Labour and livelihoods

Seed fairs were being promoted in Zimbabwe as an alternative seed distribution approach to sustain local input markets. Using data from ICRISAT monitoring surveys of 2005–06 and records maintained by non-governmental organisations, this article reveals that seed fairs were more cost effective in distributing local seed compared to direct distribution of imported seed. The article found that, in order to supply one household with a seed pack, it will cost an agency US$5.18 through seed fair compared to US$8.22 through direct seed distribution. Vouchers redeemable in retail shops are proposed as an incentive for local shops to stock and distribute agricultural inputs.

The full article is available here:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09614524.2012.696580

This paper compares the economic effects of two organisational forms of the coffee supply chain (cooperative and private processors) in Rwanda and assesses quantitatively which form has benefited producers the most. The paper uses panel data from 148 coffee-producing households. Results based on a combination of the instrumental variable method and first differencing show that there is no indication that farmers who sell to cooperative factories get more benefits than farmers selling to private processing plants.

The full article is available here:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09614524.2012.697127

This paper describes attempts in Nigeria and Tanzania to build the capacity of selected religious organisations to participate in policy consultation processes, by strengthening their ability to speak effectively to governments on behalf of poor communities. These attempts arose out of enquiries into the limited involvement of faith-based organisations in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper processes which were a condition of debt relief.

A growing number of international networks, like those linking religious institutions, engage in development-related activities across the world. Improvements in technology and increased travel opportunities for international volunteers have given these networks new influence, with unknown implications for the trajectory of development, especially where states are weak. This paper examines the role of a transnational religious network in a newly formed nation: the Republic of South Sudan, where the dominant Episcopal Church has links with dioceses elsewhere in the Anglican Communion.

‘Faith-based organisations’ (FBOs) are gaining increasing attention within development circles – amongst practitioners, funders, and policymakers as well as academics. While some discussion has taken place over the meaning of the term ‘FBO’ in academic circles, little empirical research has been conducted as to the relevance and interpretation of the term in different contexts and what role religion plays within organisations engaged in development-related activities.

This article outlines one of the activities organised by an international Evangelical faith-based development organisation (FBDO) working in the Kibera informal settlement, an area that attracts large numbers of development practitioners, including FBDOs and Christian missionaries. Some Pentecostal and Evangelical perceptions of entrepreneurship are outlined, which are then related to current theoretical descriptions of the role of global Pentecostalism in improving livelihoods and well-being.

Writing on the relationships between religion and development has blossomed in the last decade or so, after years of relative neglect. Like any field of social enquiry that is both underdeveloped and closely linked to the interests of advocates and practitioners, the work available to date has encountered various pitfalls. These are outlined, to pinpoint the contribution that this special issue makes to the rapidly-evolving body of research on religion in the context of development.

Drawing on empirical data from a community-based study with children and adults in rural Peru, the paper analyses the everyday experiences of a conditional cash transfer programme, called ‘Juntos’. The findings show that social protection programmes like Juntos address certain child vulnerabilities by making eligibility for their cash transfers conditional on behaviour-related to child protection-related such as health check-ups and school attendance.

Child protection has focused on responding to interpersonal violence and abuse. This approach can detach children from the broader socio-economic and political structures which shape their life chances, by concentrating on the symptoms of risk rather than the underlying causes. Drawing on the Young Lives study of childhood poverty, this paper argues that poverty and inequalities are at the heart of childhood risk, shaping which children are at risk and access to sources of protection and therefore to children's life chances.

‘Orphans’ became a category of vulnerable children deserving special protection in the context of the global AIDS epidemic, and currently the notion of ‘orphans and vulnerable children’ (OVC), dominates much of the policy for protecting children across sub-Saharan Africa.