Jana Schindler

Methods to assess farming sustainability in developing countries. A review

Sustainable agricultural development is fundamental to food security and poverty alleviation, notably in developing countries. Many development initiatives focus on the enhancement of smallholder production and productivity because the majority of poor people in developing countries live in rural areas where agriculture is the main source of livelihood. The consequences of these development initiatives need to be assessed before implementation to reduce the risk of possible negative impacts. This can be done by applying ex ante sustainability impact assessment. Here, we compare methods of assessment of sustainability impact for farming interventions. We review methodological approaches and verify whether the requirements of sustainability impact assessment theory are fulfilled. Our major points are the following: (1) main methodological approaches do not fulfill the requirements defined in the theoretical sustainability impact assessment discourse. (2) The active involvement of different stakeholder groups throughout the assessment process and the possibility of learning and exchange are fundamental to sustainability impact assessment. (3) The institutional dimension of sustainability is not yet sufficiently integrated. We therefore suggest institutional criteria and indicators to be also considered in the sustainability impact assessment framework. We argue that sustainability impact assessment, respecting the interactive involvement of all stakeholder groups throughout the whole process, is a compulsory element in project planning for a sustainable agricultural development in developing countries.

Expert-based ex-ante assessments of potential social, ecological, and economic impacts of upgrading strategies for improving food security in rural Tanzania using the ScalA-FS approach

Subsistence farmers in sub-Saharan Africa are highly vulnerable to food insecurity given their low adaptive capacity against ecological and socio-economic shocks. Therefore, food security is one of their main challenges. Participatory action research across food value chains (FVCs) can help stabilize and enhance food security by developing upgrading strategies (UPS) that enhance specific aspects of crop production, post-harvest processing, marketing, income generation, and consumption. However, prior to their widespread adoption or upscaling, UPS need holistic understandings of their potential social, ecological, economic, and institutional challenges and opportunities in target areas. This article reports the application of the “ScalA-FS” tool, which assessed the potential success of selected UPS using assessment criteria developed by agricultural scientists and local farmers in a participatory process in Tanzania. This work is embedded in a larger participatory research project conducted in semi-arid and sub-humid ecological settings of the Dodoma and Morogoro regions of Tanzania. Results from the assessment of the potential impact of the UPS differed strongly between the UPS and the social, economic and environmental assessment criteria, but only slightly between semi-arid and sub-humid regions. The positive impacts of food-securing UPS centre on productivity and income generation. Rain water harvesting, fertilizer micro-dosing, optimized weeding, and promotion of kitchen gardens were expected to have the highest impacts after implementation. The ScalA-FS ex-ante assessments provide a knowledge base about potential impacts, as well as the potential bottlenecks to address during the implementation of UPS.

Developing community-based food security criteria in rural Tanzania

Food security remains a major challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa. The widely acknowledged definition of food security and its four dimensions, availability, access, utilisation and stability, are somewhat abstract in the local context of small-scale farmers. Therefore, more site-specific information on the local food situation is needed to respond to the local food security challenges. Participatory elaboration of these criteria within the rural communities is crucial. The objective of this research was to elaborate community-based criteria in four selected study villages of Tanzania. We present an adapted methodological procedure based on the so-called Framework for Participatory Impact Assessment (FoPIA). Based on a series of farmer workshops, we analysed the local understanding of food security and derived a set of food security criteria. We found that these criteria cover the three dimensions of sustainability (social, economic and environmental), while simultaneously representing the four food security dimensions, showing that rural communities think holistically and consider multiple criteria and dimensions related to food security. Our participatory methodological approach was suitable for identifying the specific development priorities that need to be addressed for improved food security in a particular locality. The locally specific food security criteria can be used for impact assessment, monitoring and evaluation and, finally, for the adaptation of development measures to local contexts.

Natural Resource Management and Crop Production Strategies to Improve Regional Food Systems in Tanzania

Sustainable rural food systems for poor and vulnerable people need to be locally adapted to enhance food security. This requires participatory action research that considers the entire food value chain (FVC). This paper presents an assessment of the feasibility and potential success of upgrading strategies (UPS) for enhancing food security based on a study that was part of a larger participatory research project in two regions of Tanzania. The authors present the results relating to natural resource management and crop production. The results for natural resources show that enhanced soil water management was rated as high for the semi-arid Dodoma region. For the Morogoro region, the experts favoured soil fertility-improving UPS, such as conservation agriculture and agroforestry. Assessments of food production for both regions indicated the importance of intercropping, manure input, pest and disease control and cover crops. Assessments differed greatly between the two different climatic regions, and to a lesser extent between the nationality of the experts and their gender. This highlights the importance of including different South–North and female–male awareness in assessments. Implementation feasibility assessments of UPS indicated that the most suitable approaches were rainwater harvesting for semi-arid and conservation agriculture for subhumid regions respectively. Local and/or regional stakeholders and experts should be involved in developing and assessing site-adapted UPS for enhancing Tanzanian FVCs.

