Ignacio de los Ríos Carmenado

Developing Competencies for Rural Development Project Management through Local Action Groups: The Punta Indio (Argentina) Experience

This chapter provides the foundations for a new approach in competence development for rural development project management, involving the role of higher education in the solution of real-life problems. This experience took place in senior courses at La Plata University and included the participation of students from this university. The research was carried out in Punta Indio, which is affected by rural depopulation, as are the rest of the territories inside the Buenos Aires Province. The process is developed through projectbased learning (PBL) and the basis of the working with people (WWP) model, involving project management competencies according to the International Project Management Association (IPMA) standards. In the formation of local action groups (LAGs,) elements from the LEADER (Liaisons Entre Activités de Developement de l’Economie Rural) rural development model—applied in the rural territories inside the EU—were taken into account.

The impact of the presidential cassava initiative on cassava productivity in Nigeria: Implication for sustainable food supply and food security

Abstract Agricultural programmes are implemented in sub-Saharan African countries to stimulate rural economic development. One such programme is the Presidential Cassava Initiative (PCI) in Nigeria aimed at reducing poverty and food insecurity, but there is a limited study on contribution of the programme to cassava output and food security. This study estimated the effects of the PCI on cassava output and food security in Nigeria. A three-stage multivariate linear regression model was applied in the empirical analysis. The results showed that the PCI has increased cassava output; promoted food supply; and enhanced national food security. The study concludes that agricultural development interventions are required to achieve a sustainable food supply and food security in sub-Saharan Africa. It is recommended that exit strategy should be incorporated in designing agricultural interventions to enable beneficiaries to enjoy sustainable effects.

El medio físico y los recursos naturales en el diseño de programas leader de la UE

The LEADER II Program is a U.E. Iniciative created to support innovative actions in the rural world searching or local development. Along 1991-94 —years owning to the LEADER I Program, pattern for the new LEADER II Program— it was detected important problems to consider environmental condicionants in the evaluation of supportable proyects. This article shows a methodology developed in the Sierra Oeste (Madrid) LEADER II Program to incorporate environmental factors to the selection and evaluation of proyects. These factors constitutes one of the seven criterions —joint to the legal factors, the socioeconomic situation, the productive sector situtioin, the social opinion, the existence of quality or I + D programs and the own LEADER Sierra Oeste criterions— developed for this job. The fisic medium criterion evaluates the relation being between the proyect and the environment, either the resources needings of the proyects as the effects that its developed can produce. According to this criterion the proyects can be qualificated with 3 points —specially interesting—, 2 points —acceptables—, 1 point —indiferents—, 0 points —non acceptables— or -1 points —reajustables—. The article finish showing the thirteen proyects with a best qualification after apllied the seven critrions from the present methodology.

COMPLEJIDAD EN LA DIRECCIÓN DE PROYECTOS: ANÁLISIS CONCEPTUAL DESDE EL MODELO WORKING WITH PEOPLE

At present, traditional methods to direct -centered projects in meeting goals, time, budget and quality-requirements are insufficient. In recent years, various studies have shown that the main factors of complexity in project management come from the social dimension of the parties involved and from contextual aspects. It has also been shown to analyze and understand the complex factors that affect the project is a necessary step for proper direction.