Resources

This paper draws on the experiences in the Mahaweli development project. It advocates that policy formulation should not be isolated from the analysis and understanding of the logic of human practice in local areas. Although not explicitly dealing with PRA it has a strong participatory theme that highlights the benefits of greater participation system analysis. Participatory development and appraisal, it is argued, should start with the interactions and strategies in the organization in family life; the crucial starting point for the development of any analysis.

The paper argues that PRA is a distinctive and innovative method because it is problem-focused. It offers a unique opportunity for researchers to work in partnership with farmers or the rural poor in joint identification of the range of local variables which may be connected to a given problem. Here the need for a user perspective to become integral in research and development is identified; farmers need to be viewed as subjects and not objects. It is suggested that the phrase "user" could be more appropriately replaced with the term stakeholder which incorporates all those who have a vested interest in the efficient and effective operation of systems. This would encompass a range of parties from the farmers to policy makers. Six roles for stakeholders are suggested for future research and development: * Providers of information * Partners in identifying research and development priorities * Partners in developing research, management strategies and technologies * Partners in experimental management of the resource or new technology * Partners in assessing performance of a technology or management strategy * Partners in training and institutional development

The study investigated browse availability and utilisation within the agropastoral system being researched by the International Livestock Centre for Africa (ILCA) programme in central Nigeria. Previous research has shown that browse - that is, the foliage and fruit of trees and shrubs used as forage - is an important forage resource in the area. The study found that a wide range of woody species are eaten by pastoral cattle. Chemical analysis of samples of browse revealed marked differences in chemical composition between individual species as well as between browse and other feedstuffs. Following the chemical analysis, pastoralists in the two study areas ranked the different species according to their dietary importance to cattle. The rankings were in reasonable agreement and, to some extent, reflected the nutritive value of the plants.

Thousands of farmers who sought refuge in urban centres during the ten-year civil war in Mozambique are now returning to their farms. In response to this changing situation, VetAid, a UK-based NGO, is planning a community restocking programme. PRA methods were used to gather information on the socio-economic, ecological and political conditions in the villages. This information was then used help design a restocking programme appropriate to the needs of the community. The article describes some of the methods which were used, which included wealth ranking, informal interviews, matrix ranking, diagrams and historical transects.

Wide-ranging agrarian reforms in Mongolia have led to a change in patterns of consumption. Most important of these reforms has been the dismantling of the collectivised state which formerly organised livestock and livestock product marketing, as well as the supply of flour and other food items and consumer goods. This note reports on the use of matrices as a tool for evaluating the impact of economic liberalisation on consumption patterns among Mongolian pastoral communities. The consumption matrices of a rich household and a poor household indicate that consumption patterns have changed significantly during the five years since privatisation and decollectivisation.

'Shagaa' (a bag of sheep and goats' knucklebones) can be found in most Mongolian households. They are used like dice or counters, each facet of the bone representing a different livestock type, in about twenty different games. In this exercise herders used the shagaa bones to rank winter livestock losses over the last ten years. The technique proved useful for illustrating the trends in livestock losses over the years, and providing a basis for discussion. The exercise was enhanced by the use of the bones, which to the herders already represented animals. The paper concludes that there is great potential for much wider use of shagaa in ranking and other participatory techniques with Mongolian herders.

Rapid appraisal (RA) methodologies aim to provide a quick, systematic and cost-effective picture of livestock conditions and veterinary problems, particularly in agropastoral communities. The paper outlines the main steps in carrying out RA for livestock development, from the preliminary identification of problems to presenting the results. It concludes that RA methodologies can be a useful complement to, although not substitute for, standard investigation techniques.