MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, LTVESTOCK AND NATURAL RESOURCES

ZANZTBAR CASH CROPSX'ARMTNGSYSTEMSPROJECT (ZCCFSP)

MARCH 1995

SOCIO-ECONOMICRESEARCH
AND MONITORING
ONPEMBAAND UNGUJA
SocialAnthropologist'sInception Report

BY: Martin Walsh

zccFsP
PO BOX 2283
Ztnzibal.

Telephone: (054) 33121

Fax : (054) 33121
 CONTENTS
Page

Preface 2

Acronyms 2

INTRODUCTION J

INITIAL TASKS J

Introductionsand Institutional Review J

Contactwith Anthropologistsand Other Researchers 5

Library Researchand Literahre Review 5

Review of Socio-economicResearchand Monitoring in ZCCFSP 6

Socio-economicResearchand the Socio-economicsSection 6

ThePM Programme

Farming Systemsand Fanning SystemsZones 8

Itealth Ranbing 11

Monitoring Systems t4

WORKPI.AN l5

Monitoring of Trials l5

CashCropCaseStudies l6

Researchon HouseholdResourceFlows andAllocations l8

Individual CaseSndies l8

CommunityCaseStudies t8

PRAs and the FarmingSystemsZones 19

FarmerResearchGroups l9

ZCCFSPResearchMethodoloeies 20

StaffTraining 20

SocialDevelopmentIssues 2l

References 22

Arnex l: Termsof Referencefor the ZCCFSPSocialAnthropologist 24

Arnex 2: First Workplan for the ZCCFSPSocialAnthropologist 25

Annex 3: Formal Meetingsand Contacts 26

Annex 4: Anthropologistsand Other Researchers 29

 PREFACE

It was agreedwith the ZCCFSPField Managerthat in view of their overlapping

content the bnef Situation Summary Report being prepared by the Social
Anthropologistfor the end of Novembershould be combinedwith lns Inception
Report, due in March 1995 (seethe earlierworkplan in Annex 2). The following
reportis the outcomeof that decision.

Here I would like to take the opportunityto thank all of my colleaguesfor their warrn
and friendlywelcometo Zamibu and ZCCFSPand for providingan atmospherein
which work is enjoyableand neverlackingin fruitful debate. Let us hope that the
peopleof Zaruibarwill benefitthereby.

Martin Walsh
ZCCFSPSocialAnthropologist
Wete,Pemba
March1995

ACROI\-YMS

APOS AssociateProfessional
OfficerScheme
BDDEA BritishDevelopment
DMsion in EasternAfrica
GTZ GermanAgencyfor TechnicalCo-operationLtd.
FINNIDA FinnishlnternationalDevelopmentAgency
FRGs FarmerResearchGroups
FS FarmingSystems
IFAD InternationalFundfor AgriculturalDevelopment
MALNR Ministry of Agriculture,LivestockandNatural Resources
NCDP NationalCoconutDevelopment
Programme
NRI NaturalResourcesInstitute
ODA Development
Overseas Administration
PRA ParticipatoryRuralAppraisal
TCO TechnicalCo-operationOfficer
ZCCFSP Zamibu CashCropsFarmingSystems
Project
ZEDO ZanzibarEnterpriseDevelopment
Organisation
INTRODUCTION

l. The Zarnbar CashCropsFarmingSystemsProject(ZCCFSP)beganin November

1991with the primaryobjectiveof identifyinganddevelopingalternativeexport crops
to cloves. Followingthe recommendations of a Mid-termReviewheld in November-
December1993this objectivewasbroadened anda revisedProjectFrameworkfor the
periodNovember1993to November1995was drawnup. This describedthe project
asfollows.
'A multi-disciplinary
team,within the Researchsub-commission of the
MALNR [Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources]
will conductresearchinto: cashcropswithin the farmingsystemsof the
two islands;and marketingsystems. The aim of the project is to
develop:the contributionof cashcropsto householdincomeandto the
wider economy;the capacityof the public andprivate sectorto conduct
research;andthe capacltyofthe privatesectorto trade in agricultural
produce."

2, The Mid-term Review also recommendedthe appointment of a social

anthropologist(TCO) for the remainderof the project. Recruitmentby NRI took
placein nrd-1994andled to the appointmentof the authorof this report. I arrivedin
Zaruibw,Ungujaisland,on29 Augustandproceeded to post at Wete on Pembaisland
on 2 September 1994. Sincethen,andfollowingmy termsof reference(reproducedin
Annexl), I havebeenengagedin work on both islands.

3. This situationsummaryreport describesthe major initial tasksundertakento the

end of November 1994 and outlines a workplan for future work togther with the
socio-economics sectionof ZCCFSP. As suchit completesthe workplanfor October
andNovemberdrawnup duringthe visit of the ProjectManagerin September1994
andaddsto andmodifiesthe projectionscontainedtherein(seeBarret 1994,paragraph
18,andAnnex2).

INITIAL TASKS

Introductions and Institutional Review

4. A seriesof visitswasmadeto differentprojectsanddepartments within MALNR as

well as somein other ministriesand non-govemment agencies.Most of thesevisits
took the form of official appointments,
thoughthis was not exclusivelythe case. On
Pemba I was accompaniedby SuleimanSheheand occasionallyAweina Omar,
colleagues in the socio-economicssectionof ZCCFSP.On Ungujavisitsweremadein
the companyof the new ZCCFSPmarketingeconomist,Peter Oldham,sometimes
togetherwith his counterpartin the Mnistry of Trade,Industriesand Marketing, Jihad
Abdullahi.
5. Other generalmeetingsprovidedthe opportunityto make further contactswith
ministry staff and have both formal and informal discussionswith them. These
meetings included the Unguja Farming SystemsZones Workshop in Kizimbani
(2019194), the ResearchandExtension2nd Co-ordinatingMeetingin Wete (2519194),
the PembaFarming SystemsZonesWorkshopin Wawi (lllll94), the visit of the
British High Commisionerto ZCCFSPPemba(I5llll94) andthe first meetingof the
FarmingSystems ZonesWorkingGroupin Wete(24llll94).

6. Annex3 list the namesof the peoplemet,togetherwith their positions,institutions

andthe datesdiscussions
wereheld.

7. The purposeof these appointmentsand discussionswas manifold. First, to

introducemyselfand my colleagues, the currentwork of ZCCFSPand our own work
within it. Second,to gatherbasicinformationaboutother projectsand departments,
especiallywithin MALN& and learn about their current objectivesand programmes,
personneland institutionalstructuresand other relevantcharacteristics.Third, to
review points of contact,both existingandpotential,betweentheir own work and that
of ZCCFSPincludingits socio-economics section. Fourth, to benefitfrom the wide
experienceof the indMduals met with and the general insights into social and
economicdevelopment inZamibar whichtheycouldprovide.

8. The discussions held were thereforetypically wide-ranging. They providedan

excellentinsightinto the institutionalstructureandcapacityof MALNR and the varied
activities,past,presentandprojected,of its manyconstituentparts. Theyprovidedan
opportunityto discussZCCFSP'sown work, to understandexternalperceptionsof it
and to explain its current objectivesand programme. They provided many detailed
observationsaboutagriculturalproductionandmarketingandthe social,economicand
other factorswhich impingeupon these.However,they also revealeda generalfailure
to incorporatesocio-economic andanthropological researchandmonitoring,including
a concernwith genderissues,into projectactivities.

9. Someprojectsanddepartments wereableto providedataof relevanceto our work.

The most usefulof thesewere recentsurveyand censusresultsnot in the ZCCFSP
libraries. It is clearthat most of the project-orientedsocio-economicresearchwhich
hasbeendonein recentyearshasbeenbasedupon formal questionnaires and surveys.
By contrasttherehasbeenvery little qualitativeor anthropological research,especially
within MALNR and its projects. The current capacltyfor conductingthis type of
researchis thereforealmostnon-existent.

10. To detailall of the subjectsdiscussed the mainpointswhich

or evento summarise
emergedwould constitutea reportin itself. Whererelevantthesewill be incorporated
into futurereports.

I l. Individualmeetingsanddiscussionsof this kind outsidethe usualframeof ministry

and project work are evidentlyof somevalue, as an ongoing activity and not just as
part of a newcomer'sfamiliarisation
process.A numberof individualsandinstitutions,
especiallyon Unguja and outside MALN& could not be contacted or were not
availableduring this round of meetings,and I therefore anticipate making further
appointments in the future.

