Technical Assistance Agencies Research Articles

Benefits and challenges of the public food procurement program: Perspectives of technicians and managers of family farmer organizations in Brazil

Public food purchase programs are a useful tool for promoting food security through rural development, supporting family farmers, and encouraging sustainable and healthy food production. The study aimed to analyse the characteristics of family farmer organizations associated with the Brazilian Public Food Procurement (PFP) program and the opinion of technicians and managers of the organizations regarding the benefits and challenges of the program. A cross-sectional study was conducted through a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire contained questions regarding the characteristics of the organization and the food sales process, as well as the opinion about the benefits and challenges of PFP. The results were stratified according to the organization’s participation in the PFP. The chi-squared or Fisher’s exact test was applied. A total of 293 managers and technicians from family farmer organizations participated in the study. The majority of participants (71.7 %) reported their involvement in the PFP program. The study revealed that farmer organizations and public technical assistance agencies with larger memberships and employing conventional or mixed production methods were found to be more actively engaged in the PFP program across Brazil. Participants highlighted that direct sales under the program offer benefits to consumers, producers, and the environment. However, challenges identified include seasonal production constraints, bureaucratic hurdles in sales procedures, inadequate infrastructure for food storage and processing within farmer organizations, insufficient information from restaurants about purchasing opportunities, and a lack of support and technical assistance. These factors pose implementation challenges for the PFP program. While the PFP program shows promise in promoting direct sales and supporting local farmers, addressing the identified challenges will be crucial for its sustained success and broader adoption across different regions.

Coffee breeding in a time of crisis: F1 hybrids in Central America since 1990

Social Impact StatementCentral America is renowned for producing some of the world's finest coffee, prized for its quality and flavor. With coffee being a major export crop for many countries, the region's economic, social, and cultural well‐being is closely linked to the success of its coffee industry. Coffee breeding supports the industry's long‐term sustainability and competitiveness by developing new varieties that are more productive, disease‐resistant, climate resilient, and adapted to the coffee producer's realities. Ongoing efforts in coffee breeding have significant implications for the livelihoods of thousands of coffee farmers and their families, the economies of Central American countries, and the preservation of the region's rich coffee tradition and culture.Summary The central objective is to understand how coffee breeding programs have evolved to help coffee farmers adapt to the rapidly changing economic, political, institutional, and environmental conditions since 1990. Before then, coffee breeders focused primarily on productivity, developing dwarf varieties bred for intensive monoculture production. Since 1990, breeders have shifted their work to address climate change, new diseases and pests, a growing industry interest in cup quality, and unprecedented price volatility. Much of the breeding work has shifted from public institutions to international technical assistance agencies, international non‐governmental organizations (NGOs), and private companies. Their new programs focus on developing F1 coffees designed for agroforestry production and, which, can be developed quickly in response to changing conditions. This case study also complicates narratives about the place of hybrid coffees in agricultural modernization during the 20th and 21st centuries. Analyze documents produced over the past 30 years by key breeding organizations, governments, trade organizations, to assess the evolution of breeding programs in historical context, and the progress of the new coffees in the field. Some F1 hybrids have shown considerable promise, but challenges surrounding their propagation, distribution, and cost—as well as their suitability for the specialty coffee market—have so far prevented farmers from adopting them on a large scale. The switch to F1 coffee breeding represents a deep strategic shift in coffee breeding in Central America, more attuned to the needs of coffee farmers. While the F1 coffees can help farmers address many of the farmers' technical challenges, cost and logistical issues remain a challenge.

