa; Alice Carloni, Senior RuralSociologist from FAO Investment Centre; and Howard Johnson, institutions specialist and team leader. Four otherexperts worked with the team in the three countries visited between January and May 2002: Stephen Tembo inZambia; Paola Idelson and Carmen Ramos in Mozambique; and Catherine Barasa in Uganda.


2The Source boo k covers for managers the timing of diagnostic studies in the IFAD project cycle,their potential contribution to design and implementation, their cost, team composition, selectionof representative sites, the three-day module and the sequencing of PRA tools. It identifies threedifferent ways of using participatory diagnostics at different stages of the project cycle fromproject design to focal area planning to community and enterprise group level planning.

The Toolkit on the other hand focuses on logistical issues concerned with planning andimplementing participatory diagnostic studies. It documents the methodological lessons learntfrom carrying out PRAs in Zambia, Mozambique and Uganda in connection with the Gender andPoverty Targeting in Market Linkage Operations study and draws implications for future studies ofthe same type.

The second section of the Diagnostic Study Tools presents PRA tools designed forrapid diagnosis of: (a) village-level marketing issues; (b) poverty-targeting issuesand (c) gender issues.

Part 2 of the Toolkit focuses on participatory tools for stakeholder workshops. Itshould be read in conjunction with the Sourcebook section dealing with Focal AreaPlanning Processes. (FAPPs) It also has two main sections. Stakeholder Analysis Tools; and Tools for Problem Identification and Participatory Planning. The latter section

also spells out procedures for selecting focal area representatives in a democraticand equitable way.

The Source boo k section on stakeholder workshop tools for focal area planning is aimed at projectmanagers, whereas the Toolkit section on stakeholder workshops which presents the actualworkshop tools - is aimed primarily at workshop facilitators. However, many of the techniquesdescribed could interest project managers in addition to practitioners concerned with workshopplanning and management.

Part 3 of the Toolkit Gender and Poverty Sensitive M&E Tools focuses primarilyon tools for participatory impact assessment. It should be read together with theSourcebook section on gender and poverty-sensitive M&E. The Toolkit section onM&E has two parts. The first section presents factors to consider in planning and implementing rapid

impact assessments; and The second section presents the impact assessment tools and discusses how to use

them.

The Source boo k section on M&E - aimed at managers and supervisors of market linkage projects -includes tools for gender and poverty-sensitive project logical frameworks, gender and poverty-sensitive indicators, reporting, beneficiary tracking, participatory M&E, and rapid impactassessment. The Toolkit section on M&E aimed at practitioners participating in evaluationteams - is intended to complement the former. It includes two linked PRA tools designed for rapidimpact assessments and a third tool designed for use by market linkage projects during annualstakeholder evaluation workshops.



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FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN PLANNING AND MANAGINGGENDER AND MARKET LINKAGE VILLAGE DIAGNOSTICS

Purpose of Field Diagnostic Studies with a Focus on Gender and PovertyTargeting in Market Linkage Operations

The purpose of Field Diagnostic Studies is to improve the effectiveness of marketlinkage projects by increasing our understanding of how people in ruralcommunities interact with the market. They provide the foundation for designingand delivering projects and services that address the most important needs andinterests of poor women and men in rural communities.

Balance between Gender, Poverty and Marketing Focus

Diagnostic studies for market linkage projects should place roughly one third oftheir emphasis on rapid market diagnostics, one third on poverty diagnosis andtargeting, and one third on gender analysis and options for gender mainstreaming.

Gender and poverty-focused diagnostic studies are more interesting and useful for market linkageproject managers when they also include a rapid market diagnostic. The diagnostic study shouldcontribute to the projects core work in addition to their contribution to targeting.

PRA Sequencing

The PRA sequence designed for gender and market linkage diagnostic studies hasthree pillars: (a) a core PRA sequence for groups of women and men focused ongender roles in relation to markets, complemented by (b) a series of tools for socio-economic analysis and poverty targeting, and (c) for rapid diagnosis of market-related issues at village level. It involves a three-ring circus with three separateactivities taking place in parallel in the same village at the same time.

The reason for doing three exercises simultaneously is to: reduce study costs;minimize the time burden on villagers; and to take advantage of opportunities forwomen and men and leaders to learn from one another by sharing theirperspectives in plenary session. The full PRA sequence for a typical village is givenon the next page.

DIAGNOSTIC STUDY TOOLS 1


4Leaders

Enterprise ranking:importance, $, ease of selling

Price differences by seasonand location

Trends: prices, productionsales and profits

Village Markets and MobilityMap

Gender roles in marketing by site

Timeline: money sources and markets of village

Wealth Ranking andHousehold Selection

Group Profiles

Problem Analysis - Leaders

Women

Main income sources ofwomen and men

Main expenditure ofwomen and men

Seasonal activitycalendar

Cash inflow and outflowcalendar

Gender roles inmarketing

Access and Control ofResources by Gender

Problem Analysis - Women

Introduction - Purpose of Consultation (Plenary)

Wrap-up in plenary - approx: half an hour

Men

Main income sources ofwomen and men

Main expenditure ofwomen and men

Seasonal activitycalendar

Cash inflow and outflowcalendar

Gender roles inmarketing

Access and Control ofResources by Gender

Problem Analysis - Men

Day 1 Village PRA Sequence

Optional:if time permits



Factors to Consider in Selecting Participatory Tools

As a basic principle, all PRA tools to be used in the diagnostic study shouldcontribute to answering questions about how gender and socio-economic statusaffect rural households relationship with markets. Tools that tell us about genderbut not how gender affects marketing are of relatively little use. To be useful formarket linkage analysis, most PRA exercises need to be focused on marketing-related issues. Hence the local participatory facilitator needs to guide the PRAprocess more than s/he would in an ordinary PRA.

Comments on a standard range of PRA tools and their utility in market linkagediagnostics follow.

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Sub-Team A

Household 1(less-poor)

Household 2(middle-poor)


Household 4(poor - FHH)

Sub-Team B

Household 5(less-poor)

Household 4(middle-poor FHH)

Household 7(poor)

Household 8(poorest)

Household Interviews(5-6 hrs including travel time)

3 team members(4 x 3 = 12 interviews)

Sub-Team C


Household 10(poor)

Household 11(poor)

Household 4(poorest - FHH)

Day 2 Household Interviews


6Standard PRA Tool1

1. Daily activity profile of men andwomen in peak and slack season

2. Main income sources and uses ofmoney by men and women

3. Access and control of resources bywomen and men

4. Problem analysis

5. Likes and dislikes of being a woman/man

6. Seasonal activity calendar

7. Gender division of labour in crop andlivestock production, processing,storage and marketing

8. Village map

9. Village history timeline

10. Trendlines for top 5 income sources

11. Wealth ranking

12. Group profiles

13. Household interviews

Utility for Market LinkageProjects?