Combining Analytical Methods for Assessing Food Security across the Food Value Chain: A Conceptual Integrated Approach

Food security (FS) is a function of food availability, accessibility, stability and utilization. Food value chains (FVCs) are part of the food system and are characterized by five main components: natural resources, food production, processing, markets and consumption. Many methods are available to assess single FVC components, but few cover a series of FVC components. This paper introduces an integrated research framework which combines both qualitative and quantitative methodologies across a generic FVC. Furthermore, this approach provides mechanisms to identify the contribution to FS of each component in the FVC. The methodology uses an FVC as an analytical framework within which to assess FS in a systematic approach. Starting with a working scenario, each tool was evaluated according to its potential to assess FS indicators in different components, and then classified according to its temporal and spatial scales. The advantages, challenges and limitations of this conceptual approach are evaluated and discussed.

Assessment of Upgrading Strategies to Improve Regional Food Systems in Tanzania Food Processing, Waste Management and Bioenergy, and Income Generation

Food security is one of the main goals of rural poor people. To enhance food security in this context, participatory action research can help to ensure sustained success while considering entire food value chains (FVC). This paper assesses the feasibility and potential success of upgrading strategies (UPS) as well as their assessment criteria as developed by German and Tanzanian agricultural scientists. The results form part of a larger participatory research project conducted in two climatically representative regions of Tanzania: semi-arid Dodoma and subhumid Morogoro. This paper presents the findings with respect to food processing, waste management and bioenergy, along with income generation and market participation. Assessments on other components of the FVC, including natural resource management, crop production and consumption, are reported by Graef et al (2015). The assessments for food processing revealed preferences for preservation techniques, oil extraction processes and food storage devices for the semi-arid region. In contrast, in the subhumid region, the experts favoured food storage devices and preservation techniques. Assessments of waste management and bioenergy UPS for both regions indicated the importance of animal feed from crop residues, crop residues as mulch and compost from food waste, although with somewhat different priorities. Assessments on income generation and markets in both regions revealed preferences for savings and credit cooperatives and communication techniques, but also indicated that warehouse receipt systems and guarantee systems had a high impact. Assessments differed between the two different climatic regions, and to some extent also between the nationality of experts and their gender. The authors therefore attach importance to integrating different South–North and female–male awareness in assessments among scientists. Moreover, local and/or regional stakeholders and experts should be involved in developing site-adapted UPS for enhancing FVCs.

ScalA-FS: expert-based ex-ante assessments of local requirements and success potential of upgrading strategies for improving food security in rural Tanzania

Enhancing food security is the main goal of subsistence farmers, who are vulnerable to food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa. Participatory research across food value chains (FVC) can help stabilize and enhance food security by developing upgrading strategies (UPS). However, prior to successful widespread adoption and geographical upscaling, such practices need in-depth understanding of their suitability in target areas and their particular local requirements. Ex-ante assessments of selected UPS were carried out by German and Tanzanian agricultural scientists using the “ScalA-FS” tool. The participating experts included those responsible for implementation. The tool aims to systematically evaluate, at the community level, UPS that have been successfully implemented elsewhere, evaluate their potential for dissemination, and identify entry points for adjustments during implementation. Assessment indicators were developed through a participatory process. UPS relate to a) natural resource management and crop production; b) food processing and bioenergy; c) income generation and market participation; and d) food consumption. Here we present the ScalA-FS assessment results on UPS suitability as well as on its implementation requirements. We focused on the local context needed to enable a productive collaboration between smallholder farmers and implementing research and/or development organizations. Implementation requirements for the selected UPS were assessed as generally low to medium, and projected suitability in most cases was high. Local knowledge and education (human capital) along with visible success after a short time were important criteria of success of UPS. Here, careful consideration of the challenges before and after implementation of UPS is suggested. ScalA-FS should be applied early in the implementation process of UPS in order to support adaptations and successful upscaling at other locations.