Mvula Trust and PASOLAC ppt by Yash Dwivedi.pptx

Case Study on Innovative approaches to financing extension-By- Yash Dwivedi(M.Sc. in Agricultural Extension) Central Agricultural University, Imphal

1. CASESTUDY ON INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO FINANCING EXTENSION YASH DWIVEDI MSC Agricultural Extension School of Social Science CPGS-AS, Umiam CAU

2. CONTENT The Mvula Trust Introduction About Areas of Trust Support Rural School Sanitation Program Key Insights Impact on Policy Services by Mvula Trust Focus For the Future PASOLAC Introduction Problems Approaches Changes Direct or Indirect Payment Effect on Dissemination of Knowledge

3. INTRODUCTION The role of organized civil society has grown considerably in many African countries over the past decade. Water, sanitation and hygiene are vital components of sustainable development and the alleviations of poverty. There have also been practical reasons why particular NGOs have emerged and are playing a more prominent role in many countries today. The scale of challenge to provide water sanitation and other sustainable development services to the unserved in Africa is beyond the capacity of many governments.

4. THE MVULA TRUST South Africa’s Mvula Trust is a large NGO focused exclusively on water and sanitation provision for the poor, with an annual operating budget of over US$ 10 million. The mandate of the trust is to improve the health and welfare of disadvantaged rural and peri-urban South Africans through increasing access to safe domestic water and sanitation services. The Mvula Trust was established in 1993, at that time rural people were suffering particular deprivation due to a severe drought, worsened in the case of drinking water supply by the collapse of the former homeland administration. The Mvula Trust implements a model of project development in which community-based organisations (water and sanitation committees) act as project managers.

5. Areas of Trust support Poor and Disadvantaged Communities The Trust’s primary task is to provide financial and other support for water supply and sanitation development to poor and disadvantaged South African communities with inadequate access to such services. Capacity Building The Trust supports for building the capacity of community and local level organisations, for regional sector organisations. Policy Development The Trust provides modest support for initiatives which assists the process of national and regional policy development for providing sustainable water and sanitation for poor and disadvantaged communities.

6. Sustainability The trust funds the capital cost of projects which are sustainable in the long term. The service can be managed (operated, maintained and repaired) and the user is able to pay for them. Sanitation Projects A maximum grant of a capital cost of R700 per household latrine is offered by the Trust. A guideline of maximum of 10 people per household toilet is advised. In case of Public Institutions the maximum grant of R1200 per seat/toilet unit is granted by the Trust. The recommended maximum pupil : toilet ratio is 30:1 for girls and 60:1 for boys. Community Level Training Community financial control Project management Technical skill development Health and Hygiene education

7. The Rural School Sanitation Programme Between 1997 and 2002, the Mvula Trust implemented the Rural Schools Sanitation Programme with funding from the European Union. In more than 150 schools, ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrines were constructed, and proper health and hygiene training and awareness raising were carried out. The schools were requested to contribute 10% of the construction costs, in order to stimulate a sense of ownership of the project and to ensure the accountability of the project committees to parents. This approach had two main advantages: The unit costs of administration were lowered as economies of scale became available. The schools could help each other maintain momentum through peer pressure.

8. Key Insights During planning of a project Mvula staff take the lead, whereas construction and putting schemes into operation are managed by community water committees. The contracting of engineering, training and management support, material purchase and construction work is done with the funds that Mvula transfers to the committee. Mvula provides supervision and other assistance when necessary. The deep involvement of the communities in project management results in strong ownership and management skills. The implementation of their project is an opportunity for the communities and in particular the water committees to learn a variety of new competencies, among them management of funds, as well as contracting and supervising consultants.

9. Impact on policy The Mvula Trust’s close working relationship with the government enables it to influence government policies by demonstrating good practice and by having a seat at the table when policy issues are considered. This impact on policy has been particularly strong in sanitation. The approach now used in all government sanitation programmes was piloted by the Trust between 1994 and 1997. The Trust had a major input into the sanitation policy, published in 2001. Over 80% of the government’s sanitation programme has been implemented by the Mvula Trust

10. Services by Mvula Trust Implementing programmes and projects that provide sustainable water services. Providing policy and operational support to water services departments within local government. Monitoring and evaluation. Selecting and contracting water services providers. Establishing community-based water services providers and acting as support services agent. Sanitation, health and hygiene promotion. Training and capacity enhancement for communities, government and consultants. Developing guidelines and tools for all aspects of water services.