Not relevant for market linkages

Very useful use as first exercise towarm up the groupsUseful if list of resources is guided toensure mention of key commoditiesmarketedHowever needs Useful but analysis must be well-focused on problems related to marketingof inputs and outputsNot relevant

Useful if well-focused on marketing inrelation to timing of the harvestDetailed information on gender roles fromharvesting to post harvest processing,storage, sale and control of income isuseful; details of gender roles inproduction is less usefulNeeds modification to show the village inrelation to the main markets for inputsand outputs, distance to market, types oftransport, cost of transport, who(male/female) goes to which market andhow frequentlyUseful if well-focused on documentingchanges in market access, marketingsystems, products and terms of tradeEssential for analysis of market trends

Essential for poverty targeting andselection of HHs for HH interviewsEssential for assessing outreach ofexisting groups to women and the poorEssential for getting the point of view ofthe rich and of the very poor (both of whomtend to be absent from PRA sessions)

Utility of Comparing Mens andWomens View

Not relevant

Very useful (and fun) to compare womenand men in plenary sessionUseful. Facilitators need steer processto ensure that both men and womenmention the key commodities marketed

Very useful if both men and women focustheir analysis on problems related tomarketing of inputs and outputs Not relevant

Useful to compare mens and womensperspective if time permitsUseful to compare womens and mensperspective if time permits (see Genderroles in marketing checklist)

1 map (leaders) is enoughNot much added by comparing maps ofmen and women

1 timeline (leaders) is enough. Littlevalue added by comparing men andwomens view of marketing historyCould be useful to compare men andwomens view if time permitsSeparate wealth rankings by men andwomen dont add much valueNot necessary to repeat with womenand menComparison between female and male-headed HHs adds value

1 Examples of many of these tools may be found in IFAD (2002) A Field Diagnostic Manual for Genday and PovertyAnalysis, Rome: Gender Strengthening Programme, Eastern and Southern Africa Division, IFAD



The most interesting tools for the PRA participants and also the most useful toolsfor diagnosing market linkage issues proved to be:

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In particular, the access and control of resource profile (see number 3 - above) isonly useful for market linkage diagnosis if both the women and the men include themain marketed commodities among the resources that they list. Moreover, the teamfound that the Access and Control Profile is a rather blunt instrument for learningabout who markets and who controls the income from the sale of commodities suchas maize, vegetables and small ruminants and how commercialization might affectit. The profile therefore had to be supplemented by a gender and marketingchecklist to find out how commercialization affects who (men or women) does themarketing and who controls the income.

New tools developed for use in the market linkage-oriented PRAs are listed below.

Tools for Womens and Mens Groups

1. Cash infl ow and outfl ow calendar noting who (male/female) earns the income (from whatsource) and whose money is used for the main expenses

2. Gender roles in marketing checklist: who (women/man) decides when, how much and where tosell, who sells (when, where and how), who controls theincome and who decides how to spend it

Most Useful PRA Tools for Market Linkage Diagnostics

Core PRA tools(used in parallel by men & womens groups)

1. Main income sources and expenditures of men and women

2. Access and control of resources3. Problem listing and ranking

Tools for Key Informants/Village Leaders

1. En terprise ranking ranking of marketed products by importance for the village economic importance (brings the most money) ease/difficulty of marketing

2. Price diffe re nces by season and location

3. En terprise trends

4. Gender roles in marketing (including differences inwho sells and who controls income from sale dependingon the commodity, the location of market and the meansof transporting the product to market)

Tools used by Key Informants(village leaders)

1. Enterprise ranking 2. Price differences by season and location3. Gender roles in marketing 4. Enterprise trends for top 5 marketed products5. Wealth ranking6. Group profiles (including socio-economic and sex

composition of group membership)7. Problem listing and ranking


8The most problematic tools to use were the seasonal calendars and the second partof the problem analysis. Problem identification and ranking can be fun andchallenging for the participants (although time consuming) but the identification ofcoping mechanisms and of possible solutions either tends to be superficial (wish lists)or to become tedious. It needs skillful facilitation to get villagers to focus on whatthey can do to solve their own problems without waiting for help from government.For instance, facilitators need to be firm in responding to villagers requests forgovernment handouts and in encouraging them to consider what they themselvescan do to solve their own problems with minimal outside assistance.

Problematic Tools

Core PRA tools (used Men & Womens groups)

1. Seasonal activity calendar (women tended to get lost indetails of planting, weeding and harvesting and to focusinsufficiently on timing of marketing or to conclude it can besold at any time of year.

2. Cash inflow and outflow calendar (women could not do itunless they had already done the seasonal activity calendar;then it became redundant).

3. Marketing checklist (some questions could not be answeredbecause each HH is different).

4. Problem analysis (the problem ranking exercise is fun but theanalysis of causes of problems, coping mechanisms andpossible solutions becomes tedious for the participants andis only valuable when the focus is on what villagers can do tosolve their own problems not wait for government to bringsolutions. This requires a long discussion to weed out wishlist type solutions).

5. Prices of top 5 items 1997-2001 (tedious - key informantscannot remember).

6. Village marketing history replies are often too superficialto be of much use; exercise can take too much time (villageelders tend to reflect on the good old days).

7. Marketing map gives only a rough idea of the location ofmarkets and transport costs.

Solutions to Problems

1. Record only time of planting, harvesting and selling.Show the two cropping seasons separately in areas withbimodal rainfall. Focus on reasons for timing of sales.

2. Do not do cash inflow and outflow calendars as a free-standing exercise; identify the months of peak cashinflow and outflow as the final part of the seasonalactivity calendar.

3. Focus on what is the cultural norm (cover variations inhousehold interviews).

4. Put more emphasis on initiatives that villagers couldtake to solve their own problems. Where literacy ratesare very low, skip the step of asking someone to writeeach individuals problems onto slips of paper.

5. Drop the exercise. Collect price time series informationfrom traders.

6. Structure the exercise by dividing the flip chart into 4distinct historical periods. Hold it later in the PRAsequence (make the exercise optional).

7. Make it a very short and simple exercise. Do it after theprice differences by location. Always record distanceswhen traveling by vehicle. Cross-check transport costs in HH interviews.

Tools used by Key Informants (village leaders)



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PREPARATIONS FOR THE FIELD VISIT

Putting Together a PRA Team

Team composition depends on the skills and experience of the project staffconducting the study, and their availability. In certain circumstances, it may be bestto draw on the skills of local consultants. However, this should not be at the expenseof project staff having the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of the interests,needs and priorities of their target communities. Team members may also berecruited from local service providers (such as governmental bodies or Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)).

A well-balanced team would consist of a core of three to four members plus three tofour local facilitator/translators (50% male) with a mixture of the following:

skills in community mobilization, group work, Participatory Rural Appraisal(PRA) methods and livelihood analysis with gender and poverty focus;

technical expertise in agriculture (extension, marketing), communitydevelopment, monitoring and evaluation, or rural sociology; and

language skills relevant to the local community.

Team Briefing Prior to Visiting the Field

The following roles and responsibilities should be allocated to the appropriate teammembers:

team leader and facilitator of the initial meeting with the community;

one member should take responsibility for working with village leaders, anotherwith women (preferably a female) and with men (can be male or female);

each group should have a local translator (if necessary);

each group should designate one individual to act as participatory facilitator andanother a team member to record the information on the templates; since thePRA flip charts are left with the village, the recorder needs to ensure that allrelevant information from the flip charts is entered into the templates and thatan English version of the templates is available for the PRA team;

a coordinator for the plenary session; and

a report-writer to compile field notes.

A work plan should be drawn up, identifying key activities, their components andduration, and any linkages between them. Responsibilities should be assigned andany necessary materials or resources identified.


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2 In line with locally established rates for extension workers or NGO facilitators

On arriving in a new site for instance on the afternoon of the day prior to the PRA a briefing session should be held for the whole PRA team including the localfacilitators (e.g., extension workers) and the persons who will act as interpreters.The purpose of the briefing session is to explain the work plan for the next day, gostep by step through of the PRA exercises and to agree on how team members aregoing to translate key concepts such as access and control into the locallanguage. The local facilitators and translators should receive appropriatecompensation2 for their services.

