Greenpeace funded research undertaken at the University of Aberdeen has shown how agriculture holds a number of solutions for climate change. Many people blame modern farming practices for accelerating climate change. However, this research suggests that it might be time to stop pointing the finger, and work proactively with agriculture to mitigate climate change.

Research has shown that agriculture can play an important role in reducing all of its direct emissions through the process of mitigation. Mitigation involves the sequestration of carbon, and can be achieved through a number of different agricultural practices. For instance, rotating crops with legumes such as peas and beans helps fix nitrogen in the soil and reduce reliance on fertilizers. While reducing tillage helps restore the carbon content of degraded soils, limiting soil disturbance which leads to the release of carbon.

There is no doubt that agriculture produces a significant level of the world’s greenhouse gases (GHG’s) (between 16.8-32.2%). The main GHG’s associated with agriculture are nitrous oxide and methane. Direct emissions come from livestock and the soil, and indirectly from fertilizer production, fossil fuel use and changes in land use, particularly associated with deforestation.

Livestock are the main source of methane, and this is a growing concern given the ever increasing demand for meat in developing countries. These countries have the greatest increase in meat consumption in recent years, increasing by 77% from 1960-1990. Three sources contribute 88% of this increase in developing countries: soil nitrous oxide emissions, methane from livestock and biomass burning.

A striking example of how agriculture may be leading to the acceleration of climate change can be found in Brazil. Between 2001-2004 93,700 square kilometres of rainforest were destroyed to make way for cattle and high energy feed crops. This kind of practice is of great concern because rainforests play a crucial role in the sequestration of carbon. A short term goal must be too stop deforestation, and this deserves major political attention.

China and India are guilty of dramatically increasing their fertilizer and manure use to meet the demands of rapid population growth. However, it is very difficult for other countries to criticise these intensive practices. Farming in many developed countries plays an equal if not more dominant role in climate change acceleration.

The role agriculture plays in accelerating climate change is a global problem. The evidence exists to show that agriculture can play a positive role in mitigation significantly reduce the GHG’s it produces. This is a global problem, which requires global solutions. We cannot expect developing countries, particularly those with tropical forests, to fight this issue alone. Every country and region must understand the role agriculture plays in accelerating climate change, and begin to implement those practices that can significantly reduce its impact.

R4D contains a wealth of knowledge on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security.

The Pathways of Women’s Empowerment, a DFID funded research consortium, has published an interesting policy brief on women’s political empowerment. The paper claims that the assumption that the number of women in public office can be used as an adequate measure for assessing women’s political voice does not hold true.

The view that female public officials, by virtue of their gender, will automatically seek to promote gender specific issues and women’s rights has been put under increasing scrutiny. This has emerged out of more in-depth analysis relating to the concept of ‘representation’.

In many electoral systems representation is where members of a political constituency vote for a representative to pursue their interests. In turn, this representative is accountable to the constituents and reliant upon their continuing support. This is a territorially based understanding of representation. However, many people who vote for women’s empowerment are not necessarily clustered in a territorially defined constituency.

Evidence from India, where 30 per cent of local council seats have been reserved for women and other excluded groups, shows that the reserved seat system works well for those groups that are geographically concentrated.  Yet, where a concentration of groups is not evident the reservation of seats is a less effective means to empower these people.

The paper questions whether the focus on women in politics is contributing to the erosion of the representative function of the state by assuming that women in office will bring rewards for women. It accepts that the having more woman in public office is a sign of progress, but that there is a need for a realistic assessment of what quotas are able to achieve in a context where politics is patronage based.

The paper suggests that an appropriate assessment might be made by directing the focus away from formal representation toward non-formal institutions where women’s engagement can be deliberated upon. Political parties, civil society groups, and media associations may provide the backdrop to form a better understanding of how women articulate and aggregate their interests.

The full policy brief can be found through the following link on R4D: Women’s political empowerment

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) around one billion people worldwide need vision correction but have limited access to it. The majority of these people are based in developing countries. In Europe, there is on average one eye health worker for every 8,000 people. In comparison, the ratio for sub-Saharan Africa is one per million.

The social, economic and educational impacts of uncorrected vision are difficult to measure, but the World Bank has estimated that 10% of developing world students suffers from uncorrected vision. A DFID funded research project set up in 2001 by Adaptive Eyecare Ltd looked at the impact of uncorrected vision on worker productivity and employment in the textile industry in India, while in Ghana research explored the experience of literacy professionals who find that uncorrected poor vision is a fundamental impediment to learning. The project document can be found on R4D here.

In India 79% of textile workers surveyed needed vision correction, but the impact on productivity after being provided with spectacles was not as high as expected. This was partly because of the hot and dusty conditions which deterred workers from wearing the spectacles they had been given, and the work was not as visually demanding as expected by the researchers. In Ghana, the study found that 74% of all learners needed spectacles and 93% of those who had given up attending also needed spectacles.

