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• (Article) A field practitioner’s perspective on developing green food value chains

  01.01.2018
  The article considers a bottom-up approach to developing green food value chains based on a step-by-step approach. The process attempts to learn from frugal innovations that may be environmentally friendly (green), found in bottom of the pyramid (BOP) contexts and the related informal food sector. The step-by-step process starts with forming and facilitating a multi-stakeholder working group, then moves on to appraise various food value chains, and then selects one or more specific food value chains to green. Each is then mapped, while concurrently providing for an environmental hotspot analysis and a stakeholder analysis. The approach then turns to setting specific objectives and strategies, planning and action planning, setting up a monitoring and evaluation system, and holding regular multi-stakeholder working group meetings during the implementation time period of the approach. The last step of the process considers the possibility of contributing to, and fostering, the development of a policy action plan. The approach is intended mainly for field practitioners with all its advantages and limitations, but can also provide important field-based information to local and national stakeholders, including policy-makers. The approach can also provide support in the delineation, formulation, and importantly implementation of policies devoted to developing green food value chains.

• (Article) Does women’s agency influence agriculture technology adoption?

  01.01.2018
  This paper assesses women’s agency and its influence on technology adoption in agriculture. In undertaking the study, data was sourced from CARE Pathways Programme 2013 Annual Review Studies in Tanzania and Malawi. The cohort technique was used to select a sample of 149 female respondents from both female- and male-headed households. Using a probit regression model, the study found a significant and positive relationship between high agency and knowledge on gender issues, positive perception of gender roles, and farm size. In contrast, access to a broad range of information sources and belonging to female-headed households enhance the likelihood of low agency. Using the OLS regression model, the study reveals a positive and significant relationship between women’s agency and adoption of production technologies. This implies that interventions to enhance adoption of agricultural technologies among rural women must aim at building their capabilities to take purposeful actions.

• (Article) Inclusive value chain development: experience of participatory market system development approach in Bangladesh

  01.01.2018
  The aim of this article is to reflect lessons learned in developing an inclusive value chain through participatory market system development (PMSD) by Practical Action in Bangladesh. PMSD contains 10 structured sequences of steps (called a roadmap). This article captures eight steps of PMSD, which are Market system selection, Preliminary mapping and analysis, Strategic design and planning, Empowering marginalized actors, Engaging key actors, Participatory market mapping (PMM), Participatory planning, and Facilitating changes. Through PMSD we are selecting viable market systems for small-scale farmers; developing preliminary market maps, interventions, and sales and service centres for their empowerment; engaging value chain actors; organizing PMM workshops with market actors; and facilitating farmers’ groups to develop production plans. The challenges we face are: analysis and preparation of reports on all subsectors; the short time duration for intervention design; unskilled staff members of partner NGOs and, at the beginning, less cooperation from public and private sectors; ensuring participation of local government representatives and government officers; organizing follow-up PMM workshops at Upazila and district level; and involving traders to aggregate input demand and supply of product.

• (Article) Effect of variety, age at maturity, and drying method on physicochemical properties of high quality cassava flour (HQCF)

  01.10.2018
  High quality cassava flour (HQCF) is one of the products derivable from cassava roots. Drying in HQCF production is a complex operation which changes the quality of a product physically and chemically. Thus, it is important to investigate some quality attributes of high quality cassava flour obtained from solar and flash drying methods and compare these with the acceptable standard values. Two improved cassava varieties (TMS98/0510 and TMS98/0505) were planted and harvested at different developmental stages of 7, 9 and 12 months after planting. The roots were processed into HQCF within 24 h of harvest using mechanized and solar dryers. The physicochemical properties: moisture, crude fibre, carbohydrate, pH, and cyanide contents of the flour samples were determined using standard laboratory procedures. Effect of variety, age at harvest, and drying method as well as their interactive effects were then statistically assessed on these properties. There was a significant difference in pH and cyanide contents of HQCF samples from the two cassava varieties. With respect to the carbohydrate and moisture contents, the variety, age, and drying method interaction had no significant (p > 0.05) effect while interaction significantly affected the pH, cyanide, and crude fibre contents. However, the values obtained in all the HQCF samples were within acceptable limits.

