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Example of Method
Figure T10 presents an example of the PIPA analysis undertaken for a dryland farming project in
Ghana. The Strategic Innovations in Dryland Farming (SIDF) Project aimed to improve income, labor,
land and water productivity for rural households (over 300,000 people) in an area of about 465,000
hectares in the Volta Basin in Northern Ghana.
The project theory of change was as follows: the outputs (from various R&D activities, including
training, relating to crop, soils, water and fish management) will be developed, adapted and
improved through participatory research. As early adopters see increases in income, time saving and
other benefits, they encourage their neighbors, friends and relatives. This leads to increasing
adoption and adaptation of project outputs from farmer to farmer, community to community, and
service provider to service provider.
Other important project components included:
• Improving domestic water supply so that women have more time to engage in income
generating activities;
• R& D efforts to reduce conflicts over communal water resources
• Development of institutional networks to extend project outputs
Key project outcomes expected were:
• Improved cropping systems and soil and water conservation practices;
• Improved utility of dugout canoes used for fishing;
• Construction and use of domestic water harvesting systems
• Improvements in the community management of water resources
It is expected that these outcomes will in turn lead to:
• Improved soil fertility and land/labor productivity;
• Women having more time for income generating activities;
• More water available for domestic needs;
• Adequate water for dry season agriculture;
• A reduction in water related diseases.
The following key risks and assumptions were identified:
• Farmer to farmer adoption occurs without the need for subsidies;
• Ministry of Food and Agriculture promotes project outputs after the project finishes;
• The National Varietal Release Committee approves the proposed project varieties.
It was reported that the PIPA exercise helped identify complementarities and synergies between the
various projects in the Volta Basin.
Source: Padi et al., 2006. http://boru.pbworks.com/f/PN06 Impact Narrative-4.DOC
Social Impact Assessment of Land-Based Carbon Projects (1.0) – Part II | 21