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We are striving to identify and close information gaps and improve systematic lesson-learning with all rural development stakeholders.
Some of the latest and ongoing Platform studies take a closer look at the new modes of aid delivery in agriculture and rural development (SWAp and PRSP studies), promote dialogue with and engagement of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) within the aid effectiveness agenda or tackle the question of how to measure progress towards achieving the MDGs (Core Indicators for Agriculture and Rural Development).
Civil Society Organisations and Aid Effectiveness in Agriculture and Rural Development
Farmer organisations and other civil society organisations (CSOs) are critical stakeholders and drivers for sustainable development in agriculture and rural development. They also contribute substantial resources to this sector and Platform members are working to consolidate this trend.
However, CSOs and the private sector are not adequately involved in international discussions on aid effectiveness such as the High Level Fora on Aid Effectiveness. The  2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, for example, pays only limited attention to the roles and importance of civil society and the private sector to increased aid effectiveness. After a consultation process in thirteen countries, the Platform - led by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) - provides recommendations on how to better include CSOs active in agriculture and rural development in the implementation of the aid effectiveness agenda.
CSOs and Aid Effectiveness in Agriculture and Rural Development - Synthesis Report of a 13-Country Consultation, Donor Platform 2008
The main findings of this study highlight the many aid effectiveness challenges facing CSOs working in ARD. […] In fact, it was commonly found that rural CSOs are particularly disadvantaged, characterised by limited capacity, small size, remoteness, poor rural administration and governance, and exclusion from national processes. Indeed, the nature of the ARD sector exacerbates the challenges facing CSOs. […] Finally, the consultation participants provided many practical recommendations, [...]. They draw attention to ways in which development actors active in ARD can help include CSOs in the implementation of the aid effectiveness agenda.
The consultations took place in late 2007 and early 2008 and its results and recommendations were presented to the  Advisory Group (AG) on Civil Society and Aid Effectiveness at the International Forum on Civil Society and Aid Effectiveness in Ottawa, on February 3-6, 2008. Please see the final report of this multistakeholder dialogue.
The Advisory Group is informing the OECD DAC Working Party on Aid Effectiveness and Donor Practices (WP-EFF) through “good practice papers” of this Platform-CIDA consultation process, finally feeding into the Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF3), scheduled for September 2008 in Accra, Ghana. Some of the consultation's findings already provided valuable input to the preparation of HLF3 documents. Further information is available at the Platform's page on Agriculture and the Accra HLF3.
More information: Mushtaq Ahmed, CIDA (
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) or Christoph Langenkamp, Platform Secretariat (
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).
Sector-wide Approaches in Agriculture and Rural Development
The Platform has commissioned evaluation studies of Sector-wide Approaches (SWAps) and its impact in the rural sector of several countries (Vietnam, Cambodia, Mozambique, Ghana, Tanzania, Nicaragua, Uganda). SWAps have been an important part of the global effort to deliver sustainable development results for more than a decade now. However, SWAps are relatively new in agriculture and rural development (A&RD). The central question of this analysis is whether SWAps have provided a useful framework for country partners and donors to manage increasingly complex institutional relationships in agriculture and rural devlopment and what the implications are for ongoing efforts to improve development effectiveness in the sector over the coming years. This Platform study was led by FAO and executed by the UK's Overseas Development Institute (ODI).
SWAps in agriculture & rural development – A synthesis report, Donor Platform 2007
This study takes a first and comprehensive look at some of the ways in which SWAps and SWAp-type approaches have evolved in A&RD. It includes a desk review of experience, issues and challenges (see below) and case studies from seven countries, with in-depth information available for three – Mozambique, Tanzania and Nicaragua (see below) – and assesses the extent to which SWAps are achieving their aims, their intended trajectories of change and provides key lessons for the future.
Translated versions of the synthesis report:
SWAps dans l’agriculture et le développement rural – Rapport de Synthèse, Donor Platform 2007 (French)
ESAs en agricultura y el desarrollo rural – Informe síntesis, Donor Platform 2007 (Spanish)
Country case studies:
SWAps in agriculture & rural development – The National Programme of Agrarian Development (PROAGRI) – Mozambique, Donor Platform 2007
SWAps in agriculture & rural development – The Rural Productive Sector Programme (PRORURAL) – Nicaragua, Donor Platform 2007 (English summary)
ESAs en agricultura y el desarrollo rural – El Programa Sectorial de Desarrollo Rural Productivo (PRORURAL) – Nicaragua, Donor Platform 2007 (Spanish full version)
SWAps in agriculture & rural development – The Agriculture Sector Development Programme (ASDP) – Tanzania, Donor Platform 2007
Desk review:
SWAps in agriculture & rural development – A Desk Review of Experience, Issues and Challenges
Developing a Toolkit of Indicators for A&RD
Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) is crucial to assess development impact. However, the value-added that M&E brings depends on the quality of the underlying data and the capacity at all levels to collect, process, analyse, and use the data. The Platform is working together with the World Bank to develop a toolkit with a menu of core indicators, which will be validated by an expert group and tested in selected countries. This manual will be used to monitor and evaluate agricultural and rural development on the global, country and project level more effectively.
Selecting Monitorable Indicators for Agricultural and Rural Development Programs – Measuring Results in less-than-ideal Conditions, Draft paper, World Bank 2007
Please read as well the interview with The World Bank's Nwanze Okidegbe, project leader for the study, "Counting what counts" in our Platform Speaking section.
Rural Focus of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers
This Platform-commissioned study is led by IFAD and is focusing on the following questions:
- What are the root-causes for the identified weaknesses in PRS processes, in particular with regard to the limited participation of rural stakeholders, and the observable disconnects between poverty assessments and the prioritisation of policy public action and resource allocation?
- In the light of experience to date, how can PRS processes be strengthened to improve long-term development impact?
The PRSP case studies conducted in selected countries (Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Bolivia and Cambodia) have been successfully completed. The editorial group of experts from ODI, GTZ, Norad and IFPRI is working on the synthesis of these studies, which will come out in late 2008.
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