• (Article) Towards a collaborative approach between practitioners and academics: insights from an academic–Fairtrade collaboration

  01.01.2020
  Partnership approaches have been identified as crucial for meeting the Sustainable Development Goals. In the context of an emerging literature on cross-sector partnerships, and more specifically reflections on how academic institutions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) create effective and mutually beneficial research collaborations, this paper draws on the experiences of a particular partnership between academic researchers and a Fair Trade organization partnership to contribute to building an understanding of how collaborative research can be achieved more effectively. A set of collaborative outputs resulted from the experience, including best practices for engagement and a training tool. It has contributed to changes in some of Fairtrade International’s ways of working with researchers. We found that we had more in common than what divided us in terms of skills and attitudes to knowledge, which is an important factor in the success of our relationship. Rooted in reflective practice, our project highlights the importance of trust and relationship building but also recognition of formal agreements and institutional structures to sustain the relationship.

• (Article) Performance and economic benefits of meat-type chicken fed diets containing white and yellow cassava supplemented with different additives

  01.10.2018
  Two hundred and forty unsexed day-old broiler chickens were allotted to eight dietary treatments arranged in a 4 × 2 factorial arrangement of two cassava varieties (white and yellow cassava) supplemented with no additive (control), synthetic amino acid, cellulase enzyme and a combination of amino acid and cellulase enzyme for the starter (0–4 weeks) and finisher (4–8 weeks) phases. Data was collected on growth performance, feed conversion ratio (FCR), cost of feed consumed per kilogram and analysed using ANOVA. Starting broilers fed a diet containing yellow cassava supplemented with amino acids had the most superior (p < 0.05) final weight (709.09 g/bird), weight gain (657.27 g/bird), best FCR (1.93), and the cheapest (p < 0.05) cost per kilogram weight gain (₦200.15/kg [US$0.56]). Finishing broilers fed a diet containing white cassava supplemented with amino acid also recorded the best (p < 0.05) FCR (2.43) and cheapest cost of feed consumed per kilogram weight gain (₦226.71/kg [$0.63]). The study concluded that dietary supplementation with amino acid when white or yellow cassava root is to be used in the nutrition of broilers is essential for improved growth performance and economic benefits to broiler farmers.

• (Article) Effect of cassava grits as maize replacement on carcass characteristics of two strains of broiler chickens

  01.10.2018
  Carcass characteristics are measures of relative proportions of meat and bone, among others, of an animal’s carcass and dictate the acceptability by processors and consumers. Carcass characteristics of two strains of broiler chickens fed diets containing varying levels of cassava grits (CG) were determined using 120 (four-week-old) broiler chickens for each of Arbor Acre Plus (AAP) and Marshall (MS) Strains. The birds were randomly distributed into four dietary treatments of CG as replacement for maize (0, 20, 40, and 60 per cent) at finisher phase. Each treatment had three replicates. At the end of the feeding trial which lasted 28 days, four birds with weights close to the group average were selected per replicate, fasted for 24 hours, weighed, and sacrificed for carcass analysis. Data were collected on carcass characteristics and cut parts and analysed using ANOVA. Results showed that strain had no significant (p > 0.05) influence on carcass characteristics and cut parts parameters except (p < 0.05) relative plucked weight. Broilers fed 0 per cent CG inclusion recorded highest (p < 0.05) live weight (2103.75 g). CG levels had no significant (p > 0.05) influence on dressed weight and choice cuts (breast, thigh, and drumstick) of chickens. The study concluded that CG could be used to replace up to 60 per cent of maize in finishing diets for broiler chickens without negative effects on dressed weight and choice cuts.

• (Article) The effect of mechanization on cassava production in Ogun, Osun, and Kwara States of Nigeria

  01.10.2018
  Use and adoption of mechanization in cassava farming has the potential to increase yield if combined well with good agronomic practices. Promotion of machines in Nigeria has been occurring since the early 1990s, however uptake remains a challenge. This research was aimed at determining the factors that affect cassava yield as well as extent of use of mechanization in cassava production. Both primary and secondary data on cassava mechanization in Nigeria was used. The research focused on beneficiaries of the Cassava Mechanization and Agro-processing Project (CAMAP) led by the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) which promotes full mechanization for cassava production; i.e. ploughing, harrowing, planting, spraying, and harvesting. The data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Multiple regression was used to determine the factors affecting cassava yield. The results showed a significant and positive influence of mechanization and good agronomic practices on the cassava yield. Project beneficiaries who used machines reported yields of 23–33 tonnes/hectare with non-beneficiaries reporting 4–11 tonnes/hectare. This translated into an income increase for farmers using machines for cassava production. This research recommends promotion of mechanization in Nigeria to enhance cassava production.