Contact with Anthropologistsand Other Researchers

12. Giventhe generallack of qualitative(andhigh qualrty)researchreferredto above

(paragraph9), a determinedeffort hasbeenmadeto locateother anthropologists and
academicresearchers who areworking inZar.z:ibwor havedoneso in the recentpast-
with a view to finding out what up-to-dateinformationis available,publishedor
otherwise. A list of overseasresearchers, togetherwith a brief descriptionof the
is givenin Annex4.
principalsubjectsof their research,

13. Most of thoselisted have alreadybeencontacted. a few remainto be traced.

Someof their researchis directlyrelevantto my own and vice versa,and it is hoped
that a fruitful exchangeof ideasandinformationwill result. It is particularyheartening
to note that manyof theseresearchers are interestedin genderissues,and this should
providea usefulsourceof inspirationandcorrectiveto the currentlack of emphasis on
women in developmentin project-orientedresearchwithin MALNR and other
ministries.

Library Researchand Literature Review

14. Beforeembarkingfor Zannbu I begana reviewof the anthropological andrelated

literatureon the islandsandtheir peopleusingthe Universityof SussexandInstituteof
DevelopmentStudieslibraries,together with my own collection. In the liule spare
time availableI have continuedwith this work in Zanabar, consultingunpublished
archivesandreadingthroughthe 'grey' (development) literatureaswell. Smith(1992)
is a usefulintroductionto both publishedandunpublished material,thoughhis focusis
restrictedto agriculturalresearchand developmentnarrowly understood. In addition
to ZCCFSP'sown librarieson Pembaand Unguja,a numberof librariesin Zannbar
town have been used: the Natural History Museum library, the Zamibiu National
Archives,the Zamibartown public library and the privatecollectionof Mzee M. A.
Ghassany(ExecutiveChairmanof the CashCropsandFruit Authority and an authority
on the historyof MALNR andagricultureinZamibu).

15. This work is ongoing. It is alreadyapparent,however,that a lot of the relevant

literature is not availablelocally. In future it may thereforebe desirableto visit the
librariesin the University of Dar es Salaam(thoughaccessis difficult), the University
of Nairobi (the mainlibrary andthe Institute of African Studies),the British Institute in
EasternAfrica (alsoNairobi)andthe libraryof Fort JesusMuseumin Mombasa.This
will be done if and when opportunity arisesand preferablyin conjuction with other
activities. Otherwisereadilyavailableitems(that canbe photocopiedin the UK) will
be orderedthroughNRI.

16. Although the historiansand others have kept fairly busy, there has been a
surprisinglack lack of professionalanthropologicalresearchon both Pembaand
Unguja,especiallyresearchwhich is action-oriented.The classicpiece of research
remainsMiddleton's(1961)studyof landtenure,basedupon threemonths'work for
the colonialgovernmentin 1958. This underlinesthe potentialwider importanceof
appliedanthropologicalresearchundertakenwithin ZCCFSP,and the needto ensure
its dissemination
throughoutMALNR andother institutionswhich might benefit.

Reviewof Socio-economic
Researchand Monitoring in ZCCFSP

Socio-economic
Researchand the Socio-economics
Section

17. A lot of valuablesocio-economic researchhas alreadybeenundertakenwithin

ZCCFSP. Much of this hastakenthe form of one-offstudieswritten up into reports.
Theseinclude,for example,studiesof rural incomeearningopportunitiesinZat:r;ibar
and of marketingandtransporton Pemba(Fox and Packham1994; Fox et al. 1993).
In somecasesthesestudiesraiseas many questionsas they solve,a good example
beingthe whereabouts of the "missingmiddlemen"of Pembaisland(Fox el al. 1993.
paragraph28). Nonetheless they providea wealth of basicbackgroundinformation
and,asin the casejust mentioned,form an excellentstartingpoint for furtherresearch.

18. Researchof this kind has typically been led by expatriateproject stafl and
sometimesby outside consultants. This is perhapsunavoidableunder current
circumstances, giventhe fact that almostall of the MALNR project counterpartscome
from a backgroundof training in agriculture,agronomyand relatedsubjects,there
being a markedabsenceof economistsand otherstrainedin the social sciencesamong
the local staff It will be difficult to provide all of the training that is needed,whether
on-the-jobor offit, duringthe remaininglife of the project. The alternativeis to draft
in Zamibais who alreadyhavethe appropriatequalificationsin terms of their training
and/orwork experience.This would probablymeanrecruitingoutsideof MALNR: a
backgroundin agronomyis not necessary at all, ratheran understanding of the basic
methodsandprinciplesof socialscienceor economics, dependingon the positionto be
filled.

19. At presentZCCFSPcomprisesa multi-disciplinary teamof expatriatesanda more

or lessmono-disciplinary
teamof local staffassigned to differentdisciplinaryfunctions
(in the agronomy,post-harvestand socio-economics sections). Unlessa concerted
effort is madeto changethis imbalance,it will be difficult for MALNR to sustainthe
multi-disciplinaryemphasisof ZCCFSP's farming systems approach when the
expatriatesleave.

20. As currentlyconstitutedthe socio-economics sectioncomprisestwo counterparts

on Pembaand four (threeactive) on Unguja. Early indicationsare that they may have
difficulty in meetingthe increasedworkload resulting from the arrival of the TCO
social anthropologrstand marketingeconomist,both of whom are detailedto work
with the socio-economics section. It maybe relevantto mentionherethat they share
with other MALNR staff the problemof low salariesand lack of incentives. Some
membersof the socio-economics sectionhave shown themselveswining to work
-
longerhoursthan usual for examplein caseswhereit is easierto interviewfarmersin
6
the late afternoonthan during office hours - but feel that they are offered insufficient
incentivesto do so. In this caseit may be worth reviewingcurrent practiceand
eliciting the views and suggestionsof staff more systematicallythan hashitherto been
the case.

ThePM Programme

21. Betweenmid-1992andmid-1993ZCCFSPorganised a progranrme of ten village

Participatory Rural Appraisals (PRAs, otherwise referred to as PlRRAs,
Rural Appraisals),five on eachisland. As describedin the final
Participatory/Rapid
report (Thomas1993),the PRA progranrme was a resoundingsuccessand achieveda
numberof importantobjectives. wealth of informationwas gatheredin the ten
A
communities studied,includinga lot of socio-economicinformationanddescriptionsof
the constraintsupon cash croppingin each of these areas. This informationhas
provideda considerable boost to ZCCFSP'sunderstanding of local farmingsystems,
and hasalsomadea crucialcontributionto the definitionand descriptionof farming
systemszoneson the two islands.

22. The PRAsalsohad an importantinstitutionalimpact. They involvedthe training

of staff from different sectionsin MALNR in the methodologyof PRAs and their
subsequentcollaborationin multi-disciplinaryPRA teams working in the field, a
considerabledeviationfrom traditional MALNR practice. As a result the PRA
programmehad a direct impact upon the 36 individualparticipantsas well as an
indirect impactupon MALNR as a whole in that it helpedto disseminatethe farming
systemsapproachfosteredby ZCCFSP.

23. Theway in whichPRAswereusedby ZCCFSPwas somewhatdifferentfrom that

prescribedin muchof the literature,andthis wasthe subjectof somediscussionat the
time betweenproject staff and various external advisers. The primary objective of
PRAs is often taken to be to provide a meansby which local communitiescan
participatein preparingand implementingplans for action based upon a rapid
assessment of their problemsand prioritisationof their needs- the reasoningbehind
this being that locally plannedand managedinterventionsare more likely to succeed
than solutionsand projectsimposedfrom outsidethe community. ZCCFSP'sPRA
prograrnmedid not leadto the formationof actionplansor indeedactionsof anykind
in mostof the villagesinvolved. Oneimportantexceptionhasbeenin Dayaon Pemba
wherea farmer'sresearchgrouphasbeenformedwhichhasbeenableto act, with the
helpof ZCCFSP,on someof the problemsidentifiedduringthe villagePRA conducted
therein November1992. Otherwisethe communitieswhich were the subjectsof PRAs
havenot benefiteddirectlyfrom the exercise,thoughthey may do so indirectlybecause
of the long-termimpactsof the PRA programmeas a whole on MALNR policy and
practice.

24. Arguablythe correctrole for PRAs in MALNR is as a tool to be usedby the

extensionservice,working in collaborationwith the researchsections,to identify and
prioritiselocal problemsand take action upon them in close collaborationwith the
community. However, glven current institutional constraints, including limited
7
resources,it is unlikelythat anythinglike an action-orientedPRA progranrmecould be
developedwithin MALNR andits ExtensionSub-commission at present.