Best Practices for PRA Team Members and Local Facilitators

Best practices should be observed while doing fieldwork at village and householdlevel.

The purpose and scope of the study should be explained clearly, to avoid raisingexpectations among community members.

Interviewers should listen, observe, probe and learn, rather than dominatediscussions.

Interest and respect should be shown, and awkward answers handled tactfully.An awareness of body language is helpful.

It is important to impose an appropriate time limit on interviews and to provideopportunities for questions from informants.

An awareness of information priority is vital, so that if time is short, it is possibleto focus on the priority areas.

Interviewers should encourage discussion, and step back and observe. Discussions should involve all those present and be structured so that quieter

people can make contributions and proceedings are not dominated by a few. All viewpoints should be recorded, not just those of the more articulate. Findings should be shared and explored with the community in plenary. Materials prepared by the groups (for example, maps, diagrams, and seasonal

calendars) should be left with the community and copies made for the use of theFDS team.

Before ending the exercise, the purpose of the study should be reiterated, thecommunity thanked for their cooperation, and an opportunity provided forquestions.

The rights of the interviewee must be recognized (see Box below). During individual household interviews, the presence of neighbours and non-

family members should be minimized. It is important to find ways for helping interviewees feel relaxed and interested. Interviewers should keep discussions on track and avoid being distracted by

other peoples agendas. Biases should be avoided during the data collection process. Leading questions (where questions lead to a specific answer) and closed

questions (where answers are either yes or no) should be avoided, as shouldrepetitive questions.

Interviewers should review the data collected and seek clarification, if necessary.



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Rights of PRA Participants and Household Interviewees

Any interviewee has the right to:

freedom from being asked personal questions about someone other than a very close dependant,

freedom from being subjected to enumerator behaviour that is ill-mannered, overbearing,threatening or patronising

not having his/her courtesy, tolerance and patience strained by excessive questioning and too frequent visits, and

privacy, including the right to withhold personal information.

Advance Preparation of PRA Materials

Any materials and stationery necessary for the fieldwork (for example, flip charts,marker pens, masking tape and notebooks) should be obtained. Other locally-available materials such as stones or seeds (for proportional piling) should becollected prior to the start of the session. Sufficient quantities of the templates forrecording data from PRAs and household interviews should also be made availableto the teams.

It can save considerable down-time during the PRAs, if PRA team members working with local translators - copy the blank templates onto the flip charts in thelocal language - prior to the PRA sessions. This is best done in the late afternoon ofthe day prior to the PRA, following the briefing session for local participatoryfacilitators and translators. The PRA sequence is quite demanding and cannot beachieved in the time allotted unless the templates are copied onto flip charts aheadof time.

Contacting the Authorities and the Community

Before commencing the fieldwork, it is advisable to seek permission from therelevant authorities. The proposed fieldwork should also be discussed withcommunity leaders prior to the PRAs. The preliminary meeting should bescheduled so that all relevant members of the community can attend.

On arrival in the community, the study coordinators meet the village representativesor community leaders to explain the purpose of the study and confirm fieldworkarrangements. They should also provide an overview of the proposed activities,make provision for refreshments, identify translators and an appropriate location forconducting the community meeting (with shade or shelter, and sufficient seating).Appropriate timing is crucial as the availability of community members is determinedby their daily work patterns and also by weekly events, such as markets. The timingof the meeting should enable a representative cross-section of the community, bothwomen and men, young and old, poor and less poor, to participate.


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During this process, potentially supportive community members can be identifiedwho may be called upon to encourage community participation in the fieldwork.Village leaders who assist the team to mobilize the local population are usuallycompensated for their contribution.

Arranging for Meals

Since the PRA session requires local participants to work for the entire day, a mealneeds to be served halfway through the day. The provision of a hearty meal isespecially important for ensuring that a cross-section of villagers can participate inthe PRA exercise, especially when PRAs are carried out during the hungry season,when granaries are empty and poor people have no money to buy food. During thehungry season, the poor usually are too busy to participate in PRAs because theyneed to work on other farms in exchange for cash and meals.

The preparations for a meal will require a trip to the village, prior to the PRA(usually on the afternoon before the PRA) to make arrangements for food, forcooking and for dishes and cooking utensils. Different approaches were tried indifferent locations in the three countries. In all cases, a menu was negotiatedbeforehand with village leaders and local authorities (to ensure that local foodtaboos and preferences were fully reflected). The PRA team leader paid for the foodand for the meal preparation. In some sites in Zambia, the PRA team used itsvehicles to purchase maize meal, vegetables and a live goat and a couple of chickensfrom the nearest local market centre and to bring it to the village. In other sites, thechickens and goat were purchased directly from villagers. In most cases, a group oflocal women not those to be involved in the PRA but other women were hiredto cook a meal for the whole village. In Uganda, on two occasions, the team was ableto hire a womens group that does catering as an income-generating activity. Thisgreatly reduced the amount of effort required of the PRA team, since the contractedwomens group procured all the food and the utensils themselves. If the PRA is tohave 60 participants (including local facilitators and translators), it is wise to plan forabout 80 or even 100 people. For instance, in several cases the meal was planned forabout 60 people but over 100 eventually showed up meaning that there was notenough food for everyone.

The PRA team initially thought it might be better to schedule all the group PRA workin the morning, release the villagers for lunch and use the afternoons for householdinterviews. This idea did not work properly and had to be abandoned, for severalreasons. First, since the PRAs were all done at the height of the hungry season, villageleaders said that they could not ensure participation in the PRA unless we provideda meal. Secondly, if we spread the PRAs over two mornings, this would have requiredus to provide a meal on both days. Thirdly, because the food was almost never readyon time (not until 3-4 p.m.) which also meant that there was too little time forhousehold interviews. For this reason, we recommend doing all the PRA exercises onthe first day and serving a meal only on that day. On the second day, a meal is notneeded because the household interviews only involve 12 households each for 1 hour of their time, and the interviews are undertaken at the respective homesteads.



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Getting the Right PRA Participants

Whole Village or a Section? It is preferable to work with a village having no morethan 100 households. If the village is too large, it is preferable to conveneparticipants from one section of the village instead of calling leaders from eachsection to come to the meeting. When the meeting is mainly attended by leaders ofdifferent sections, it is difficult to get a cross-section of participants ranging from lesspoor to poor.

Numbers of Participants. Ideally, the participants in the PRA should be about 50 people who stay for the entire day. There should be 20 ordinary women and 20 ordinary men in the womens and mens groups and around 10 key informantsin the village leaders group (ideally with a mix of male and female leaders ifculturally appropriate). The reason for separating the leaders from other men andwomen is - in addition to collecting supplementary information from key informants- to reduce the risk that the leaders will be too dominating in the mens and womensgroup. It is important to avoid letting the groups become too large. The larger thegroup, the greater the risk that a few highly vocal participants will dominate and theothers will be silent.

Village Leaders. The village leaders PRA module includes many more tasks thanthe womens and mens module. Therefore the facilitator of the leaders group mustbe careful to keep to schedule. It works best when the participants in the leadersgroup are better educated and more articulate than the average villager. However,in several cases, the people who came to the leaders group were village elders whowere less articulate than the average villager. Moreover, most were so old that theywere no longer actively involved in marketing, and were therefore inappropriate askey informants on marketing. Most of the younger, better educated and moredynamic villagers were in the mens group. To solve such a problem, request theelders to invite a few of the better-informed younger men to join their group.

