Presentation by Dr Lindiwe M. Sibanda , FANRPAN CEO

1. Eradicating Hunger and Poverty:Supporting communities for rural development, food security and land reform Presentation by Dr Lindiwe M. Sibanda, FANRPAN CEO The 2011 Consultative Seminar of the South African Legislatures 16 March 2011, Cape Town

2. Levers-for Achieving MDG1 • From Hunger to Food and Nutrition Security • From Poverty to Viable Livelihoods • Local livelihood assets databases • Evidence based development targets • People-led, verifiable development initiatives: from Local to the Regional & Global Policy Agenda

3. From Hunger to food security? • The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing “when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life” • Food security is built on three pillars: • Food availability: sufficient quantities of food available on a consistent basis. • Food access: having sufficient resources to obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious diet. • Food use: appropriate use based on knowledge of basic nutrition and care, as well as adequate water and sanitation.

4. Food security and Poverty- South Africa • Some 40-50% of South Africans are living in poverty • 18 million out of 45 million people remain vulnerable and food insecure • Poverty more pervasive in rural areas, particularly in the former homelands. • 65 percent of the poor are found in rural areas • 78 percent of those likely to be chronically poor are also in rural areas How can agriculture’s role in poverty alleviation be enhanced?

5. Global Challenge • Challenge of feeding extra mouths because of: • Growing population • High food prices • High unemployment rate @ rural areas where majority are living (70%) • diminishing yields due to • Market failure In rural development literature: • Agriculture is considered as the best vehicle to reduce rural poverty • Agriculture and agriculture-related activities provide (and have potential to provide) most of the employment in rural areas. The threat of climate change and its impact on agriculture; water; energy; health, etc

6. What Needs To Be Done Now • Investing in People • Support actions in the area of human and social development • specifically via training and education • Knowledge sharing platforms • Infrastructure • Improving access to basic infrastructure essential for economic growth and development • Basic Infrastructure such as housing, roads, electrical reticulation and communications, essential pillars for economic growth. • Services • Enhancing agricultural productivity, competitiveness, and rural growth • Improving access to assets and sustainable natural resource use • Strengthening institutions for the poor and promoting diversified rural livelihood

7. From Local to Global

8. From Local to Global COMMON VISION - Sustainable Development for a World free of Hunger and Poverty Facilitating linkages and partnerships between state and non state actors at all levels Building the capacity for policy analysis and policy dialogue in Africa Advocating for evidence based policies

9. What Needs To Be Done? Common Vision A food secure Africa free from hunger and poverty Purpose: Promote appropriate policies in order to reduce poverty, increase food security and enhance sustainable agricultural and natural resources development in Africa WHAT • Facilitate linkages and partnerships between government and civil society • Build the capacity for policy analysis and policy dialogue • Create capacity to demand evidence for policy development • Promote evidence based policy development in the Food Agriculture and Natural Resources sector

10. Global Policy Making and Investment Options From Local to Global Continental Policy Frameworks National/Countries Policy Frameworks Anecdotal Findings Empirical Learning Feedback (Local and Indigenous Knowledge)

11. Global Level Policy Frameworks Global Knowledge Linking Local to Global Model Scaling Down National & Regional Policy Frameworks Policy Development Policy Dialogue Agri. Production Databases Trans-Disciplinary Research GIS Mapping OF assets Climate Data Scaling Up 1.Human, 2.Social,3. Natural, 4.Financial, 5.Physical, HOUSEHOLD Livelihood Assets Community Livelihood Databases

12. Responses: Mobilising all Institutions to Fight Poverty Local-household • Meso level- Ward and Municipality • National-Legislative Sector • Regional – SADC, AU- NEPAD • Global – G20, BRIC-SA, World Economic Forum, UN-FCCC / FAO / UN

13. Understanding the Local Context YOU CAN’T IMPROVE WHAT YOU DON’T MEASURE!

14. Which Communities? • Over 75% of the African population lives in RURAL areas • 80 % of farmers in Africa are smallholder farmers • rely on rain-fed agriculture for their livelihoods • Women constitute 70% of the labour force • Spend up to 80 % of income on food • Land is a constraint 80% depend on farms that are less than 2 hectares

15. Face of Rural Poverty In Africa • A quarter of the world’s chronically poor population is in Sub-Saharan Africa, • One in 6 – 7 people are chronically poor. • Two-thirds of this population lives in rural areas, and rely on rain-fed subsistence agriculture for their livelihood

16. ● Land Owned - 1 ha● Main Crops - Staples● Yields - Maize 100kg/ha● Fertilizer used - 20% of recommended● Agricultural implements owned - hand hoe FACE of an African Small-scale Farmer

