One major thrust during this visit was the wise words of chief Malama who remarked succinctly upon seeing the team that Chinkombe Kupya Nikusonkela, which means that to make the food cook (in a clay pot to be specific) one must keep the fire burning, constantly applying firewood.  This powerful proverb can be seen to apply quite a lot to different situations within the realm of the work on development.  More specifically, in development parlance, this means monitoring and evaluation.  It addresses questions such as the adequacy of the wood for the Chinkombe to cook, the optimum levels of application of that wood, the quality of the wood, etc.  Indeed Chinkombe Kupya Nikusonkela!

EXPERIENCES SO FAR

Conflict of Schedule: one important point to note is that the pilot rural Basic Needs Basket is being assisted in data collection by, in all cases, teachers who have the primary responsibility of teaching.  Their engagement with this activity is part-time.  As Social Conditions’ Project, we recognise this primary role of the Field Researchers in our scheduling of meetings, visitations, etc.  For example, when the team arrived in Malama, the Field Researcher at that time was preoccupied with teaching.  Based on our understanding that Field Researchers’ responsibilities at their places of work will always take precedence over the activity of the rural Basic Needs Basket, the team had to wait until the Field Researcher had some “free time.”

Data Collection in the First Week of the Month: according to the guidelines on collecting data, information is supposed to be obtained during the first week of the month.  The problem, as explained by the Field Researcher, has been instances where he does not find the informant at home during the first and other follow-up visits, and perhaps the informant being absent for the whole week.

Measurement of Items: this particularly relates to capturing the exact measurement of food that has been consumed already.  It is presenting a challenge of recall.  Proposals were suggested, however, on how to get round this problem such as in case of the food having been bought, the Field Researcher making an effort at making follow-ups with the person who sold it.

Inconsistencies in Information: some disparities were observed at three levels.  First concerning the size of the household in a particular month and the amount of food (e.g., maize) consumed.  The second one concerns expenditure in relation to the available income. The third relates to the number of days in a month on one hand and the times food is taken on the other. 

In the first case, Information collected so far has shown that in some cases smaller sized households consume more compared to bigger households.  Possible explanations to this situation include visitors, or larger households rationing food.

In the second case, possible explanations include unrecorded or unrecalled remittances from urban areas, or failure by households to exactly capture their sources of income or households outrightly underestimating income.  That is why some methods of data collection focus on expenditure instead of income.

In the third scenario, it was found that the number of days reported for food intake was not matching up with those in a month.  This could be due to households skipping meals, or again failure by households to accurately recall. 

WIDER ISSUES

The challenge of social science research in Zambia today relates to its benefits seen tangibly by wider society and in particular by the people directly participating in it.  Obviously collection of such information that is designed for structural changes in society in an economically depressed environment poses even more of a bigger challenge.  Because people are constantly living on margins of survival, they are in a hurry to see benefits accrue of any development initiative. 

Quite understandably, expectations are very high with regards to what this activity will do to lift up living conditions of the people in Malama.  The Field Researcher during data collection got remarks such as Pamene Pemuyambila Kulemba Paliye Vetionapo Seo (since you started collecting this information, there is nothing we have seen as outcomes, benefits).  The team in their visit to some of the households discussed with the informant on this issue, explaining the exact intentions of this activity and the kind of benefits that might arise. 

It ought to be realised that this concern is particularly buttressed by the fact that already a significant number of households have either run out of food or are beginning to do so.

Apart from the reason for the immediate needs of the people, particularly that of food, one is compelled to conclude that it is because of failed development both at the local and national levels over the years that is also accounting for this situation. 

Activities that are not relief per se in orientation will always be subjected to such questioning, especially seen in the history of none-existent or underachievement in development outcomes.  But what is important is what the follow-ups are to such situations both in specific and general terms.

STRUCTURAL CHANGES

The rural Basic Needs Basket is premised on raising the profile regarding living conditions of the rural people.  As such, part of the effort must be directed at establishing links with groups or organisations working at alleviating poverty of the rural people.  This effort must move along with addressing structural issues that are at the root cause of poverty (e.g., unjust markets or the total absence of markets, inadequate health and education, etc). 

This is because redress of structural aspects in our current context is perceived to be futuristic – takes time to achieve changes -- in orientation but promises sustainable development. On the other hand giving people some relief facilitates their effective participation in any development initiative.  Even more importantly as a concerted effort the voice on behalf and together with the rural people must be heard the loudest at every layer of policy making.

CHALLENGES

Recurrent Cry for Rural Infrastructure:  in all our visits to Malama, the need for an all “season passable” road has featured prominently.  One classical illustration for this need are the experiences that teachers are going through relating to their salaries.  One teacher shared that with the onset of the rainy season in October or November, teachers’ November salary is the last for the year until April or May when the road becomes relatively passable.  In terms of the Project activity of collecting information, it might be the case that we will have some serious delays in receiving the information from the Field Researcher during this time of the year.

Food Security Problems: as can be shown by our pilot data so far, food security is emerging as one serious problem.  Even where some food is available for certain duration in the year, especially the immediate post-harvest period, the diet is very narrow to assure good nutrition for households particularly children.

Human-Animal Conflict: one of the issues to be addressed in Malama is arriving at a balance between human needs and that of animals.  Here the balance is being conceived on the premise that animals have a direct resource outcome for the community but also that humans need to pursue activities that are important to enhancing their welfare without animal disruptions. This imperative has manifested itself in crop cultivation.  Malama being an area where the soils are fertile, requiring very little input of fertilizers or none at all, the major hindrance accounting for low food production outputs are animals. In fact this explains the present scenario of a huge percentage of households having very little or completely run out of food.

Local Institutions of Development:  there have been incessant concerns raised by the people in relation to some of the local institutions designed to promote development.  Their concerns have included resource management, relief distribution, etc.  This situation invites not only responses in respect to Malama but wider.  Arguably these issues have to some extent accounted for Zambia and Africa’s failed development.  The danger of having local institutions that are not delivering in terms of development is that you end up with situations of indifference from the people in participating in any development initiatives.

WAY FORWARD

In the months ahead, there will be need for clarification or agreements made regarding some of the emerging issues in the pilot.  Among the issues would include measurement of items, questions and clarifications on what happens when attempts by the Field Researcher to collect information in the first week of the month fail and focus on capturing as much qualitative information as possible that is necessary to give interpretation to the data.

Further discussion will be on how to proceed with the rural Basic Needs Basket designed to bring about structural changes while at the same time ensuring that the people are not losing the patience to participate in the activity.  This might call, as noted above, the creation of linkages with other groups that are rural and relief orientated.

Muweme Muweme
JCTR Staff