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Resilient livelihoods : disaster risk reduction for food and nutrition security framework programme

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
April 2013

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Through its disaster risk reduction (DRR) activities, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) seeks to protect livelihoods from shocks, to make food production systems more resilient and more capable of absorbing the impact of, and recovering from, disruptive events. The FAO Disaster Risk Reduction for Food and Nutrition Security Framework Programme (DRR for FNS) serves to support and provide strategic direction, to FAO member countries and partners, for the implementation of Disaster Risk Reduction for Food and Nutrition Security programmes. The goal is to enhance the resilience of livelihoods against threats and emergencies to ensure the FNS of vulnerable farmers, fishers, herders, foresters and other at risk groups

Getting started! : running a junior farmer field and life school|Empowering orphans and vulnerable children living in a world with HIV and AIDS

WIEGERS, Esther
HILL, Catherine
COLBERT, Patricia
2007

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This manual was developed from the experiences of a number of communities and organisations in southern and eastern Africa in creating Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools as a response to the growing number of orphans and vulnerable children. For many reasons these children more likely than other orphans to be at risk from malnutrition, disease, abuse, stigmatisation and sexual exploitation. The risk of sexual exploitation is particularly significant for those left alone to cope with poverty and who are forced to adopt adult roles and ensure food for the rest of the family. As parents and family members become ill, children take on greater domestic, agricultural and income generating responsibilities. HIV and AIDS has a particular impact on girls who are left to care for ailing parents, or who have to become the heads of households upon the death of caregivers. Also, as many parents are dying at a young age orphaned children are growing up without the necessary knowledge and skills for their future livelihood

FAO working in support of persons with disabilities

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Ed
August 2006

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The aim of this paper is to highlight some of the key linkages between poverty, disability, nutrition and agricultural production. The paper also reports on some of the FAO's work on disability and disability rights and highlights 5 FAO projects / pilot models - ranging from mushroom production to blacksmithing - that target rural people living with disabilities. It would be useful for anyone with an interest in mainstreaming disability in development policy and practice

Investing in information for development module

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
2006

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This module of the FAO's IMARK toolkit addresses the needs of managers to build their skills and awareness around managing information in their organisation. It aims to help managers develop and implement strategies, policies, structures and procedures for effective management of information. The module reviews current trends in access to and dissemination of information, and how new technologies (ICTs) affect and enhance information activities in organisations

Participatory communication strategy design : a handbook

MEFALOPULOS, Paolo
KAMLONGERA, Chris
2004

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This handbook on participatory communication strategy design (PCSD) has been prepared as a training and field guide for designing, implementing and managing communication for development strategies for field projects. The handbook focuses on the process of planning a communication strategy design in a participatory manner. It clearly explains the principles and processes of communication planning, message development, multimedia material production and the implementation of communication activities in the field. PCSD has been prepared primarily as training and reference material to be used during workshops for communication skills development, as well as a guide for participatory communication strategy design in the field

Evaluation and utilization of traditional methods of communication in Cameroon's central, southern, eastern and extreme northern regions : case study 20

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION (FAO). Communication for Development Group
August 2003

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This study's main objectives are to evaluate traditional means of communication; to note their constraints; to select the traditional methods which can best be used for the diffusion of information and to devise a strategy for implementing the selected method of traditional communication. The methodology of this survey is based on the Active Method of Participative Research.
The study illustrates that the traditional media for communication in Cameroon are: the gong and songs accompanied by dances (in all of the surveyed provinces); the xylophone (in the center and south); griot [travelling poet] and balafon (in the east); colleagues of the traditional chiefs (Lawanes, Djaoros); and messengers of traditional chiefs or muezzins (extreme north).There are numerous constraints to using individuals in devising communications strategies: a lack of trained musicians, the lack of initiative on the part of the village elders, the disinterest of the youth, conflict among the different generations, the proliferation of modern communications technologies, the complexity of training in various methods, the possible alteration of messages, a lack of motivation and the slow speed of transmission. The study notes that the best methods for the diffusion of information in the regions surveyed in Cameroon are: the gong, the colleagues and messengers of traditional chiefs to organize village meetings in which reproductive health issues could be raised, singing and dancing, travelling poets and xylophones.
In order to devise effective strategies for conveying messages about reproductive health through these traditional methods of communication, traditional authorities must be engaged early on in the process and informed of the importance of these means of communication; qualified individuals must be identified as resources and others trained; and a training of trainers must be conducted

The one to watch : radio, new ICTs and interactivity

GIRARD, Bruce
Ed
2003

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This book presents examples of converging radio and new ICTs for development. The radio/telecommunications combination is helping keep communities together despite the distances imposed by migration. The book argues that radio will have even greater significance and value in years to come. It is split into five sections; concepts and context, gateways, networks, communication with migrants and rural radio. It features case studies where methods have been tried and proven

Revisiting the "magic box" : case studies in local appropriation of information and communication technologies (ICTs)

BATCHELOR, Simon
O’FARRELL, Clare
2003

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This book looks at the way communities and groups in developing countries are appropriating information and communication technologies (ICTs) to address their needs. It finds that ICTs are being integrated into wider community-based activities and adapted to fit different contexts. It follows on from the paper "Discovering the Magic Box". It finds that there are still few examples of community-driven and locally appropriated ICT initiatives and an absence of standards or guidelines to evaluate ICT-based projects. The book includes some analytical frameworks and indicators to identify good practice and evidence of impact A significant development has been in the growth of telecommunications, in particular mobile phones, that are relatively cheap and powerful tools for poor communities, even in remote areas. The book concludes that the power of oral communication through telephones and radio cannot be underestimated. The book proposes that the main challenge is to adapt the new, usually computer-based ICTs to the needs of poor, predominantly oral-based communities so that they can be appropriated effectively and quickly

