Investing in Small Steps

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Investing in Small Steps

• Stability through Rural Development
• Christopher Dureau

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13 districts, 65 Sub-districts, 442 Suco and 2500
Aldeia 80 mountainous
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Timor-Leste is largely Rural 70 of population
live in rural areas 80 of workforce are in
rural communities
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The current situation - More about poverty than
politics - More about seeking to be noticed than
about seeking to be destructive. So Increased
peoples access to participate in the development
process will lead to improved security
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greater stability and peace

• engage more in the sub-district and village
  level.
• through small and participative ways for rural
  families to be busy
• in learning and doing things to improving their
  situation.

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• I want to argue that despite plenty of rhetoric
  about what should and could be done to promote
  pro-poor and bottom up development.
• With the exception of Health Services (incl water
  supply) and by default possibly basic Education,
• Far too little is happening at the rural
  community level, where most of the population
  live and most of the remainder of the population
  have their family ties.
• People do not feel the government, and to some
  extent the civil society groups are with them as
  they try to work out how to be involved in their
  own development.

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• Almost 50 of pop live in household farms with
  minimal resources leading to vulnerability and
  poverty.

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• 64 of the population currently suffer from food
  insecurity

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Presidents Dream

• A country of people working their farms
  benefiting the whole community through their
  efforts.
• The culture of cooperation among farmers can be
  a way to enable them to raise production through
  the acquisition of agricultural inputs and
  selling of their surpluses (Kay Rela Xanana
  Gusmao Jan 2006)
• Government or civil society groups will need to
  apply their resources and expertise to help bring
  this about.

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• The President dreams of a rural and pro poor led
  development process for Timor Leste.
• So too does much of the thinking in the Sector
  Development Plans (SIP). Confirmed in the
  recommendations of the UNDP Report 2006.
• Some examples now exist
• but they are not the norm.

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The Economic Advisor to the PM agrees

• Increasing farm food crop productivity is a
  critical aspect of a poverty reduction strategy
  for Timor Leste
• Carlos R. Risopatron. UN Economic Advisor at the
  Prime Minister's Office

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• if the country is poor, a rural development
  program must be designed early in the peace
  building operation, as a basic requirement for
  increasing food productivity, reducing extreme
  poverty in the short term and aid-dependency in
  the medium term.
• Carlos R. Risopatron. UN Economic Advisor at the
  Prime Minister's Office, East Timor

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Missed opportunity

• there were many opportunities to help develop a
  more vibrant rural sector. The markets were there
  but they were not used For example, the UN
  Transitional Authority (UNTAET) did not take the
  creative initiative to develop small scale and
  cottage type industry in meeting its own needs
  while in Timor-Leste. For example the UN
  imported bananas and vegetables from Australia.
• Jose Ramos Horta responding to the UN Head of
  Mission

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The reality An urban not a rural bias
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The reality urban not rural bias

• Most of the funding (CFET) goes to Dili
• 90 of all public expenditure is planned and
  managed out of Dili
• 66 of the public expenditure is for urban areas
  (with 20 of the population)
• 80 of goods and services are going to the
  cities.
• 60 of civil service staff are based in Dili
• (World Bank, 2003 UNDP 2006)

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The Non Rural Sector Driver

• The challenge is to promote rapid growth in the
  non-food private sector, which currently employs
  about 70,000 workers at much higher average
  levels of productivity. Rapid growth in the
  latter will allow for a gradual shift out of low
  productivity employment in rural areas. With
  rising levels of labor productivity, the
  incidence of income poverty will decline.
• Overview of Sector Investment Programs Volume 1

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Agriculture a case study.

• Agriculture is the primary economic activity in
  Timor-Leste
• Yet only 2.1 of CFET allocations have been
  allocated to MAFF for FY. 06/07

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Funding for Agriculture

• Allocation of funds for 2000-2004
• US 66 million for all MAFF activities
• 30 for the coffee industry and studies about
  commercial agriculture
• 14 on food security
• 10 on service delivery (helping village farmers
  improve outputs).

