On Common Ground: A Joint Donor Concept on Rural Development

Abridged version

The topics identified are considered to be dynamic and open to change over time. They will therefore be updated by the Platform, in order to provide further opportunities for shared learning on the part of Platform members and other interested individuals and organisations. For more information, see www.donorplatform.org

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Ensure that the needs and opportunities of the rural poor are appropriately addressed in policy debates at international, regional and national levels; Raise the quality, and heighten the impact, of rural development investment, through better practices, networking, shared learning, and the collection and dissemination of innovation; Foster harmonisation and alignment (H&A) efforts in rural development and agriculture at country-level. For more, see: www.donorplatform.org The JDRC reflects broad areas of member consensus, and thus does not focus on specific aspects of rural development and agriculture, such as productivity. Instead, it focuses more on the processes related to agricultural and rural development delivery. This contrasts with the approach used in Hot Topics, another document produced by the Platform. Hot Topics focuses on the content of rural development, including the consensus achieved among members on related issues of global significance in 2006 [1].

1. OVERVIEW

What drives rural development? What principles or values should guide donors and partners in rural development? What are the current approaches to rural development delivery in the context of harmonisation and alignment? These are some of the questions that the Global Donor Platform for Development (referred to hereafter as the Platform) members and associate members have discussed and debated over the past year, in order to identify areas of consensus in rural development. The outcomes of these discussions are included in the document On Common Ground: A Joint Donor Rural Concept, which synthesises the key points of consensus that the Platform has reached and built into its Joint Donor Rural Concept (JDRC). The Platforms Role in Rural Development The Global Donor Platform for Rural Development seeks to increase the overall effectiveness of aid in rural development. Specifically, the Platform seeks to:

Donors must be more effective in the support they provide to rural development. Achieving the MDGs requires stronger partnerships within and between partner country governments and donor governments and their agencies. To work, these partnerships must be based on mutual trust and respect. Harmonisation and alignment are critical tools for helping to improve the effectiveness of donor assistance. Some key guiding fora and declarations are considered in the box below.

Investment in the agricultural sector is on the upswing. After two decades of decline in the amount of foreign assistance provided to agriculture, there has recently been a change both in national policies and donor programmes. There has also been an increase in rights-based and/or pro-poor approaches to development within donor circles. 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger 2. Achieve universal primary education 3. Promote gender equality and empower women 4. Reduce child mortality 5. Improve maternal health 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases 7. Ensure environmental sustainability 8. Develop a global partnership for development Source: www.un.org/millenniumgoals/ The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

1.1 Making the linkages: Rural development and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 1.2 Increasing donor effectiveness: Harmonisation and alignment

Three-quarters of the worlds poor live in the rural areas of developing countries and depend primarily on agricultural [2] production for their livelihoods and overall well-being. In 2000, the member states of the United Nations adopted the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) [3], which provide the overall umbrella for current development discourse, policy development, and action. Recognising the contribution that agricultural and rural development will make to achieving the MDGs, bilateral and multilateral funding agencies, as well as partner governments, have recently made more concerted efforts to rethink agricultural and rural development policy. [4]

[2] [3] [4]

The term agriculture is used here as un umbrella term that includes crop and livestock productions, fisheries, forestry, post-harvest production, marketing, etc. See the MDG website: www.un.org/millenniumgoals/. For more information, see Wolz, A. The role of agriculture and rural development in achieving the Millennium Development Goals: A joint narrative. Global Donor Platform for Rural Development (GDPRD), September 2005. www.donorplatform.org

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Rome Declaration on Harmonisation In February 2003, the heads of bilateral and multilateral development institutions and representatives of the International Monetary Fund, as well as of other multilateral financial institutions and partner countries, gathered in Rome, Italy, to reaffirm their commitment to eradicating poverty, achieving economic growth, and promoting sustainable development. This was done through the Rome Declaration on Harmonisation. The Declaration stresses the need for partner countries to assume stronger leadership roles when coordinating development assistance. It also stresses that the donor community has a responsibility with regard to building their capacity to play such a role. For more details, see www1.worldbank.org/harmonization/romehlf/Documents/RomeDeclaration.pdf. Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness In early 2005, government ministers of developed and developing countries, along with the heads of multilateral and bilateral institutions, resolved to take action to reform the delivery and management of aid in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness commits countries and their institutions to measurable and monitorable actions aimed to significantly increase aid effectiveness. For more information, see www1.worldbank.org/harmonization/Paris/FINALPARISDECLARATION.pdf.