25. Critics may argue that there was therefore a mismatchin ZCCFSP'sPRA
programmebetweenthe methodused andthe intendedobjectives. To the extentthat
this mismatchwas not evident - the method did, after all, attain various project
objectives- then it did not matter. However,we haveno recordof what most of the
participatingvillagersthink aboutthe outcome,or what may seemto them a lack of
outcome. Accordingto recentreports"surveyfatigue"hasbecomeprevalentin some
areasof Unguja,and it is not impossiblethat the PRA programmehascontributedto
this. The mismatchalso meansthat ZCCFSPhas trained MALNR stafl including
manyof its own, to think of PRAs primarilyas researchtools, when in fact they are
not. During workshopsand meetingson the descriptionof farming systemszones
researchersboth within andoutsideof ZCCFSPhavebeenquickto suggestPRAsas a
way of gathering moreinformationon thesezones,especiallythosezoneswhich have
not alreadyhadPRAsconductedwithin them(howeverseeparagraph77 below).

26. VillagePRAsmaynot thereforebe the mostappropriateway eitherto do research

or to train staff in future. This is not to saythat villagePRAs haveno placewithin
MALNR or that different PRA methodscan have no role in research. As Robert
Chambers pointedout in a discussion of this issuewith the FieldManagerPRAsdo not
havenorms (though the literature hastendedto createthese)but can and shouldbe
adaptedto differentcircumstances. However,if PRA tools areto be usedin research
then they shouldbe carefullyselectedand applied(for further discussionof one of
thesemethods,wealthranking,seeparagraphs 36-47below). One of the advantages
of working with farmer research groups is that many of the pitfalls referredto above
can be avoided: it is possibleto conductresearchusing a variety of methodologies
while alsohelpingto find solutionsto groupmembers'problems.At the sametime it
is possibleto fosteranddevelopstaffmembers'useof participatorymethodsaswell as
to stimulatecollaborationbetweendifferentsectionsof MALNR.

Farming Systemsand Farming SystemsZones

27. ZCCFSP,as its title implies,uses and actively promotesa farming systems
approach.Onedevelopment of this hasbeenthe dMsion of both islandsinto farming
systems zones (currently five on Pembaand four on Unguja) and various efforts
designedto securethe acceptance of theseas research,planningand extensiontools
within MALNR. The latest quarterly report (ZCCFSP1994)recognises that this will
be a long-termprocess,and I agree. However,I alsohave somereservationsabout
our definition and use of farming systemszones,and this is probablya good placeto
statethem.

28. To an experienced anthropologistfarmingsystemsare a statementand often a

simplificationofthe obvious. Thevalueof farmingsystemsresearchis in introducinga
more holistic perspectiveto agronomistsand in encouraginga definite move away
from the traditionalprotocolsof agriculturalresearchtowardsa moreparticipatoryon-
farm and farmer-sensitive practice. This is alsothe major significanceof ZCCFSP's
8
approachwithin MALNR, which has been dominatedhistorically by on-station and
researcher-led
research.

29. The definition of farming systemsper se, however,is a tricky business. I

understandfarming systemsas a convenientshorthandfor refening to farmers and
where they farm and what they farm and how they farm and what they do with their
produce. This is perfectlyintelligible: the difficulty comesin tryrng to put this into
practiceby distinguishingone farmingsystemfrom another. The problem,in other
words,liesin convertingthe generaldefinitioninto guidelinesfor classification.

30. A quick glanceat the literatureindicatesthat differentresearchers give priority to

differentcriteria. The NCDP-sponsored surveyconductedon both islandsin 1988
resultedin the choice of land tenure statusas the main criteria for defining farming
systems.Variousareas,however,were excludedfrom the survey- Zamibartown, the
coral rag, and irrigated rice- and sugarcane-growing areas- and it is not clear what
criteria (other than lack of potential for coconut production)were employedin
excludingthem or how they might be treatedin the classificationof farming systems
(Wirth et al. 1988). A subsequent (1989)NCDP surveyof the coral rag areasled to
the rejectionof landtenurestatusas the principalcriterionand an alternativeanalysis
basedupon a ratherconfusingmixtureof variables:'typical coral rag farms" (with a
very high proportion of coral rag land) versusothers,male- versusfemale-headed
households,andfarmson Pembaversusfarmson Unguja(Krain et al. 1992).

31. Here it might be pointedout that ZCCFSPhasneverproducedits own coherent

classificationof farming systems.An early report (Thomas 1992) emphasisedthe
importanceof "householdfarming systems"over the "land use systems"used by
NCDP and others. Following the PRA prognunme,however, a classificationof
householdfarmingsystemswas suggested whichwasbasedon the combinationof two
different setsof features: the identificationof four different householdwealth groups
throughoutrural Zarmbarplus the division of the islandsinto seven'broad agro-
ecologicalsystems",threeon Pembaandfour on Unguja. As statedin the final report
of the PRA programmethis would gwe a total of 28 householdfarming systems,
recognisingthat further researchwould be required to confirm and develop this
analysis(Thomas1993,puagraphs29-31).The householdwealthgroupswere based
upon the resultsof wealthrankingexercisesconductedaspart of the ten village PRAs.
The methodologyand practiceof wealthrankingsuffersfrom a numberof problems,
and I will discussthesebelow (see paragraphs36-47). In any event the use of
householdwealth groupsin this way to developa classificationof farming systems
proved impracticable,and the idea was quietly dropped. The "agro-ecological
systems",however,remained,and,aftervariouschangesandrefinements, includingthe
integration of economic information derived from ZCCFSP studies, they have
metamorphosed into our nine farming systemszones. Although this is not made
explicit,the imptcation is that thesezonesrepresentdifferentfarmingsystems.

32. This brings me to my first major difficulty with the conceptof farming system
zones. It seemsto me that a "farming systemszone" is a contradictionin terms and
that the ZCCFSPzonesare really agro-economic zonesor land use systemshiding
behinda falsename. This shouldbe evidentfrom the historyjust outlinedand the
9
gradualchangein emphasisfrom householdfarmingsystemsto farmingsystemszones.
Moreover the reasoningbehindmy argumentis anticipatedand set out quite clearly in
the earlierreport:
"In Zar:r;tbara distinctionmust be drawn between"land use systems"
and"householdfarmingsystems".Thisis very important,asalthoughit
is relativelyeasyto identify differentland use systemsrelatedto their
geographical location, physical environment and land tenure
arrangements,it is quite another thing to differentiate between
households,as the majority of householdswill use severaldifferent
"land use systems". ZCCFSPneedsto work with householdsrather
than areas,as households makethe decisionsaboutfarmingactivities"
(Thomas1992:l-2).

33. Agro-economicfactors have been given priority in drawing up the ZCCFSP

farmingsystemszones,not only becausemanyof the socio-economic variablesremain
unknown, but becauseit would be very difficult to fit them into zones even if they
were. This doesnot meanthat we shouldabandonthe zonesor even,at this late stage,
changetheir name;but we shouldrecognisethem for what they are and be aware of
their limitations. Oneof theselimitationsis that they do not necessarily
form the best
framework for undertakingsocio-economicand anthropologicalresearchnor for
makinginterventionswhich have socialdevelopmentissuesas one of their primary
concerns.

34. I haveanother,related,reservationaboutthe promotionof zonalplanningwithin

MALNR which also relatesback to my earlier observationsabout village PRAs (see
paragraphs2l-26 above). Pemba and Unguja comprise a patchwork of local
communitieswhich sharemany featureswith their nearestneighboursbut also differ
from one anotherin numerousways,a fact underlinedby the village PRAs. Thereare
also differentways of simpliSing this situationfor the purposesof research,planning
and actualintervention.During the colonialperiod,for example,it was commonfor
racial and ethnic criteria to be employed. The most widely acceptedand used
classificationhasotherwisebeenthe distinctionbetweenurbanand rural Zamrbar and
zones,the plantationareas
the divisionof the latter into two principalagro-ecological
andthe coral rag. ZCCFSP'sfarmingsystemzonesrepresenta further refinementof
with otheragro-economic
this classification, factorsadded. Thereis danger,however,
that the useof thesezonesfor planningwill foster insensitivityto local differencesand
needs. It is ironic that villagePRAs,a planningtool designedto maximisesensitivity
to local requirements, have and are being usedby the project to help definemuch
largerplanningunits.