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Agriculture

• Projected allocation of funds for 2005-2009
• US 41m total
• 30 for food security
• 19 on service delivery

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Agriculture

• US 10m for 5 year period from CFET allocations
• 18 key programs for food security still waiting
  external confirmed funds

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• Infrastructure investment is also favoring the
  minority in urban population

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The case for rural development

• Rural development is considered by many of the
  policy advisors, to be an inadequate driver of
  development because of its low productivity.
• but in fact many would argue that rural
  development must be the foundation of urban
  development in countries like Timor Lestegt

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The road map is in place

• UN Economic Advisor at the Prime Minister's
  Office says
• increase the food yields per hectare and quickly
  end chronic hunger.
• focus on fertilizers, improved agriculture
  technology, green manures and cover crops, water
  harvesting, small scale irrigation and improved
  seeds.
• A road network interconnecting the districts.

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• A village truck and storage facilities would
  allow the villages to sell the grain over the
  course of months getting more favorable prices.
• Electricity could be made available to selected
  districts using a cost effective method (coal
  power plants and/or non fossil technologies).
• Safe drinking water and sanitation, investments
  in basic health and education in most critical
  districts

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• UNDP Model
• Rural development as the primary driver

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• UNDP argues that Pro-poor rural development
  requires a lower growth rate and less average
  annual input. (65m as against 48m annually)

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Integrated rural development

• UNDP Report outlines four options for greater
  engagement with local communities.
• Develop government services- more public servants
  working directly with communities
• Encourage local organisations cooperatives,
  user groups and village managed community
  initiatives
• Involve NGOs so that they can provide technical
  support, services and facilitation of community
  engagement
• Encourage the private sector

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UNICEF on Youth

• The UNICEF Proposal for a National Youth Policy
  in Timor-Leste recommends such an approach. The
  two top strategies are
• Mobilise young people to serve in their community
  turning youth gangs into youth services
• Build bridges from education to post school
  reality relevant work opportunities linking
  graduates to work opportunities in industry and
  service provision.

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Youth

• Many of these either graduate in Dili (50 of all
  high school students) or move quickly to Dili to
  find work.
• A pro poor and rural development program would
  aim to provide work related opportunities for
  youth outside the urban centres.

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Successful initiatives

• State Administration coordinated Local
  Development Program 3 pilot Districts now
  working in Bobinaro UNDP.
• District Planning and service delivery in Health
  and in Water Supply and Sanitation
• Many INGO programs such as Oxfam, WV, Care, CRS,
  Concern, Caritas
• Many T-L NGOs ETADEP, Timor Aid, Bia Hula,
  Gracia.
• Previously CEP Respect

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What Timorese expect

• Socio cultural reasons for a larger investment
  in the rural sector.
• Collectivism group benefit
• Respect Relationship building
• Immediacy impatience for some results.
• Ongoing support and encouragement - High risk
  aversion and intolerance for experimentation in
  uncertainty.

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• Collectivism
• Dependent on tight integration across functional
  family groupings
• Most people associate with family in the rural
  areas
• Just as one family member in employment will be
  expected to support the whole family, so too one
  part of the community experiencing development
  will be considered beneficial to the rest of the
  community.

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• Respect and Process Learning
• Decision making requires substantial and
  apparently time consuming consultation with all
  relevant community members
• Conflict resolution and peace building requires
  process as well as outcome the people must be
  provided with the opportunity to put their case
  first.
• High reliance on formal processes and ritual

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• Immediacy and impatience for some results.
• The time gap between thinking about development
  objectives and beginning to benefit from these is
  very small
• Yet Patience with the final outcome seeing
  something happening is more important than
  getting results.

