Special Evaluation/Report
Nigeria State Of Emergency Declaration On Food Security: A Policy Brief
In recent times, insecurity, climate change and its effects (including seasonal flooding, competing resource use and open conflict) and high inflation have brought Nigeria to the brink of a food crisis. Between January and April 2023, it was estimated by a consortium of UN agencies and other partners (October Cadre Harmonise, including WFP and UNICEF) that as many as 25m people could face food insecurity between June and August of 2023.
This comes at a time when the Global Economic Outlook report H1 2023, KPMG, estimated the unemployment rate in Nigeria at the end of 2022 at 37.7% while estimating that this would rise to 40.6% in 2023 and 43% in 20241. The World Poverty Clock indicates that 71 million Nigerians live in extreme poverty, the largest number globally.
The real impact of these hikes on inflation and food inflation will not be statistically revealed until the respective rates for July are released since these would be based on data for June. We, however, know from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), as well as from market surveys and observations, that a significant contributing factor to the price of goods and services in general, and food prices in particular, is the cost of transportation of food across the food value
chain - the cost of transportation of inputs and farm labour to the farm; the cost of transportation of farm produce to storage facilities, and or markets; the cost of transportation of processed food to markets, etc. among others. Read More...
This comes at a time when the Global Economic Outlook report H1 2023, KPMG, estimated the unemployment rate in Nigeria at the end of 2022 at 37.7% while estimating that this would rise to 40.6% in 2023 and 43% in 20241. The World Poverty Clock indicates that 71 million Nigerians live in extreme poverty, the largest number globally.
The real impact of these hikes on inflation and food inflation will not be statistically revealed until the respective rates for July are released since these would be based on data for June. We, however, know from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), as well as from market surveys and observations, that a significant contributing factor to the price of goods and services in general, and food prices in particular, is the cost of transportation of food across the food value
chain - the cost of transportation of inputs and farm labour to the farm; the cost of transportation of farm produce to storage facilities, and or markets; the cost of transportation of processed food to markets, etc. among others. Read More...
Strengthening Female Youth Resilience in Somalia Learnings from AGES and SOMGEP-T
A quality, relevant education is core to adaptive capacities for resilience, equipping children and youth with the skills to cope with shocks and adapt to new livelihoods.1 Schools and non-formal learning environments may also contribute to develop transformative capacities for resilience: strengthening social cohesion through peer support networks; equipping students for collective action and participation in decision-making; and shifting gender norms. Education also has the potential to build absorptive capacities for resilience through engaging adolescents and youth in informal savings groups, strengthening preparedness for shocks, and providing safeguarding mechanisms. Developing resilience capacities is relevant for all, but particularly for adolescent girls coming of age in crisis-affected contexts and those living in displacement. Read More...
Integrating Local Knowledge in Humanitarian and Development Programming: Perspectives of Global Women Leaders
This report examines local knowledge integration in the context of global development and humanitarian aid work. It builds upon a recently published report by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) called "Integrating Local Knowledge in Development Programming". That report sought to “share knowledge of how development donors and implementing organizations leverage local knowledge to inform programming.”2 This study aims to extend the original methods to better understand grassroots actors’ own interpretations of local knowledge and its integration into programming in their communities. It examines the perspectives of 29 grassroots leaders from women-led organizations around the world, looking deeply at the ways in which they conceptualize local knowledge and local knowledge stakeholders, their approaches to designing their own projects based on local knowledge, and their experiences sharing knowledge with international actors and donors. This builds the broader evidence base on integrating local knowledge to incorporate the perspectives of grassroots actors into the same conversation as the original study.
Key takeaways from this research span two broad categories – how local leaders conceptualize local knowledge and what the effective use of local knowledge in practice looks like to them. Within these categories, interviewees explored the many challenges they face in identifying and sharing knowledge; their various approaches to designing projects based on local knowledge; some of the tensions they often find themselves balancing; unique ways of measuring the contribution of such knowledge to the success of an intervention; and experiences with and strategies for sharing their knowledge with non-local actors.
In terms of how women leaders tend to conceptualize local knowledge, the research reveals three distinct but interconnected definitions of the term: 1) knowing what a community is like; 2) knowing what a community needs and where the solutions lie; and 3) having a profound connection with the community. The first definition indicates knowing a community well enough to understand the dynamics within it. The second goes a bit further to say that local knowledge means knowing both the specific needs present in a community as well as the relevant solutions for addressing them. As one respondent told us, “Contextual expertise is having experience in a certain context and being able to solve problems based on it.” And the third conceptualization indicates having a deeply rooted connection with the community or the grassroots. Some described this as “having your heart” in the community. Key to this third definition appears to be both consistency and the ability to perceive change over time. Interviewees said that local knowledge depends on people having gone through different “contexts, histories, processes, and experiences” together, and having learned from them collectively. Therefore, it is difficult, if not impossible, for international actors to acquire the same level of investment in communities that is quasi-synonymous with local knowledge unless they have lived, worked, and built relationships within them long enough to meet this consistency standard. Instead, this level of knowledge of a community and its context is fairly unique to local actors. Read More...