Affordable eye technology is available, and Adaptive Eyecare Ltd have worked to develop spectacles that do not rely on hard lenses. Instead, adaptive lenses are employed that can be easily adjusted to the eye, minimising the need  for highly trained eye health workers, scarce in many developing countries.

Uncorrected vision in developing countries poses a significant challenge to the future prosperity of many, and it is clear that further research needs to be done to raise the profile of this issue, and as a means of developing existing solutions. Have you any experiences of adaptive lenses? Are they a realistic option for workers and students alike or is there a better alternative? Add a comment below and let us know what you think.

For more information on this issue you might like to check out The Centre for Vision in the Developing World at the University of Oxford, which is dedicated to bringing vision correction to the many parts of the world that lack it.

In October 2007, consultation workshops were held in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria and Uganda to discuss future priorities for DFID research, 2008-2013. This posting gives a flavour of the research into use discussions in Bangladesh and India.

Participants recognized that there is a lot of research already out there and that research, once completed, fails to be effectively communicated and put into use, sometimes simply because user don’t know that the research is there.

Some of the ideas proposed were:

Formats – Messages should be tailored to each audience’s needs when it comes to releasing research results. For most audiences, research results should be communicated concisely, in summary form. To ensure the effectiveness of materials, communications expertise and message testing should be applied, and formal communications strategies may need to be developed. To the extent that it is possible to demonstrate research results (e.g. test fields on farms), demonstrations should be used to convince end users and policy makers of research benefits.

Dissemination channels – Participants frequently suggested that seminars or workshops be held to explain research results and their implications in person to a variety of stakeholders (research colleagues, policy makers, practitioners, NGOs, etc.). Dissemination by Internet and through the mobile phone network was a frequent suggestion across audiences, but participants recognized a need to expand the availability of Internet before being able to reach all audiences online. The Internet could also be used for more comprehensive and consistent archiving of results to ensure that results remain readily available for longer.

Ongoing involvement of research users – Participants explained that rather than only being audiences for research results from completed studies, research users should be engaged much earlier in the process, since research designed with end users in mind is much easier to disseminate and implement. Also, when results are disseminated, research users should be invited to feedback on the results in a two-way communication process. When results are not well received by research users or where they have been difficult to disseminate, research producers and funders should take note for future efforts.

Disseminate to research colleagues – To better share research results among themselves, researchers suggested that additional opportunities to publish findings in journals, following peer review, should be sought. Conferences, conference papers, and presentation at academic and research institutions were named as other important means to share results within the research community.

Disseminate to policy makers – Government audiences are critical to reach for results to be implemented. They also have the capacity to aid in dissemination by sending results on to other departments through the government network. Participants recommended that government stakeholders be involved early on in the research process, to get buy-in before results are prepared and released.

Disseminate to end users and practitioners – To allow research findings to be communicated to and used by practitioners and end-users (e.g. farmers, healthcare patients, etc.) it is important that local languages are used. To accommodate limited literacy levels among some audiences, content should be presented in graphic or visual form if appropriate, and simple messages or slogans should be shown. Direct communication (e.g. workshops) with community leaders (e.g. clergy, women’s groups, etc.), to first convince them of the benefits of research, was thought to be a good approach for facilitating take up of the results by end-users. NGOs, practice networks and professional networks could also be effective channels to communicate results to end-users.

Disseminate to (and through) media – Participants in virtually every break-out group mentioned the media as a channel with untapped potential for disseminating research results to end users, practitioners, policy makers and even fellow researchers. Beyond television and radio news and newspaper articles, participants suggested disseminating results during talk shows and even drama programs, or using folk media such as theatre. To attract media interest, participants suggested press releases, kits and conferences on research results as well as field trips for the press. Training courses could be provided for media on the importance of research and how to interpret research findings. Electronic media, such as mobile phone networks and the Internet could also be useful.

See also: Research for Development Priorities – Suggestions from Bangladesh

See also: Research for Development Priorities – Suggestions from India

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In October 2007, consultation workshops were held in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria and Uganda to discuss future priorities for DFID research, 2008-2013. This posting gives a flavour of the discussions on capacity building in Bangladesh and India.

People involved in producing research in their professional roles envisioned a number of ways that local capacity for conducting research could be strengthened to build on a base of considerable, existing expertise.

Capacity building to do research

Human resources development – The gaps in capacity to do research currently experienced are primarily around having, retaining and building up a skilled research community.

Provide research facilities and infrastructure –Most suggestions were either for scientific laboratory equipment or else for additional access to computers or the Internet. Researchers stressed the importance of wide availability of Internet that allows all researchers to review and learn from past research results.