35. I would suggestthat this is a questionwhich deservesseriousconsideration before

ZCCFSP attemptsto coax MALNR into a zonal future. The recruitment of zonal
planners,for example,eitherto supplantor supplementdistrict agriculturalofficers,
would do little to increaseresponsiveness to local needsand opporhrnitiesunless
accompanied by radicallynew working methodswhich did not stop at the level of the
zone. I havealreadysuggested (in paragraphT4above)that villagePRAs(or slimmed
down, more topicalversionsthereof)usedby the extensionservicemight be one of
l0
thesemethods. It might thereforemakemore sensefor ZCCFSPto concentrateon
encouragingExtensionand othersto implementa participatoryapproachwithin the
existinginstitutionalframeworkthan to spenda lot of time in attemptingto createa
newframeworkbaseduponfarmingsystems(readagro-economic) zones.

WealthRanking

36. Wealth ranking exerciseswere an important componentof the village PRAS

undertakenby ZCCFSPin 1992-93.Theyhavesincebeenusedasan independent tool
in helpingto monitorthe impactof the pilot trials on Pemba.The primaryobjectiveof
wealthrankingin this contexthasbeento providea rapid assessment of the statusof
farmersparticipatingin the trials vis-d-visone anotherand other communitymembers
so that the role of relative wealth and poverty in determiningtheir participationand
performance in the trials canbe appraised.Threesuchexercises havebeencompleted
-
sinceJune1994 in Kengeja(the siteof a cinnamontrial), Msuka(alsocinnamon),and
Mkanyageni(blackpepper)

37. Theseexercises haveprovidedinterestinginsightsinto local perceptionsof wealth.

Their appropriateness as a monitoringtool, however,is doubtful, especiallyglven
variousproblemsin their useandapplication.Thefollowingcommentsarebasedupon
my own observationsof the Mkanyageniexerciseand an analysisof the data and
written reportsfor all threePembarankings. I havechosento discusstheseat some
lengthbecause they raiseimportantpointsaboutthe relationbetweenthe objectivesof
monitoring,the methodswhichshouldbeused,andour capacrtyto usethem.

38. I will beginby focusrngupon the actualperformanceof the exercises.A first

problemhingesupon the choiceof households which are to be ranked. Ideally this
would compriseall of the households in the communityin which the trial participants
live, andwould includeall of the participants'own households.On Pembaandin the
context of the pilot trials, however, this is not very easyto achieve. Many rural
communitieson the island do not form discreteor boundedentitiesbut comprise
scatteredhamletsinhabitedby groups of close kin, with other, less cohesive,
settlements typicallystrungout alongthe mainroads. The homesof trial participants
are therefore likely to be scatteredover a wide area and a large number of local
hamletsandothersettlements.Thetotal numberof households in the areain which all
of the participantslive thus frequentlyexceedsthe numberwhich can be treated in a
singlerankingexercise(not much more than 100 householdsin total). As a result
ZCCFSPresearchers havehadto excludesometrial participants'households from the
rankingexercises andonly a subsample of the subjectsof our monitoringareranked(in
two cases thana third of the total). This meansthat we canonly thenlook at the
less
role of wealthrank within this subsample of trial participants.The othershaveto be
excludedfrom anyanalysisbasedupontheseexercises.

39. This problem does not usually arise in wealth ranking exercisesbecausea
scatteredtargetpopulation(in this caseour trial participants)is not normallystipulated
in advance. This problemdid not thereforearisein the villagePRAs (althoughthe
wealth ranking exercisesconducted in these suffered from their own sampling
11
problems).In the contextof the trialsthereis no way to solvethis problem: all of the
participants'householdsmightbe coveredby a seriesof wealthrankingexercises, but
this would only createanotherproblem,deriving from the fact that separatewealth
rankingexercisescanbe comparedbut not combinedinto a singleset of figuresand
thereforeranks. This is not to mentionthe additionaltime which more than one
rankingexercisewould take.

40. In the Msukaexercisethis is what in fact happened.The residentialscatterof trial

participantsled to the choiceof two locations,Sebleniand Kichakapumu,in which
separatewealthrankingexercises were conducted(andevenso only 13 out of a total
of 46 originaltrid participants were included).The two rankingswere then combined
into one, an invalidprocedure.Moreoverthe numberof households in eachexercise
was too small (31 in each place)while in Kichakapumutwo of the informantsonly
rankedthe households into two groups,anotherinvalidprocedure.Theseprocedural
elrors unfortunatelyinvalidatethe whole exercise,thoughthey shouldbe thought of as
a consequence of the geographyof settlementin the Msuka areaas of anythingelse.
The scatterof participantsled to the choiceof two settlements,
while the smallnumber
of householdsin eachof theseled to the smallsamplesize and the inability of two
informantsto distinguishmorethantwo wealthranksin oneof them.

41. The choiceof informantscanalsobe a sourceof bias. All threeinformantsin the

Mkanyageniexerciseweremenin the sameagegroup (late 20s,early30s),and might
be expectedto have more similar perceptionsthan three or more informantsof
differentagesand gender. A further biaswas introducedby the fact that the first two
informantswere interviewedin the presenceof one another. Not surprisingly,
therefore,they selectedthe samenumberof wealthgroups,employedthe samecriteria
in differentiating
them,andagreedin their allocationsof almostall the 108households
they were askedto rank. The third informant was interviewedlater, but also in the
presenceof the first two. Ideallyotherinformantsaswell asexternalobserversshould
not be in attendance, becausetheir very presence
might biasan informant'sresponses.
Other factors may also bias the results, including informants' perceptionsof
researchersthe responsesthey are assumedto want or, indeed,may suggestby
promptingor askingleadingquestions.The existenceof so manypotentialsourcesof
bias naturally reducesconfidencein the validity of the rankingsproduced by these
exercises.

42. Analysisof the dataalsohasits problems,somemore seriousthan others. One

problemis the time takento completethe analysisandwrite the 2-3 pagereports. In
the Mkanyagenicasethis took morethantwo weeks,althoughit mustbe saidthat this
is consistentwith the generalpaceof work on Pemba,and so is not a problemfor the
wealthrankingexercises alone.

43. Far more seriousthan this, however,is what I considerto be a flaw in the
methodologyof wealth ranking. This concernsthe last and crucial stepin analysis,the
final groupingof householdsinto wealth strataas an average(which is basedupon
conversioninto numericalvalues)of the differentranksassignedto them by individual
informants. The locus classicuson wealthrankingoffers the following adviceon how
to proceedafterassigning averagescoresto the households beingranked:
t2
 "The next stepis to list the householdnumbersaccordingto their score
from the smallestnumberto 100, which is from richest to poorest.
Next the households needto be groupedinto a numberof wealthstrata.
(To use the absolutescoresobtainedwould not be valid but would
representa falsedegreeof accuracy.)As a rule of thumb,the number
of final groupsshouldnot be more than the averagenumber[of] piles
usedby the informants.It canbe fewer,dependingon the researcher's
interests,but not lessthanthree. Normally,for easeof comparison, the
size of the final groups shouldbe roughly equal. When the size of
groupscannotbe equalbecauseof the clusteringof scores,it is better
for the middle group or groups to be larger and the extremes
(richest/poorest)to be slightlysmaller."(Grandin1988:30)

44. This is very impreciseadvice,and in effectleavestoo muchto the whim of the

analyst(s). In the Mkanyagenicasethis manifesteditself as follows, When the
informantswere askedto rankthe 108households, they eachplacedonly two or three
households in the wealthiestof four categories.Their descriptionsafterwardsleft no
doubt that these householdswere led by very wealthy individuals with significant
businessinterestsandconsiderable resourcesat their disposal,andthat they stoodout
in this way from most of their fellows. Subsequentanalysisof the Mkanyagenidata,
however,produceda final wealthrankingin which the wealthieststratumcontained3l
households.Therewas thus a markeddiscrepancy betweeninformants'perceptions
andthe analysiswhich resulted. It might be saidthat this kind of discrepancy canbe
avoidedby an experiencedresearcher.However,the fact that it can occur at all must
be ascribedto the imprecisionof the method. As an experimentI reanalysed the data
from this and other wealthrankingsandfound it quite difficult in a numberof casesto
identify unequivocalcut-off points at which to separatedifferentstrata. I conclude
that it would be relativelyeasyfor differentanalyststo producevery differentanalyses,
restingupon quite arbitrarydecisionsaboutcut-off points or the other factorswhich
Grandinsuggests oughtto be considered.

