Policy Advocacy in SRI LMB

project
Vientiane, Laos 16-17/6/2014
Part I:
Basic concepts of policy advocacy
and its relation with sustaining
impact of development
interventions
Results/outcomes
of development
interventions
Policy advocacy
Sustainable
impact and
leverage!
Why policy advocacy?
Because:
Policy makers greatly influence the livelihoods of the
poor and vulnerable groups through their decisions and
actions.
Change (happen at outcome/impact level) takes time and
many projects fail when inputs cease. It requires
following up.
Impact/improvement can only last for long time if it is
adopted, integrated and promoted by the government,
with the governments funding and by joint effort with
governments officials!
Only a wide-range of program strategies targeted at
multiple causes including policy causes will lead to
reducing poverty and injustice.





Advocacy means to speak out on behalf of
someone
According to Oxfam:
Policy advocacy is the process of effecting positive change
in peoples lives through influencing decision-makers and
individuals to change their policies and practices, attitudes
or behaviours.
The ultimate objective is to pursue positive and
sustainable change at scale in the lives of people living in
poverty in a SMART way.
To do so, we need systematic and joint efforts at ALL levels
to transform power relations so that men and women living
in poverty have greater influence over the policies (and
structure, social norms) that affect their lives.
Other definitions:
For UNICEF:
It is the deliberate process, based on demonstrated evidence, to directly
and indirectly influence decision makers, stakeholders and relevant
audiences to support and implement actions that contribute to the
fulfillment of (someones) rights;
For Care International:
It is the deliberate process of influencing those who make policy decision
to improve the livelihood of significant numbers of people
It targets policy makers and implementers at levels above the household
Other sources:
To speak out on behalf of someone (Latin originates)
An advocate is someone who publicly supports or recommends a particular
cause or policy and a person who pleads a case on SOMEONE elses behalf
(Oxford Dictionary)
8 required foundations for successful policy
advocacy
I. Credibility
II. Skills and Capacities
III. Intra-office coordination and leadership
IV. Capacity to generate and
communicate evidence
V. Ability to assess risks
VI. Capacity to work with the
projects stakeholders
whose their
lives/livelihoods are
affected by policies
VII. Partners and networks that form
a broad base for advocacy
VIII. Sufficient resources


I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
Source: UNICEF Advocacy toolkit
Main steps in advocacy
Source: Oxfam International




2. DEFINE POLICY
OBJECTIVE WE WANT TO
ACHIEVE

Is it a law or policy? Is it
the implementation of a
law or policy ? Is it
behaviours?





3. IDENTIFY
INSTITUTION/VIPS WHO ARE
DECISIVE FOR OUR SUCCESS

Who are the people or
institutions that have power
to change the things we want
to change on our issue?
Where are they?
4. SELECT TOOLS AND
ACTIONS

How are going to achieve
these changes?

Which tools are we going
to use?
Research, media,
alliances, lobby, mass
mobilizationetc
1. IDENTIFY PROBLEMS AND
SOLUTIONS