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Ongoing support and encouragement

• long years of political domination trying not
  to be noticed!
• fragility of agricultural returns has led to a
  low tolerance for risk and a lack of interest in
  experimentation and initiative.
• requires considerable mentoring and long term
  partnering as they begin to engage in the
  uncertain path of development initiatives.
• Using local knowledge and building on
  traditional successful methods is much more
  likely to be effective than introduced and very
  foreign technologies.

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• The advice and the successful initiatives
  recommend investment in rural development should
  be
• small scale,
• resource intensive and
• sustained

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Investing in Small Steps

• Small Scale
• Community led initiatives maximising community
  participation.
• Promoting community ownership
• Mobilising existing resources
• Local level management
• Multiple voc ed and life skills short courses
• Multiple but integrated village activities.

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• Resource Intensive
• Community capacity building for Suco Leadership
  and Suco Councils
• Organisational development for NGOs and community
  groups such as farmers associations, womens
  groups and fishermen associations.
• Skills development in relation to modernisation
  or development activities such as improved water
  and sanitation, repair of schools and clinics,
  improved agriculture practice and mechanical
  skills.

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• Sustained.
• Continued opportunities for learning on the job,
  trial and error and repeated mentoring capacity
  retention.
• Maintaining the service till it becomes an
  accepted standard.

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Working within the community

• Community Engagement should be
• Comprehensive
• pro poor and gender inclusive
• Cooperative
• including government, civil society, private
  sector and media collaboration.

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Working in partnership with the community

• Bubble effect engaging large groups to mobilise
  the community. (getting out there and staying
  with the community).
• Decentralisation of service management
• Adequate resourcing of local government
• Suco governance and councils collaboration and
  liaison
• NGO/CSOs as facilitators of community engagement.
  
• Private Sector
• Media.

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Rural Development and Stability

• We have all been preoccupied in trying to create
  an effective state without sufficient concern for
  the welfare and engagement of the people.
• There is now an imperative for
• greater balance and
• a bottom first approach.

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Conclusion Rural Development brings Stability

• Rural Development will promote a greater sense of
  achievement and nation building than the past
  focus getting it right at the centre first
• When there is gainful engagement in demand driven
  development at the rural level, coupled with
  skills enhancement and community empowerment
  national stability and peace building will be
  better achieved.

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Uneven rural development

• The World Food Program reports a severe situation
  of food insecurity in March 2006 in the western
  side of Timor Leste Oecussi, Bobonaro and
  Covalima. Food insecurity is moderate in the
  central districts of Liquica, Ermera, Ainaro,
  Manufahi, Aileu, Manatuto and Dili. Food
  insecurity risks are low in eastern Timor Leste
  districts of Viqueque, Baucau and Lautem. The
  increasing gap between loromunu (western
  districts) and lorosae (eastern districts)
  represents an internal security threat that must
  be addressed to avoid a probable scenario where
  population expectations may not be met and could
  result (Risopatron (April 2006)

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Sources

• The Path out of Poverty Integrated rural
  development. Timor-Leste Human Development Report
  Jan. 2006
• Timor-Leste Overview of Sector Investment
  Program, Volume II Timor-Leste Agriculture,
  Forestry and Fisheries Sector Investment Program
• Lessons Learned for Poverty Reduction from the
  United Nations Peace Building Operation in East
  Timor . (Executive Summary) Carlos R. Risopatron.
  UN Economic Advisor at the Prime Minister's
  Office, East Timor. http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U
  serRisopatron.
• DFID, 2004, How to accelerate pro-poor growth a
  basic framework for policy analysis, Pro Poor
  Briefing Note 2, Sept, Department for
  International Development, UK
• Asian Development Outlook Timor-Leste,
  http//www.adb.org/documents/books/ado/2006/tim.as
  p
• Proposal for a National Youth Policy for
  Timor-Leste, Richard Curtin, Fernando Antoino da
  Costa Zelia Fernandes, UNICEF, 30 March 2006.