Women. It is important to get a cross-section of women participants from all socio-economic strata and all age groups. This means that the women invited toparticipate in the PRA should include:

women of all ages;

women in poor and less poor households;

female household heads and married women;

womens group members and women who are not members; and

wives of people in the mens group - not just female headed households orwomen perceived by villagers as loose women.

One way of assuring the participation of normal village women might be to talkabout it with the leaders on the day before the PRA exercises take place, and to explainto the leaders the content of the exercises, the purpose of the meeting, and why it isimportant also to get the views of all different types of women including their wives. Itmay also help to explain that the womens group will be close to the mens during thewhole session, and that the men will be able to keep an eye on their women.


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Men. It is equally important to get a cross-section of men participants from all socio-economic strata and all age groups. This means that the men invited to participatein the PRA should include:

men of all ages, from youths to elders;

men in poor and less poor households;

mens group members and men who are not members of groups; and

some men who are engaged in shopkeeping, petty trading and agriculturalmarketing as well as a few who are not.

Meeting with the Community

Personal introductions. At the start of the PRA, the PRA team leader should makea short (5 minute) introduction. Each member of the PRA team including localfacilitators should introduce themselves to the villagers.

Explain purpose of meeting. Having confirmed that the timing of the meeting isconvenient, the community should be informed of why it has been selected and howthe survey findings will be used. Community members will be more willing toparticipate in the study if it is relevant to them.

Community members should be told how the community session will be organizedin terms of division into sub-groups, and reconvening in plenary at the end of theday to share experiences. An overview of the topics to be covered should beprovided. Community members should also be given an indication of the expectedduration of the meeting.

Particular care should be taken to ensure that participants understand that thegender and marketing diagnostic study is only a study. The PRA team is notbringing any assistance to the community as a whole or to the PRA participants.

Community members should also be encouraged to be as honest as possible inanswering the questions posed during the group exercises. The explanation belowis a helpful way to get the message across to participants.

Why it is important for participants to share their true feelings?

If you go to the doctor because you have a pain in the belly, but when the doctor examines you, youtell him that you have a pain in the head, you may think you are cheating the doctor, but you areactually cheating yourself. If you tell the doctor that you have a pain in the head, he will give youmedicine for a pain in the head and you will have to keep your belly ache.



15

Avoiding Raised Expectations

Community members should not be given unrealistic hopes about the nature oroutcome of the exercise. It is therefore advisable to:

use the correct channels (for example, local government) to approach thecommunity;

hold a briefing meeting with community leaders to explain thoroughly thepurpose of the study (particular clarity is needed with regard to the relationshipof the study to potential project interventions);

set the study in the context of relevant national programmes;

provide feedback to the community on information gathered and data analyzedthat may be used to guide community development initiatives; and

provide feedback to other organizations (local government, NGOs) working inthe study area in order to develop their information base.

Assigning Roles within Each PRA Group

Self Introductions. In the leaders group, at the start of the PRA exercise, eachparticipant should introduce himself/herself and explain why they are attending theleaders group. This gives the team a good opportunity to identify who is from thevillage and who might be from outside; and within villagers, identify who is thevillage head, the local council chairman, the political party secretary, the traditionalchief, the section heads, the womens and mens and youth group leaders, thereligious leaders, etc.

Selecting a Recorder and a Rapporteur. Each group of women, men and leadersshould identify a person among the participants to serve as a spokesperson for thegroup at the plenary session. If possible, this same person should assist in recordingthe PRA on the flip chart in the local language. If the person selected cannot readand write, a second group member can assist with the writing. If no one in thegroup can read and write, a literate person (often a youth who is in secondaryschool) can be asked to join the group to assist with recording.


16

Alternation of Group Work and Plenary Sessions

At the start of the day, the introduction to the PRA is done in plenary session, withall the PRA participants gathered in one place. Then the groups split into three, andeach goes off to its own working area under a tree or (if rain threatens) under aseparate roof. The work spaces should be out of the earshot of the other groups butwithin shouting distance so that the groups can ask for help if they get stuck. Mostof the day is spent in group work, separately by women, men and leaders. Howeverat the end of the day, the three groups come together again, in a central place for aplenary session in which the spokesperson for each group speaks for the group as awhole, presenting their findings to the rest of the participants.

The purpose of meeting groups of women and men separately is to exploresimilarities and differences in their use of time, access to and control over resourcesand markets, sources and uses of money; and the main problems they face relatedto input and output marketing. During this process, participants are asked to reflecton the information that is being gathered with a view to stimulating some discussionabout the differences between women and men and the related marketingconstraints and opportunities in their community.

Once the individual groups have completed their data collection activities, thecommunity reassembles in plenary. Each groups information and ideas are shared,and community members explore how income sources, expenditures and accessand control of resources vary between women and men, and between the poor andothers. This represents the first step in raising awareness about gender, poverty andmarketing issues in the community. Full data analysis takes place on completion ofthe fieldwork.

At the end of the plenary session, the PRA team should roll up the flip charts separately for women, men and leaders and leave them with the appropriatespokesperson for the group.

Wealth Ranking and Household Interview Logistics

The gender and market linkages study adopted a method of wealth rankinginvolving card sorting. It requires the leaders to make (or preferably bring) a full listof all households in the village and to write the name of each on a slip of paper. Aftercharacterizing the resource base and standard of living of each socio-economicstratum (same procedure as above), the leaders would sort the households into pilescorresponding to A, B, C and D (A = above average/non-poor, B = average ormiddle, C = below average or poor and D = very poor.) The card sortingtechnique takes longer but has several advantages. First, it results in greateraccuracy in estimating proportions of households in each wealth category and inidentifying female-headed households; and second, the same cards can later be usedto identify input and output traders (by name) and to analyze the gender and socio-economic composition of community-based organizations involved in marketing.



17

Wealth ranking and selection of households for household interviews presentedseveral challenges: (a) most villages were too large to use card sorting techniques(ideally card sorting should be done with 30-60 HHs whereas some villages had300-500 households); (b) leaders had been convened to represent the point of viewof different sections of the village. In large villages, this problem can be addressedby selecting 2-3 sections of the village for the card sorting exercise. However, insome cases the village sections may be too small to be used as a basis for wealthranking (e.g., only 8-12 households per section). In such cases it may be preferableto attempt card sorting with the full population. However, when selectinghouseholds for household interviews in large villages, it may be preferable to focuson a few geographically contiguous sub-sections, to reduce travel time to and fromthe homesteads.

Household Interviews

Although experienced interviewers can work from a simple checklist, local teammembers often feel the need for a more structured interview schedule into whichthey can insert the replies (the household interview checklist is attached at the endof the toolkit). Hence the adoption of a detailed interview schedule can greatlyimprove the accuracy of interviews conducted by local staff and ensurecomparability between interviewers.

The household interviews revealed that village leaders designation of female-headed households was often misleading. Many female-headed householdsidentified in the wealth ranking were old widows who were not independent headsof households but rather a member of a married son or daughters household.Although they lived in a separate hut and sometimes cooked separately, they nolonger had their own independent crop fields. They assisted on the sons fieldsand were largely supported by their son or daughters family.