What is the situation we want to
change? What is happening?
And what are the solutions?
Policy advocacy Process
Identify a
policy issue
Identify key
actors/institu
tions
Analyze the
policy
environment
Summary
policy
findings
Identify
options for
policy
change
Select a
policy
issue
Select
target
audiences
/key
stakeholde
rs
Set a
policy goal
Identify
allies and
opponents
Select
role
Identify
key
messages
Define
advocacy
activities
Set a
timeline
Prepare a
budget
Prepare a
log frame
Plan for
monitoring,
evaluation
and
learning
Analyzing
policies
STEP 5
Integrate into
the programs
plan
Communicate
with relevant
stakeholders
Always know
your objectives
Consider your
audiences
Choose right
tools for right
message/audie
nce
Communicatio
n and Media
plan
Integrated into
programs plan
&
implementation
Outlining an
advocacy
strategy
Finalizing an
advocacy
strategy
Framing a plan
STEP 4 STEP 3
STEP 2 STEP 1
Essential principles to keep in mind while doing policy
advocacy:
It is about finding answers to the below questions:
1. What policy objective do we want to achieve?
2. What are policy blocks? At which? level and why?
3. How is the policy landscape?
4. Who can make it happen?
5. What do they need to hear?
6. Who do they need to hear it from?
7. How can we make sure they hear it?
8. What do we have?
9. What do we need?
10. How do we begin to take action?
11. How can we tell if its working?
Advocacy roots from/fuels by programs, it requires organizing and organization. Thus, it
needs to be integral to all focus areas/core activities of a project/program/organization.
One person/component alone will never succeed in policy advocacy! It needs to be
mainstreamed.
Advocacy takes place at ALL levels; involves and requires synergies and joint efforts from
different key stakeholders, at different levels and involves multi-stakeholder actions.
An advocacy of specific policy only succeed if it comes from a clear recognition of specific
policy issue; its policy targets are shared/owned by stakeholders of the project/program.
Part II: Policy advocacy in the
SRI-LMB project
Purpose and expected results
E
R
4

National research extension capacity strengthened and training capacity of farmer trainers,
national trainers and local involved in smallhoder farmer extension program improved
E
R
3

Co-generated knowledge and learning documented, disseminated and pro-poor policy briefs
developed and shared with policy makers
E
R
2

Science based, profitable crop management practices developed, demonstrated and spread on
larger scale
E
R
1

Multi-institutional-multi-stakeholder networking developed and strengthened from local to
regional level
Increased crop yield, productivity and profitability on sustainable basis at
smallholder farmers field in rainfed areas of Lower Mekong river Basin
Oxfam: leads policy advocacy work
that is underlined in the Expected
result 3, based on research and
systematic evidence collecting from
FFS, MEL and fields case studies,
report!
Project model
Expected result 1
Development of location-specific technologies for LMB rice
Develop farm and
crop management
skills , productivity,
water use,
productivity, crop
varieties, critical
thinking,
communication skills
Build research and
experimentation
capacity of
smallholder
farmers
Horizontal
dissemination
farmer to farmer
Vertical dissemination
of: 1) Technologies; 2)
Participatory research
methods/practices to
NGOs, research
institute, EU
Expected result 2:
Documentation of participatory research process and results
Farmers level:
record keeping,
results
Research level:
Technologies, Process
of innovation,
Learning
EU partner level:
programme
successes,
lessons learn
Policy maker level:
Policy options,
Effective
intervention
The projects model (cont)
Expected result 3:
Development and delivery of policy recommendation for LMB
countries
Presentation of
processes
Presentation of
technologies
Presentation of
increased capacities
(systematic collection
of evidences)
Presentation of
results, impact
Expected result 4:
Integration of farmer centered research and farmer-generated
information into design of development policies
Linkage between
developed/developin
g country
organizations
Partnership between
developing country
organizations
Creating, maintenance of
innovation platforms at
local, country and
international levels
Sharing information
between LNGOs,
governments,
international agencies,
farmers through
innovation platforms
Source: A summary of research conducted for Oxfam on November 2009 January 2010 to review the SRI-LMB project
The role of policy advocacy in SRI-LMB project
Enhanced resilience
capacities, food security
and income of
smallholder farmers in
demand-driven and
sustainable ways
CFPAR;
AR4D; FPAR;
FFS; Credible &
scientific evidences;
Innovation platform
Policy advocacy based
on systematic, credible
and scientific evidence
Multi-stakeholders;
Multi-institutional;
multi-levels networking;
synergies
Monitoring,
Evaluation and
Learning;
farmer as
researcher
SRI-LMBs strategy for policy progress
Integrated farmer-
centered research
approach into the design
of future development
policy in LMB countries
Mainstreaming
agricultural research for
development via North-
South partnership
Structured/Unstructured
dissemination