11. Focus for the Future The Mvula Trust sees four major challenges for the coming years: To ensure that poor rural communities benefit from the free basic water policy as soon as possible, and that the subsidy is provided in as cost effective a manner as possible, and is sustained. To expand its rural sanitation programme, giving it equal importance with the water supply programme, and to ensure that the approach used is in line with the development principles of national policy. To develop water services in a more holistic way, by implementing them in line with national government’s Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Strategy. To maintain its own intellectual independence despite its financial reliance on project income rather than core income .

12. Honduras and other countries in Central America

13. INTRODUCTION PASOLAC a Swiss-funded programme in Central America, is implemented by the Swiss development organisation INTERCOOPERATION in partnership with local NGOs, extension enterprises and producer associations. The programme provides training and advisory services related to sustainable land and natural resource management to small farmers with limited financial resources and limited access to markets in hilly areas. The service providers are private organisations. Various mechanism of financial participation are in use. Most of the services are provided to the groups.

14. PROBLEMS In the earlier stage of the programme the advisory services offered were well utilised and the training courses well attended. However, it was observed that adoption of training contents was low and that the same farmers attended courses on very similar topics often year after year. Need for increasing the adoption of extension contents, and strengthen the management capacity of farmer group. Farmers lack clear criteria to prioritize their needs. The services demanded have mostly a short-term perspective and are not particularly innovative. Often farmers are not aware of full range of available offers.

15. APPROACHES The thematic focus has changed from staple crops to commercial crops and from production to market integration. The clients clearly perceive the benefits of the practices suggested in training and advisory services. Training courses are practical and include documentation. The service providers do not offer the same or very similar training services to the same clients year after year any more. They have to either expand their operation to new area or identify new extension content for the clients. Training is no longer seen as a touristic trip.

16. CHANGES Services for commercial crops like coffee, vegetables and fruits are much more demanded than for staple crops, and demand for services related to processing and marketing has risen quickly. The Status of farmers has changed from a beneficiary to a client. Farmers and extensionists have a more equal level relation. This is due to certain change in attitude of the service providers-: Service providers have become punctual and reliable. Services are offered also on weekends and other times that are convenient to the clients. When negotiating the price of services with a farmer group it was decided that the prices of training for women should be lower than those of men. The women protested and said that they are of equal value than the men and thus they would pay the same price as the men.

17. Direct or Indirect Payment In some cases individual farmers pay directly for the services, whereas in other cases the payment is indirect and comes from common funds of the producer organisations. In principle, both modes of payment have positive effects on effectiveness and demand-orientation. But in some cases, the organization members were unaware that in fact it is them who pay for the offered services, and consequently they did not exert their influence. Thus with indirect payment, transparency and awareness are key factors to achieve the desired effects

18. Effect on dissemination of knowledge No extension service can reach all potential clients and thus the impact of extension is enhanced if there is exchange of new knowledge between farmers. What are the likely effects of financial participation on farmer-to-farmer diffusion of knowledge? In some cases it was observed that farmers who had obtained services, passed the gained knowledge on to others against a small fee. It appears that financial participation can obstruct free dissemination of knowledge. Where payment for service is from collective funds the risk of barriers to diffusion is probably smaller.

19. Conclusion Innovative approaches to financing extension services are essential for enhancing agricultural productivity and rural development. These approaches, such as crowd-funding, public-private partnerships, and mobile payment systems, provide new avenues for funding extension activities, reaching more farmers, and ensuring sustainability. By leveraging technology and collaboration, these methods can overcome traditional financing constraints and promote inclusive growth in the agricultural sector.

20. References https://www.ircwash.org/sites/default/files/824-ZA95-13554.pdf https://wedc-knowledge.lboro.ac.uk/resources/conference/23/Mpahla.pdf The Mvula Trust field Note August-2002.