Round 1 May 2010

Best Practices & Innovations (BPI) Initiative Agriculture & Rural Livelihoods
Women Farmers Building Community Resilience Through Harnessing Crops and Livestock
Heifer International
Best Practice Award for Livestock Production and Gender Integration Overview: Heifer Internationals Women Farmers Building Community Resilience through Harnessing Crops and Livestock project built economic resilience and self-reliance in a Zambian community by increasing crop yields and improving family nutrition through gifts of livestock and training in their care. It encouraged environmentally friendly farming, including the use of natural fertilizers and prevention of overgrazing. A central objective of the project was to overcome gender-based discrimination and gender stereotyping in terms of access to resources and ownership of livestock. As a result of project activities (such as providing women with women-friendly technology and training in areas including community leadership, livestock management, village funds management, and income generation) women became more self-reliant and empowered, and saw their status in the community improve.

Intervention Details:
Location Start Date End Date Scale Target Population Number of beneficiaries Partners Funders/Donors Total Funding Website Zambia Mumbwa District, Central Province January 1, 2001 June 30, 2005 Local/Community Miyoba community 162 families Heifer International Zambia, Ministry of Community Development, Ministry of Agriculture Heifer International $32,850 www.heifer.org

Round 1 May 2010

About the Intervention

1. Background/Context What challenges or problems were the interventions designed to address? Why was the intervention needed? Tick borne diseases (i.e. East Coast Fever) wiped out the draft cattle in the Southern and Central provinces of Zambia in early 1990s. Privatization of veterinary services coupled with drought led to high cattle mortality in Mumbwa. This situation made farming very difficult due to loss of draft animals. Farming became totally human, primarily women labor based. The loss of draft cattle also severely affected the size of land under cultivation. Women's fields, where protein rich crops like groundnuts, monkey-nuts, sweet potatoes and beans were grown, suffered as women had to spend much of their time on working in traditionally mens field, on crops like maize, to feed the family. This perpetuated protein deficiency in the diet contributing to high malnutrition, particularly in children. Most men migrated out to the cities to search for alternative living. Farm productivity and crop harvests became lower and lower, leaving families food insecure. A resilient local economy became far-fetched. Determined to improve their lives, women came together to address the needs of their families and communities, forming a group to work together and support each other. They approached Heifer Zambia for support. Heifer then introduced multi-purpose draft cattle that can easily be managed by women, in a non-stereotypic approach. 2. Goals & Objectives What were the interventions goals and objectives? What was it meant to accomplish? The overall goal of this project is to build economic and environmental resilience through two interlinked objectives: (1) enabling the community to achieve economic self-reliance by increasing crop yields and improving nutrition of project families through provision of draft cattle, training and capacity building; and (2) promoting agro-ecological farming and building capacity of small-scale women and men farmers in improved soil fertility by using animal manure and reducing overgrazing. 3. Key Activities Please describe the interventions main activities. What role did each partner play? If applicable, how is the intervention innovative? The project was expected to stimulate participatory development and inclusive social development. The project was implemented at two complementary levels: on one level, Heifer International/Zambia was the project holder in providing draft cattle, promoting diverse and integrated small scale farming through closely monitoring the groups financial and project progress activities. Heifer worked in close collaboration with the government Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MACO), which delivered veterinary services for livestock. On the other level, the local community formed project management committees to oversee the day to day running of the project to promote group cohesion and ownership of the project. Links with the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services were also vital for the success of the project. They built the capacity of women to organize themselves into community groups, develop group constitutions, open bank accounts for revolving funds and develop leadership capacity.

