Resources

This article features in the 42nd edition of Biotechnology and Development Monitor and is concerned with strengthening the farmers' seed system in Nepal. The large majority of farmers in this predominantly agricultural country are resource poor. Whereas the formal seed system fails to respond to the many requirements vital for Nepalese farmers to succeed, the farmers (or 'informal') seed system, ensures that the selection, production, storage and exchange of seed are integrated within the agronomic and sociocultural practices of farming communities. The author advocates the use of participatory crop improvement (PCI) which is an alternative approach to variety development and dissemination blending indigenous knowledge of crop production with modern varietal innovations. The author suggests that such a system must be enhanced, by identifying constraints and forming a supportive policy environment. Constraints listed are the limited crop varieties available, access to source seed, demand exceeding supply of e.g. modern varieties (mv's) and lack of influence over seed quality control and marketing. The use of PCI approaches in high potential production systems (HPPSs) is advocated. In addition, ways in which the two systems can complement each other are highlighted. Lastly, a case study of PCI in Western Nepal is described.

This article examines a Farmer Foresight project that took place on a farm in Karnataka, India. The project was based on the Citizen Foresight methodology developed in the UK. The climax of the project was a citizens' jury, made up of 14 small and marginal farmers, together with expert witnesses and the topic concerned was on the possible future role of biotechnology in farming. The article discusses the lessons learnt from this experimental project and identifies difficulties that arose, which could hinder the success of such projects.

This article describes two national deliberative technology assessments (TA's) that took place in Switzerland and France. The Swiss 'Publiforum' gathered to discuss the topic of 'electricity and society' and was considered by the author to be a success for reasons outlined in the article. Key characteristics of the model upon which the conference was based and the final report are given. The French 'Conference de Citoyens', following a different model to that of the Swiss, convened to discuss 'GMOs in agriculture and food'. The author considers the latter to have been unsuccessful and the reasons as to why are listed as well as details of the model used and the ensuing report. The second part of the article briefly describes other conferences on GM in crops and food, gives some key characteristics of these conferences and explains why they did not follow the successful 'Publiforum' model. The author concludes with the hypothesis that if the topic being discussed is regarded as a product (i.e. electricity) rather than a technology (i.e. GM), then a successful TA based on the 'Publiforum' model is possible.

Counter hegemonic globalisation occurs today in many forms and many settings and deals with a variety of issues from land and labour rights to sexual equality to biodiversity and the environment. This paper examines one urban experiment developed to resist the social exclusion that is an undeniable result of the globalisation process by redistributing city resources in favour of the more vulnerable social groups by means of participatory democracy. The experiment was the participatory budget established in 1989 in the city of Porto Alegre.

The first part of the paper describes basic information and the recent history of the city and its government, contextualising both within the Brazilian political system. The second part details a description of the main features of the institutions and processes of the participatory budget and of participation as well as the criteria and methodology for the distribution of resources. The third part examines the development of the participatory budget. The final part analyses the processes of the participatory budget with regards to its efficiency in redistribution, its accountability and quality of representation in a participatory democracy, the notion of dual powers and competing legitimacies and its relationship with the legislative body that formally approves budget.

This is a resource book designed primarily for development workers working within the field of the rural poor. It describes a range of first-hand experiences with participatory approaches in the context of projects funded by The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and governments in Asia and the Pacific. The book is divided into a number of sections. Part One examines poverty and participation and explains why the poor should be targeted and in what ways this is possible. Part Two describes in detail the actual participatory approaches. Part three concentrates on participation in the project planning and implementation stage. Part Four assesses the monitoring impact and Part Five examines issues in participation with regards to institutions, partnerships and governance.

Public canal irrigation systems suffer from many deficiencies - inefficiency, unreliable delivery of water, inequitable water distribution, neglect of maintenance causing deterioration of infrastructure, etc. Transferring irrigation management to water users' associations is considered essential for improving canal management. Those NGOs with a strong gender focus would like women to be brought into the mainstream of irrigation management by encouraging them to participate actively in the affairs of water users' associations. This paper seeks to examine such an approach, focussing on the interaction with women's groups in six villages in the Gujarat, India which had different sources of water for domestic use but one common feature - they were all served by a canal. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) was conducted in these villages to ascertain women's priorities regarding water use. Two issues were examined: (1) how canals can better serve women's priority needs; (2) what women can do to improve the canal management and better functioning of water users' associations.

In 1993, a collaboration was forged between the Center for Medical Guidance and Family Planning (CEMOPLAF) and World Neighbors-Ecuador (WN) to encourage the participation of indigenous populations to utilise reproductive health services provided by CEMOPLAF. The partnership was implemented through the sensitive integration of these services with agriculture and animal husbandry, which resulted in a dramatic uptake by local people. This newsletter follows a learning exchange which took place from November 18 - 26, 2000, between interdisciplinary teams from WN programs in Bolivia, Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru and key members of the CEMOPLAF-World Neighbors program in Ecuador. The exchange allowed the participants to explore and analyse the different aspects of the program, draw on their own experiences in relation to implementing reproductive health programs, and understand more fully an integrated approach to implementing reproductive health programs.