45. As a resultwealthrankingis liableto be very mucha hit-and-missaffair. It can

also leadto a very falseimpressionof the significanceof wealth differencesin rural
communities,suggestinga patternof permanentor incipientdifferentiationwhere in
fact theremaybe noneat all. This is because the methodof wealthrankingrestsupon
the synchronic classificationof households without consideringdMsions within the
household(for examplethe different accessof husbandsand wives to household
resources), the patternof relationsbetweenthem(for examplethe poolingof resources
within largerdomesticgroups),andthe evolutionof households andof thesedivisions
and relationsover time. Thereforemany of the apparentdifferencesbetweenstrata
(assumingtheir identificationto be unproblematic) might be a simplereflectionof the
fact that the householdswithin themare at differentstagesof the developmentalcycle.

46. This certainlyseemsto havebeenthe casein Mkanyageni.It was noticeablethat

amongthe principalcriteriausedby informantsto classifyhouseholdswere the age,
sex and marital statusof the householdhead. The secondstratumwas dominatedby
householdswith relativelyyoung and active male householdheads,the third by
l3
households with olderandlessactivemalehouseholdheads,andthe fourth by widows
andold people with a limitedcapacityfor labour. I alsoaskedaboutrelationsbetween
householdsin different strata and informants observedthat one local family might
include householdsin all three of these categories,while householdsin the upper
stratumfrequentlyhelpedtheir kin in lower strata during times of need. Informants
also confirmedthat householdswere apt to changetheir position in this nominal
rankingover time.

47. To sumup, wealthrankingexercises sufferfrom a host of problemswhich render

themof dubiousvaluein the monitoringof trials andtheir impacts. It would be more
usefulto askparticipantsdirectlyabouttheir age,domesticstatus,accessto land and
oFfarm enterprises.I thereforerecommend that wealthrankingbe discontinuedas a
monitoringtool.

Monitoring Systems

48. To date ZCCFSPhas not developeda coherentand ef[ective approachto

monitoringthe socio-economic impactsof its on-farmtrials and other field activities.
Thereare a numberof reasonsfor this, one of them beingthat the field progranrme
itself hasbeenin stateof constantflux aswell asbeing somewhatdifferent on the two
islands(whereboth the methodologyof trials and the cropsinvolvedhavediffered).
This situationstill prevailsthoughis likely to changeasthe emphasisof the progranrme
shifts away from conductingon-farm trials in the traditional way to working instead
with farmers'researchgroups.

49. Socio-economicmonitoring on both islandshas revolved around the use of

differentmonitoringforms, eachdesignedwith a differentapplicationand field activity
in mind. In somecasesthesecombinesocio-economic and agronomicinformation,
while someforms havebeendesignedfor specificcrops and the activitiesassociated
with these.The overallresultis very confusing.

50. On Ungujaan attemptwasmadeto improvethis situationby producingandfield-

testinga'Tarmer ProfileData CollectionForm". Theseformsarefour pageslong and
are designedto elicit information on the farmer, householdcomposition,plot
ownershipand use, householdassets,extensioncontactsand accessto financial
resources.So far about37 formshavebeenfilled in for farmersinvolvedin the chilli
campaign. Someeffort was madeto introducetheseforms to the socio-economics
sectionon Pembabut they were not adopted. On Pembaa different set of forms has
been sporadicallyin use. The most recentlyproducedof these is a '?ilot Trial
Monitoring Form, Socio-economics", designedfor use with farmersinvolvedin the
pilot cinnamontrials. This form is only two pageslong and containssectionson the
farmer,householdlabour,land ownershipanduse,incomeand agriculturalconstraints,
includingconstraintsto plantingcinnamon.

51. Both of the forms describedcan and havebeenusedto collect interestingand

usefulinformation. Theycould alsono doubtbe improved,perhapsby combiningthe
best featuresof eachof them - althoughit is difficult to know what questionsto ask
t4
andhow bestto askthembeforeundertakingqualitativeresearch.Staff could alsobe
bettertrainedin completingthe forms. A more seriousproblem,however,lies in our
capacityto makeuseof the datawhichtheycouldsupply. Completedformstendto lie
idle in files,andno attemptis madeto analyseor do anythingfurtherwith them. One
reasonfor this is that the formsdo little morethanprovidebaselineinformation. This
is all very well - the possession
of baselineinformationon programmeparticipantsis a
necessary prerequisitefor manymonitoringsystems- but it doesnot in itself perform
the taskof monitoringimpactsor elicitingthe reasonsfor these.

52. Although it is tempting to treat these forms as the starting point for the
developmentof a comprehensive monitoring system,a further note of caution is
necessary.Previousattemptsto establishdatabases of differentkinds on both Pemba
andUngujahavefounderedon the failureto keepthemupdated. This may partly be
due to lack of time and inclinationon behalfof the staff involved. This is an activity
whichZCCFSP(andMALNR) in its currentinstitutionalstatecannotsustain,andit is
hardto envisageit beingpossiblewithout the recruitmentor assignment of staff solely
to the task. Anotherobstaclein the way of creatingandmaintaininglargeor complex
databasesstemsfrom the difficulty of working with moderninformationtechnologyin
Zanzrbar, wherecomputerequipmentsuffersfrom the humidityandcomputerusersare
hampered by frequentshortages of electricity.

53. Needlessto saythe currentprocessof windingup on-farmtrials andthe shift of

focus to farmers'researchgroupsmakesthe developmentof monitoringsystemsas
originally envisagedredundant. Farmers'researchgroups require a quite different
approach,in a context where intensivecontact allows more qualitative and detailed
work. This andotherfutureplansarediscussed in the sectionswhichfollow.

WORKPLAII

54. This sectionof the report outlinesa workplan for the year beginningJanuary
1 9 95 .

Monitoring of Trials

55. Followingthis reviewanddiscussion with the AgronomySectiona new andmore

directapproachto pilot trial monitoringwasinitiatedin December1994. This is based
upon open-ended interviewswith the trial participantsboth as a group and, in some
cases,asindMduals.

56. The purposeof theseinterviews,in additionto gatheringbackgroundinformation

on the communityand participants,is to explainthe performanceof the trials and
differentaspectsof the farmers'response.Interviewersare guidedby a checklistof
questions.Themeetingswith farmersareheldtogetherwith projectagronomists, who
also ask their own questionsto the group as a whole. The resultinginformation,
togetherwith any additionsfrom project stafl is written up into brief (2-3 page)
narrativereports.

15
57 Interviewsbeganin December,in Makombeniand Shangafu(both sitesof black
peppertrials) and continuedin the New Year in Mkanyageni(black pepper),Jomvu
andMsuka(bothcinnamonsites). Giventhe largenumberof trial sites- originallyla -
the aim was to completethe monitoringinterviewsin a singlevisit, dealingwith one
site per week. This schedulehasproveda little ambitious,andthe currentgoal is to
finishthis work in April. It is thenplannedto compileall of the reportstogetherandto
write a shortpapersummarising the salientpoints.

58. It has alreadybecomeclearthat manyof the problemsexperienced in the trials

were a resultof eitherimperfectplanningandcontrolon the part of ZCCFSP(e.g.the
provisionof defectiveseedsand seedlings)or unrealisticexpectationson the part of
the farmersinvolved. A lot of farmersjoined the trials in the beliefthat the project -
evidently led by wealthy Europeans- would distribute free materials and provide
variousbenefitsto themotherthanjust cheapseedsand/orseedlings,and whenthese
presumedbenefitswere not forthcoming,their interestin the trials often waned, and
management of the trial cropssufferedaccordingly.While this attitudeon the part of
farmers no doubt reflects their past experienceof agricultural extensionand other
projectinterventions, it mustalsoowe somethingto the naivetyof our own approach.

59. Consideration of thesepreliminaryresultshasalreadyplayeda part in the decision

to wind down the pilot trials on Pemba. The ongoingattemptto persuadeindMdual
trial participantsto establishtheir own seedlingnurserieswith initial ZCCFSP
assistance is alreadyrunninginto relateddifficulties(i.e. in manyvillagesthe farmers
declarethemselvesunwilling or unableto managenurseriesunlessadditionalinputs are
providedby ZCCFSP),andwill haveto be rethought.

60. A similar approachto trial monitoringhas been recommended

to the Socio-
economicsSectionon Unguja,but not yet put into practice.

61. As well as providingimportantinformationto the project about reasonsfor the

successand failure of trials, this methodis designedto improve the interviewing and
reportingskillsof sectionmembers,encouraging themto focusupon the analysisof a
problem(e.g.why did a largenumberof farmersin sitex not follow up on their initial
ordersfor seedlings?) andits description.Projectstaffalreadydo this in everydaylife
andinformaldiscussion(e.9.aboutthe trial sitesandtheir visits to them)but tend not
to think of recordingthis asimportantknowledgefor the project. It is hopedthat the
open-endedinterview and narrativereport approachwill give them greaterconfidence
to do so. In this respectthe methodis alreadybeginningto proveeffective.

