The challenge of HIV/AIDS: Where does agroforestry fit in? - World ...

Chapter 15: Sustainable agriculture and rural development133environmentally friendly rural industrializationcannot be promoted.The uptake of SARD in rural communitiesrequires close collaboration betweeneducation, extension, training and researchservice providers. The objective of creatinga learning community through participatoryaction research also requires the collaborationof line ministries, such as Health,Water, Community Services, etc. Too manygovernment development programmesare donor-dictated and short-term. Thereis a temporal infatuation with the latestparticipatory approach and time is seldomallowed for any of these systems to make alasting impact. Rural communities requirecommitted, dedicated and available developmentworkers who have vision and whosee their profession as a vocation rather thanjust a way to make a living.The experience of Baraka AgriculturalCollege shows that, even in times oflimited resources, there are innovativeways of providing rural communities withthe education, training and extensionservices necessary to achieve sustainabledevelopment.