O planejamento territorial no Paraná baseado na atuação do Movimento Economia e Humanismo no Brasil

Analisamos a atuação do Movimento Economia e Humanismo no Brasil com base nas ações da Sociedade para Análises Gráficas e Mecanográficas Aplicadas aos Complexos Sociais (SAGMACS), investigando as filiações teóricas e metodológicas em trabalhos elaborados pelo grupo para o estado do Paraná, entre 1955 e 1958 e em 1963. Esses trabalhos, realizados no campo disciplinar do planejamento urbano e regional, visavam à modernização do estado e de sua máquina administrativa e ao desenvolvimento econômico. Destacamos a relevância da SAGMACS no planejamento do território brasileiro considerando as publicações do Movimento Economia e Humanismo e de outros pensadores, cotejadas com a literatura que evidenciou as matrizes conceituais do grupo fundado na França, em 1941. Foi possível verificar que as ações da equipe coordenada por Louis-Joseph Lebret contribuíram para a institucionalização do planejamento regional no Brasil, para a formação de instituições de urbanismo e órgãos de assistência técnica, além de resultarem na reorganização do território do Paraná, indicando o planejamento dos seus polos regionais.

Addressing Equity in Rural Schools: Opportunities and Challenges for School Meal Standards Implementation.

Few studies examine why rural public schools have weaker policies and practices related to school nutrition environments compared to their urban counterparts. It is important to understand this disparity because federal school meal standards aim for children to access health-promoting nutrition environments. In this study, we identify challenges and opportunities for the implementation of school meal standards in rural high schools. We interviewed 38 rural school professionals from 22 high schools across 7 states. School professionals included food service directors, principals, school nurses, and teachers. Team coding in Atlas.ti Qualitative Data Analysis software v8 and principles of comparative analysis were employed to generate themes related to challenges and opportunities. Overall, school professionals described improvements with implementation experiences and student acceptance over time. Key challenges included the negative influences of home and community food environments and limited staff size and capacity. Key opportunities involved joining co-ops to enhance purchasing power, leveraging state technical assistance, and forming external partnerships. This study offers insights from a broad range of rural school professionals' implementation experiences. The findings can inform governments and technical assistance agencies working with rural schools and school districts to facilitate implementation and sustainability of initiatives.

Political and Governance Challenges to Achieving Global HIV Goals with Injecting Drug Users: The Case of Pakistan.

Background: The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has recently set the ambitious "90-90-90 target" of having 90% of people living with HIV (PLHIV) know their status, receive antiretroviral therapy (ART), and achieve viral suppression by 2020. This ambitious new goal is occurring in a context of global "scale-down" following nearly a decade of heightened investment in HIV prevention and treatment efforts. Arguably international goals spur action, however, setting unrealistic goals that do not take weak health systems and variations in the nature of the epidemic across countries into consideration may set them up for failure in unproductive ways that lead to a decline in confidence in global governance institutions. This study explores how policy actors tasked with implementing HIV programs navigate the competing demands placed upon them by development targets and national politics, particularly in the current context of waning international investments towards HIV. Methods: To examine these questions, we interviewed 29 key informants comprising health experts in donor organizations and government employees in HIV programs in Pakistan, a country where HIV programs must compete with other issues for attention. Themes were identified inductively through an iterative process and findings were triangulated with various data sources and existing literature. Results: We found both political and governance challenges to achieving the target, particularly in the context of the global HIV scale-down. Political challenges included, low and heterogeneous political commitment for HIV and a conservative legal environment that contributed towards a ban on opiate substitution therapy, creating low treatment coverage. Governance challenges includedstrained state and non-governmental organization (NGO) relations creating a hostile service delivery environment, weak bureaucratic and civil society capacity contributing to poor regulation of the health infrastructure, and resource mismanagement on both the part of the government and NGOs. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that in a context of waning international attention to HIV, policy actors on the ground face a number of practical hurdles to achieving the ambitious targets set out by international agencies. Greater attention to the political and governance challenges of implementing HIV programs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) could help technical assistance agencies to develop more realistic implementation plans.