• (Article) Nuggets from an old book: A Practical Handbook of Water Supply by F. Dixey (1931)

  01.01.2017
  Frank Dixey’s A Practical Handbook of Water Supply, published in 1931 is briefly reviewed. The text is correlated with current knowledge and experience. It is evident from the book that some of the present challenges in the water supply sector have been around for a long time which leads to the conclusion that effecting a change takes time. Development agencies therefore need to set realistic targets and time frames. Some of the rather old texts should be consulted and reviewed periodically as they may contain very useful information.

• (Article) Can and should sanitation and hygiene programmes be expected to achieve health impacts?

  01.01.2017
  Although the anticipated health benefits are not the only reason for undertaking sanitation and hygiene programmes, they do represent an important part of the justification. Studies and reviews over recent years have shown, however, that the health impacts of sanitation programmes can be quite small or even negligible. They have also provided no solid evidence that integrated (water, sanitation, hygiene) programming has any greater effect than addressing one or two of these components alone. Two questions arise: first, whether a certain level of sanitation usage and hygiene practice within a community is needed in order to achieve a measurable health impact (i.e. whether a minimum percentage of the population should be using safe sanitation); second, whether sanitation and hygiene interventions undertaken without accompanying water supply improvements are likely to have significant health benefits. In this opinion paper some plausible and practically relevant answers to these questions are extracted from the relevant literature. The conclusions are that a high level of sanitation usage (well over 65 per cent) and widespread handwashing practice are necessary to achieve significant health impact; and that in situations where water services are poor, sanitation and hygiene interventions, while valuable for other reasons, are unlikely to have significant health impacts. Sanitation and hygiene programmes may be justifiable even if they do not immediately achieve high levels of compliance and corresponding water supply improvements are not made; however, the justification should not be presented on the grounds of short-term health benefits.

• (Article) Chlorination of drinking water in emergencies: a review of knowledge to develop recommendations for implementation and research needed

  01.01.2017
  Clean water provision is a critical component of emergency response, and chlorination is widely used in emergencies to treat water. To provide responders with practical, evidence-based recommendations for implementing chlorination programmes and recommend areas for future research, we conducted a literature review of chlorination in emergencies, supplemented with a literature review on chlorination in general. We identified 106 total documents, including 7 with information on technical efficacy, 26 on chlorine dosage, 22 on technical challenges, 21 on product options, 8 on user acceptability, 33 on programmes for emergencies, and 8 on monitoring. We found that: 1) international chlorine dosage recommendations in emergencies are highly inconsistent; 2) high-quality information from the general chlorination literature on challenges of chlorination can be adapted for emergencies; 3) many chlorine products are available for use in point-of-delivery, point-of-source, and point-of-use emergency-response programmes; 4) information on the effectiveness of different chlorination programmes in emergencies varies, ranging from little data available to high-quality data that can inform programming; 5) information on user acceptability of chlorination in emergencies is lacking; and 6) monitoring data on chlorine programme effectiveness in emergencies are lacking. In this manuscript, we provide a summary of knowledge on chlorination in emergencies, recommendations for programme implementation, and recommendations for future research needed to assist communities and agencies responding to the increasing number of natural disasters and outbreaks worldwide.

• (Article) Urban community-led total sanitation: a potential way forward for co-producing sanitation services

  01.10.2016
  Community-led total sanitation (CLTS) has been proved to be a successful strategy for tackling the challenge of open defecation in poor rural communities across Africa and Asia. This article explores whether a similar approach can be used in peri-urban and urban areas to help co-produce sanitation facilities and services with inputs from communities, duty bearers, and other sanitation stakeholders. It is argued that an urban CLTS approach does not mean a copy and paste of tools and methods which have proved successful in the rural environment but following a set of similar principles. Based on field experiences different steps are suggested that incorporate these principles and respond to the specific urban sanitation problem. This article helps to articulate and better define urban CLTS as well as giving practical guidance for those wanting to use this kind of approach.