A number of problems occurred with the household interview schedule itself orwith the interview process. In a number of cases, the husband was not at home andthe wife was interviewed instead. However, this led to incomplete informationbecause many wives did not know the details of farm input use or the selling priceof products sold by the husband. Several villagers had difficulty ranking theirhousehold livelihood sources in order of priority. Farmers tend to say thatproduction for home consumption is always the most important livelihoodsource even when the economic value is low.

Further Adaptation of PRA Tools to Gender Concepts

The PRA team discovered at the end of the Zambia country visit that several of thestandard PRA tools have gaps when it comes to the study of intra-householddynamics. They often leave key questions unanswered about: (a) the relativeimportance of household versus personal fields; (b) the extent of income pooling;and (c) the responsibilities of husband and wife as household providers. Some of


18

the key questions that were not fully captured in Zambia are given below.

The Access and Control Profile is a blunt tool that does not fully capture the nuances of gender rolesin the context of intra-household relations. The PRAs failed to fully answer questions abouthousehold versus personal crop fields, income pooling and husbands and wifes responsibilities asproviders.

Household versus Personal Fields Do women and men have separate (personal) plots under their individual control,

in addition to jointly-owned household fields3, whose produce is meant for thesubsistence of the household as a whole?

Does responsibility for buying inputs on household plots differ from that ofpersonal fields? Does the husband buy the inputs and hire labour for thehousehold plots, whereas the owner of the field does it for personal fields?

Who husband or wife controls the produce from household fields?

Is produce from personal fields treated by women and men as their personalproduce? Are the earnings from its sale treated as personal spending money?

Is the husband or wife under any obligation to use the produce or the moneyfrom its sale for the benefit of the household?

Income pooling Do men and women have separate money purses or is there only one jointly-

shared purse? Or are there three purses: a jointly-shared one for pooled incomeand two individual ones for personal income?

Do women have an income under their own exclusive control?

Do husbands and wives pool all their income or do they hold some of it back tomeet personal expenses?

Do unmarried adult children pool all their income or keep some for spendingmoney?

To what extent do husband/wives/adult off-spring contribute to the family cookingpot?

If, through commercialization, the husband takes over responsibility formarketing, will this increase the personal spending money under mens control atthe expense of pooled family income?

How will changes in control of income affect womens and mens ability to meettheir responsibilities as providers for their families?

3 In the Gambia, the distinction is expressed in the local language (Mandinka) as between maruo (household) fieldsand kamanyango (personal) fields; in Niger, in the Hausa language, as between gandu (household) fields andgamana (individual) fields. In Swaziland, the household plot is referred to as "grandmothers fields."



19

Responsibilities of Husband and Wife as Household Providers

Ranking of expenditure items of men and women does not tell us who has primary responsibility forwhat type of expenditure.

Is the wife responsible for certain expenses (such as food) and the husband forothers (such as non-food items)?

Are some responsibilities separate for husband and wife and others jointly shared?

Is the income from the main household fields treated as joint income to be usedfor the benefit of all household members?

Is the income from personal fields treated as personal pocket money?

Under what circumstances are wives/husbands expected to dip into their ownpocket money to help one another meet their responsibilities?

Are the responsibilities of husband and wife separate (as illustrated below)?

Womens responsibilities

Growing staple foods (maize, cassava, beans)Growing or buying relish ingredients groundnuts, squash,pumpkins, salt, kapenta (dried fish) and cooking oilCooking utensils: pots, water jugs, matchesSchool fees (primary school)Medical expenses of childrenOwn and childrens clothingInputs for own fieldsHelping to buy staple food in case of shortfallHelping to buy inputs if husband has no money

Mens responsibilities

Farm inputs Earning cash from selling crops and livestockHired labour for growing market cropsMore costly schooling (middle, secondary)ClothingFarm equipment apart from hand toolsHouse constructionMeans of transportRadio (etc)Looking for farm inputs looking for markets for own of HHcrops (information seeking/gathering)Helping wife with school fees in case of a shortfallHelping wife with relish if necessary

Joint household responsibilities (pooled income)

Family food: staple and condimentsSchool fees, uniforms and booksMedical expensesFarm inputsFarm equipment

Mens responsibilities(personal income)

Own beer, cigarettes, girlfriendsInputs for personal fields

Womens responsibilities(personal income)

Own and childrens clothesOwn toiletriesInputs for own fields and livestockInputs for childrens chickens and goats


20

In most cases in the study area, women and men had distinct responsibilities asproviders (as in the first table above). There was not a strong distinction betweenjoint household income and personal income (but in West Africa it is morecommon). In Metuge (Cabo Delgado, Mozambique) nearly all income was joint andwomen did not have a personal income (although men did).

Do men and women have separate responsibilities as household providers? Evidence from the PRAsshows that often both pay for food, schooling and medical expenses, but expenditure ranking for menand women misses the issue of who (husband or wife) bears the prime responsibility for providingdifferent items for the household.

Who controls the family food stocks for home consumption who keeps the key tothe granary? Do husband and wife have separate granaries? Are there severalgranaries: a big one for the production from household fields and a series of smallerones for production from personal plots? Who controls the household granary if thesmaller granaries are controlled by the owner of the field?

In polygamous households, is each wife expected to provide for her own childrens food, schooling,medical expenses and clothing? What is the husband expected to contribute?

The three sets of questions outlined in the sections above can be addressed by: (a) weaving new questions into the PRA sessions dealing with womens and mensmain income sources and expenditures; (b) asking key informants about householdand personal fields, income pooling and responsibilities of husband and wife asproviders, and (c) by adding additional questions to the household interviews.


PART 1 DIAGNOSTIC STUDY TOOLS

PRA TOOLS FOR MARKET ENVIRONMENT DIAGNOSTIC STUDIES

1. Enterprise Ranking Module 23

2. Price Differences by Season and Location Module 29

3. Enterprise Trends Module 33

4. Markets and Mobility Map 37

5. Timeline of Village Money Sources and Markets 39

6. Problem Analysis Module 43

21



23

PRA TOOLS FOR MARKET ENVIRONMENT DIAGNOSTIC STUDIES

In this section, the PRA tools developed for capturing (a) village level marketingissues, (b) poverty-targeting issues and (c) gender issues are presented, step by step.

1. Enterprise Ranking Module

Participants: around 10 village leaders, male or female. Time required: 1/2 hour.

Getting Started. Draw a 5-column table as shown below (Ranking of Local Productsby Importance for Village, Economic Contribution and Ease of Marketing).Headings should be written in the local language.

Step 1 First villagers make a list of the most important products that are producedand sold in the village, as follows. The farmer-recorder writes them down in the left-hand column of the table, in the order that farmers mention them. At least 10 butno more than about 20 products should be mentioned. (5 minutes to make thewhole list).

Step 2 Village leaders rank the products in order according to their importancefor the village. A product is important if it is a main staple produced and consumedby all types of people poor and less poor throughout the year. It can also be aproduct like cotton that is not eaten but is widely grown and brings in a lot of cash.Villagers should be invited to identify which product is number 1 in importance?Which comes next? Which comes after that? Do we all agree?

Ranking in Order of Importance ReasonsProductImportance

for villageBrings the

most moneyEasiest to

sell


If farmers agree that maize is the number one product, the farmer-recorder puts a1 in the space next to maize, in the column importance for the village. If beansrank second, s/he puts a 2 next to beans. If cattle are third, s/he puts a 3 next tocattle. The exercise continues until at least 10 items have been ranked. If a crop likesorghum is not mentioned among the top 10 items, leave it blank. Fill in the reasonsthat farmers give for ranking one product higher than another. (This should takeno more than 10 minutes with discussion).