17. Measuring Household Vulnerability Measure the vulnerability of households and communities to the impact of shocks: • Natural assets such as land, soil and water; • Physical assets such as livestock and equipment; • Financial assets such as savings, salaries, remittances or pensions; • Human capital assets such as productive labour, education, gender composition and dependents; and • Social assets such as information, community support, extended families and formal or informal social welfare support http://www.fanrpan.org/documents/d00217/

18. Building the Livelihood Databases

19. Who Should Do What, Where? From Local to Global

20. Results from HVI Assessments in Pilot Countries year 2010

21. Typology Of Vulnerable Households

22. Typology Of Vulnerable Households

23. Typology Of Vulnerable Households

24. Typology Of Vulnerable Households

25. Typology Of Vulnerable Households

26. Generate Evidence • Avail knowledge for people to benchmark themselves and create a personal and community vision • Generate and disseminate evidence to inform policy processes, decision making and investment

27. Using Local evidence to Develop Policies and Investment Plans

28. The Policy Environment: A Confused Arena Cabinet Donors Policy Formulation Parliament Agenda Setting Decision Making Civil Society Government Monitoring and Evaluation Policy Implementation PrivateSector Source: John Young, Networking for impact. Experience from CTA supported regional agricultural policy networks, 2007

29. The Policy Environment: The Key Players Who is the Referee? Department of Energy Department of Water Affairs Department of Tourism Department of Trade & Industry Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Climate Change Department of Transport Department of Mineral Resources Department of Science & Technology Department of Rural Development & Land Reform Department of Environmental Affairs

30. The Policy Environment: The Key Players • RESEARCH SYSTEM • ACTORS • Research • Public (universities and research centre) • Private • Civil Society • Policy makers • POLICY SYSTEM • ACTORS • politicians & political system • Civil servants • Universities • Civil societies and groups • LINKING ENVIRONMENT ACTORS • Education, Institutions, • Incentives, Innovation policy, • Political systems and channel • Stakeholder platforms • PRACTICE SYSTEM • ACTORS • Producers of goods and services • Input providers • Organized groups of interest Fig 1: A framework for linking research, policy and practice

31. The Policy Environment: Challenges in Policy Development • Plethora of actors • African policy environment is crowded, and involvement demands flexibility and responsiveness • Lack of empirical data to validate assumptions • Reliance on external information & databases • Insufficient resources for continuous engagement • Engagement in policy processes is the preserve of the literate…YET • Africa has some of the world’s lowest literacy levels in some countries rates as low as 40 %

32. The Research Challenges • Lack of multi-and trans-disciplinary and research teams • Local Universities do not accompany development agenda • Research agenda not ALIGNED to community needs • policy concerns and government agenda • Lack capacities to communicate research results to policymakers • Policy makers not demanding research backed evidence

33. The Policy Challenges • Lack of capacities to integrate knowledge into policy • Absence of foresighted policy targeted at the existing problems using research result • Weak demand for research input by African policymakers • Over reliance on external knowledge at the expense of local knowledge

34. Innovations in Linking Local to Global

35. Moving Forward Evidence Based policies

36. What To Do? Food Systems • Domestication of CAADP in the SADC region (4 out 15 SADC countries signed compacts compared to all 15 in ECOWAS) • National domestication of regional seed security policy for improved food security of smallholder farmers in the SADC region through increased availability of and access to seed Agricultural Productivity & Markets • Bringing women farmer issues into national and regional policy debates through Theatre for Policy Action Natural Resources & Environment • Strengthening institutional capacity for linking climate change adaptation to sustainable agriculture • Assessing the vulnerability of agriculture to climate change

37. What To Do? (continued) Social protection and livelihoods Generate information databases on vulnerability of household assets (human, social networks, financial, natural and physical) to inform development policy and practice (programme design, targeting, monitoring, evaluation) Institutional strengthening Building the capacity for policy analysis and policy dialogue • Create capacity to demand evidence for policy development • Empower institutions with research backed evidence: household, community, ward, municipal, provincial, national, regional, global

38. Africa’s Oral Culture • ORAL CULTURE has been used for 1000’s of years to • pass on knowledge across generations without a writing system • An important role in Africa's history • stories of the old times and the history of the continent preserved this way • Encompassed stories, songs and folklore • sometimes performed to give a richer and more expressive way of communication

39. Theatre for Policy Advocacy • Theatre makes use of Africa’s traditional ORAL CULTURE: • Song, dance, narrative and ceremonial rituals a part of African tradition • Defines a community’s identity • Theatre is a powerful medium for communicating ideas • Levels the field, • Breaks barriers and • Addresses topics that are deemed “taboo” • The TPA process • Is developed and refined by various development agents, researchers, social scientists and theatre specialists • Stimulates dialogue and action - a theatrical performance is a major social event in rural Africa • Provides a holistic enactment of the community's responses to the challenges of daily existence and development • Works through community based processes

