Income-Generating Activities - Action Against Hunger

Field handbook • Scientific and Technical Department
These shops can be created if certain conditions are met:
• Existence of sources of provision that enable the sales of goods at reasonable
prices for the local population
• Financial ability of the population to purchase the products offered
• Existence of local capacity and motivation to look after the shop
• The possibility of constructing or renovating a space that meets certain conditions
for storage that has easy access and is secure
The shop itself will be an IGA, and if it appears to be the best option, a local committee
could be set up to manage it, make a business plan, and define the accounting
procedures. The shop must generate enough income to cover its operation, unless
it is subsidized by a local producer’s organisation.
Example 17: Agricultural shops in Burundi
In 2005, in the province of Ruyigi, Burundi, ACF implemented an agricultural programme
to improve the food security of the families that returned after a relative
return to peace in the country. One of the main problems that the returning households
faced in reinitiating their agricultural activities was the lack of availability of
agricultural goods. The programme supported the creation of 3 IGA groups to start
up shops selling agricultural and veterinary products in main cities in the region.
With these shops, as well as improving the availability of goods for production, incomes
were generated for the 30 families involved in shop management.
The shops were given an initial capital, a distribution system was set up, and the
groups were trained in management. The seasonality of agricultural production
meant that constant incomes could not be generated, and this threatened the sustainability
of the shops. Therefore, it was decided to follow the suggestions of the
beneficiaries and to stock products for basic needs so that through these sales the
shops could stay in activity throughout the year.
iii. Other possibilities for access to goods
The management capacity of the vulnerable population may be quite low, and in
many cases the level of vulnerability is directly correlated to the existing capacity. To
improve the incomes of this sector of the population, it is not always suitable or accepted
to distribute productive goods that require more capacity than the potential
beneficiaries are able to assume.
In the first chapter, Example 3 shows a case in which the most vulnerable population
did not consider very attractive the creation of a village drying plant for rosehips that
they often collect, though this could have increased their incomes by improving the
sales conditions as the fruit would be dried. Instead they preferred that the management
INCOME GENERATING ACTIVITIES: A KEY CONCEPT IN SUSTAINABLE FOOD SECURTIY
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