Round 1 May 2010 This project addressed particular gender-based discriminations faced by women in poor communities in improving their livelihoods. Gender and development training was provided to all project participants to create awareness. The project addressed this by including the following: (1) involved participation of women in all village-based training programs for livestock production and management; (2) womens participation in the management and operation of village-based revolving funds; (3) womens access to incomes and improved returns to their labor; (4) providing women with women user-friendly technology, like ploughs and high pressure cattle sprayers, for efficiency in production (usability, affordability, durability, manageability, and maintainability were the main criteria for selecting these equipments); and (5) training women in how to use and maintain the equipment. Moreover, the groups were introduced to Heifer 12 Cornerstones, which encouraged families to share benefits and knowledge with one another. At the heart of Heifers development model is the principle of passing on the gifts, whereby each recipient commits to passing on the equivalent livestock gift plus training to other farming families so that the original gift continues to multiply and the families join one another in fighting poverty. 4. Effectiveness/Evidence of Success What were the results of the intervention, and how were they measured? Who and how many people benefited from the intervention? What evidence do you have to support these results (e.g. field visit reports, internal tracking & monitoring, internal or external evaluations, etc.)? The project beneficiaries were grown from one group of 20 families to eight groups, with a total of 160 families, all of which acquired draft cattle. Project members testify to improved livelihoods through ownership of draft animals, improved income and food security, reduced workload from farming, and ability to pay for childrens school fees as well as participate in community programs. According to the Final Projects Evaluation Report, which was conducted in August 2007 by Dr. John T. Milimo (Participatory Assessment Group), School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zambia, the following are highlights of Project Successes; a) Improved Nutrition and Income: The training and livestock enabled families to increase their agricultural productivity. Production of food and cash crops increased with larger crop fields. Most project households diversified and/or intensified their income base, with gardening, livestock rearing and grocery store-keeping ranking among the most common income generating activities. b) Community Initiatives through the Nakaska Area Association: The association that was formed by the 16 groups constituting Miyoba Womens Draft Project aims to unite women in the fight against hunger and poverty. The association has been an avenue through which the women of Miyoba have been able to implement community-based outreach initiatives to allow community members who are less privileged. c) Livestock Enterprise Building: Members of Miyoba Draft Cattle Project diversified their livestock production activities to include 540 goats, 38 pigs and over 200 chickens. The small livestock rearing activities are a ready source of income for the members.

d) Employment Creation: The project created employment opportunities for both project and non-project members. The increased cropping fields created a demand for labor and the draft cattle demand for yokes.

Round 1 May 2010 e) Promoting Resilience against Natural Disasters: Broader income and food bases enabled the farmers of Miyoba to survive the floods experienced during the previous farming season. Income from milk sales enabled families to be self-reliant in mitigating the effects of the floods that resulted in 60% of farming households becoming food insecure. f) Sharing and Caring: A number of activities promoting sharing and caring have been practiced by the women of Miyoba. Notable among these are the secret friend and passing-on-the-gift practices. In the secret friend, members exchange presents such as clothing, household goods, kitchen utensils, etc., to promote unity, love and respect for one another. The passing-on-thegift practice has extended beyond project livestock to include livestock that has been bought as group income generating activities, such as goats, pigs and poultry. Other ways in which the members are sharing and caring for the less privileged is by plowing their crop fields for free, and donating milk and food to orphans.

g) Improving Access to Draft Power, Milk and Manure: The communities surrounding Miyoba are enjoying the benefits of having access to draft power, milk and manure. Draft power is accessed at affordable rates and in some cases for free while milk and manure are readily available. h) Restored Dignity and Self-Esteem amongst Women: Before the project, ownership of draft power was a right reserved for the men while women owned smaller stock. The project has enlightened community members that women, like men, can also own, manage and benefit from draft animals. Women, men, boys and girls are enjoying the benefits of improved livelihoods equitably. i) Outstanding Growth and Performance: for the reasons outlined above, Miyoba received the Outstanding Growth and Performance Award during Heifer Zambias 10th Anniversary Celebrations in December 2007.

5. Equitable Outcomes Describe how the intervention enabled the participation of and produced benefits for women. Please provide data showing the comparative benefits for men and women. If the intervention focused exclusively on men, please explain the rationale for doing so. Building equity is at the center of this project. Men were also engaged in the project in multiple ways and supported the women in their leadership of the project. Gender awareness training was one of the key activities that enabled the community to come to a common ground of working together as partners. Impact of the project, particularly on women, included: The women have become self-reliant with a greater sense of pride in their endeavor. All family members are involved in the management of these draft cattle enterprises. Families gained access to better education and health care. Reduced workload from farming. Reduced migration of men to cities. Women experienced increased social acceptance and empowerment. Women now have increased economic opportunities, earning income from multiple enterprise activities. Single women will have an umbrella association within their communities for improved social cohesion.

Round 1 May 2010 Women have become efficient managers, capable in managing their own business. Women own resources (cattle), which can serve as collateral to obtain loans/microcredit from micro-credit institutions.

