Water for a food-secure world Challenging contexts: commonalities across countries November 2012 Katherine Snyder.

Water for a food-secure world

Challenging contexts: commonalities across countries

November 2012Katherine Snyder

Water for a food-secure worldWater for a food-secure world

Improving Sustainability of Impacts of Agricultural Water Management Interventions

in Challenging Contexts• Five countries (Nepal, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia,

Burkina Faso, Ghana)• Case studies of AWM investments in 5

countries• Analysis of AWM case studies• Development of guidelines

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Defining context…

SYSTEM OF

STUDY

CONTEXT(local and macro)

Targeted communityTargeted resourceAWM interventionImplementing agencyFunding agencyRecipient government

Institutional contextBiophysical contextPolitical-economic contextCultural contextDiscursive contextExternal actors

OUTCOMES

Livelihood improvementSustainaibilityFairness& legitimacyAdaptabilityResilienceAgricultural growth

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Analytical Framework

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Broad Challenges

• Incomplete Decentralization and “Political Will”• Partial and poorly directed ‘community’ participation

and buy-in• Poor communication: within donor agencies and

between projects and government implementers• More attention to ‘hardware’ than ‘software’• Lack of downward accountability• Poor design; poor supervision and monitoring• Not multi-sectoral

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Broad Challenges cont’d

• Limited implementation of laws and policies• Land tenure issues• Gender inequity• Lack of expertise for implementing projects

using community driven development approaches

• Elite capture

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Broad Challenges cont’d

• Weak local institutions • Lack of integration with other project

components (marketing)• Lack of continued technical support

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Design

• Project design: well crafted on paper, but goals fail to match reality; proposal design team not including more consultative/participatory approach

• Infrastructure design and construction: often faulty; little inclusion of community knowledge; challenges in personnel capacity – few well-trained engineers

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Delays

• Start-up can be extremely slow: bureaucratic process; funds disbursement; changes in costs

• Politicization of project: taints procurement; tendering; implementation;

• Capacity challenges on part of local government project staff to meet project criteria

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Operation and maintenance

• Community hand-over and ownership• Funds for maintenance insufficient• Training/capacity • Disengagement after hand-over

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Monitoring and Evaluation

• Capacity issues• Whose criteria for evaluation• Lack of baselines

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Other issues

• Staff-turnover• Corruption