RHoMIS
Lead Organization:
International Livestock Research Institute
Community of Practice:
Countries:
Bolivia and Peru
Duration:
5/2018—5/2020
Overview:
This project seeks to use a coherent set of AEI indicators, to support CCRP project and program assessment and facilitate efforts for synthesis and analysis of patterns across projects. CCRP projects and leadership have expertise in many key AEI areas and this project will leverage this expertise to refine a set of AEI indicators, as well as to test them with interested CCRP funded projects in the Andean region.This need aligns well with the flexible survey approach of RHoMIS, a cost-effective and rapid integrated assessment of farm practices and household-level welfare, which provides an implementation-ready solution for planning and monitoring indicators across a range of rural contexts in a systematic way. This will help to understand the role of AEI in the context of overall household level welfare (with a focus on income, food security, nutrition and gender equity) across a range of contrasting agricultural systems in the region. RHoMIS has recently been conducted in more than 16 countries by researchers and practioners to evaluate the effectiveness of their agricultural livelihood interventions. Though the RHoMIS framework is locally relevant for specific project applications, applying its core component provides a consistent characterization across systems. RHoMIS has developed and tested indicators to efficiently capture and analyze key aspects of farming systems. It has been extensively tested and used in sub-Saharan Africa and Central America. This will be its first test in the Andes. The tool consists of a core 45-minute survey that is intended to capture key areas like cropping system, family dynamics, nutrition, socio-economic status, and environmental characteristics. Optional modules address topics such as seed systems or pest management. The tool allows for local adaptation, such as using local knowledge to choose the best question for determining relative wealth (e.g. building materials used for housing, or owning a bike or motorcycle). The survey is adaptable to local language, crops, and other particulars. This project will adapt RHOMIS to Andean contexts. CCRP grantees in the Andes will be able to contribute to new modules pertaining to social networks, soil health, and market access. This project will support projects that are already conducting surveys so that they can be more efficient and effective at producing both local and global level data and evidence. It is not intended to replace other more participatory diagnostic methods.
Grant Aims:
Objective 1: Develop and implement a coherent set of AEI indicators in conjunction with interested grantees in the Andean Program.Outputs (Obj. 1):Overview report on the baselining results.Across- and within-project quantification of the AEI indicators.Consideration of further use of RHoMIS at CCRP program level.A well-documented database with the survey and indicator results. Objective 2: Apply the RHoMIS survey framework, including the set of AEI indicators in at least 5 contrasting projects within the Andes CoP, in order to:a. To improve the quality of project surveys in terms of length, appropriateness of questions, and integral assessment of farm household welfare.b. To use more coherent indicators across projects to facilitate the use of comparable approaches in developing farmer typologies and analyses.c. To make stronger claims about AEI effectiveness across contrasting systems.3. Capacity building of local partners for using digital survey tools and the set of AEI indicators, and for data analysis and interpretation.4. Evaluation of the survey tool, the indicators and the outreach procedures. Assessing how is this work useful for farmers, for partners/institutes and for McKnight CCRP itself.Outputs (Obj. 2):Elaboration of at least one report per project with key findings to improve the project’s surveying of farmers conditions and targeting AEI interventions.Two courses on use of digital information tools within smallholder/family farming setting.At least five projects and enumerator teams trained in the use of RHoMIS as a surveying tool at farm household level.Testing ways for farmers and their communities to access and use the data in meaningful ways