This manual was developed from the experiences of a number of communities and organisations in southern and eastern Africa in creating Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools as a response to the growing number of orphans and vulnerable children. For many reasons these children more likely than other orphans to be at risk from malnutrition, disease, abuse, stigmatisation and sexual exploitation. The risk of sexual exploitation is particularly significant for those left alone to cope with poverty and who are forced to adopt adult roles and ensure food for the rest of the family. As parents and family members become ill, children take on greater domestic, agricultural and income generating responsibilities. HIV and AIDS has a particular impact on girls who are left to care for ailing parents, or who have to become the heads of households upon the death of caregivers. Also, as many parents are dying at a young age orphaned children are growing up without the necessary knowledge and skills for their future livelihood
This joint FAO/UNAIDS study is the first to examine the full range of implications of HIV/AIDS for Ministries of Agriculture (MoAs) in eastern and southern Africa. It describes structural changes in the smallholder agriculture sector including changing farming systems (as household cultivation shifts from cash crops to subsistence crops and from labour-intensive to labour-extensive crops); and changes in the age structure and quality of the agricultural labour force as more elderly people and children assume a greater role in farming. Four areas of HIV/AIDS impact are analysed in detail: (1) MoA staff vulnerability to HIV infection and AIDS impact; (2) the disruption of MoA operations and the erosion of capacity to respond to the challenges being posed by the HIV epidemic; (3) the increased vulnerability of MoA clients to food and livelihood insecurity; (4) the relevance of certain MoA policies, strategies and programmes in view of the conditions being created by HIV/AIDS
This article reviews the current literature on the subject, and also highlights three key methodological issues to be addressed: how to assess the degree and quality of participation; how to measure the costs and benefits of participation to the stakeholders involved; and how to assess the impact of that participation on desired project outputs, project performance and sustainability. An annotated bibliography is also provided
A detailed account of a UNDP-funded study in three eastern African countries of the impact of HIV/AIDS on rural populations, their livelihoods and their farming systems. Considers direct and indirect costs, and the impact on the transmission of knowledge about farming