CashCrop CaseStudies

62. Giventhat the pilot and othertrials on PembaandUngujawere mainlyproviding

informationon cropswhich had not yet beenharvestedor marketed,it was felt that it
would be of considerablevalueto undertakedetailedstudiesof indMdualcropswhich
had 'takenoff ascashcropsin particularlocalareas.

T6
63. A rough modelfor this type of studyis providedby a paperwritten by Gerlach
(1963) on the developmentof the fresh fish trade in the hinterlandof the southern
Kenyacoast. While this studydoesnot dealwith cashcropsas such,it doesgive a
clearaccountof how tradein a particularcommoditywas developed,andhow various
obstaclesto this developmentwere overcome(so clear that it has been used in a
participatorybusinesstraining programmefor women's groups in Kenya). It was
proposedthat the Zamibarcasestudiesbe begunwith a similarformat in mind.

64. ln additionto providinginformationon the cashcropsconcerned,thesecashcrop

casestudiesare designedto producegeneralinsightsinto the developmentof cropsas
widely-marketedcommodities,and especiallyto indicatehow and why variouslocal
constraintswere overcomein the courseof this development, what problemsmight
still remain,and what other impactsit may have had. It is hopedthat the lessons
learnedwill then feedinto the formulationof ZCCFSP'sown strategyfor stimulating
similardevelopments.

65. Two casestudieswere initiatedon Pemba,one on sweetpotatoesin Makangale

andthe other on turmericin Muwambe. The first of theseconcernsa crop normally
thoughtof primarilyasa food crop (andthereforeneverbeforethe subjectof ZCCFSP
interest,also becauseit has no obvious export potential)in an area which is of
additionalinterestfor a numberof reasons. theseincludea patternof land tenure
problemsand disputes,invoMng immigrant and indigenouscommunities,and a
reputationfor sharplydecliningsoilfertility, It is alsoin PembaFarmingSystemsZone
l, which was not coveredby any of ZCCFSP'svillage PRAs. The secondcase
concernsa crop which has alreadybeenconsideredin somedetail by ZCCFSP,on
Ungujaaswell ason Pemba.

66. Togetherwith the MarketingEconomistand membersof the Socio-economics

Sectionon Ungujatwo studieswere also selectedandbegunon that island. Both of
these concern fruit crops: orangesin Ndijani and pineapplesin Machui and
thereabouts. These Unguja case studiesare also being combinedwith cost of
productionstudiesinitiatedby the MarketingEconomist.

67. The Pembacasestudiesbeganin Novemberandthe Ungujastudiesin December

1994. Theyarebeingundertakenby sectionmembersfollowingthe initial formulation
of researchquestions(in the form of an openchecklist)in conjunctionwith the Social
Anthropologist.Againthe methodis oneof open-ended interviewsandthe production
of narrativereports. It was originallyhopedthat two of the four studieswould be
completedin February. Fieldworkand working notesfor three of the studieswere
finished by the end of the month but the full writing up of the results has been
postponedto April, whenwork on the fourth studywill alsobe finalised. Fieldwork
for an additionalcasestudy on Boribo Muyuni mangoesby the APO Agronomist on
Ungujahasalsobeencompletedandis readyto be writtenup.

t7
Researchon HouseholdResourceFlowsand Allocations

68. Intensiveanthropologicalresearchinto householddecision-making,resource

flows, and the constraints,opportunitesand impactsof cash crop productionand
marketing at local level has begun using two different methods and sources of
information. Theseare individualcasestudiesandcommunitycasestudies,discussed
separately
below.

Individual CaseStudies

69. The individualcase studiesfocus upon project field staff and their families.
Followingpreliminaryvisits with one Pembacolleagueto his natal and other homes,
to project staff on Pembaand Unguja and met with general
this idea was suggested
approval. It was emphasisedthat, as is the norm in anthropologicalresearch,
informants'confidentialitywould be fully respected,and that the resultswould be
generalisedand combinedwith those emergingfrom the communitycasestudiesand
othersources.

70. In mid-December a participatorytrainingsessionwasheldfor thePembafield staff

on how to draw kinship diagrams. Participantswere encouragedto follow up by
recordinginformationon their own familiesusingthe methodspresented.This served
as an entrdeto the casestudiesthemselveswhich beganin January1995 andhave so
far involvedfive Pembastaffmembers.Similarwork will beginon Ungujaduringthe
anthropologrst's nextextendedvisit there(not yet scheduled).

71. The adoptionof this methodin additionto the communitycasestudiespresentsa

number of advantages. Project staff and their kin represent a wide spread of
communitieson the two islands,including town dwellers, and becauseof their
familiarity with the researchand the researcherit relatively easy to pursue some
questionsin considerable depth. It is hopedthat directinvolvementof the field staffin
this researchwill alsoincreasetheir understanding of it, the informalresearchmethods
used,andof socialdevelopment issuesin general.

72. It is anticipatedthat the bulk of this researchwill be completeby June and

incorporatedin theInterimReportto be producedthen(seeparagraphT5below).

CommunityCaseStudies

73. The communitycasestudieswill focus upon ZCCFSP'sfarmerresearchgroups

andtheir members'local communities.This will involvefieldworkundertakenby the
aswell asfollow-upwork by othersectionmembers.A complementary
anthropologist
progranrmeof agronomicresearchis beingplannedon Pemba,and hopefullycan also
be undertakenon Unguja.

74. Fieldworkwill begin on Pembain April with Daya Farmer'sResearchGroup.

Two monthsof the anthropologist'stime hasbeenprovisionallyassignedto eachof
18
four researchgroups, Daya and Kangaganion Pembaand Gamba and Ndijani (or
perhapsa new researchgroup) on Unguja. This meansthat April and May are
assignedto Daya, June and July provisionally to Gamba, and so on through to
November. Field researchwill not take up all of this time, but as much as possible
(and/ornecessary)
givenotherprojectcommitments.

75. Thepreliminaryresultsof this researchaswell asof the individualcasestudieswill

be presentedin an Interim Report scheduledfor June 1995. A final report will be
preparedat the endof theyear. Interestingandpotentiallyimportantfindingswill also,
of course,be discussedwith colleaguesasandwhentheyarise.

PRAs and the Farming SystemsZones

76. Contraryto earlierassumptions (seeAnnex2 below) no furthervillagePRAs are

at presentplannedfor either island. Researchon the Farming SystemsZones,
however,will continue,largelyaspart andparcelof the work alreadydescribed.

77. The Pemba FS Zones Working Group, hosted by ZCCFSP and with
representatives from differentsectionsandprojectswithin MALN& hasrecommended
that data on each of the zones should be consolidated,each section/project
contributingasit canandusingthe variousmethodsat its disposal,without recourseto
multi-disciplinaryPRASat present. The researchbeingundertakenby the agronomic
and socio-economicsectionsof ZCCFSP on Pemba,which uses selectedPRA
techniques, is alreadyaddingto the descriptionofthe zonesand an understanding of
the problemsandopportunitieswithin eachof them,andwill continueto do so.

78. A similar situationprevailson Unguja, althoughthere has been no further

of the FS Zoneswithin theMnistrv there.
discussion

Farmer ResearchGroups

79. Thereis no doubtthat the FarmerResearchGroups(FRG$ compriseone of the

most promisinglines of further developmentfor ZCCFSP. Their full potentialfor
participatoryresearchhas yet to be realisedand the current workplan has been
designedwith a view to makingmuchfuller useof them.

80. Needlessto say,variousissuesremainundecided. Considerable discussionhas

and continuesto take place over the best ways to form and work with FRGS.
Following an exploratoryworkshopwith GambaFRG on Unguja it was decidedto
adopt a more systematicapproachto working with the FRGs on Pemba. It was
proposedthat one of the first stepsin working with a group shouldbe to hold one or
more one-dayparticipatoryworkshopsto elucidatetheir perceptionof the main
constraintsto agriculturaland cashcrop productionand to discusspossiblesolutions
with them. It was also suggestedthat this should be followed by a more regular
patternof meetingswith the FRGsthanhadhithertobeenthe case.

19
81. In Decembera workshopwas held with DayaFRG at which their constraintsto
cashcrop productionwere discussed andregularmonthlymeetingswere agreedupon.
In the same month backgroundinformation was collected on the formation of
KangaganiFRG and the other group activities of its members(all of them women)
prior to holdinga workshopwith themin late January1995. Becauserelativelywork
had been done before in Kangagani,this workshop focusedon the constraintsto
agriculturalproductionin general.Again,regularmonthlymeetingswere agreedupon.