Translating a child care based intervention for online delivery: development and randomized pilot study of Go NAPSACC

BackgroundAs part of childhood obesity prevention initiatives, Early Care and Education (ECE) programs are being asked to implement evidence-based strategies that promote healthier eating and physical activity habits in children. Translation of evidence-based interventions into real world ECE settings often encounter barriers, including time constraints, lack of easy-to-use tools, and inflexible intervention content. This study describes translation of an evidence-based program (NAPSACC) into an online format (Go NAPSACC) and a randomized pilot study evaluating its impact on centers’ nutrition environments.MethodsGo NAPSACC retained core elements and implementation strategies from the original program, but translated tools into an online, self-directed format using extensive input from the ECE community. For the pilot, local technical assistance (TA) agencies facilitated recruitment of 33 centers, which were randomized to immediate (intervention, n = 18) or delayed (control, n = 15) access groups. Center directors were oriented on Go NAPSACC tools by their local TA providers (after being trained by researchers), after which they implemented Go NAPSACC independently with minimal TA support. The Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation instrument (self-report), collected prior to and following the 4-month intervention period, was used to assess impact on centers’ nutrition environments. Process data were also collected from a sample of directors and all TA providers to evaluate program usability and implementation.ResultsDemographic characteristics of intervention and control centers were similar. Two centers did not complete follow-up measures, leaving 17 intervention and 14 control centers in the analytic sample. Between baseline and follow-up, intervention centers improved overall nutrition scores (Cohen’s d effect size = 0.73, p = 0.15), as well as scores for foods (effect size = 0.74, p = 0.16), beverages (effect size = 0.54, p = 0.06), and menus (effect size = 0.73, p = 0.08), but changes were not statistically significant.ConclusionsCore elements of NAPSACC were effectively translated into online tools and successfully implemented by center directors. Results suggest that the online program may have retained its ability to drive change in centers’ nutrition environments using a streamlined, self-directed, and flexible implementation approach. Results need to be confirmed in a larger more definitive trial.Trial registrationNCT02889198 (retrospectively registered).

Innovative Product Development Partnership Reduced Neonatal Mortality In Nepal Through Improved Umbilical Cord Care.

Approximately 40percent of all newborn deaths in Nepal are attributable to neonatal infections. A randomized controlled trial conducted in Nepal in the period 2002-05 on the application of a solution of the disinfectant chlorhexidine to umbilical cord stumps of newborns showed a reduced risk of infections and death. In response to these results, the Government of Nepal and various partners mobilized to deliver this simple, low-cost intervention on a national scale. We describe the design, development, and maturation of a partnership among the government, technical assistance agencies, and a local pharmaceutical company to create a suitable, commercially available gel product to reduce newborn infections. Essential contributors to the partnership's effectiveness included having a for-profit pharmaceutical company as a fully engaged partner; having responsive, flexible relationships among the partners that evolved over time; and paying attention to competition within the private sector. A less formalized arrangement among partners allowed them to build trust in each other over time. Government stewardship of the program throughout the scale-up process ensured that policy and systems integration were aligned as the program matured.

Soybean morphophysiology and yield response to seeding systems and plant populations

Soybean (Glicine max [L.] Merr.) is recognized worldwide for its economic importance; it has the ability to adapt to environmental and management changes, particularly when using different spacing and plant populations. This study aimed to investigate the influence of morphological changes of the crisscross seeding system on grain growth and yield. Work was conducted at the Experimental Station of Anapolis, Goias, Brazil, of the Technical Assistance Agency, Rural Extension and Agricultural Research of Goias (EMATER) for the 2013-2014 harvest. The experimental design was a randomized block and 2 x 3 x 3 factorial, with four replicates. Treatments consisted of two seeding systems (conventional-in line and crossed-crisscross), three soybean cultivars with different growth habits ('BRS Valiosa RR' determined, 'NA 7337 RR' semi-determined, and 'BMX Potencia RR' indeterminate) and three sowing densities (245 000, 350 000, and 455 000 plants ha-1). Results showed that at 50 d after emergence the cross-seeding system showed higher closing among lines promoted by the increase in population. Leaf area and the leaf area index were not affected by the seeding system. Leaf area was lower with increasing plant density with no significant difference in relation to the leaf area index. The cross-system enabled a potential yield of 4504 kg ha-1 corresponding to an approximate 8% increase compared with conventional sowing using equidistant lines with 0.5 m spacing.