Key International Fora and Declarations Guiding Partners and Donors

Monterrey Consensus The Monterrey Consensus called on development cooperation agencies to harmonise their operational procedures at the highest standard so as to reduce transaction costs and make ODA disbursement and delivery more flexible, taking into account national development needs and objectives under the ownership of the recipient country. www.un.org/esa/ffd/0302finalMonterreyConsensus.pdf

Joint Marrakech Memorandum and Guiding Principles The Joint Marrakech Memorandum called on international funding institutions to enhance their organisational focus on results, distil the lessons learned from countries experiences, and disseminate knowledge about what gets results in the different country contexts. For more information, see www.mfdr.org/2ndRoundtable.html.

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When working to achieve consensus, Platform members also agreed on some overarching objectives of agricultural and rural development. According to consensus, the overall objective of agricultural and rural development is to improve the living conditions of people in a way that is sustainable in the long term. Specifically, agricultural and rural development can strengthen rural women and mens livelihoods, improve food and nutrition security, and contribute to peoples overall well-being. Sustainable and regenerative agricultural and rural development can also help rural people limit the risks they face as agriculturalists and reduce poverty, by increasing incomes and employment opportunities for poor rural people.

Robust local governing bodies help to strengthen rural development and agricultural production. Strengthening the capacity of local public institutions, including service and research institutions, is key to implementing rural development policies and regulatory frameworks. Effective local governance is also crucial to encouraging investment in rural spaces. Increasingly, governments are decentralising many functions to local levels. Financial decentralisation must be a part of this process to provide local public institutions with the means to implement development efforts. Finally, both strong formal and informal rural institutions play a critical role in helping rural women and men engage in sustainable livelihood options, so reducing their vulnerability.

2.2.1 People-centred development 2.2.2 Local governance

Platform members agree that there are certain drivers (or pillars [5]) that move (or support) rural development processes. These are outlined below, as per member consensus.

Women, men, boys and girls lie at the heart of agricultural and rural development. Through their different but linked roles, relationships and responsibilities, they create the web of life that is rural development. Their roles, relationships, and responsibilities cross vast distances, linking urban and rural spaces through migration and the sending of money back to their families (remittances). However, despite the fact that people are at the centre of development, certain other drivers are also needed to sustain livelihoods and promote overall wellbeing. These are considered below. Agriculture is the main source of livelihood for the majority of people affected by HIV/AIDS around the world. Source: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), HIV/AIDS and Food and Nutrition Security: From Evidence to Action, 2005

2. BUILDING CONSENSUS: DRIVERS, PRINCIPLES, AND APPROACHES 2.2 Drivers of rural development

2.1 Objectives of agricultural and rural development

[5] Note: the Platform team that originally drafted the outline for the JDRC referred to these as pillars, that hold up, or are the foundation of, rural development. The term was revised to drivers by a broader group of Platform members attending the Brussels workshop in 2006.

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About 70 percent of the MDGs target group live in rural areas, particularly in Asia and Africa, and for most of the rural poor agriculture is a critical component in the successful attainment of the MDGs. Even though structural transformations are important in the longer term, more immediate gains in poor households welfare can be achieved through agriculture, which can help the poor overcome some of the critical constraints they now face in meeting their basic needs. World Bank, IFPRI. Agriculture and achieving the Millennium Development Goals. n.d.