Step 3 Farmers are asked to identify which of the products on the list brings themost money to the most people in the village. This is not merely a matter of whichhas the highest price, but which is sold in the largest quantities by the largestnumber of households. Why is maize number 1? After that, which product is next(2nd) in terms of the money it brings? Which is third? Does everybody agree? Whatis the reason why maize is first and tomatoes are second and goats are third?

If maize ranks first in terms of the money it brings, the farmer-recorder puts a 1 next to maize in the second column under brings the most money and recordsthe reason (e.g. maize is the main cash crop even though the price is low).1

24

1 Farmer-recorders are usually unfamiliar with tables and matrices. Often they prefer to recopy the names of the top5 or 10 items in each column. This should be discouraged for three reasons: (a) it takes too much time; (b) itmakes it impossible to record the reasons on the line corresponding to the crop; and (c) it makes it makes itdifficult to analyze and discuss why one crop should rank first on importance but only 10th on ease of selling.

Ranking in Order of Importance Reasons

StapleAll HHs eat

MarriageCeremonies

Product

MaizeBeansSorghumSugar caneSesameTomatoesOnionsCattleChickens/eggsGoatsCottonCharcoal

Importance for Village

12

857

3649

10

Brings the most money

Easiest tosell



25

Step 4 Farmers rank products according which are the easiest to sell and whichare the most difficult to sell. Start with the easiest and after ranking the top five orsix, ask which is the most difficult to sell and why. If cattle are the most difficult tosell, the farmer-recorder should insert hardest to sell next to cattle and record thereason. Which is the second most difficult to sell and why? Which is the third mostdifficult to sell and why?


Staple; many sell even if price is lowAll HHs eat, sell only small quantity

High value, traders come to buy

Marriage CeremoniesSell for holidaysMain cash crop of village but price low

Product


Importance for village

12

857

3649

10


16

9527

10834

Easiest tosell


Eaten by everyone, ready market in villageGrown by all no buyersNo market

Traders buy for oilTraders come to buy, big urban demand

Difficult to transport, market is far

Ginnery collects in villageDifficult to transport, no local market

Product


Importance for village

12

857

3649

10


16

9527

10834

Easiest tosell

17

3rd hardest

62

Hardest453

2nd hardest


26

How to Analyze the ResultsThe first level of analysis is done directly in the village. Go through the tablecommodity by commodity, looking at how the item ranks on the differentparameters. Why is maize number one in importance? In money it brings? In easeof selling? Why is beans second in importance but only sixth in the money it brings?Why is it difficult to sell? If tomatoes bring so much money, why is their importanceso low? What are the reasons?

The diagnostic team does the second level of analysis. It involves comparingvillagers ranking of the enterprises that bring the most money with that of othermarket players: how well does the enterprise ranking of the District AgricultureOfficer fit with the villagers enterprise ranking?

Village leaders ranking compared with MoAs ranking;

Village leaders ranking compared with local government chairpersons ranking;

Village leaders ranking compared with national farmer association ranking;

Village leaders ranking compared with a local crop traders ranking; and

Village leaders ranking compared with that of poor women and men (fromhousehold interviews).

The questions asked of the data should be:

Do villager leaders and MoA have the same priorities or do they differ? Do theydiffer a lot or a little? Are any of the enterprises at the top of MoAs list at thebottom of village leaders list? If so, what is the reason?

Are the priorities of the national farmers association the same as those of villageleaders? If not, which what is the reason? Whose priorities are closer to those ofnational farmers association? - The villagers? Or MoA?

How close are the enterprise rankings of traders to those of villagers? Whoseranking is closer to that of the villagers: the traders or MoA?

Are the priorities of poor men and women the same as those of the village leaders?If not, do the village leaders appear to be out of touch with the poor?

Cross-cutting Analysis The third level of analysis is to pull the five top-ranked products from different sites,to facilitate comparison between different sites in the same country. Is there apattern? Do most sites in the same region of the same country agree on the mostimportant products? On those that bring the most money? On those that are easiestor hardest to sell? Do areas with a similar market environment such as peri-urbanor cotton-growing areas have a similar pattern?



27

The fourth level of analysis involves comparisons between sites in differentcountries. The questions are similar: do enterprise rankings vary mainly by country?Or by site within countries? Are there common patterns shared by cotton-growingareas in different countries? By peri-urban areas?

How to Use the Information The market linkage project design team should use the information to cross-check

whether its own analysis of the top priorities and opportunities fits with that of thevillagers. Are the project design teams priorities closer to those of MoA? Or thenational farmers association? Or are they closer to those of the traders? If thedesign teams analysis leads them to differ with the opinion of villagers, how canthis be justified? What adjustments in the basic project concept are needed tomake it more responsive to the needs of farmers?

Use the rankings to let MoA and the local branch of national farmers associationknow when their priorities are out of step with those of local farmers.

Feed the information into focal area planning and the priority setting process forthe project.

If the priorities of poor women and men are not the same as that of villageleaders, or MoA or the local national farmers association, how low are they on theranking? How many enterprises do you need to put on the list to make sure thatboth the poor women and the poor men get at least one of their top priorities?

Hardest to Sell

1. Maize2. Cattle

1. Cattle2. Sorghum

1. Paprika2. Pigs

Case Study

Muvwela(Mazabuka)

Libuko (Chongwe)

Kanyenda(Mpongwe)

Most ImportantProduct

1. Maize2. Cattle3. Chickens4. Goats

1. Maize2. Sweet potato3. Cassava4. Groundnuts5. Rape

1. Maize2. Sorghum3. Sweet potatoes4. Pumpkins5. Cassava

Brings the Most Money

(not done)

1. Rape2. Tomato3. Cabbage4. Chickens5. Goats

1. Maize2. Groundnuts3. Sorghum4. Chickens5. Goats

Easiest to Sell

1. Chickens2. Goats3. Cabbage4. Sunflower5. Irish potato

1. Chickens2. Rape3. Tomato4. Cabbage5 Goats

1. Maize2. Sweet potato3. Chickens4. Goats5. Groundnuts



2. Price Differences by Season and Location Module

Participants: 10 village leaders (male or female). Time required: 1/2 hour. Linkages: to Enterprise Ranking (Leaders Module - Table 1) and to Gender Rolesin Marketing (Leaders Module - Table 6)

Getting Started. Lay out the table on flip chart paper below, writing headings (andlater the names of crops) in the local language.

Step 1 Start by entering the top 10 enterprises from the previous exercise, inorder of which brings the most money.

Step 2 Ask farmers for each product in what quantities and containers do youusually sell it? Do you sell your cassava fresh or dried or both? If both, when yousell it fresh, do you sell by the heap or the tin? How many kgs per tin? How manyheaps per tin? How many tins per bag? What is the conversion rate from fresh todry: how many bags of fresh do you need for one bag of dry? If cassava is sold bothfresh and dry, make two lines one for fresh and one for dry.

Step 3 For each item (one row at a time): Do you sell it in the village? If so, whatis the price per bag or per mound at the harvest time? What is the price at the timewhen little is found on the market? Do you sell it outside the village? If so, where?What is the price in that market at the harvest time? What is the price late in theseason? When and where do the majority of farmers sell? At the harvest time orlater? In the village or outside? Why?