Conhecimento sobre a utilização segura de agrotóxicos por agricultores da mesorregião do Norte Central do Paraná

Pesticides are considered an important risk factor for human health and have been the subject of several studies, both for its toxicity and environmental degradation. This study aimed to diagnose the knowledge level of farmers from the Central Northern Parana State on the safe pesticides use. For this we used a questionnaire that addressed issues related to intoxication, use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and knowledge about inserts and labels. We interviewed 100 farmers affiliated to cooperatives in the region. After analyzing the responses, we observed that most farmers did an incomplete use of PPE in their daily activities, or did not use it, as it was found in all cases of poisoning. The terms used in the pesticides inserts and labels are not properly understood by farmers, contributing to increased problems in the safe handling of these products. The study concludes that it is necessary to have a process of training and guidance from regulators and the companies involved, as inputs companies, cooperatives and technical assistance agencies aiming more judicious use of the products and decreasing the risks to health of rural populations and environment.

Abordagens educativas, extensão rural e agricultura familiar em Biguaçu-SC

The article presents the adaptation effort, application and description of the Research Focus (FREIRE, 1975) associated with Pedagogical Moments (DELIZOICOV, 1991) as a basis for the development of rural extension programs - a combination hitherto used only in the area of science education. The study was conducted with rural communities in Biguacu, on the coast of Santa Catarina, with the initial goal to understand the reasons for the low participation of the population in the activities proposed by extension agents as well as rural conflicts between families. We point out the market as a unifying theme, which synthesizes a set of generative themes: a) permanent preservation areas and forest - including the clandestine production of charcoal hitherto ignored by the technical assistance agencies, b) the intensive pesticides on some crops, c) food security; d) technical assistance. We conclude that the failure to address issues of the population is a major cause of low participation and suggest a sample program to start work from the generator theme related to the forest. Based on discussions generated during the research and developments of the proposed topic in activities that include field experiments with forest and cassavas, dialogue with environmental agencies, legalization of activity charcoal and search for differentiated markets, we conclude that the approach is, of indeed, the potential for rural extension work and alerted to the need for in-service training and insertion of this type of content in the curriculum of agricultural sciences.

Wilfrid H.G. Haacke and Eliphas Eiseb. A Khoekhoegowab Dictionary with an English-Khoekhoegowab Index

Having dedicated more than 20 years to this single major lexicographic project, the authors, Professor Wilfrid H.G. Haacke and Pastor Eliphas Eiseb, have pro-duced a dictionary of amazing quantity and quality. The newly published Khoekhoegowab Dictionary comprises some 25 000 Khoekhoegowab entries and the English renderings in the English-Khoekhoegowab index amount to over 26 000 entries. While these figures are quite impressive in themselves, the reader will also find a thorough analysis of the Khoekhoegowab entries as well as refined English translations. The dictionary attempts to address the interests of linguists as well as the needs of the speech community. Unavoidably, the divergent interests of these two groups force the authors to accept a number of compromises that result in some inconvenience for both the target audiences. Despite these limitations, linguistic research on African languages will find the dictionary a source of eminent importance for both historical linguistics as well as typological studies. And mother-tongue speakers will greatly benefit from this publication, which, thanks to financial support from the German technical assistance agency GTZ, is available at a price that is affordable for the Namibian public.

The ILO: An Agency for Globalization?

ABSTRACTThe International Labour Organization, set up in 1919 to develop and promote labour standards, is at a crucial point. It has preached that labour is not a commodity and in 1969 received the Nobel Peace Prize. Since then it has run into trouble. This article considers how the ILO has failed to come to terms with the Global Transformation, seeing it as trying to play three roles — a standard‐setter, a technical assistance agency and a knowledge generator — without developing the professional capacity to do so. The big question is whether the ILO could become an effective development agency given the changing character of work and labour in globalizing labour markets and its antiquated governance structure.