2.2.3 Economics

Agriculture drives rural development. As the basis of most of the worlds rural livelihood systems, it will play a crucial role in efforts to meet the MDGs. It is a major employer in rural development, and a key contributor to the national incomes and export earnings of many developing countries [6]. Increasingly, there is a focus on value chains and the supermarketisation of the rural economy. This demands that male and female producers meet the standards required by consumers and supermarkets in towns and cities. However, while agriculture is the backbone of many national and household economies, providing the lifeblood for rural communities, it is also vulnerable to shocks such as the HIV/AIDS pandemic and environmental factors such as drought, flooding, etc.

2.2.4 Natural resources

Holding up the Rural Population: Achieving Immediate Gains through Agriculture

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[6] Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Promoting pro-poor growth: Agriculture, 2006. www.oecd.org/dataoecd

2.2.5 Rural infrastructure

Effective infrastructure is another key to alleviating poverty in rural areas. Adequate public investment in rural infrastructure is essential for improving agriculture, promoting off-farm economies, and strengthening ruralurban demand linkages. Improved roads, market areas, grain storage and mills, irrigation schemes, communication, and the provision of electricity in rural areas, are all crucial to stimulating pro-poor growth. Improving rural infrastructure is also key to combating chronic illnesses, including HIV/AIDS. At the same time, however, it is also recognised that improved roads increase trade and open up new avenues for HIV transmission in rural areas. As a result, strategies need to be formulated and particular attention paid to mitigating any potential negative impacts that might result.

Agricultural production depends upon natural resources and rural women and men depend upon agricultural production for a great part of their livelihood strategies. Sustainable farming methods are key to conserving soil, water, forest, livestock, and other genetic resources. Marginal and fragile agro-ecosystems require specific attention to ensure that the biological diversity and production base of rural women and men living there can provide them with a livelihood and food security. Meeting the MDGs in rural areas also means addressing the severe gender and socio-economic inequities that exist in the access to, and control of, natural resources.

Strong links bind rural infrastructure and rural service systems. Effective rural services are a key ingredient in alleviating rural poverty. Greater attention therefore needs to be paid to addressing the crucial need for improving the coverage of rural service systems. This includes (but is not limited to) financial, health, veterinary and agricultural research and extension services, and primary and secondary schooling services. In many countries, government-driven agricultural research and extension systems have been weakened considerably over the last two decades. These institutions need to be rebuilt as joint ventures between public and private stakeholders along certain guidelines [7].

2.2.7 Economic governance from the local to the global level 2.3.1 People-centred and pro-poor change 2.3.2 Governance, institutional aspects and financial management
Platform members suggest that there are key principles or values that should underscore rural development delivery. These are outlined below.

Rural development can only be effectively promoted in the long term if coherent frameworks and policies are in place at the international and national levels. These frameworks must guide and promote fair agricultural, trade, economic, social and environmental policies, as well as value chains, in both donor and partner countries. Technical, financial, and institutional support are needed to ensure the coherent implementation of international agreements at the national and sub-national level; this often requires institutional capacity to be strengthened.

Development that is people-centred considers the needs, priorities, interests, and challenges faced by the men, women, boys and girls involved. As such, it recognises both their active involvement and ability to make decisions concerning designs that will affect their own futures. To focus on people is to focus on pro-poor growth. Being guided by pro-poor, people-centred principles requires us to improve our understanding of the livelihood strategies of rural people. This includes broadening the perspective to include both economic and non-economic activities that are framed in both on- and off-farm contexts, including value chains.

Democratic development needs democratic government and vice versa. Good governance is intrinsically linked to people-focused development. If there is to be any chance of meeting the MDGs, particularly in relation to rural development, there must be greater emphasis on promoting and empowering rural institutions and on increasing fiscal decentralisation. Accountability and transparency must guide all partner country and donor processes across all levels. Effective rural development delivery often implies reforming rural development institutions, particularly in the public sector.