Addressing the impact of HIV/AIDS on ministries of agriculture : focus on eastern and southern Africa

TOPOUZIS, Daphne
2003

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This joint FAO/UNAIDS study is the first to examine the full range of implications of HIV/AIDS for Ministries of Agriculture (MoAs) in eastern and southern Africa. It describes structural changes in the smallholder agriculture sector including changing farming systems (as household cultivation shifts from cash crops to subsistence crops and from labour-intensive to labour-extensive crops); and changes in the age structure and quality of the agricultural labour force as more elderly people and children assume a greater role in farming. Four areas of HIV/AIDS impact are analysed in detail: (1) MoA staff vulnerability to HIV infection and AIDS impact; (2) the disruption of MoA operations and the erosion of capacity to respond to the challenges being posed by the HIV epidemic; (3) the increased vulnerability of MoA clients to food and livelihood insecurity; (4) the relevance of certain MoA policies, strategies and programmes in view of the conditions being created by HIV/AIDS

Understanding the indigenous knowledge and information systems of pastoralists in Eritrea

DINUCCI, Alessandro
FRE, Zeremariam
2003

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This case study explores pastoralists' traditional natural resources mangement practices and their sources and channels of information. It aims to contribute to the development of demand-led extension and advisory services for nomadic herders in Eritrea, on the premise that sustainable development programming builds on indigenous systems of communication and information diffusion

Labour savings technologies and practices for farming and household in eastern and southern Africa|Labour constraints and the impact of HIV/AIDS on rural livelihoods in Bondo and Busia districts western Kenya

BISHOP-SAMBROOK, Clare
2003

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This report presents the difficulties of, and threats to, rural livelihoods in western Kenya. The information is one component of a joint IFAD/FAO study entitled ‘Improving Women’s Access to Labour Saving Technologies and Practices in Sub-Saharan Africa’. It is divided into six related topics, which include tables, charts, diagrams and illustrations. This would be useful for stakeholders and policy makers interested in agricultural and rural development in western Kenya

Methodological guide for designing and implementing a multimedia communication strategy

COMMUNICATION FOR DEVELOPMENT GROUP
2002

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This manual describes the process of drawing up a multimedia communication strategy. It describes general principles for planning communication for development, and goes into some detail about how to apply these principles. Sections cover situation analysis, drawing up a strategic framework, validating the strategy, and implementation of the communication plan

Discovering the 'magic box' : local appropriation of information and communication technologies (ICTs)

MICHIELS, Sabine Isabel
VAN CROWDER, L
2001

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This paper discusses the lack of empirical evidence or analyses of local information and communication technology (ICT) applications, and their impact on people's social and economic lives. While there is a lot of information about the potential benefits of using ICT to alleviate poverty and promote equity, the lack of monitoring and evaluation in this area means that guidelines for the effective deployment of ICT, and its appropriation at the local level, have not evolved

Folk and traditional media for rural development

VAN DER STICHELE, Philippe
January 2000

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This is a report of a 1999 workshop in Malawi which explored how traditional media can be harnessed for development work. A major outcome was the reversal of roles between farmers and extension workers: the farmers taught extension workers about their culture and how they create media for disseminating as well as for sharing information, lessons and warnings in their village communities. Media explored in some depth included a girl's initiation ceremony, and a chief's installation ceremony, and centered around song and dance

Monitoring and evaluating stakeholder participation in agriculture and rural development projects : a literature review

KARL, Marilee
2000

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This article reviews the current literature on the subject, and also highlights three key methodological issues to be addressed: how to assess the degree and quality of participation; how to measure the costs and benefits of participation to the stakeholders involved; and how to assess the impact of that participation on desired project outputs, project performance and sustainability. An annotated bibliography is also provided

Voices for change : rural woman and communication

BALIT, Silvia
COMMUNICATION FOR DEVELOPMENT GROUP
1999

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This book describes how, in the current climate of political and socio-economic change, communication can play a decisive role in promoting food security and rural development. By fostering a dialogue between rural people and other sectors of society, communication processes can empower both women and men to provide information and knowledge as a basis for change and innovation. It can give rural women a voice to advocate changes in policies, attitudes and social behaviour or customs that negatively affect them. The book briefly explores these complicated ideas, focussing on how communication processes can be harnessed. It then describes how different technologies, from the internet, video and radio, to traditional media, can be used. It is illustrated with brief case studies throughout

The first mile of connectivity : advancing telecommunications for rural development through a participatory communication approach

RICHARDSON, Don
PAISLEY, Lynnita
Eds
1998

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Begins with the need to work at the 'first mile' of connectivity - essentially the prevailing conditions for rural communities - when discussing the value of new information communication technologies. Emphasises people and the communication process, and the various factors of community dynamics and context that frame any communicaiton initiatives, not the technology . Chapters cover a range of examples of participatory communication methods, such as Participatory Rural Communicaiton Appriasal, and the training of 'community animators'. Looks at examples of rural telephony and radio, telecentres, video and the Internet, and also discusses some issues connected to telecommunications infrastructure and regulation, such as rural networking co-operatives and parterships with the private sector

The internet and rural and agricultural development : an integrated approach

RICHARDSON, Don
1997

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Discusses the potential benefits of using the Internet for rural / agricultural development. Contextualises the growth of the internet in development initiatives and addresses the potential of the internet in specific areas, eg community development, research/education, small and medium enterprise development, and news media. Finallly, identifies several areas of best practice to guide effective use of the internet. Recommends engaging intermediary agencies involved in (project support, research, extension, health etc) in internet initiatives, as well as stakeholders and intended beneficiaries. Warns against the widening information gap between haves and have-nots

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