Step 4 Link to Gender Roles in Marketing Module Enter the replies on whatcrops are sold where into Table 6 in the Leaders PRA Module. If the product is soldin the village, who male or female is most likely to sell? If the product is sold intown, who husband or wife is most likely to take it to market? If the product issold in the village who controls the income from the sale. If the product is taken

29

Price in Village Price outside Village

LocationItem

marketed

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.

Unit Harvest Peak Harvest Peak


30

to town by the man to sell, who controls the income? If the product is taken to townby the woman, who controls the income?

An example of a fully completed template is shown below, for Mpongwe District(Zambia). The prices are recorded in the local currency. Note that a separate linewas used to record the prices of groundnut seed as opposed to normal groundnuts,and for rainfed and irrigated tomatoes.

Price Differences by Season and Location in Kwatcha Kanyenda (Mpongwe), Zambia

How to Analyze the InformationStep 1 Transfer the price information from the table above into a larger table orpreferably a computer spreadsheet to make it easier to compare the differencebetween the price in the village when the supply is plentiful (at the harvest time) andwhen the supply is scarce (usually during the hungry season). Subtract the lowharvest price from the peak price and divide by the harvest price to calculate howbig a difference is due to price seasonality. Identify which products sold in the villagehave the largest seasonal price differences and which have the smallest.

Price in Village Price outside Village

Location

Luanshya

Luanshya

Luanshya

Luanshya

ZAMSEED

Luanshya

Luanshya

Luanshya

No sales

Luanshya

Luanshya

Luanshya

Luanshya

Luanshya

Luanshya

Luanshya

Cheetah

Itemmarketed

Maize

Sorghum

Sweet potatoes

Groundnuts

Groundnut seed

Cassava

Cabbage

Pumpkins

Beans

Rape

Tomatoes

- Rainfed

- Irrigated

Cabbage

Chickens local

Goats

Pigs

Paprika

Unit

50-kg bag

50-kg bag

25 kg

20 litres, unshelled

25 kg

50 kg

50 kg

50 kg

50 kg

50 kg

18-kg box

18-kg box

50 kg

Each

Each

Each

1 kg

Harvest

12 000

12 000

3 500

1 500

75 000

7 000

3 500

4 000

100 000

3 500

3 500

4 000

10 000

7 500

30 000

80 000

4 000

Peak

84 000

84 000

7 500

2 500

75 000

12 000

not sold

8 000

125 000

10 000

10 000

8 000

16 000

7 500

30 000

80 000

4 000

Harvest

15 000

15 000

10 000

2 000

not sold

20 000

7 000

8 000

not sold

2 000

2 000

8 000

20 000

10 000

45 000

200 000

not sold

Peak

90 000

90 000

15 000

2 500

not sold

25 000

7 000

12 000

not sold

10 000

10 000

12 000

25 000

10 000

45 000

200 000

not sold



31

Step 2 Do the same for seasonal differences between prices in the outside marketwhere the item is sold. Calculate whether seasonal price differences are greater inthe village or in town.

Step 3 Compare the difference between the harvest price in the village with theharvest price in town in the peak harvest time when the supply is greatest and atthe time of year when the supply is smallest. Which products have the greatestdifferences between village and town prices? Which have the smallest? What is thereason?

Step 4 Compare whether the difference between seasons are greater or less thanthe differences between the village and town. Identify which products villagers havethe greatest advantage to store and sell when the price rises.

Step 5 Identify which products have the greatest price differences between thevillage and town. Investigate how much it costs to transport them to town. Do themargins in town justify the outlay on transport?

Price Differences by Season and Location in Kwatcha Kanyenda (Mpongwe), Zambia

Cross-cutting AnalysisStep 6 Compare prices for the same products in different sites in the samecountry. Are there patterns? Do peri-urban sites enjoy similar price advantages incomparison with sites that are far from urban markets?

Price in Village Price in Town Price Seasonality Village to TownItemmarketed

Maize

Sorghum

Rape

Tomato rainfed

Tomato irrig.

Sweet potato

Cassava

Groundnuts

Cabbage

Beans

Chickens

Goats

Pigs

Unit

50- kg bag

50- kg bag

50 kg

18 kg box

18 kg box

25 kg

50 kg

20 litre tin

50 kg

50 kg

bird

head

head

Harvest

12000

12000

3500

3500

4000

3500

7000

1500

10000

100000

7500

30000

80000

Peak

84000

84000

10000

10000

8000

7500

12000

2500

16000

125000

7500

30000

80000

Harvest

15000

15000

2000

2000

8000

10000

20000

2000

20000

10000

45000

200000

Peak

90000

90000

10000

10000

12000

15000

25000

2500

25000

10000

45000

200000

Harvest

600%

600%

186%

186%

100%

114%

71%

67%

60%

25%

0%

0%

0%

Peak

500%

500%

400%

400%

50%

50%

25%

25%

25%

-

0%

0%

0%

Harvest

25%

25%

-43%

-43%

100%

186%

186%

33%

100%

-

33%

50%

150%

Peak

7%

7%

0%

0%

50%

100%

108%

0%

56%

-

33%

50%

150%

not sold


Step 7 If relevant, convert first to kgs and then convert local prices into USD/kgand compare prices for the same products across international boundaries.

How to Use the Analysis Use the data to identify whether the key problem for the site seems to be price

seasonality or whether it is something else.

Cross-check with information coming from the problem analysis to confirmwhether the problem is seasonality or something else. Do farmers say that theirmain problem is that they have to sell at the harvest time when the prices are thelowest and buy back food later in the season when the prices have tripled orquadrupled?

Cross-check whether the project design teams analysis is consistent with theanalysis coming from the analysis of seasonal price differences. If there areinconsistencies how can they be reconciled?

32



33

3. Enterprise Trends Module

Time: 1/2 hour.Participants: about 10 village leaders (male and female).

Getting Started. Lay out the table on flip chart paper in the local language. Enterthe top five enterprises (those that bring the most money) from the EnterpriseRanking Module, in order of priority.

Step 1 For the first item, ask the farmers what is happening to prices. In the pastfive years, have prices been going up? Have they been going down? Have theystayed the same? Have they been going up and down erratically? Have theyincreased a little? Decreased a little? What is the reason for the changes? Whenconsensus is reached, the farmer-recorder should put an arrow in the direction ofthe trend and record the reason.

Step 2 Continue commodity by commodity and line by line. Is production going upor down? (Insert an arrow). Are sales going up or down? (Insert an arrow). Are profitsgoing up or down? An arrow going up indicates an increase, an arrow going downdenotes a decrease; a horizontal line means that there is no change; two arrows, oneup and one down means that profits are increasing from some people and decliningfor others; a zigzag arrow indicates that trends within the year are erratic.

An example of a completed table is given below.

Reason for ChangesProduct1.2.3.4.5.

Prices SalesProduction Profits


Kanyenda village, Mpongwe district, Copperbelt province

How to Analyse the DataStep 1 the first level of analysis is done by the villagers. For each crop, explainwhat is causing the profits to go up or own. Is it the world price? Or is there aproblem with production? Or is profit affected by something else (for instance, lowsales, or the rising cost of purchased inputs)? Why are prices and profits for someproducts improving and others are getting worse?