2.3 Guiding principles

2.2.6 Rural service systems

[7] For more information, see www.neuchatelinitiative.net

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2.3.3 Demand driven planning and implementation 2.3.4 Partnership 2.3.5 Equity and equal opportunity

In line with all other guiding principles, particularly those of people-centred development, partnership and equity, effective rural development calls for demand-driven responses that build on the different needs of rural men and women. These must be based on the development context and peoples livelihood strategies and constraints. In line with the Rome and Paris Declarations, this principle calls on donors to work with partner countries based on their demands, which should be grounded in an assessment of their own priorities. Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP): Example of cooperation The CAADP of the New Partnership for Africas Development (NEPAD) provides a framework for restoring agricultural growth, rural development and food security in the African region. African Ministers first endorsed the programme under a special session of the FAO Regional Conference for Africa in Rome on 9 June, 2002. The programme provides African governments, in collaboration with their development partners, an opportunity for renewed and re-focused efforts to reverse decades of stagnating economic growth, low agricultural production and declining productivity, food insecurity and increased poverty in the region. Source: FAO, www.fao.org

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The Millennium Declaration reaffirms the many commitments to equity and equality made in the various conventions and declarations that have been produced. Principles of equity and equal opportunity that guide rural development delivery must recognise the different needs, priorities, interests, and constraints of men, women, boys and girls. If agriculture is to fuel the economy and provide the opportunity for diversifying into other livelihood strategies, it is crucial that smallholders, both men and women, have access to productive resources (e.g. finance/credit, water, land, information, etc.). Moreover, rural development must be guided by the principle of gender equity, particularly in terms of property rights and land reform.

One institution alone cannot develop rural areas; nor can only one sector. Life in rural spaces is complex, building on many different institutional bases. All stakeholders must work together to improve the livelihoods, food security, and overall well-being of rural men and women. This calls for partnerships between sectors (such as agriculture, education, and health) as well as between public, private, and civil society institutions.

2.3.6 Sustainable use of natural resources 2.4 Approaches to delivery

To support the effective delivery of agricultural and rural development, donors need to align programmes, procedures and timetables with the planning and financial management systems of partner countries. Doing this reinforces partner countries commitment and ownership to these procedures and processes. By the same token, partner countries need to increase and improve the extent to which donors can rely on their planning and management systems, by adopting international principles and good practices. While doing so, initiatives should support decentralisation and local government processes and structures.

All rural development delivery should be guided by the principle of sustainable use of natural resources, which is reflected in a number of international conventions that have been signed and ratified by numerous countries. Strengthened community management of resources is key to sustainability. Such management is also linked to the principles of governance, partnership and equality. Communities must feel ownership over their resource management processes. They must also participate in decision-making processes at the community level and beyond.

2.4.1 Harmonisation and alignment approach to development assistance

Approaches to delivery should be considered the tangible or practical commitments that donors make in terms of delivering development. Platform members agree that approaches should recognise and build on the current efforts to harmonise and align development assistance. Regardless of donor involvement, there are certain approaches to delivery (including multi-sectoral and participatory [8] approaches) that governments will tend to adopt. This section seeks to highlight the sorts of approaches that Platform members feel are needed to improve aid effectiveness and support agricultural and rural development in a sustainable manner.

Equality. No individual and no nation must be denied the opportunity to benefit from development. The equal rights and opportunities of women and men must be assured (Para 6).

Equity, Equality and the Millennium Declaration

The Millennium Declaration, adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 2000, considers certain values to be central to international relations in the twenty-first century. Two of these are crucial to efforts to ensure equity and equal opportunity:

Freedom. Men and women have the right to live their lives and raise their children in dignity, free from hunger and from the fear of violence, oppression or injustice. Democratic and participatory governance based on the will of the people best assures these rights.

[8] A word of caution: the term, participatory approaches is open to wide interpretation. There is an extensive literature base that discusses and debates the many perceptions and practices of socalled participation.