6. Efficiency/Cost-Effectiveness How do the interventions relative costs compare to the outcomes achieved? Please provide evidence to support your answer. The project initially directly benefited 20 families, 90% of which were headed by women. Through the provision of livestock, technical support and social development skills they were able to lift themselves out of poverty and achieve sustainable livelihoods. By closure time in June 2007, the Project had benefitted over 200 families. With an average family size of six members, this means over 1,200 people directly share the benefits from the project in a meaningful way. 7. Sustainability Is this intervention sustainable in the long-term, socially, financially and environmentally? Please describe the steps the intervention took to ensure services or impacts will be sustained over the long term, and the role of local partners or the beneficiary community in continuing the intervention. In order to ensure sustainability of the project impact, the following interventions were made as part of project implementation: The capacity of families to manage the project was developed through providing training in leadership, group dynamics and conflict resolution so that all members can participate fully in decision-making. Special capacity building activities were carried out for women in the areas of agriculture development, Heifer Cornerstones, animal husbandry, basic business skills, functional literacy, group dynamics, marketing, HIV/AIDS awareness and mitigation. Improved livestock breeds were provided to improve productivity, and diversification of income generating activities reduced reliance on a single income source so that farmers were able to withstand shocks. Heifer specializes in integrated livestock and crop farming systems that increase productivity from the land while conserving the local environment. Animal manure improves the soil structure while adding vital nutrients, helping to restore exhausted soils. This, together with other sustainable organic agricultural practices, enables farmers to grow more food, regenerate the land, and reduce dependency on expensive inputs such as commercial fertilizer. Participants increased food and income productivity through integrated livestock farming in an environmentally sensitive manner so that changes were sustainable. As farmer groups developed, Heifer gradually withdrew and handed over management to group committees to plan their own activities. This process was consultative with regular reviews to ensure the women groups and their families are able to manage alone. Changes in gender relationships meant that the status of women improved significantly. Groups were encouraged to seek further links with community leaders, other organizations in the district, and local government in order to access additional support they need in the future and also further associations for marketing their produce for groups to become self-reliant, able to manage their own development, and address their needs and challenges themselves.

Round 1 May 2010 Links with potential enterprise development partner organizations were made so that groups were able to access resources or services and advocate for further changes. The Miyoba Area Association has now taken over the running of this project as well as managing the effective utilization of human, financial, livestock and material resources. The current recipient groups are able to mentor new groups and pass on livestock, knowledge and skills acquired from training or exchange visits. The project demonstrated that women and their families have food security, sustainable livelihoods, and are empowered to participate fully in family and community life. 8. Challenges & Lessons Learned What challenges or obstacles did you face and how were they addressed? What are the most important lessons a reader should take from this practice? Some of the challenges and lessons learned are listed below. Shortage of forage and drinking water during the long dry season. Recurrent drought adversely affects water /feed availability. Weak government extension support services. Livestock diseases outbreaks affect animal movement. Effect of HIV/AIDS. High illiteracy levels (low adoption rates). Environmental degradation and communal land tenure system. Poor market access and infrastructure (roads, water, power, few processors). Weak government regulatory functions on dumping of imports (animal-related products). Perhaps the most important lesson drawn from the projects implementation process is the important role that the Ministry of Community Development extension staff played in ensuring that the project was successful in bringing meaningful development to the target community. The community development staff provided the social development expertise that was combined with the livestock development know-how of Heifer Zambia to manage and build the project for sustainability. The lesson learned from this is that the development process is holistic and requires multidisciplinary partnerships. 9. Enabling Factors & Recommendations What factors were critical to the success of the intervention? What should others know about this intervention before replicating it elsewhere? The lessons learned, as listed above are critical to the replication process. The major issues include investing in the right people and the right tools, building the right partnership, and being very focused in terms of setting your goal. Dont assume gender roles and cultures are static. Farmers (women and men alike) know how to build resilience in agriculture and livelihoods and therefore need to be listened to in policy and decision making. Train more female extension agents to work with women farmers, develop women user-friendly technology, capitalize on best practices of Crop-Livestock Integration (CLI) for building resilience in agriculture.

Round 1 May 2010 10. Replicability/Adaptability Has this intervention been successfully replicated or adapted in another setting? If so, where, when and by whom? With mitigation of some of the above challenges, Heifer Zambia has successfully replicated draft cattle project in all 5 provinces of Zambia that we operate in, especially in areas where draft cattle numbers were decimated by tick-borne diseases. The original 520 families and 300 Passing On the Gifts (POG) families have benefited so far. Total: 820 beneficiary families. External Impact of Project- e.g., government and other NGOS (PLAN, World Vision, Land O Lakes, Concern Worldwide, Catholic Diocese, etc) have accepted and respect Heifers development model and are replicating the passing on the gift principle in their operation areas (influencing policies and practices).