Facilitating a multi-stakeholder learning alliance: A case study - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Facilitating a multi-stakeholder learning alliance: A case study describing the activities, outputs and impact of the Pig Systems Development Alliance in Lao PDR Werner Stür 1 , Phonepaseuth Phengsavanh 2 , Anne Stelling 3 , Joanne Millar 3 and Rod Lefroy 1 1 International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Lao PDR 2 National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI), Lao PDR 3 Charles Sturt University, Australia

Introduction • How to achieve development outcomes from research? • Previous forages research projects � Actively linked with government extension services – Scaling out limited to the reach/size of the project � Attempted to link with NGOs and development projects – providing information to NGOs and development projects through one-off workshops and field days was not sufficient

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A promising technology! Innovation by farmers showed that supplementary feeding of the forage legume Stylosanthes guianensis CIAT 184 (Stylo 184) to village pigs: • Reduced women’s labour requirements for feeding pigs by at least 1 hour per day • Doubled the daily growth rate of pigs from 100 to 200g/day

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Formation of the alliance • Prepared a short list of potential participants based on � Experience / commitment to development of smallholder livestock systems � Commitment to working with smallholder farmers, � Enthusiasm for linking with a research project � Willingness to contribute resources to participate in the Learning Alliance • Invited these organisations to a field day and workshop: � Potential of Stylo: farmer visits, description of improved pig production model, etc. � Discuss the formation of a pig systems learning alliance including objectives, activities, and responsibilities

Alliance Activities • 2 workshops per year � Pre-wet season: Review and planning workshop � Mid-wet season: review progress and assist each other with implementation issues • Training � Needs-based and relevant to field activities - Stylo establishment, management, utilisation and processing - Pig production systems and improvements - Availability and nutritive value of local feeds - Pig nutrition and diet formulation - Fattening systems and sow-piglet management - Pig health and vaccination - Pig marketing • Access to � Stylo seed + training in seed production � People with technical knowledge � Information / material – to which they contributed later � Advanced sites for cross visits

Evaluation methods • Reporting of development outcomes based on M&E by alliance partners • “External” evaluation of the alliance in July 2008 � CSU ACIAR project ‘Extension approaches to scaling out livestock production in northern Lao PDR’ � Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 17 Alliance members over a two-week period http://www.csu.edu.au/research/ilws/research/reports.htm

Results and discussion

Participation by alliance partners • Number of NGO projects and staff participating in Learning Alliance workshops increased from � 9 staff from 5 NGO projects in 2006 � 25 staff from 7 NGO projects in 2008.

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Outcome of capacity building: Key staff competent to continue scaling out of improved pig production systems Partners Number of Staff PAFO and DAFO (direct project counterparts) 10 NGO (including DAFO staff) 11 Development project (including DAFO staff) 12

Number of households growing Stylo for pigs Scaled out by (1) NGOs and other development partners (2) directly by district extension services in project target villages 1400 Number of farmers 1200 1000 800 NGO 600 District extension 400 200 0 2005 2006 2007 2008 Year Households growing Stylo 184 as supplementary feed for pigs, 2006-2008.

Alliance partner feedback: The Technology Stylo and other pig husbandry interventions • Provided substantial, immediate benefits to farmers: - reduce labour inputs - improve pig productivity - increase income from pig production • Easy to implement and provided an inspiration for field staff who saw the success of Stylo in their villages

Alliance partner feedback: Building Capacity • Valuable combination: - workshops - training courses - facilitation of cross visits • Greatly appreciated the deliberate cycle of participatory planning, taking action, followed by discussion and evaluation of the actions, in which their experiences and concerns were truly valued. • Learnt both technical and extension skills - now better equipped to work with farmers

Alliance partner feedback: Networking and Synergies Being part of the learning alliance has: • Improved participants’ understanding of each others institutional culture and operations • Experienced the advantages and synergies of working together • Created a strong informal network of practitioners who trust and respect each other

Factors contributing to success 1. An entry technology that provides significant benefits to farmers – a powerful incentive for working together 2. A common goal, commitment and like-minded professionals � Improving livelihoods of poor smallholder farmers in Laos through more efficient and sustainable agriculture and livestock production. � Many shared additional common goals: - providing significant benefits to women and ethnic minorities - use of participatory approaches to work with local communities 3. Respect for each others organisational values, skills, and contributions 4. Recognition of the benefits of joining in an alliance and working together in reaching the goals of their own projects

Challenges • Most related to different institutional cultures and operational procedures of partner organisation such as � Differences in remuneration � Lack of access to operational funds � Disincentives for sharing information � Staff turnover � Bureaucratic procedures • These were real and important constraints but the benefits of participating in the Alliance were sufficient for participants to cope with and manage these challenges

Conclusions This case study showed that a thematically focused learning alliance of researchers and development practitioners from a broad range of backgrounds and organisations project can: 1. Benefit alliance partners � Farmers gained access to sound technologies that significantly improved their pig production system and build their capacity to evaluate new technologies � Development practitioners benefitted by improved technical and methodological capacity, by access to information and experiences, and by becoming part of an informal network of like-minded professionals that will ensure continued access to information and experiences � Researchers were able to empower development practitioners to scale out research results and thus achieve impact, and they benefited by receiving feedback from multiple development partners on implementation of research findings

Conclusions This case study showed that a thematically focused learning alliance of researchers and development practitioners from a broad range of backgrounds and organisations project can: 1. Benefit alliance partners 2. Achieve significant livelihood impacts 3. Efficiently scale out agricultural technologies 4. Build innovation capacity