• (Article) WASH challenges to girls’ menstrual hygiene management in Metro Manila, Masbate, and South Central Mindanao, Philippines

  01.07.2016
  This paper examines water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) conditions that enable and hinder Philippine schoolgirls to hygienically manage their menstruation. We collected qualitative data from 13 schools in three regions of the Philippines. Schools in both urban (Metro Manila) and rural areas (Masbate and South Central Mindanao) were included to allow for comparison across settings. Unreliable access to water, lack of disposal mechanisms for menstrual materials, unclean facilities, and insufficient number of latrines were identified as the key barriers to effective menstrual management in Masbate and Metro Manila. In South Central Mindanao, there was greater oversight of WASH hardware at schools and hardware was in better condition, which created a more enabling environment for girls to manage menstruation. Creating an enabling WASH environment for girls to manage menstruation requires sustained support and system oversight, combined with knowledge and information.

• (Article) Menstrual hygiene: a ‘silent’ need during disaster recovery

  01.07.2016
  Post-disaster relief and recovery operations seldom focus on women’s priorities regarding menstrual hygiene. There is an increasing awareness to incorporate inclusive, participatory, and gender-sensitive strategies for implementation of response programmes. This article presents empirical findings related to menstrual hygiene management (MHM), demonstrating it is integral to women’s privacy and safety during recovery. Using case studies from India, the 2012 Assam floods and 2013 Cyclone Phailin in Odisha, this article explores menstrual hygiene practices in a post-disaster context. The data were collected through participatory learning and action tools such as focus group discussions, household interviews, priority ranking, and observations. It emerged that menstrual hygiene was overlooked at the household level during recovery; women and adolescent girls faced seclusion and isolation, exacerbating privacy and security concerns post-disasters. Some humanitarian agencies have an ad hoc approach towards MHM, which is limited to distribution of sanitary pads and does not address the socio-cultural practices around MHM. There is a need for strategic planning to address MHM with a gender-sensitive and inclusive approach. This article draws practical and policy inferences from the research for stronger approaches towards initiating behaviour change in MHM, and addressing attitudes and knowledge regarding menstrual hygiene.

• (Article) Making pathogen hazards visible: a new heuristic to improve sanitation investment efficacy

  01.04.2016
  The public health objective of sanitation is to reduce the risk of negative health outcomes from faecal contamination. For water-based sanitation systems at the household and community scale as practised in Indonesia and perhaps elsewhere, the liquid component of the effluent comprises a significant pathogen hazard. While increasing attention is paid to managing the solid fraction, the hazard in the liquid fraction goes largely unnoticed and unmanaged. This paper proposes the means for a conceptual shift to a focus on the pathogen hazards that matter post-treatment, and where those hazards enter the environment, enabling improved local risk management. Firstly, the paper proposes exponential, rather than arithmetic, representations of pathogen number or concentration, because arithmetic representations of treatment efficacy wrongly suggest low cause for concern. Secondly, the paper introduces and applies the Pathogen Hazard Diagram, a new heuristic applicable at both the local and national scale, that requires only local knowledge and general sanitation reference knowledge to construct, but which can guide policy and action, direct monitoring, and improve the efficacy of sanitation investments.

• (Article) Beyond ‘functionality’ of handpump-supplied rural water services in developing countries

  01.01.2016
  Many rural point-water sources in developing countries consist of wells or boreholes equipped with handpumps. Various estimates have been made of the functionality of such water points, and functionality is now routinely monitored in national and local surveys of service performance. We argue, however, that a single binary (functional/non-functional) indicator is crude and insufficient to provide much information about service sustainability. We set out a categorization of functionality which includes three sub-categories of functional water points and five non-functional sub-categories, with well/handpump water points in mind. We use a simple model to demonstrate that reduction of high rates of early post-construction abandonment and reduction of total downtimes would greatly improve service performance. We show that functionality levels for multi-age populations of wells or boreholes equipped with handpumps would not normally be expected to exceed about 85 per cent. We recommend going beyond functionality monitoring via the collection of quantitative data on rates of abandonment, frequency and duration of breakdown, combined with descriptive narratives of actions to manage and repair water points, in order to generate more nuanced understanding of service performance.

