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Mushtaq Ahmed, Ph.D.
Economic Policy Advisor/Agriculture, Economic Development Division, Policy Branch, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Ottawa
“Collective, concerted” research networks are a CIDA priority
Nater: What lessons has CIDA learned in rural development?
Ahmed: First and most obviously, rural development’s not just about farming. You have to look at rural communities as a whole, including the non-farm economy, financial and social services, gender, the environment, rural-urban interaction, population issues – the list is long and the work is complex. Second, I guess, is that one size does not fit all. An approach that worked well in one country or even one community doesn’t necessarily work in another. Project staff really need to have good knowledge of the local context. Third, you won’t have sustainability unless you get local beneficiaries – including men, women and children at village level – to buy into planning and implementation at the early stages. That’s not always easy, because you’re dealing with a multitude of different sectors. And fourth, CIDA believes in getting farmers organised into community or producer groups. There are all kinds of benefits here, from improving output, gaining market access and bargaining power to preserving local culture and traditional know-how.
CIDA was among the first to recognise the importance of women’s rights, as well.
Absolutely. We figure that women contribute up to 80% of the expertise, time and labour that goes into agricultural production alone, and that’s not even counting the work they do fetching fuel, carrying water, and raising and feeding their kids. There is massive potential here that you can unlock with equal rights and proper schooling. My fellow Bangladeshi Dr. Mohammad Yunus won this year’s Nobel Prize for Peace because he recognised that microfinance in the hands of women would be hugely empowering. Educated, self-respecting women are the bedrock of a stable society and of future generations. If you don’t recognise that fact, your development is just not going to be sustainable. Rural development policies and institutions must have an effective gender equality component.
“Educated, self-respecting women are the bedrock of a stable society and of future generations. If you don’t recognise that fact, your development is just not going to be sustainable.”
And agricultural research?
That’s another CIDA priority. Improved research – better crop, fish and tree varieties, pest and disease control, protecting and conserving water, land and biodiversity – is vital for progress on the MDGs. And it has to be done in a collective, concerted way. Collaboration and knowledge-sharing should combine modern, scientific research with on-site knowledge. You need international high-tech research and computer modeling as well as time-honoured farming traditions. That way, you can build research and policy capacities at the local level, where it matters most. Canada contributed US$ 36.4 million to  CGIAR in 2005 – that’s the third-largest country contribution after the USA and the UK. We provided US$ 3.8 million for the design and planning phase of NEPAD’s new  Biosciences Eastern and Central Africa (BECA) in Nairobi, which offers state-of-the-art biosciences laboratories and training to local scientists. And we’re also working with FARA in Accra, which is the umbrella group for the three main sub-regional research organisations2 and the African Union’s technical arm on agricultural research for development.
2
ASARECA, the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in East and Central Africa;
WECARD – West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development; and
SADC/FANR – Southern African Development Community / Food Agriculture and Natural Resource Department.
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