Participatory Evaluation of our 2008 - Action Against Hunger

of participants could be the ones actually trained in using the tool. At the same time, the tools used
for profitability analysis and enterprise selection need to be revisited to determine whether more
accessible approaches are possible. Toward this, at the end of the final workshop, the evaluation
team experimented on itself by trying two approaches to study crop selection using matrix scoring
as a possible alternative to the more complex approach promoted by FAO (see Appendix 3). A
final conclusion was not reached on the best tool or approach, but the team was convinced that the
experiment offered a good model for how enterprise selection could be more participatory and
methodologically accessible in the future. The team is also convinced that more participatory
approaches to analytical decision making will help ensure that similarly accessible approaches
have a better chance of being replicated independently in the future. One group (Acan Dano) even
said that they cannot remember the specific measurement required for groundnut rows and
spaces. This sounded exaggerated at the time, but led the team to question whether more
emphasis could be given to ‘local’ measurements in the future (steps, hands, arm lengths, etc)
alongside the usual ‘scientific’ units like centimetres and kilograms.
The timing of group meetings and training is also an important factor influencing the impact of
intended learning opportunities. Stated female/male preferences for meeting/training times reflect
gender divisions of labour, with women usually indicating that afternoons were better (between
digging in their garden and preparing household food) and men generally suggesting that mornings
were better. The rationale for these preferences was not explored for lack of time, but would be
interesting to understand for future planning. Figure 5 summarises the preferred versus actual
meeting times for the 12 FFS groups, suggesting that women’s preferences were met more than
men’s.
Figure 5. Comparison of preferred and actual group meeting times
Group Female Preference Male Preference Actual Meeting Time
Pur En Lonyo 11:00 – 14.00 10:00 – 14:00 10:00 – 13:30
Too Ipur 07:00 – 09:00 08:30 – 10:00 10:00 – 12:00
Adag Ajonga 14:00 – 15:00 11:00 – 12:00 12:00 – 13:00
Kok Can Ikweri 14:00 – 16:00 10:00 – 13:00 14:00 – 16:00
Can Opwonya 14:00 – 15:00 10:00 – 11:00 11:00 – 12:00
Apit Pe Ool 11:00 – 12:00 11:00 – 12:00 11:00 – 12:00
Odiro 14:00 – 16:00 14:00 – 17:00 14:00 – 16:00
Acan Dano 14:00 – 16:00 10:00 – 12:00 14:00 – 16:00
Ocan Mito Kony 14:00 – 16:00 13:00 – 16:00 14:00 – 17:00
Acan Pe Nino 13:00 – 15:00 11:00 – 13:00 14:00 – 17:00
Can Coa 14:00 – 15:00 12:00 – 13:00 14:00 – 15:00
Acan Kwette 14:00 – 15:00 11:00 – 12:00 14:00 – 15:00
In addition to meetings tending toward preferred female times, staff all agree that male participants
had poorer attendance than female, regardless whether the group was predominantly male or
female. (The team was unable to locate the group attendance reports to validate this assumption).
Staff and participants alike agree that women are in general more reliable, to which staff add that
the more female members a group has the better its chances of success. Based on reports of
better female attendance than men, women had more opportunities to engage with the programme
and its opportunities for facilitated learning. Women nonetheless agreed that all participants should
be involved in all training components without trying to specify which are more appropriate to which
sex, despite that most activities are typically divided along predictable gender lines. The team
explored this theme in greater detail during its final workshop and established the following
summary of gendered roles in agriculture:
Action Against Hunger Uganda - 21 - Farmer Field School Evaluation