• (Article) The role of handpump corrosion in the contamination and failure of rural water supplies

  01.01.2016
  There has been much discussion over many years regarding the origin of elevated iron concentrations in rural water supplies in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. High iron concentrations are often assumed to be naturally occurring in groundwater, despite several studies over the last 30 years which also point to the role of handpump corrosion in aggressive groundwater. Handpump standards specify that galvanized iron pump materials should not be used in groundwater due to the risk of corrosion, yet this advice is not always followed. High iron concentrations, whether naturally occurring, or present as a result of corrosion, have an impact on taste, odour, and appearance of water and can promote the growth of unpleasant iron metabolizing bacteria. These effects often result in the abandonment of boreholes, sometimes only a year old, and a return to unprotected and unsafe water sources. Where boreholes are not abandoned, the effects of corrosion can cause pump materials to degrade to the point where the pump becomes inoperable. These outcomes are clearly inconsistent with the provision of sustainable water supply services as a fundamental human right. This paper provides a synthesis of work undertaken in this area over the last 30 years and recent practical experience of WaterAid in investigating these problems in water supplies in north-eastern Uganda.

• (Article) Schoolgirls’ experiences of changing and disposal of menstrual hygiene items and inferences for WASH in schools

  01.10.2015
  Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) challenges during changing and disposal of menstrual items are important in low-income countries (LICs) where schools lack sufficient water and sanitation. Changing in poorly maintained latrines may expose girls to excrement and infection. We examine the frequency of dropping menstrual items and disposal of waste by schoolgirls in a menstrual solutions feasibility study in western Kenya. Drops when changing were reported in 17 per cent (20 per cent <16 years; 16.5 per cent 16 years plus; p=0.04) of girls’ reports overall. Differences by socio-economic status were not evident. Fifty-four per cent of girls dropped at least once. A quarter of girls using pads and cups reported drops in the first few months, reducing to 10 per cent over time, compared with ~30 per cent among traditional item users. One in four accidental drops occurred at school during the study. When dropped at school, most girls swapped the dropped item for a new one, but 24 per cent brushed/washed the item and reused it. While no clinical events occurred during this study, data suggest dropping within latrines could place girls at potential risk of exposure to infection. Disposal of items, or emptying cups, was mostly into the latrine. We conclude that accidental dropping of menstrual items while changing is common, including at school. Prevention will be helped by improving poorly constructed sanitation facilities, shelving, privacy, and staggering/increasing break time for girls to change. Provision of special garbage bins to prevent clogging and overflow of latrines is recommended.

• (Article) Why do some behaviours change more easily than others? Water-use behaviour interventions in rural Nepal

  01.10.2015
  Water-sector development is inevitably based on changes in people’s behaviour. We analyse why some types of domestic water-use behaviours change more easily than others. Our case study is a water supply and sanitation intervention in remote and rural Nepal. We found that collective opportunities, degree of individual freedom, and individual incentives influenced the ease of the promoted behaviour changes. The enhanced individual opportunities, incentives, and collective tolerance enabled behaviour changes that were regarded as beneficial by the people themselves, whereas the existing social traditions in our case-study context often restricted those changes. Often, the individual agency and the collective traditions confronted one another. We suggest that this study can provide a design for predicting possible opportunities and challenges regarding behaviour changes in field operations, and for enhancing joint operation of individual and collective capabilities at local levels in the development intervention context.

• (Article) Strengthening behaviour change communication in western Nepal: how can we do better?

  01.10.2015
  The Government of Nepal aims to achieve full water and sanitation coverage by 2017. The bilateral Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project in Western Nepal (RWSSP-WN) works with local governments in 14 districts, aiming to declare them open defecation free. This behaviour change communications evaluation explored how to improve RWSSP-WN’s present practices to reach the diverse target population in the Terai districts, where more than 1 million people still defecate in the open. The study reviewed RWSSP-WN’s present behaviour change triggering tools and related communications strategies. Our findings suggest that availability of subsidies seems to change how people think about sanitation and tends to eliminate willingness to pay for a latrine. We recommended strong advocacy for a no-subsidy policy, and more attention paid to alternative financing options with targeted support to the poorest of the poor. The present behaviour change triggering tools do work as intended, but there is a need to develop pre-triggering and post-triggering strategies to increase the overall impact. The pre-triggering strategy would ensure that potential barriers to change are identified and addressed before the actual triggering event, and that the key stakeholders are prepared for the actual triggering event. The post-triggering strategy is needed to continue motivating households to change via messages that tap into the drivers of change, addressing also the barriers which may keep each household from changing behaviour. This paper provides a number of recommendations applicable for those working with local governments and communities to increase the scope and scale of behaviour change triggering.