Key takeaways from this research span two broad categories – how local leaders conceptualize local knowledge and what the effective use of local knowledge in practice looks like to them. Within these categories, interviewees explored the many challenges they face in identifying and sharing knowledge; their various approaches to designing projects based on local knowledge; some of the tensions they often find themselves balancing; unique ways of measuring the contribution of such knowledge to the success of an intervention; and experiences with and strategies for sharing their knowledge with non-local actors.
In terms of how women leaders tend to conceptualize local knowledge, the research reveals three distinct but interconnected definitions of the term: 1) knowing what a community is like; 2) knowing what a community needs and where the solutions lie; and 3) having a profound connection with the community. The first definition indicates knowing a community well enough to understand the dynamics within it. The second goes a bit further to say that local knowledge means knowing both the specific needs present in a community as well as the relevant solutions for addressing them. As one respondent told us, “Contextual expertise is having experience in a certain context and being able to solve problems based on it.” And the third conceptualization indicates having a deeply rooted connection with the community or the grassroots. Some described this as “having your heart” in the community. Key to this third definition appears to be both consistency and the ability to perceive change over time. Interviewees said that local knowledge depends on people having gone through different “contexts, histories, processes, and experiences” together, and having learned from them collectively. Therefore, it is difficult, if not impossible, for international actors to acquire the same level of investment in communities that is quasi-synonymous with local knowledge unless they have lived, worked, and built relationships within them long enough to meet this consistency standard. Instead, this level of knowledge of a community and its context is fairly unique to local actors. Read More...
Driven by Impact – CARE’s progress against Vision 2030 as of May 2023
CARE International approved Vision 2030 in June 2020. V2030 lays out an overall direction for the Confederation of the impact we seek, the organisation we will become and the resourcing we need to achieve our impact. This report takes stock of the impact we have achieved after 2 years; it outlines what programme leaders of CARE will do to deepen and scale our impact and makes recommendations to National Directors and Council regarding priority areas of progress required in our organisation and our resourcing to accelerate our programme impact.
In Annex 1, you will find detailed analysis by impact goal, Annex 2 highlights the main documents reviewed to feed into this report and Annex 3 indicates who was interviewed/consulted. Read More...
In Annex 1, you will find detailed analysis by impact goal, Annex 2 highlights the main documents reviewed to feed into this report and Annex 3 indicates who was interviewed/consulted. Read More...
Understanding the Policy Environment for Scaling Farmers’ Field Business School in Nepal: A Gender Focused Context Analysis with a Focus on Local and Sectoral Governance
The objectives of the Rupantaran project are to enhance dignity and self-esteem with livelihood promotion of Farmer Field Business School (FFBS) groups especially landless, women and Dalits, and other marginalized communities. The project is transforming the knowledge and skills of Small Holder Women Farmers (SHWFs) through the ‘Krishak Pathshala’ (Farmer Field Business School) model based on the ‘Learning by Doing’ approaches at the community level, and beneficiaries are taking the project positively and participating in FFBS model in their respective community.
The study is implemented by National Farmer Group Federation (NFGF) in partnership with CARE Nepal. The primary purpose of the study is to carry out a gender-focused context analysis to understand the policy environment and governance context with a focus on the local governance and sectoral governance of associated sectors with the FFBS scale-up, specifically agriculture, food security, climate change adaptation, nutrition, and markets. The study is focused on structure, institutional and governance arrangement, and the main change actors/stakeholders to enable the promotion of the FFBS model and identify the formal and informal institutions and opportunities that support upscaling of the FFBS model. It is found through the study that the structural barriers for women and Dalits are caste, class, gender, education, land size, ownership, and the traditional patriarchal mindset. Additionally, the study area's socially harmful practices include untouchability, child marriage, Gender Based Violence (GBV), dowry systems, and domestic violence from their intimate partner. Moreover, the care economy does not recognize women’s contribution to household chores.
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The study is implemented by National Farmer Group Federation (NFGF) in partnership with CARE Nepal. The primary purpose of the study is to carry out a gender-focused context analysis to understand the policy environment and governance context with a focus on the local governance and sectoral governance of associated sectors with the FFBS scale-up, specifically agriculture, food security, climate change adaptation, nutrition, and markets. The study is focused on structure, institutional and governance arrangement, and the main change actors/stakeholders to enable the promotion of the FFBS model and identify the formal and informal institutions and opportunities that support upscaling of the FFBS model. It is found through the study that the structural barriers for women and Dalits are caste, class, gender, education, land size, ownership, and the traditional patriarchal mindset. Additionally, the study area's socially harmful practices include untouchability, child marriage, Gender Based Violence (GBV), dowry systems, and domestic violence from their intimate partner. Moreover, the care economy does not recognize women’s contribution to household chores.