From funding projects to supporting sectors? Observation on the aid relationship in Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso is among the largest recipients of development aid in West Africa. The new aid terminology emphasizes partnership and a sectoral approach. Yet, recent research suggests more continuity than change in the aid relationship. Projects persist. Funding and technical assistance agencies cooperate more but adhere to their interests, priorities, and procedures. Though rarely discussed explicitly, national and institutional interests remain important. Collectively, agencies apparently continue to instruct more than listen and thus to undermine the dialogue and partnership they claim to construct. Heavy reliance on external funding makes it difficult for the government to assert and maintain an independent posture.

The role of research in a technical assistance agency: the case of the ‘German Agency for Technical Co-operation’

Technical assistance agencies have a sustainable impact on the health systems of the countries they are operating in. As well as policy-makers at the national level, technical assistance agencies see themselves confronted that their interventions should be based on evidence, usually meaning the results of research. This study has the aim to analyse role of research in the implementation of technical assistance. We sent a questionnaire to all health project managers of the ‘German Agency for Technical Co-operation’ and performed a qualitative case study in one of the health projects. Forty-seven of 80 (58.8%) of the questionnaires were completed and sent back. The managers considered publications of International Organisations (IOs), scientific articles and local research as most important for their work. The case study showed application problems in the daily work. Research use not only depends on the relevance of the data but also on analytical skills, linguistic barriers and technical access to research by the potential users. The role of knowledge and information management has to be clearly defined in an organisation of technical assistance. The specific needs at the different levels have to be analysed so that skills and resources can be allocated adequately.

Essential elements of postabortion care: origins, evolution and future directions.

In this comment we chronicle the development and expansion of a postabortion care model designed to promote interventions that address abortion-related public health concerns even when abortion laws and policies are restrictive. We review years of program experience with the original model which led to the development of an expanded and updated model Essential Elements of Postabortion Care (PAC). Implementing the model challenges global public health leaders donors technical assistance agencies and ministries of health to work with communities to ensure that all women who want to prevent or space pregnancies can obtain contraceptive services; that all women have access to services to manage complications abortion whether induced or spontaneous; and that women receiving treatment also receive counseling and reproductive and other health services they need at the treatment visit as well as follow-up care and contraceptive resupply. (excerpt)

Larger Grain Borer in Africa; A History of Efforts to Limit its Impact

The story of Prostephanus truncatus in Africa is described from its original outbreak in Tanzania in the late 1970s to the present day. Information is given on the differing control methods put in place by infested countries and how co-ordination of local programmes and inputs from technical assistance agencies was approached by an agencies. The influence of changes in development thinking on the management of storage pests is considered. The current status of P. truncatus is addressed, inlcuding its impact on the international maize trade, particularly that provided for famine relief. The introduction of Teretrius nigrescens as a biological control agent is described. We also provide some milestones in efforts to manage the pest, describe the effectiveness of pest management in terms of cost benefit and suggest some new avenues that may lead to a sustainable reductioning in P. truncatus in Africa.

Juvenile Mental Health Court: Rationale and Protocols

ABSTRACTUnder the sponsorship of the judiciary, the Santa Clara County, California Juvenile Court, in partnership with the Juvenile Mental Health Department and a technical assistance agency (SOLOMON), has pioneered a Juvenile Mental Health Court for seriously mentally ill children who have become involved in the criminal justice system. The judiciary, probation department, district attorney, public defender, county counsel, and service providers have collectively embarked upon the implementation of a modern approach to mental health diagnosis, triage, and treatment services for youth and families who come in contact with the justice system as a result of the combination of serious mental illness and juvenile delinquency. This article presents the court's rationale and protocols.