82. ZCCFSPPembais currentlyplanningits work programmesfor both Daya and

Kangagani: this includesthe anthropologicalresearchalreadyreferred to above
(paragraphT4).Agronomicresearchon individualfarmersandtheir plots which will
be linkedto the anthropological
researchhasalreadybegunin Daya.

83. Giventhe project's decisionto limit the numberof FRGs (perhapsaddingone

moreon eachisland)the issueof selectionapproaches seemsto be lesscriticalthan it
oncewas. It would seemsensible to reviewthis issueat a ratherlater stage,whenthe
outcomeof work with existingFRGscanbe properlyassessed.

ZCCFSPResearchMethodologies

84. Giventhe processual

natureof ZCCFSPandthe varietyof researchmethodologies
which it hasemployedover the years,project staff agreedthat it would be usefulto
preparea paper summarisingthese and their various pros and cons. The social
anthropologisthasagreedto do this in readinessfor the March 1995review mission
from BDDE,\ Nairobi.

StaffTraining

85. The anthropologisthasalsobeenand will continueto providean ongoinginput

into stafftraining. This focusesin particularuponparticipatoryresearchmethodsand
field staff on Pembahave alreadyprogressedconsiderablyin their use of various
techniques,developingopen-endedchecklists,conductingsemi-structured interviews
andwriting narrativereportson the basisof these.Thiswork is alsobeingextendedto
Pembawith the helpof the projectMarketingEconomist.

86. Constructiveuse is also being madeof the anthropologist'sexperiencein and

familiarity with participatory training methods, especially in the planning and
organisation of trainingandotherworkshopson both PembaandUngujafor ZCCFSP
and other MALNR staff and othersoutsideof the Ministry. Although ZCCFSPstaff
havealreadyattendedsometrainingof trainersworkshopstheir use of participatory
training techniqueshasnot beenreinforcedthrough constantpracticeand it is evident
that they still have someway to go before they can becomefully effective trainers.
The anthropologist's input to this work on both islandswill thereforecontinueas and
whenadviceandassistance arerequired.

20
SocialDevelopmentIssues

87. It goeswithout saylngthat one of the anthropologist'stasksis to ensurethat

socialdevelopment issuesare given full consideration
within the project at all levels
from project planning to the actual conduct of research,its outputs and the
recommendations and developmentactivitiesbasedupon these. Socialdevelopment
concernsare an integralaspectof all the work describedin precedingparagraphs.
HereI will only highlightsomeof the majorissueswhichI will pursue.

88. Genderissueshavehithertoreceivedvery little attentionin Zarzibarand in the

variousprojectswithin MALNR as well as in other ministries. Notable exceptions
includethe work of the VillageForestryDepartmentwith women'sgroups(described
by Khatibu and Suleiman 1992), a report produced by the Zanzibar Enterprise
DevelopmentOrganisation(ZEDO) on women's ownershipof land in Zanzibw
@onkerloandAboud 1994),andthe ongoingwomen'sgroup projectslocatedwithin
the Ministry of State,President'sOffice, (and) Womenand Children'sAffairs. The
potential role of women's groups in ZCCFSP activities is currently under
consideration, and one of the FRGson Pemba,Kangangani,is composedentirelyof
women (who are membersof differentwomen'sgroups in the village). Particular
attentionwill be paidto genderissuesin the programmeof socio-economic researchas
well asin otheraspectsof ZCCFSP'swork, includingits trainingactivities.

89. ZCCFSPalsohasa clearlystatedinterestin povertyalleviation,thoughthe most

effectivewaysto achievethis objectivearestill the subjectof discussion.Researchwill
thereforebe directed to providing a deeperunderstandingof this issue so that
appropriaterecommendations can be made. The availableliterature containsonly
superficialanalysesof socialstratificationand classin Zalzibar, and detailedvillage
andurbanstudiesof this issuehaveyet to appear. Referencehasalreadybeenmade
(see paragraphs36-47 above) to ZCCFSP's wealth ranking exercisesand the
suggestionthat the rankingthat theseproducedmay reflect different stagesin the
developmental cycleof rural householdsas much as permanentwealth differencesin
the community. A clearerpicture of intra- and inter-household relationsand their
development over time in both rural andurbancontextsis clearlyneeded,as this may
have important consequencesfor decisions about targeting households and
communities in ZCCFSPaswell asin otherprojectsandministryactivities.

90. Socialdevelopment concernsalsoextendto the institutionalstructureof MALNR

andZCCFSP'spresentandfuturepositionwithin it. The development of institutional
capacityis alreadythe subject of considerableeffort by ZCCFSP and intensive
discussions within the projectabouthow this canbestbe achievedin future. Onearea
of discussionis the possiblefuture role of NGOs and here it is anticipatedthat the
project anthropologist,who hasa wide experienceof working in the NGO sectoras
will havea potentiallyusefulcontributionto
well asin other institutionalenvironments,
make.

91. Last but not least,the anthropologist

is contributingto ongoingdiscussions
about
the institutional structure of ZCCFSP itself, including the need to improve

2I
 within the project,especially
communication betweenZatuibanandnon-Zatuibaristaff
andbetweenthe two islands.

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at the Internntional Conferenceon the History and Cuhure of Zanzibar, 14-16
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Development, TechnicalUniversityof Berlin.

ZCCFSP 1994 Zanzibar CashCropsFarming SystemsProject Quarterly Report,

I July - 30 September1994,ReportNo. ZNZ 94/95 Q2, ZCCFSP,MALNR,
Zarulbar.

23
Annex l.: Terms of Referencefor the ZCCFSP SocialAnthronolosist
"The dutiesof the appointment
will include:

a. To work as part of the ZCCFSPinter-disciplinary team,with farmers

andtradersin pilot villagesto establishthe impactsand opportunities
for the productionandmarketingof candidatecrops. To contributeto
the interpretationof thesecropsmadeby ruralhouseholds.

b. To contributeto the developmentof methodologyfor the design,

implementationand analysisof trials to assesscashcroppingimpacts
andopportunitieswithin the farmingsystem.

c. To conductresearchon individualand householdinvestmentsboth

within and outsideagriculture. As far as possibleand where relevant,
to placetheseindividualand householdstrategieswithin the wider
contextof whole family investmentpatterns.

d. To coverindividualsandhouseholds from differentareaswith access

to and control of differentresourcelevels. To includeone or more
categoriesof personsinvestingin agriculturebut not residentwithin
the rural areas.Thisresearchshouldcoverboth islands.

To usea casestudyapproachfor c. and d., stayrngin villagesduring

field work. To plan with the rest of the team follow up research
required,to testthe findingsfrom the casestudymaterial.

To assess the potentiallynegativesocialimpactof candidatecashcrop

developmentespeciallywith respectto women, children,and food
crop cultivation. To usethis informationto give guidancein further
selectionbetweencandidatecashcrops.

g. To supervisethe APOS socialscientistand ensurea complementary

Ungujaprogranrme specificallyin the monitoringof on-farmtrials.

h. To contributeto the overallinter-disciplinaryplanning,researchand

extensionprogr.mlme activities
of the project.

To train counterpartstaffin surveywork andanalysis."

(from ODA letterof appointment

dated17August1994)

It shouldbe pointedout that giventhe "process"natureof the project,someof these

termshavealready,in practice,beenmodified. Item (g), for example,doesnot apply
in full becauseanAPOSsocialscientistwasnot recruited.

24
Annex 2: First Workolan for the ZCCFSP SocialAnthropoloeist

l. To visit differentsectionsandprojectswithin the Ministry of Agricultureand other

relevantministries/ agencies,for the purposesof introduction(to personneland
programmes)and to review points of contact (past, presentand future) between
ZCCFSPandits socio-economic programmeandrelevantaspectsof their own work.

2. To review the existing progranrmeof socio-economicdata collection and

monitoringin ZCCFSPandthe capabilities
of the staffinvolved.

3. To plansocio-economic
involvementandinputsin the ongoingprogrammeof pilot
andothertrialson PembaandUnguja.

4. To prepare,at the endof November,a situationsummaryreport of 5-10 pageson

the resultsof tasksl-3 above.

InterimWorkplan-December1994- March 1995

While a more detailedplanwill be presentedin the Novemberreport, it is anticipated

that the periodDecemberthroughto Marchwill includethe followingtasks:-

l. Active involvementin pilot andothertrials.