Provide access to information, knowledge, and past research – The lack of access to and availability of information and knowledge came up several times. There was often a lack of consensus on which research questions had already been addressed through previous research and research providers wished to have improved access to past research studies and their results. This improved access would develop researcher capacity by permitting more learning from past research experiences. It would also help avoid duplication with new research efforts and provide better continuity across studies.

Provide funding – The availability of funding to build capacity to do research was mentioned by the participants as a barrier. One specific suggestion was to include a fixed part of research studies to build skills to conduct research, either through providing facilities, building skills or providing access to information. To ensure that capacity building to do research takes place, explicit, separate funding for capacity building could be provided.

Organize scholarships and exchanges – Scholarships, fellowships, internships and exchange programs were readily proposed by participants to better build research capacity. Scholarships could be earmarked to develop specific skills most in need. Exchange programs should also involve bringing expert teams from abroad and not just sending students out of the country. Mentoring programs for researchers were also highly regarded.

Focus on the long-term in capacity development – Participants emphasized the importance of long-term commitments when it comes to building capacity to do research and suggested that funding be designed to offer continued support rather than providing fora series of short projects.

Address ‘brain drain.’ – Participants occasionally raised the concern that countries are at risk of losing research talent as graduate students are drawn to further studies or jobs abroad. In order to maintain talent, they suggested efforts to improve the work environment at local research institutions. Additional funding for doctoral research and laboratory equipment could reduce the need for students to relocate. Scholarship programs may need to fund students to study locally or else include an agreement that the student should return home at the completion of the program.

Capacity building to use research

Participants were asked to identify the gaps in capacity to use research that they experienced in their current situations. Ideas for improvements included:

Conduct workshops on using research and training to use research – In addition to offering workshops or seminars directly to research users on how to interpret and implement research findings, participants expressed a need for additional ‘train the trainers’ programs on research use.

Work with end users to promote the benefits of research – The importance of engaging with end users to help prepare them to use research came up in the discussions of both dissemination of research and capacity building to use research. Involving end users early
on in the process and getting their ‘buy in’ will put end users in a better position to implement final results.

Include communication in proposals – Proposals to conduct research should include a description of how research findings will be used and implemented.

Set the scene for building skills – It is important to prepare the scene to increase the uptake of research. For example: Make the implementation plan part of the research proposal and ensure funding for putting research into use; Ensure needs-based research – users must be heard as part of the process of designing research; Conduct impact assessment – how can research contribute to skills building?

Build skills to put research into use – The main ideas focused on ensuring that users are involved in the process and coached in the implementation, that results are presented in a simple way, and that research comes with practical guidelines on interpretation and implementation.

Engage users in research process – One specific idea to improve capacity to put research into use is to engage the users of research more in the process of conducting research. This helps improve understanding of research and ensures that the research conducted is practical and relevant.

See also: Research for Development Priorities – Suggestions from Bangladesh

See also: Research for Development Priorities – Suggestions from India

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In October 2007, consultation workshops were held in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria and Uganda to discuss future priorities for DFID research, 2008-2013. Information was gathered through one-on-one key informant interviews, focus group discussions and a stakeholder workshop targeting researchers, civil servants, private professionals/think tanks, politicians, practitioners and end users in four main focus areas: agriculture, health, governance and climate change.

This posting gives a flavour of the India discussions.

For sustainable agriculture, the research questions identified were:
• Land productivity and sustainability
• Agricultural livelihoods
• Protection of livelihoods from natural disasters
• Protecting natural resources and preserving biodiversity in agricultural practices
• Value-adding agro-processing industry
• Market access

For health, the research questions identified were:
• Health systems: infrastructure, staffing and skills
• Improving maternal and child health
• Reducing anaemia and nutrition related conditions
• Combating emerging disease (e.g life-style related, cancer, HIV/AIDS)
• Role of the private sector
• Health care financing

For climate change, the research questions identified were:
• Understanding the effects of climate change on the poor
• Limiting and managing the effects of climate change
• Improving pollution control and waste management
• Water and sanitation, improving provision of safe drinking water and basic amenities
• Increasing use of alternative energies and new materials

For governance, the research questions identified were:
• Improving effectiveness, accountability and transparency of key public institutions
• Increasing the effective engagement of citizens in decision making
• Improving equality of marginalized groups
• Promoting inclusive growth

See also: capacities to do and use research; and getting research into use

Download the full report

Between August and November 2007, some 600 people responded to an online survey through the DFID web site. A further 12-question survey coordinated by Euforic mobilised a further 100 contributions as well as longer submissions from DNet Bangladesh and the Forum for African Agricultural Research. A series of face to face meetings were also held in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria and Uganda.

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