Starter Packs: A Strategy to Fight Hunger in Developing Countries?

by Sarah Levy

Overview

Despite repeated interventions by governments, donors and NGOs in recent years, food insecurity continues and developing countries are forced to rely on food aid again and again. To address this problem, the original idea of Starter Pack was to give a tiny bag of agricultural inputs—fertilizer and seed—to every smallholder farm in Malawi. Although the program did not work as originally intended, it was successful in achieving national food security. The scaling down of the program was a major contributor to the food crisis which hit Malawi (and other countries in Southern Africa) at the beginning of 2002. This book (with accompanying DVD) assesses the case of the Starter Pack program in Malawi, and whether it can be replicated elsewhere. It covers the practicalities of implementation and evaluation of such a large program and the policy debates.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780851990088
Publisher:	CABI
Publication date:	08/03/2005
Series:	Cabi Series
Edition description:	BOOK & CD
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.88(w) x 9.75(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Introduction, Sarah Levy
Part 1: Origins and Management of Starter Pack
* The Origin and Concept of Starter Pack, Malcolm Blackie and Charles K Mann
* The Players and the Policy Issues, Harry Potter
* The Logistics and Costs of Implementation, Charles Clark
* Pack Distribution and the Role of Vouchers, Anthony Cullen and Max Lawson
Part 2: Methodology of the Evaluation Programme
* Design of the Evaluation Programme, Ian M Wilson
* Experience and Innovation: How the Research Methods Evolved, Carlos Barahona
* Lessons on Management of Large-scale Research Programmes, Sarah Levy
Part 3: Lessons from Starter Pack
* Production, Prices and Food Security: How Starter Pack Works, Sarah Levy
* The Farmer's Perspective - Values, Incentives and Constraints, Jan Kees van Donge
* Do Free Inputs Crowd Out the Private Sector in Agricultural Input Markets?, Clement Nyirongo
* Practical and Policy Dilemmas of Targeting Free Inputs, Blessings Chinsinga
* Starter Pack and Sustainable Agriculture, Carlos Barahona and Elizabeth Cromwell
* The Challenges of Agricultural Extension, Chris Garforth
* Why Free Inputs Failed in the Winter Season, Hiester Gondwe
* Financing and Macroeconomic Impact: How Does Starter Pack Compare?, Sarah Levy
Part 4: By Special Invitation
* Poverty, AIDS and Food Crises, Anne C Conroy
* Food Security Policies and Starter Pack: A Challenge for Donors?, Jane Harrigan
* Feeding Malawi from Neighbouring Countries, Martin J Whiteside
* Starter Pack in Rural Development Strategies, Andrew Dorward and Jonathan Kydd
* Conclusion, Sarah Levy