Beyond the limits of PRA?: a comparison of participatory and conventional economic research methods in the analysis of ilala palm use in South-Eastern Zimbabwe

This paper gives account of a study that was made as part of Mabalauta Workshop, held in south-eastern Zimbabwe. The study makes a comparison of PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal) methods and a household sample survey for eliciting economic data on the use of the Ilala palm (Hyphaene petersiana), an important resource for livelihoods in this area of Zimbabwe. The paper considers whether PRA and traditional economic tools produce similar results for a range of quantitative economic data; if there are differences then how big are they, and which technique is more reliable for which type of data; and whether PRA techniques really are more cost effective, especially in terms of the time requirements of the æbeneficiariesÆ. Field work was carried out in the Xini-Maoze Ward, in Sengwe Communal Land, Chiredzi district, Zimbabwe. The comparability of the two approaches was assessed by looking at the data sets for a range of variables, including the population proportions of different stakeholder groups, household cash income shares, and the production, marketing and economic returns of palm products. While quite similar results were obtained for some of the variables, the PRA findings appeared less reliable for most quantitative information. Production and economic data were also collected from informal discussions with key informants. It was concluded that this method produced the most reliable quantitative data, although this reliability is subject to representativeness. Single visit random household surveys were most useful for differentiating between households, and fro aggregating stakeholder group data in a project area. This type of survey was also more revealing in terms of gender differentiation. In conclusion, this study indicates how these three tools can be used in combination to develop a reasonable data set for project design purposes. Appendices include the household survey questionnaire used in the study and economic calculations made using the PRA and survey data.