Pollution prevention and the work environment: the Massachusetts experience.

In 1989, Massachusetts enacted the Toxics Use Reduction Act. The Act defined toxics use reduction, also referred to as pollution prevention, as "in-plant changes in production processes or raw materials that reduce, avoid, or eliminate the use of toxic or hazardous substances or generation of hazardous by-product per unit of product ... without shifting risks between workers, consumers or parts of the environment." The investigators sought to understand to what extent worker health and safety concerns have been integrated into toxics use reduction activities and how these activities have affected the work environment. The authors reviewed 35 published case studies of toxics use reduction in Massachusetts companies and interviewed key personnel including the staff of the Massachusetts Office of Technical Assistance for Toxics Use Reduction. Overall, between 1990 and 1997, Massachusetts companies decreased their use of toxic chemicals by 24 percent and decreased their volume of toxic by-product by 41 percent. In almost 50 percent of the cases analyzed, improved worker health and safety was cited as a benefit of the toxic use reduction projects. Solvents were eliminated or reduced in 63 percent of the cases. Forty-six percent of the companies profiled introduced water-based chemicals in place of more volatile ones; and acids and caustics were reduced or eliminated in 20 percent of the cases. The investigators concluded that toxics use reduction activities have resulted in improvements to the work environment, but that such improvements were rarely a direct concern of these efforts, thus creating the potential for new negative worker health and safety impacts and missed opportunities to coordinate environmental and worker health and safety improvements. The authors recommend that technical assistance agencies and companies better integrate worker health and safety issues and pollution prevention activities.

Education sector analysis in Africa: limited national control and even less national ownership

Numerous and voluminous, the Africa education sector studies undertaken during the early 1990s turn out to be strikingly similar. With few exceptions, they have a common framework, approach, and methodology. African education is in crisis, they report. Governments cannot cope. Quality has deteriorated. Funds are misallocated. Management is poor and administration inefficient. Notwithstanding the diversity of the countries studied, the recommendations too are similar. Education sector analysis is potentially a very powerful tool for supporting and improving education policy and programmes in Africa. Generally undertaken within the context of the aid relationship, it is also an important vehicle for international partnership and development cooperation. To date, however, that cooperation has been accompanied by general frustration with the sector analysis process. Far too often, that process has remained driven by the agendas and procedures of the funding and technical assistance agencies, with constrained national participation, limited national control, and very little sense of national ownership. To shift its center of gravity toward Africa, the process itself requires major restructuring and reorientation, from conception through completion. Most important, what is required is genuine dialogue among partners who not only talk but also listen and hear.

Fostering male involvement and partnership: a stepwise process, reproductive health through advocacy.

The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) emphasized the key role of men in the attainment of sexual and reproductive health for both men and women. The participation of men in discussions about reproductive health is important in order for them to appreciate its benefits to women as well as to themselves. The UNFPA (UN Population Fund) has formulated three steps to establish the role of men as partners in reproductive health. These are: 1) identifying the issues and challenges 2) identifying and categorizing key audiences and stakeholders and 3) involving stakeholders in the advocacy implementation process. The three main issues relating to advocacy for male involvement are 1) fostering a favorable policy environment 2) re-orienting services to meet the needs of men and 3) nurturing a supportive sociocultural climate. The audiences and stakeholders for advocacy may be grouped into four categories--beneficiaries partners adversaries and decision makers. The direct beneficiaries of male involvement and partnership in reproductive health are men themselves. The partners and allies for male involvement programs include many international donor and technical assistance agencies that support male involvement programs. The opposition to male involvement comes from conservative male-dominated traditional and religious institutions. They fear that changing traditional gender roles in reproductive health will unravel time-tested family and community relation structures. The promotion of male partnership in reproductive health results from encouraging men to participate in advocacy. Inclusion of representatives of male-oriented associations helps in advocacy efforts aimed at involving men. Coalitions and networks are also important in the implementation of advocacy programs.