Paul Phillips' remarks on participatory planning (as passed along by
Jim Devine) betray a lack of familiarity with the sort
of participatory methods commonly employed in low-income countries
today. Perhaps there are other "participatory" methods out there
with which I am unfamiliar, but the basic idea of Participatory Rural
Appraisal (the buzzphrase that has replaced Rapid Rural Appraisal) is
to place and retain problem identification, planning and intervention
at local levels, NOT to follow the sort of bottom-to-top and back
again iterative procedure Paul describes. This has clearly worked in
several places, perhaps most prominently in the Iringa scheme in
Tanzania. The laudable accomplishments of the (self-proclaimed
Marxist) state in Kerala (India) likewise owe much to a participatory
approach to development project design and implementation. Robert
Chambers from Sussex has written more than anyone on this subject,
for those wishing to examine the literature.
I think it quite premature to dismiss participatory methods as
"unattainable, utopian dreams." A colleague and I have a paper
coming out this summer that argues the opposite: the only
demonstrably effective means of combating African hunger are community-
based and participatory. I, at least, continue to hope.
Chris Barrett
===================================================================
Christopher B. Barrett Phone: (608) 262-9491
Depts. of Agricultural Economics Fax: (608) 262-4376
and Economics Internet: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
University of Wisconsin-Madison
427 Lorch Street
Madison, WI 53706