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[9] OECDDAC Good Practice Paper: Harmonising Donor Practices for Effective Aid Delivery, OECD, 2003. www.oecd.org/publications

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Donors are guided by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Good Practice Papers Harmonizing Donor Practices for Effective Aid Delivery [9] and the Rome Declaration on Harmonisation. These place great importance on the need for partner countries to assume a stronger leadership role in the coordination of development assistance. They also stress that the donor community has a responsibility to build the capacity of partner countries in this respect. Promoting and securing ownership needs complementary capacity building and participatory approaches at all levels. To do this, efforts will have to focus on the various stakeholders, including poor rural women, men, girls and boys at the community level. They must also target the different kinds of rural development institutions found at a range of levels, from the community to national level. In addition, those involved must ensure that private, public, and civil society partners are engaged in a participatory manner at all levels. If you want ownership by both the government and the civil society it represents, then the old donor-driven projects have to become a thing of the past. We have to ask the government, with maximum participation of the private sector and NGOs and the farmers themselves, to come up with their own programme. Source: Kevin Cleaver, Interview Platform Speaking, May 2006. www.donorplatform.org

Rural development is multi-sectoral, and hence complex. Plus, efforts are made more complex by the diversity of livelihood strategies people employ, and the huge variety of agro-ecosystems upon which men and women rely to support their livelihoods. Moreover, these diverse systems often occur within the same area (an example is the overlapping livelihood systems of pastoralists and sedentary agriculturalists). Particular considerations to address include the need to involve various ministries, to reflect (1) the different social, health, environmental, and productive sectors involved and (2) the role of local government, particularly in relation to decentralisation processes. There is a clear need to define the roles and responsibilities of the public and private sectors in decentralisation processes, as service-provision is increasingly shifting from the public to the private sector. Multi-sectoral approaches are holistic and require multi-dimensional analysis. However, follow-up action may include strategies and solutions that are either sector-specific or multi-sectoral in nature.

The above strategies not only provide immense opportunities for shared learning when they are being implemented, they also provide much-needed mutual accountability between development partners and donors. This is also crucial to avoiding the corruption and political manipulation of rural services. Such cooperation should also consider the linkages between the public, private and civil society sectors and the roles they play.

2.4.2 Multi-sectoral approach 2.4.3 Participatory Approach

2.4.4 Long-term commitment

Long-term commitment is a pre-condition of rural development. Past failures of rural development initiatives have been blamed, in part, on a lack of long-term donor commitment. Long-term commitment helps produce more stable policies and programmes as well as predictable funding flows. Commitment should be credible, not unconditional. At the same time, however, it should be linked to Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRSs) and based on progress therein. There must be effective monitoring and evaluation of such commitments. In addition, clear and measurable benchmarks are also needed. These must be commonly understood and appreciated by all partners. It is also important to prioritise and sequence programming.

2.4.5 Re-orienting rural development efforts to focus on results and processes

In keeping with the Marrakech Core Principles on development results [10], re-orienting rural development by focusing on results can provide mechanisms for the systematic monitoring and evaluation of rural development initiatives. A results-based approach to rural development is useful for ensuring the efficacy and transparency of development processes. Any such approach should be simple, cost-effective, and user-friendly. To achieve the MDGs, it is essential to address, and be able to measure the social not only the technological or economic aspects of rural development. This calls for the broadening of standard measurement variables and methodologies to capture these aspects of rural development. The need to consider such variables is becoming more important as donor priorities are increasingly emphasising poverty, gender equity, social distribution and the MDGs as priorities. Doing so, however, may require substantial capacity building and institutional strengthening. Monitoring and evaluation should be part of a continuous (iterative) planning process, carried out at different levels, and should emphasise learning by doing. The OECDDAC found that the typical African partner country deals with 600 projects, 2,400 reports and 1,000 missions in a year. Source: African Economic Outlook. AfDB/OECD, 2004. www.oecd.org/dataoecd

[10] Promoting a harmonised approach to managing for development results: Core principles. Managing for development results: Second international roundtable, Marrakech 2004, www.mfdr.org/docments