2. Involvementin villagePRA exercises(on FarmingSystemszonesnot previously

coveredby villagePRAs).

3. Initiationof a programmeof basicresearchon Pemba,lookingin particularat inter-

and intra-household resourceallocationsandflows, genderrelationsand other factors
which imprngeupon opportunitiesfor and constraintsupon expandedor otherwise
modifiedcashcrop productionandmarketing. This researchwill alsoinvolveMinistry
counterparts andincludeanimportanttrainingcomponent.

4. To preparean inceptionreport for the March 1995reviewmissionand to discuss

this in advancewith the BDDEA SocialDevelopment Adviser,Dr PhilipEvans."

(workplandatedI October 1994,agreedby the Field Managerandforwardedto NRI)

25
Annex 3: Formal Meetingsand Contacts

Pemba

Shariff Maalim Hamadi (Head), Plant Protection Division, Research Sub-

MALNR (719194, 2819194)
commission,

Matthis Spittel, Strengtheningthe Plant Protection Division of Zarulbar, Plant

ProtectionDivision,ResearchSub-commission,MALNR (719I 94)

Merja Mflkelli, FINNIDA Forestry Project, Forestry Sub-commission,

MALNR
(visitingfrom Unguja, 819194)

Rashid Said Nassoor(Administrator),Savethe ChildrenFund,Wete(1319194).

Juma Omar Hamad (Farming SystemsResearchOfficer), National Coconut

Development
Programme, MALNR (28I 9I 94, 6I | 0I 94)
ResearchSub-commission,

Masood SuleimanHamad, VillageForestryDepartment,ForestrySub-commission,

MALNR (28lele4)

SuleimanHamisi Ali (RegionalForestryOfficer),ForestrySub-commission,

MALNR
(28lele4)

Khatid Zahor Muhiddin (Acting Head), Extension Sub-commission,

MALNR
(28tete4)

Rex M. Kenneh,ExtensionSub-commission,
MALNR (3110194)

Khatib Juma Khatib, IFAD, Food Crops Adaptive Research,ResearchSub-

MALNR (4110194
commission, andvarious)

Dr KassimJuma (Head),LivestockSub-commission,
MALNR (6110194)

Rashid H. Said (Head),AgriculturalSub-commission,

MALNR (6110194)

MALNR (6110194)
Rashid Juma Qlead),ForestrySub-commission,

Said Abdulrahman Abdi (RegionalCoconutExtensionOfficer),National Coconut

DevelopmentProgramme,ResearchSub-commission,
MALNR (6I l0 I 94)

Ati Saidi Hamadi (FisheriesDevelopmentOfficer and Acting Head),FisheriesSub-

commission,MALNR (6110194)

Omar Majid Salim (Extension Officer), Fisheries Sub-commission,MALNR

(6tr0te4)

26
Ali Salim Chenga (PlanningOfficer),Ministry of State,President'sOffice, Women
andChildren'sAffairs(l9ll0l94)

Shaibu Abdallah Mohammed (Personneland AdministrationOfficer), Ministry of

State,President'sOffice,WomenandChildren'sAffairs(l9ll0l94)

Omar SaleheAli (AssistantPlanningand ProjectsOfficer), ), Ministry of State,

President'sOffice,WomenandChildren'sAffairs(19110194)

Halima Ali (ResearchOfficer, Sociologist),), Ministry of State,President'sOffice,

WomenandChildren'sAffairs(26110194)

Mwalimu Anas (OfficerIn Charge),MALNR (l5llll94)

Unsuia

Amina Mohammed (AssistantCommissioner),

ResearchSub-commission,
MALNR
(3118194
andvarious)

Mohammed Abdallah Ghassany (Executive Chairman),Cash Crops and Fruit

Authority,MALNR (l 19/94, 9I | | 194)

SalehSadiq Osman(Permanent MALNR (l7ll0l94)

Secretary),

Mwadini Haji Kutenga (Acting Commissioner),Research and Extension

MALNR (17I 1019
Commission, 4)

Abu Bakr (Assistant Commissioner),Agriculture Sub-commission,MALNR

(8true4)
Dr Mahmoud E. Mansour (Adviser),IFAD SmallholderSupportProject,Research
MALNR (8I | | 194)
Sub-commission,

Rashid Said Masoud (AssistantCommissioner),

ForestrySub-commission,
MALNR
(8trve4)
Majid Muhammed (Director),ZamibwRainfedRiceDevelopment
Project,MALNR
(8l1ve4)

Dr Gerard C. A. Bruin (PlantPathologist/ ChiefTechnicalAdvisor), Strengthening

the Plant ProtectionDivision of Zanabw, Plant ProtectionDivision, ResearchSub-
commission, MALNR (81| | 194)

Maulid Musa Takrima (Director of Trade and Marketing), Ministry of Trade,

IndustriesandMarketng (9I I U9a)

27
Omar Salim Ali (StatisticalOfficer), StatisticalUnit, Planning Sub-commission,
MALNR (elrve4)

HassanUssy Ameir (StatisticalOfficer), StatisticalUnit, PlanningSub-commission,

MALNR (elrve4)

I. H. Makame (Statistician),
DemographicSection,Departmentof Statistics,Ministry
ofPlanning(9llll94)

A. S. Bajaria (Manager),NationalBankof Commerce,Shangani,Zanzibar

(l0llll94)

Dr Mohamed A. El-Lakany (Adaptive ResearchSpecialist),IFAD Smallholder

MALNR (l I I | | I94)
SupportProject,ResearchSub-commission,

Professor Sayed H. Nassar (VegetableResearchConsultant),IFAD Smallholder

MALNR (l I I | | I94)
SupportProject,ResearchSub-commission,

Haji Suleiman Hamad (Head),Food Crops Research,ResearchSub-commission,

(rvrve+)
MALNR

28
Annex 4: Anthroooloqistsand Other Researchers

HegeAasbo,currentlydoing short-termanthopologicalresearchon socialandurban

spaceinZandbu town for anM.A. at the Universityof Troms6,Norway.

Glen Cameron, hasworked for someyearswith women'sco-operativeson Pemba

islandand is writing a political sciencePh.D for the Schoolof Orientaland African
Studies,London,on this subject.He hasalreadyproduceda shorthistoricaloverview
of the co-operativemovementinZamrbu (Cameron1992).

Helle Goldman, currentlywriting up a Ph.D at New York Universitydealingwith

issuesof identity, stratificationand ideologicalhegemonyamongthe Swahili,Arabs
and otherson Pembaisland. This is basedupon anthropological fieldwork conducted
in the villagesof Mzambarauni andFurahabetween1992and1994.

Peter Green, startingPh.D researchfor StockholmUniversity,Sweden,on the spatial

conceptualisation
of naturalresourcesand environmentin fishingvillagesin Unguja.
Alreadyundertakenpreliminaryresearchin Nungwi.

Bethan Jones, has lived and worked in Zamibar town for four years and is
consideringstarting an M.A. and researchingthe changingstatus of women in the
town.

Karina Kielmann, a doctoralcandidateat JohnHopkinsUniversitySchoolof Public

Health, USA, and currentlyworking on a GTZ internshipand a four-month study of
women'sperceptionsof fertility andinfertilityon Pemba(not connectedto her Ph.D).
Due to leavePembain January1995.

Eberhard Krain, worked for the NationalCoconutDevelopmentProgrammefrom

1986andin 1990beganresearchfor a Ph.D on agriculturaleconomyand institutions
in Zamibar (working on both islands)for the Friedrich-Wilhelms
University,Bonn,
Germany. He has recentlypresentedthe preliminaryconclusionsof this work to
MALNR in a seriesof discussionpapers.

Kjersti Lrrsen, completeda Ph.D at the Universityof Oslo, Norway, and recently
publisheda book (in Norwegian)on inititationandmarriageritualsnZaruibw town.

Kimberley Rose,recentlycompletedresearchon health,nutritionandrelatedissuesin

Kukuu andnearbyvillagesof southPemba.The preliminaryresultsof this researchare
availablein a reportwrittenfor the Savethe ChildrenFund,Pemba(Kimberley1994).

Ulrike Seibel, recently completedfield researchin fishing villages on Unguja,

includingUroa andNungwi, looking at nutritionand householdresources.Currently
basedin Ouagadougou, BurkinaFaso.

29
Chris Walley, starting anthropologicalfield researchfor a Ph.D at New York
University,US.t looking at the issuesof tourism and environmenton Unguja and
Mafiaislands.Currentlyfocusinguponthe latter.

30