The complexity of development work
Our work with Yakote Women Farmers (YWF) in fostering improvements in agriculture and tree planting illustrates the problems and complexity of making progress, and in particular of being fair to everyone. Many farmers here are on the edge, struggling to support families and always on the edge of disaster if the rains are poor and the crops don’t yield.
On this trip we are once again with expert farmer Fuseini Bugbon to put on a workshop focused on improved local seed varieties as a strategy to adapt to climate change. Fuseini is an expert organic farmer and will teach composting and mulching methods to conserve water in an increasingly uncertain rainfall pattern.
It is dry season now, with temperatures reaching the high 90’s. We are working with a number of excellent farmers who work very hard. Our colleague Kolbil carries 50 water cans full every morning and again every late afternoon to keep his garden of onions and amaranth watered. A gas-powered pump would allow him to save time, and the pump could also be rented out to other farms for income. Getting this “leg up” would reduce his financial risks are he struggles to take care of his deceased brother’s children as well as his own.
But solutions are often complicated, with unforeseen effects. If we provide Kolbil with a pump, many other farmers will likewise want one. Although Kolbil is certainly deserving, many other farmers also work hard, and is it fair for him to get a pump and for him to do without? There is also a sustainability issue—can Kolbil afford the fuel and repairs over time needed to maintain the pump? Will a gas-powered pump draw down the water level in his well faster, leading to degradation of the water table faster?
Every day we work through problems like this, trying to come up with fair, efficient solutions to improve livelihoods and well-being. The long history of development work in Africa has shown that small solutions, empowered and led by local people, are the vest (often only) way to move forward. Yakote Women Farmers has a solid track record of employing this approach.
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