Step 2 Members of the diagnostic teams combine data on trends for different sitesin the same country. Are the trends uniform across sites or do they differ? If so, whydo they differ? Is it due to price or production, or something else?

34

Income SourceMaize

Groundnuts

Cabbage

Goats

Tomatoes

Prices

Erratic

Sales

Stable

Production

Erratic

Profits Reason Production decreasing due to

excessive rain

High price of inputs Late delivery of fertilizer Death of oxen (corridor disease) Doesnt need fertilizer Cost of inputs low, profit high

Demand high Price low due to perishability/

difficulty to store

High demand Do not require feed

Profit declining because inputprices are increasing

EnterpriseBeans (site 1)Beans (site 2)Beans (site 3)Beans (site 4)Cassava (site 1)Cassava (site 2)

PricesDecreasing

Fluctuating

Fluctuating

Rising

Decreasing

Fluctuating

SalesDecreasing

Increasing

Fluctuating

Rising

Increasing

Fluctuating

ProductionBig increase

Increasing

Fluctuating

Rising

Increasing

Fluctuating

ProfitsDecreasing

Fluctuating

Fluctuating

Rising

Decreasing

Fluctuating

Reason Price is low; sales down No buyers Price fluctuation affects profit;

consumed only locally Supply and demand, no export,

perishability Good market needs no

purchased inputs No ready market; consumed only

locally; sell it raw Supply and demand, no export,

perishability



35

Step 3 If relevant, compare trends across countries of the same region. Are thetrends similar in all cotton-growing areas? In all coffee-growing areas? If not, whynot?

How to Use the Findings Compare the villagers analysis of trends with those reported by national sources

such as MoA or crop buyers or produce exporters. Are the analyses consistent?

Are the profits declining for any of the commodities that the national authorities(MoA, national farmers association, IFAD project, etc.) are trying to promote? Ifso, are farmers still interested in the crop? If not, does the programme designneed to be adjusted to take account of declining farmer interest?



37

4. Markets and Mobility Map

Participants: 10 village leaders (male and female) time required: 1/2 hour. Linkages: with Leaders Module Table 2 Price Differences by Season and Location.

Step 1 Villager leaders draw a map, on the ground, with a stick, showing thelocation of the village in relation to roads, other lines of communication andmarkets. Make sure that all the market places mentioned in Table 2 PriceDifferences by Season and Location are shown on the map.

Step 2 Copy the map on a piece of paper (see examples in Market EnvironmentCase Studies).

Step 3 Show on the map the routes that villagers use to sell their produce andmode of transport (whether on foot, bicycle, boat or by public transport). Record onthe map the distance from the village to each market.

Step 4 Record on the map the cost of transport from the village to the variousmarkets. If the price by hired oxcart differs from the price by bush taxi record both.

Step 5 Record, on the map, who male or female usually goes to market, onwhat route and with what means of transport. How often does the average man orwoman visit that market (Daily? Weekly? Fortnightly? Once a year?)

How to Analyze the InformationStep 1 In the village, with the villagers, discuss what are the constraints related tophysical access to markets. Is it a problem with road access during the rainy season?Is public transport available? How often and what cost?

Step 2 In the village, with villagers, discuss what factors determine who goeswhere to sell their products -what quantity do you need to make it worthwhile totake the produce to town? What factors (such as taboos on bicycle riding) limitwomens physical mobility?

How to Use the Findings Is villagers information consistent with the design missions conclusions from

other sources about constraints related to road access and transport?

Does the programme require a road component? If so, on average, how long astretch of road needs to be improved?

An example of a completed map is given on the next page.

5 km to town market by road


38

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39

5. Timeline of Village Money Sources and Markets

Participants: 10 village leaders (male and female) Time required: 1/2 hour.Linkages: with Leaders Module Table 3 Enterprise Trends for the top 5 enterprises.

Getting Started. Copy the table on a flip chart paper in the local language.Subdivide the area available into three to five periods in history, depending on localcircumstances.

Step 1 Ask the oldest person present in the group to tell the group what life waslike in colonial times. How did people get their income? What products did theysell? Were the prices good or bad? Was it easier or harder to sell back in those days?How well could people live with the money from selling.

Step 2 Go on to the next historical period and ask other group members to saywhether the village income sources remained the same and whether the marketoutlets or prices changed. What was good about it? What was bad about it? Gothrough the list of enterprises in the enterprise module and identify years when thenewer enterprises were introduced.

Step 3 Repeat for the third historical period.

Step 4 Repeat for the most recent historical period.

An example of a filled-out template is given on the next page, from Metuge Districtin Mozambique.

Negative Events (-)Positive Events (+)Colonial times 1

Independence

Civil wa r

Post-war economic l ibe ralization

Year

2002

1Adapt the main historical headings to fit with the broad history of the area where the PRA is to be carried out.


How to Analyze the InformationStep 1 In the village, villagers explain how the main products sold by the villagehave changed over the years and the reasons for the changes. Then ask villagerswhy they find it easier or harder today to market their products than they did in thepast historical periods. Which was the worst period for marketing? Which was thebest and why?

Negative Events (-)

Men had no time to produce their own food, as theywere required to do forced labour on colonial estates.

Men were forced to work at low wages for thelandowners to earn enough money to pay taxes.

War disrupted farming and trade. Infrastructure was destroyed. Lives were lost.

Government gave low priority to the family farmsector; public expenditure on smallholder agriculturewas limited (Ministry of Agriculture weak).

Means of production (hand tools) were in shortsupply.

Low prices were paid to farmers.

Infrastructure was destroyed (bridges, roads,schools, clinics).

Property was looted, destroyed. Farming and marketing were disrupted. Farmers were afraid to clear new land because

RENAMO rebels might be hiding in the forest.

Lack of state stores Lack of farm produce buyers Shortage of means of production (tractors, hoes,

slashers) No market No public transport (necessary to headload products) High prices for transport and farm inputs Price of farm output does not keep pace with rising

cost of consumer goods Shortage of fishing gear (nets, hooks, lines) Shortage of rice dehullers

Positive Events (+)

Colonial period Maize, rice, beans, sorghum and vegetables were

grown mainly by women due to shortage of malelabour and women controlled all aspects of foodproduction and utilization.

Independence wa r Led to independence from Portugal.

Independence (FRELIMO period ) Farmers were freed from forced labour. Men had time to grow food. Farmers could keep their entire crop for themselves. Farmers sold to state stores (lojas) or bartered for

consumer goods.

Civil war (FRELIMO vs RENAMO) There was nothing good.

Pe a ce / Economic libe ralization Roads, schools and hospitals were reconstructed. The economy grew. Consumer goods were readily available (but very

expensive)

Year

1940s to1975

1964 to 1975

1978 to 1992

1992to

2002

40

Illustration of a Historical Timeline Ocua (Chiure District) Mosambique



41

Step 2 Members of the diagnostic team compare historical trends for different sitesin the same region. Are there patterns? Do all sites in the same country have thesame trends or are there differences? In case of differences, are there similaritiesbetween sites with similar market environments?

Step 3 If relevant, compile information on trends from sites in different countriesand compare. Are villagers reactions to liberalization similar? Do all countrieswhere the state formerly fixed agricultural input and output prices differ from thosethat never had such a large degree of state control?

How to Use the Information Use the informa

Gender Strengthening Programme for Eastern and Southern Africa Division: Toolkit

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Transcript of Gender Strengthening Programme for Eastern and Southern Africa Division: Toolkit