40. Community entry and mobilization • Secure the community’s buy-in for developing their own theatrical performance • Identification of appropriate performers, stakeholders and influencers 1 • Engagement of policy researchers and development experts • Theatre company, policy researchers and communities develop a script capturing • key issues • Policy makers provide “expert” at the same time they gain community knowledge • that only villagers and farmers have 2 • Building local capacity to communicate key messages through theatre • Community performers equipped with skills to package their own livelihoods • stories and mobilize their own communities towards a solution 3 The Theatre for Policy Advocacy Process

41. Community dialogue platform • Theatre performance provides a platform for researchers and policy makers • to engage in dialogue with different community groups • Performances serves as an icebreaker and sensitizer • Facilitated discussions are conducted to develop community based and • community supported solutions to women’s challenges 4 • Identification of champions for community issues • Communities together with the professional theatre team identifies opinion leaders • The identified champions are individuals who are passionate about the issue and • willing to advocate on specific interventions 5 • Community Voices taken to National & Global levels • Trained local talent and issue champions become a permanent community voice • They access and incorporate broader policy data to add weight to their advocacy • messages • They communicate their needs in a language that makes sense to relevant decision • makers 6 The Theatre for Policy Advocacy Process

42. Theatre in Action: Farmer Voices Malawi, Everlyn Machete asked: “we no longer have agricultural extension service workers in our communities and visiting us everyday, so how do you expect small holder farmers like us to learn new farming technologies or to learn how to improve our agricultural enterprises” In response, Mrs. Alice Kishombe, the Agriculture gender Roles and Extension Support Services Officer (AGRESSO) says the “Government has a shortage of Extension workers and hence no officers are assigned to villages. Extension services were provided on a demand basis”.

43. From Community to National Level • Innovative Strategies – Theatre for Policy Advocacy • Community dialogues • Support of oral culture and transcribe to written communication that is far reaching • Action research • Amplifying local voices • Widen decision making process • Training of women advocates • Success Stories • Document good practices- local secondary schools aided by tertiary institutions • Validating local knowledge • Tertiary Institutions-Local, colleges, Universities

44. Multi-Stakeholder Trans-boundary Engagements

45. Government/Policy Makers Policy Advice/Options/Evidence to support policy development Farmers Organisations Enabling policies – Production to Trade and Markets (Value Chain) Private Sector Enabling policies – Production to Trade and Markets (Value Chain) Researchers/Policy Analysts Technical Partners Validation, analysis and dissemination SUPPLY Development Partners POLICY HORMONISATION VALUE FOR $ Media Rallying point for news Youth Enabling environment for their active engagement in the value chain NGOs Enabling policies - advocacy Linking Policy Demand & Supply

46. NATIONAL LEVEL Policy Advisory Process Ongoing Research Studies National Policy Dialogues (Periodic) Emerging Issues and FANR Policies Tracking Agenda for Policy Engagement • Africa Region • Representatives from: • Farmers’ Organisations • Governments • Private Sector • Researchers • Development Partners • Media • Youth • NGOs from all FANR Stakeholder Groups POLICY ADVISORY NOTES-TO GOVERNMENT (Node Host Institution submits, follows up and reports back at next stakeholder engagement Multi – Stakeholder Policy Dialogues REGIONAL LEVEL • Coordination of multi-country studies • Synthesis of research evidence • Into Agenda for Policy engagements • Networking, sharing • of information, regional and • global representation

47. Way Forward: The Building Blocks Seek out and scale up innovative solutions by incorporating communities’ aspirations into policy processes Document and validate successful interventions Train policy “champions” who can spread the word Train the Media in spreading the evidence Collaborate across disciplines More collaboration in multi- and trans-disciplinary teams Look for ways to work together, while not losing the advantages of deep sectoral expertise.

48. REGIONAL: Knowledge Dissemination Platforms • Information Dissemination to Strengthen Policy Advocacy • Multi-stakeholder Policy Dialogue platforms – i.e. CAADP round tables • Media Training on documenting best practices in the region • Training scientists in Policy Development and national priorities • Regional harmonization of policies-engagements with Regional Economic Communities SADC, African Union, sharing experiences

49. What Needs To Be Done Now? • Enable poor rural people to harness new opportunities-turn rural areas into places where profitable opportunities and innovation takes place by investing in rural enterprises • Reversal of ‘business as usual’ approach to economic and rural development- break disconnect between policies and practice

50. Levers for Scaling-up from Local To Global?