Research; evidence based-
articulation of policy
recommendations
Experiment of CFPAR
cycle/FFS;
Documentation ; Publicize
the process & results
Establishment of
Innovation platform :
PMUS/LMUs; CFPAR; FPAR,
TOT/mini TOT
Foundations for policy advocacy in the SRI
LMB project:
Keep these in mind for external communication
and policy advocacy!
Project overall objective: To contribute to enhance resilience of rain-fed farmers of
Lower Mekong river basin region confronting climate change

Final beneficiaries: rain-fed smallholder farming households and their local
organizations (women and landless will be given opportunities to participate in
capacity building activities to gain skills and knowledge based on their interest and
motivation)

Key added values of the project:
Bottom up/demand driven/decentralized approach and places FPAR at its core;
Promotion of local innovation through improvement of farmers research capacities via FFS
Formal/informal dissemination of best practices
Green revolution in agricultural production using SRI as an entry point (grow more with less
& continuous farmer innovation!)
Offer opportunity for multi stakeholders, multi-level cooperation
Balancing between scientific approach and community development and enrichment of
social capital for smallholder farmers
Opportunities for women and landless laborers

Opportunities for policy advocacy at regional
and country level
The 4
th
international rice congress: 27
th
October 1
st
November, Bangkok,
Thailand;
The World Food Day: Thursday 16
th
October, 2014;
Conference on Family Farming: A model that ensures our food security and a
sustainable rural development for our future?, June 27
th
, Switzerland;
Family Farming in the 21st Century: Opportunities and Challenges. Chennai,
India, August 7-10
th
;
Boun Khao Padabdin festival. 24
th
September 2014
The 7
th
NSEDP for 2011- 2015:
Ensure food security and encourage agriculture for local consumption as well as export.
Increase agricultural productivity applying of newer scientific and technological method.
MAFs strategy 2011 2020:
Gradual introduction and increased production of modernized lowland market oriented agricultural
production, adapted to climate change, and focusing on smallholder farmers
Conservation of upland eco-systems, ensuring food security and improving livelihoods of rural
communities.
Reaching a production level of 4.2 million metric tons of rice by 2015.

How policy advocacy will be done in the SRI-
LMB project
Policy objective: Integrated farmer-centered research approach into the design of
future development policy in LMB countries

Who policy advocacy
Regional level: AIT; FAO; OXFAM
National level: SRI secretariat; Department of Agriculture Extension and Cooperatives; Project
Management Units; National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute
Provincial level: Local Management Units; Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Offices
District level: District Agriculture and Forestry Offices
Projects key added values to communicate :
\ach and places FPAR at its core;
Promotion of local innovation through improvement of farmers research capacities via FFS
Formal/informal dissemination of best practices
Green revolution in agricultural production using SRI as an entry point (grow more with less & continuous farmer
innovation!)
Offer opportunity for multi stakeholders, multi-level cooperation
Balancing between scientific approach and community development and social capital enrichment
Opportunities for women and landless laborers
Researches
Systematic data
evidences
Workshop; Policy dialogues; Press
release; Presentations; Seminars
An example of policy objective and key
message:

Policy objective/impact goal:
Concerned agency of the Laos government provides enabling legal and policy
environment to support local innovation of smallholder farmers.
Effect goal:
Increase public investment in extension services to 7% by 2015
Possible key messages:
Farmers have the rights to education through extension system to change their Knowledge,
Attitude and Practice.
Capacity of extension staff at district level need to be reinforced.
Training for youth is important first step in building the bases for sustainable intensification
as todays youth will be tomorrows farmers.
The 7th National Socio-Economic Development Plan 2010-2015 should provide spaces for
smallholder farmers to present their voices re. any changes in their livelihoods.
Primary audience: Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Agriculture
Extension and Cooperatives (DAEC); and Agricultural and Rural Development Sector
Working Group (Sub-Sector Working Group on Farmers and Agribusiness)
Thank you very much for your
attention!
Questions and comments please!