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Farmer Field Business Schools and Village Savings and Loan Associations for promoting climate-smart agriculture practices: Evidence from rural Tanzania
A quasi-experimental data collection was used in Iringa Tanzania to investigate the impact of a community based approach to promote the adoption of climate smart agriculture (CSA) practices. Based on two community-based organizations, Farmer Field Business Schools (FFBS) and Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), this approach combines interventions on farmer training, access to microfinance, and women’s empowerment in agriculture to introduce and enhance the adoption of the practices. We find a positive effect of the interventions on the adoption rates of CSA practices, including mulching, manure composting, crop rotation and rhizobium inoculation, and soybean production. This effect was more pronounced for farmers that participated in the trainings provided by the FFBSs and members of VSLAs. Farming households scoring high in terms of women’s empowerment are also more likely to adopt the introduced practices when compared to those scoring low. Soybean production results increased soybean sales and consumption, showing the contribution of the interventions to the incomes and nutrition levels of the farmers. These results show that FFBS and VSLA serve as promising community based platforms to introduce interventions on farmers training, microfinance, women’s empowerment to upscale the adoption of CSA practices. Read More...
Rapport d’évaluation rapide du marché dans le cadre des opérations de transferts sociaux (Intrants agricoles et produits enrichis)
Ce rapport rend compte des résultats de l’étude d’évaluation rapide du marché réalisée dans les cercles d’intervention (Mopti et Tombouctou) de Sugu Yiriwa. Initiée dans le cadre des opérations de transferts sociaux destinés à l’achat des intrants agricoles et des produits locaux nutritifs, l’étude a pour but de faire un diagnostic rapide des marchés d’intrants et des produits alimentaires transformés, en vue d’identifier les tendances et dégager une stratégie d’intervention adaptée. Les travaux ont été réalisés par une équipe constituée d’agents recrutés, mobilisés et formés sous la supervision de l’équipe MEL de Sugu Yiriwa. Le rapport est structuré en plusieurs parties dont le contexte, les objectifs et l’approche méthodologique utilisée lors de l’étude, suivi des résultats obtenus. Read More...
TATWEER “Livelihood Security and Civil Society Strengthening in the OPT.”
TATWEER was implemented from May 2009 - April of 2015 utilizing partnerships with three Palestine NGOs (Applied Research Institute-Jerusalem (ARIJ), Economic and Social Development Center of Palestine (ESDC), and New Farm Company (NFC). The project was implemented to help devastated farmers begin to regain food security in the Jenin and Tubas regions. This research seeks to understand and assess the sustained post-project outcomes and impacts both achieved and unintended of the TATWEER as a food security enabler among Palestinian households. CARE Palestine, CARE USA, and partners used mixed methods for this post-project sustainability study. Read More...
Beyond Economic Empowerment The Influence of Savings Groups on Women’s Public Participation in Fragile and (post) Conflict-Affected Settings
Promoting women’s meaningful participation and influence in governance processes in fragile and (post) conflict-affected settings (FCAS) is necessary to achieve inclusive development. Existing evidence suggests that by economically empowering women, they will be able to better participate in public decision-making processes. One such mechanism for women’s economic empowerment in Sudan is through Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA), which are savings groups that offer women a space to come together to save money, take out small loans, and make investment decisions.
The mixed methods study conducted in seven villages across three states (East Darfur, South Darfur, and South Kordofan) sought to answer the research question “To what extent does women’s participation in savings groups affect their public participation in governance or decision-making processes?” Additionally, this study investigated the differences between women who participated in VSLAs under the Every Voice Counts (EVC) and Latter Day Saints Charities (LDS) Recovery Support for Vulnerable Households programmes as well as the differences from participation in different community groups (VSLAs, community advocacy groups, and other community-based organisations). These comparisons helped to offer an explanation of how different programmatic approaches from civil society and different community groups did or did not affect women members’ public participation.
Through the findings of this study, it can be concluded that indeed women’s participation in savings groups (VSLAs) affects their public participation in community governance structures and decision-making. The extent, though, is dependent on a variety of factors including the gender composition of the VSLA, the support of family and community members, the support and resources contributed by programmes and partners, social norms and exclusionary practices within the communities, and the will of the women members themselves. Read More...
The mixed methods study conducted in seven villages across three states (East Darfur, South Darfur, and South Kordofan) sought to answer the research question “To what extent does women’s participation in savings groups affect their public participation in governance or decision-making processes?” Additionally, this study investigated the differences between women who participated in VSLAs under the Every Voice Counts (EVC) and Latter Day Saints Charities (LDS) Recovery Support for Vulnerable Households programmes as well as the differences from participation in different community groups (VSLAs, community advocacy groups, and other community-based organisations). These comparisons helped to offer an explanation of how different programmatic approaches from civil society and different community groups did or did not affect women members’ public participation.
Through the findings of this study, it can be concluded that indeed women’s participation in savings groups (VSLAs) affects their public participation in community governance structures and decision-making. The extent, though, is dependent on a variety of factors including the gender composition of the VSLA, the support of family and community members, the support and resources contributed by programmes and partners, social norms and exclusionary practices within the communities, and the will of the women members themselves. Read More...