Building North-South Partnerships for a better world

Samenwerking tussen partijen uit "rijke" Noorden en het "arme" Zuiden zijn aan de orde van de dag in de ontwikkelingssamenwerking. In dit artikel onderscheiden we een aantal factoren die van invloed zijn op het proces van aangaan van samenwerkingsverbanden binnen de context van ontwikkelingssamenwerking. Het gaat daarbij om ideologie en waarden, politiek getinte relaties, unilaterale financiële afhandelijkheid, culturlere en fysieke afstanden, en fragiel sociaal vertrouwen. Aan de hand van twee publiek-private samenwerkingsverbandden, organische katoen en verantwoorde teelt van soja, bekijken we hoe activisten, financierse en ontwikkelingswerkers met deze tegenstellingen te maken krijgen en hoe ze opgelost worde

Correlations, Causes and the Logic of Obscuration: Donor Shaping of Dominant Narratives in Indonesia's Irrigation Development

This article analyses policy trends in Indonesian irrigation, particularly during the last five decades, from the perspective of dominant narratives, as authored, suggested and pushed by international donors. It argues that international donors' adherence to ‘deferred maintenance’ as the core element of irrigation policy problem framing does not match with farmers' and the irrigation agency staff perceptions and practices. The logic of obscuration and the discursive manoeuvers that maintain it are analysed. The article concludes that there is space for more profound conceptual contestation and for alternative actions pathways even within the ‘dominant paradigm’ to address management problems more effectively

The other side of the coin: A case study on the impact of financial autonomy on irrigation management performance in the Philippines

The paper assesses the impact of the removal of operating subsidies to the Philippine National Irrigation Administration on the management performance of a small canal irrigation system in Southern Luzon. It shows that in this case the creation of financial autonomy of the agency did not fully engender the often assumed positive effects regarding both accountability relationships and irrigation management performance. The conclusions specify a number of issues related to the theory of financial autonomy which require further study

Facilitating North-South partnership for sustainable agriculture

The increased number of development cooperation and sustainable agriculture partnerships brings with it new challenges for professionals who are asked to facilitate these partnering processes. In this article we shed more light on the world of development cooperation and we explore questions that facilitators working with North-South partnerships face. The main research questions are: What are the distinguishing characteristics of North-South partnership dynamics; what insights and lessons can we draw from the management of these partnerships, and what recommendations or advice can we offer to those facilitating such partnerships? On the basis of a deductive research process we reveal a number of characteristics that mark the process of building partnerships within the context of development cooperation. Through two cases of sustainable agriculture partnerships—biological cotton and responsible soy—we discuss how professionals confront these specific characteristics and how they address these. The material from the two cases was made more complete by drawing on other experiences and relevant literature. The revealed characteristics creating challenges for professionals facilitating partnerships are the following: ideology and values; politically loaded relationships; unilateral financial dependence; cultural and physical distance; and fragile social trust. We end with some essential operational guidelines for professionals managing or advising partnerships. As partnerships in development cooperation are becoming ever more important, there is a need for more professionalization. However, few studies have paid attention to the challenges professionals face and the way they can deal with them

Alliantievorming in ontwikkelingssamenwerking

Allianties tussen partijen uit het `rijke' Noorden en het `arme' Zuiden zijn `the name of the game' in de wereld van de ontwikkelingssamenwerking. Als activist, adviseur, financier of procesbegeleider pogen ontwikkelingswerkers deze allianties te initiëren, te begeleiden of erin te opereren. In dit artikel onderscheiden wij een aantal kenmerken die een bijzondere kleur geven aan het proces van alliantievorming binnen de context van ontwikkelingssamenwerking, te weten: ideologie en morele verontwaardiging; politiek beladen relaties; eenzijdige financiële afhankelijkheid; culturele en fysieke afstand en kwetsbaar sociaal vertrouwen. Aan de hand van twee cases over publiek-private allianties rond biologische katoen en `eerlijke soja' bespreken we op welke wijze ontwikkelingswerkers deze specifieke kenmerken ontmoeten en hoe ze daarmee omgaan

Producers organisations and market chains: Facilitating trajectories of change in developing countries

Governments and donors are paying increasing attention to the role of producer organisations in market chains. This book presents various approaches to supporting these organisations, with the main focus on developing countries. The topics covered include: organisational support for producer organisations; value-chain development with these organisations; and changes in their institutional environment