INCOME GENERATING ACTIVITIES: A key concept in …

Field handbook ? Scientific and Technical Department

INCOME GENERATING ACTIVITIES: A key concept in sustainable food security

Field handbook ? Scientific and Technical Department

INCOME GENERATING ACTIVITIES: A key concept in sustainable food security

Food Security and Livelihoods Sector

Version n?1 September 2009

Edit: Action Against Hunger - ACF International Legal deposit: M. 4999-2010 Print: EGRAF, S.A.

CONTENTS

Pages

OBJECTIVE OF THE BOOK To constitute a methodological, technical and practical tool of reference for the implementation of Income Generating Activities. CONTENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 PREAMBLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

CHAPTER 1: JUSTIFICATION AND DEFINITION OF PROGRAMMES THAT PROMOTE AND SUPPORT INCOME GENERATING ACTIVITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 I. Livelihood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 II. The role of the market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

III. What is an income-generating programme? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 IV. The social dimension of the programmes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 V. Why implement IGA? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 VI. Some basic principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

CHAPTER 2: ANALYSIS OF THE CONTEXT, DEFINITION OF THE INTERVENTION STRATEGY AND THE PROGRAMME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 I. From the evaluation of the context to the study of the value chain in the market . 22 II. The study of the value chain in the market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

III. Definition of the strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

CHAPTER 3: TYPES OF PROGRAMMES AND ASPECTS TO HIGHLIGHT . . . . . . . . . . . 35 SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

I. Types of programmes proposed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 II. Working with groups or family units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 III. How to finance IGA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 IV. The food security team for implementing IGA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 V. The partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

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Pages

CHAPTER 4: INCOME GENERATION PROGRAMMES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

I. Presentation of the programme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 II. The beneficiaries and the IGA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 III. Responses to different problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

CHAPTER 5: MONITORING, EVALUATION AND SYSTEMATIZATION OF PROGRAMMES 67 SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

I. Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 II. Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 III. Systematization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

CHAPTER 6: LESSONS LEARNED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

CHAPTER 7: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 LIST OF FIGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 LIST OF EXAMPLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 LIST OF APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

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INCOME GENERATING ACTIVITIES: A KEY CONCEPT IN SUSTAINABLE FOOD SECURTIY

PREAMBLE

This book is part of a series of food security books developed by Action Against Hunger - International (ACF1) and is based upon a consolidation of experiences and investigations over the past ten years on the field. This series looks at and develops specific aspects of the different food security programmes, especially the technical tools that can be used within the scope of precise projects. Each of these books can be read alone or they can be complemented and reinforced with the other ACF Food Security books included in the series constituting a `food security kit' which can be presented as follows:

Introduction to Food Security: Intervention

principles

Food Security Assessments and

Surveillance

Food Aid and Alternatives to

Food Aid

Income Generating

Activities

Agricultural Programmes

The books address a variety of audiences including the international humanitarian community, technical and operation field workers and the general public who wish to learn more about food security at the international level. Each book contains a detailed index with examples of the different tools that can be used for the implementation of the programmes, a glossary of technical terminology and frequently asked

1 Founded in 1979, Action Against Hunger is a leading international organization committed to the global fight against hunger. Established as an international network with five headquarters (Paris, London, Madrid, New York and Montreal), in 2009 Action Against Hunger ? International intervened in 47 countries hit by serious food crises, by implementing emergency and development programs in nutrition, food security, water and health.

Last year, Action Against Hunger-International's programs benefitted some 5 million people. (USA) / .uk (UK)

INCOME GENERATING ACTIVITIES: A KEY CONCEPT IN SUSTAINABLE FOOD SECURTIY

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questions that can give the reader a quick response to key points highlighted throughout the document. This series could eventually be completed with other types of food security programmes depending on the development and research led in the field (i.e., food security in the urban context, pastoralism, or other topics such as community participation). All of these documents are subject at all times to additions and or improvements following the evolution of the food security department in Action contre la Faim and the continued internal and external evaluations of the different food security activities.

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INCOME GENERATING ACTIVITIES: A KEY CONCEPT IN SUSTAINABLE FOOD SECURTIY

INTRODUCTION

This book is about income generating activities, and the principles and methodologies of this line of intervention that the ACF food security teams have been developing during the last few years on the field.

Income generation can help to overcome food insecurity when economic factors are a fundamental cause of food insecurity and when food is available in local markets but lack of money is the main difficulty faced by the vulnerable population. However, the promotion of income generating activities is not a recipe that can be applied in any type of situation. An initial food security analysis of the context and the problems faced by the vulnerable population is essential in order to decide the kind of response that is best suited to each specific case.

Before beginning this book, it is worthwhile to take a look at the other books of this series entitled "Introduction to Food Security" and "Food Security Assessments and Surveillance" as they serve as the base upon which this text has been elaborated. Two other books complete the series, "Agricultural Programmes" and "Food Aid and Alternatives to Food Aid", which together offer a full picture of the possible interventions that ACF can carry out in the area of food security.

To facilitate the reading of this book and to obtain a complete vision of the work that can be developed in this theme, the why, when, how, with whom, where and what, seven chapters collect experiences gained in more than twenty countries. The appendices include a variety of tools that will be helpful for embarking on the development of an income generation intervention.

Chapter 1 of the book offers an explanation of the justification and definition of income generation interventions, and the desired objectives of this type of programme. Chapter 2 focuses on the context analysis and the definition of the intervention strategy for income generation programmes. Using the food security assessment model as a base, methodologies are recommended for analyzing the relevance and viability of income generating activities (IGA) as a solution to the needs of the population with whom the programme is planning to work.

A description of the different activities that could be included in income generating programmes is presented in Chapter 3, as well as proposals for the various kinds of programmes, the levels at which they can be developed and the different financial systems that can be used.

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