Working together, learning together Learning alliances in agroenterprise development Edited by Rupert Best, Shaun Ferris and Paul Mundy Catholic Relief Services, 2009

This is a book about a process of how to go about learning new things. The new thing that CRS wanted to learn and become more proficient in was “agroenterprise development” or put more simply, how to successfully link smallholder farmers to markets. This book relates how we adopted a ‘learning alliance’ approach to getting the job done. A research-development partnership was established to pool expertise and knowledge and map out an iterative process of learning, put into practice what had been learned, and reflect on and analyze what had worked well and what not . From small beginnings in E Africa and Central America in 2002, CRS now has over 30 countries involved in agroenterprise development learning alliances in 5 regions.

This book concentrates on how the learning process evolved and the benefits it has brought for CRS. It highlights the challenges that CRS faces as an institution in building on the investment it has made in strengthening its agroenterprise development capacity.

Contents

Introduction

Learning alliances in CRS and their application to agroenterprise development

• Evolution
• The Learning Alliances process: What it is and how it works
• The CRS agroenterprise development roadmap
• Applying the learning alliance concept to agroenterprise development        

Regional learning alliance experiences

• Transforming producers into entrepreneurs: The Central America Learning Alliance Experience
• Bringing agroenterprise to Africa: The East Africa Learning Alliance
• Building agroenterprise skills to increase rural incomes in West Africa
• Bringing agroenterprise development to remote communities of Southeast Asia and the Pacific
• Learning from agroenterprise projects in South Asia

What worked well in the learning alliances

• Shared learning environment
• Paradigm shift
• Creating substantial program growth
• Core skills
• Direction and discipline
• Diversified partnership

Capitalizing on our investment: the challenges ahead

• Staff capacity and retention
• Robust management information systems and monitoring and evaluation
• Policy and advocacy
• Growth and sustainability
• Continuous management and facilitation support

The way forward

• Agriculture through an agroenterprise lens
• The multi-skill farmer group approach
• The CRS agroenterprise development cycle
• The Learning Alliance concept: A flexible platform
• Delivering results and meeting expectations
• Learning and institutional change for development

Bibliography

Published 2009 by Catholic Relief Services

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ISBN 0-945356-51-X

Role of Paul Mundy: Writeshop management, editorial contributions