Sustainable Futures: An Agenda for Action

Raphael Kaplinsky

Jobs in Africa: the role of a forward-looking food industry

The SDGs: a transformatory challenge for NGOs

Growing bananas on Ben Nevis, Guardian Interview re Katine, Feb 2009

Anne Perkins: In principle, what do you think of the idea of integrated rural development projects or village development projects like Katine?

Simon Maxwell: There are two issues here. First, village projects can be a wonderful demonstration of what can be done, but the question is always can they be sustained over time and can they be replicated across hundreds of villages?................ (see link in title for full article)

Options for Rural Poverty Reduction in Central America, ODIOverseas Development Institute (London) Briefing Paper, Feb 2003, with Richards et al

In the seven countries of Central America, about half the population now lives in urban areas. However, most of the poor still live in rural areas; and rural people are twice as likely to be poor as urban dwellers (Box 1). Migration from rural areas has made a big contribution to rural poverty reduction, up to 75% of the latter by some estimates. However, reducing rural poverty directly is essential if the Millennium Development Goals are to be met................. (see link in title for full article)

Rethinking Rural Development, ODIOverseas Development Institute (London) Briefing Paper, March 2002

Rural development should be central to poverty reduction. Three quarters of the 1.2 billion people surviving on less than one dollar a day live and work in rural areas. Rural people are twice as likely to be poor as urban counterparts. However, rural development faces a loss of confidence: funding has been falling, and governments and donors are scrambling to rethink policy. What new directions should rural development policy take?............... (see link in title for full article)

Rethinking Rural Development, (ed with Caroline Ashley), Development Policy Review, Volume 19, No. 4, December 2001

Rural development has been central to the development effort, but rural poverty persists and funding is falling: a new narrative is needed. This overview article describes a Washington Consensus on Food, Agriculture and Rural Development, and summarises from the various contributions here the elements of a post-Washington Consensus. Rural areas are changing, particularly with respect to demography, diversification, and strengthening links to national and global economies. Key issues include: agriculture as the engine of rural development; the future viability of small farms; the potential of the non-farm rural economy; the challenges of new thinking on poverty, participation and governance; and implementation problems. The article concludes with five general principles and ten specific recommendations for the future of rural development.

New Trends in Development Thinking and Implications for Agriculture, (with R. Percey), in K. Stamoulis (ed) Food, Agriculture and Rural Development: Current and Emerging Issues for Economic Analysis and Policy Research. FAO: Rome. June 2001

The food, agriculture and rural development sectors (FARD) have a symbiotic relationship with development more generally, providing livelihoods for poor people in rural areas, but also contributing foreign exchange, food for the cities, raw materials, a market for industry, and an investible surplus for the country as a whole. By the same token, thinking about FARD has had a symbiotic relationship with wider thinking about development, contributing many ideas about growth, distribution, and poverty reduction, and also receiving many ideas in return. These relationships justify attention to context in a volume dealing with future priorities for research in food, agriculture and rural development.

Emerging Issues in Rural Development: An Issues Paper. With Ian Urey and Caroline Ashley. Paper prepared for the World Bank, January 2001

This paper lays out an 'argument' on rural development. The intention is to set the current debate about rural development in context, and then examine emerging issues. The paper draws on the work of a team, whose background papers are available

The main elements of the argument can be summarised as follows:

Most poverty in the world is rural, and reaching the International Development Targets means giving high priority to rural development;

The nature of the problem is changing, however, and will change further - contemporary rural reality challenges our traditional view in a dozen different ways:

'Agricultural Development and Poverty in Africa: Some Issues', in Reducing Poverty Through Agricultural Sector Strategies in Eastern and Southern Africa, Proceedings of a workshop organised by CTA (Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation) and the European Commission, Wageningen, 23-25 November 1998

'Beyond Ranking: Exploring Relative Preferences in P/RRA', RRA Notes, 1994 (with Claude Bart)

In this paper we argue in favour of moving beyond simple preference ranking when exploring preferences in PRAParticipatory Rural Appraisal or RRA. The main reason for this is that ranking actually tells us little about preferences. This is often less than we think, because so many of us misinterpret ranking data. But even when interpreted correctly, ranking is not enough. Scoring systems are better, and some are described here, but we shall also introduce two new techniques which help to provide better information about preferences

The issue of “cash crops” is profoundly controversial. The debate uses different definitions of the term and slides across levels of analysis from the household to the international economy. It also cuts across arguments, crops, countries and time periods. This paper sets out to order the debate. It deals first with definitions and taxonomy and then reviews issues connected with cash crops and (a) growth, (b) distribution, (c) food security, (d) dependency and (e) the environment. The paper concludes that with appropriate policies cash crops can offer a route to equitable growth.

'The Role Of Case Studies In Farming Systems Research'in Agricultural Administration, Vol 21, No 3, pp 147-180, 1986

This paper discusses the case study method as a useful and cost-effective addition to the range of research tools used in multidisciplinary farming systems research. The case study method provides information that would be hard to obtain by other means, as well as an opportunity for close collaboration between social scientists, natural scientists and farmers. Practical problems include selection and representativeness; data and data collection; analysis and reporting; and follow-up. The argument is illustrated with an example from Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

'Farming Systems Research: Hitting a Moving Target'in World Development, Vol 14, No 1, pp 65-77, 1986

The paper argues that although targetting is a key element in farming systems research (FSR), neither the concepts nor the procedures take sufficient account of the fact that farming systems are in constant flux: the “target” is not static, but continuously on the move. A framework is presented for the analysis of change and the practical implications for farming systems research are analyzed.

'The Social Scientist In Farming Systems Research'in Journal of Agricultural Economics xxxvii: 1 January 1986

The involvement of social scientists in agricultural research institutions has contributed to the improvement of research methods but has often been associated with conflict. The paper describes the development of such conflict in one composite situation and analyses five explanations: personal inadequacy; interdisciplinary communication barriers; poor group dynamics; inadequate institutional structure; and power struggle. It concludes that structural problems are more important than is usually recognised, and makes some suggestions as to the practical lessons of the analysis for social scientists, for the colleagues of social scientists and for policy-makers.

Farming Systems Research: Hitting A Moving Target, World Development, Volume 14, Issue 1, January 1986, Pages 65-77

The paper argues that although targetting is a key element in farming systems research (FSR), neither the concepts nor the procedures take sufficient account of the fact that farming systems are in constant flux: the “target” is not static, but continuously on the move. A framework is presented for the analysis of change and the practical implications for farming systems research are analyzed.

'Harvest And Postharvest Issues In Farming Systems Research'in IDS Bulletin, 13:3, June 1982

The growing literature on farming systems research pays little attention to the harvest and post-harvest system (HPHS). Yet the HPHS is likely to be central to any programme of farming systems research both because it is a priority on its own account and because technology changes in other parts of the farm system disturb the traditional HPHS. The argument is illustrated by a case study from Santa Cruz, Bolivia and the implications for the organisation of farming systems research are examined.