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3. CONCLUSION

The process of identifying rural development drivers, as well as guiding principles and approaches common to donors, was not an easy task for Platform members. However, the contributions hotly debated in Wakefield, Brussels, and in cyber space reveal a number of commonalities and highlight the growing consensus between donors on the directions needed to reinvigorate agricultural and rural development. The Millennium Declaration and the related Millennium Development Goals have stimulated us all to reexamine the place of agricultural and rural development in promoting secure livelihoods, reducing vulnerability, and improving the overall wellbeing of millions of men, women, boys and girls. There is agreement on some of the fundamental drivers of rural development, as well as the principles and approaches that ought to drive agricultural and rural development delivery. Too often, commitment to values and approaches has been upheld in words alone whether in international declarations or national policies. The challenge now is to act on those words to make rural development delivery more effective, particularly within the context of harmonisation and alignment. This will require commitment political, financial, human, and technical commitment on the part of donors, to make agricultural and rural development even more powerful and effective forces of sustenance and change than they already are! To this end, the JDRC and its sister document Hot Topics, indicate areas where donors have found consensus on agricultural and rural development. Such consensus is vital in the process of harmonising and aligning rural development delivery and can guide donors and partners alike in moving forward.

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African Development Bank, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. African Economic Outlook, 2004. www.oecd.org/dataoecd/24/26/32430135.pdf Harvey, J. A view from the north. Rural areas in 2016: Vacant or vibrant? DFID, 2006. Neuchatel Group. Common framework on agricultural extension. Neuchatel Group,1999. www.neuchatelinitiative.net/images/cf_en.pdf Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Promoting pro-poor growth: Agriculture, 2006. www.oecd.org/dataoecd/43/46/36427716.pdf Wolz, A. The role of agriculture and rural development in achieving the Millennium Development Goals: A joint narrative. Global Donor Platform for Rural Development (GDPRD), September 2005. www.donorplatform.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_details&gid=219

Organization for Economic Cooperation and DevelopmentDAC Network on Poverty Reduction. Donor policies on agriculture and rural development: Results of the mapping exercise, 30 31 March 2004. World Bank, International Food Policy research Institute (IFPRI). Agriculture and achieving the Millennium Development Goals. n.d. siteresources.worldbank.org/INTARD/Resources/Ag_MDGs_Complete.pdf

4. KEY REFERENCES

Thanks to all Members and Associate Members who participated in JDRC workshops in Wakefield, Canada and/or Brussels, Belgium as well as those who contributed to the electronic forum in early 2006. Your contributions and insights made the writing process much more straightforward. I am grateful to those members who provided extra references or clarifications during the writing process. The ideas herein are those of the Platform members. I take responsibility for any errors or misunderstandings that might have occurred in the transcription and writing process. Catherine Hill

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MEMBERS OF THE GDPRD

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Austrian Development Agency (ADA), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Department for International Development (DFID), Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), European Union Directorate General for Development (EU-DGD), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), French Development Agency (AFD), German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), KfW Entwicklungsbank (KfW), Ministry for Foreign Affairs Austria (MFA), Ministry for Foreign Affairs Finland (MFAF), Ministry of Finance and Economy Italy (MFE), Ministry of Foreign Affairs Denmark (MFAD), Ministry of Foreign Affairs France (MAE), Ministry of Foreign Affairs Luxemburg (MAE Lu), Ministry of Foreign Affairs Norway (MFAN), Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Netherlands (NMFA), Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), The World Bank (WB), United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Prepared by Catherine L. M. Hill (Consultant) from Platform Member and Associate Member inputs to workshops held in Wakefield, Canada (September 2005) and Brussels, Belgium (April 2006) Published by Global Donor Platform for Rural Development, c/o Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Adenauerallee 139-141, 53113 Bonn, Germany Photos fairtrade media, Bonn, Germany Printed by W.B. Druckerei, Hochheim, Germany November 2006 Paper Printed on special 9Lives photo paper (PaperLinx), certified according to FSC

Layout Iris Christmann, Wiesbaden, Germany

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www.donorplatform.org
Contact: Secretariat of the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development, c/o Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Adenauerallee 139-141, 53113 Bonn, Germany Phone: +49 228 535 3276 and 3699 Fax: +49 228 535 103276 Email: secretariat@donorplatform.org Website: www.donorplatform.org Publication date: November 2006