BASIS Phase I Global Impacts

BASIS Phase I research findings helped in understanding complex realities
and created a sharper picture of the constraints to broadly based and sustainable growth.
The following are examples of achievements in Phase I.

• Economic Planning: El Salvador
  Through discussions with El Salvador's Minister of Economy, BASIS researchers outlined ways to help alleviate rural poverty and contributed to the Plan de Nación, a major pluralistic exercise to build a national strategy. According to Mary Ott, former chief of the Economic Growth Office at USAID/El Salvador, BASIS research on dynamics of poverty and the biennial national survey provides important information for the mission's 5-year economic plan.
  
  
• Financial Initiatives: El Salvador
  Through research on financial market segmentation, BASIS offered strategies to help broaden access by the rural poor to microfinance. In August 2000, El Salvador's President unveiled a project to reorganize the Banco de Fomento Agropecuario to provide credit to rural farmers and support new lending technologies.
  
  
• Outreach: El Salvador
  Presented findings to more than 300 policymakers, researchers, and practitioners at The Influence of Labor, Financial, and Land Markets on Rural Poverty, a 1999 seminar in San Salvador. Discussion confirmed how rigid and shallow land markets contributed to agricultural stagnation and the absence of a vigorous response to trade liberalization.
  
  
• Capacity Building and Policy Engagement: Russia
  Engaging Russian and US researchers and policymakers in dialogue about Russia's agricultural policy and market reform at conferences in Russia and at the University of Maryland, 1999-2001. The USAID mission supports these policy efforts, and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) includes BASIS in the agenda of the Russian/US bi-national commission.
  
  
• Facilitate Market Development: Eastern Europe and Former Soviet Union
  Enabled 11 representatives from 7 transition countries to work with US scientists and donor representatives on generating national and regional statistics on the degree to which marketable titles have been distributed to private owners and legally registered.
  
  
• Farm Competitiveness: Kyrgyz Republic
  Monitored and evaluated net farm returns by farm type during land reform. Kyrgyz officials use BASIS results for public education, training, and policy.
  
  
• Applied Research: Horn of Africa
  Helping promote interregional trade and economic stability by informing African, US, and international policymakers about positive effects crossborder trade of livestock and grain has on food security. In November 2000, it was announced that a common certification system for animal health soon will allow free movement of livestock across Ethiopian, Kenyan, and Somalian borders.
  
  
• Synthesis and Training: Horn of Africa
  Organized an international symposium in Ethiopia of 57 participants from 6 African countries and the United States to enhance policy, health, and nutrition linkages among agricultural policy and nutrition scientists and practitioners. Karl Schwartz, USAID Ethiopia Program Officer, said the symposium helped integrate nutrition into the mission's country strategy.
  
  
• Institutional Reforms: Tanzania
  Documented inequalities in access to water and offered policy options that reflect the need for increased stakeholder participation in local and regional policy formulation, particularly by women.
  
  
• Land Distribution Strategy: Namibia
  Collected and assembled data for use in a geographical information system that allows Government to see ownership patterns so that land can be more efficiently acquired for distribution purposes.
  
  
• Finance Reform: South Africa
  Led the way in exploring how to help historically disadvantaged farmers and farm workers access private sector loans to finance land and equity-sharing projects. BASIS researchers helped in developing the 1999 Land Reform Credit Facility, which draws private sector finance and human capital into commercially viable land reform projects. The loan target of R15 million in the first year was reached after just 8 months.
  
  
• Land Reform: Zimbabwe
  Participated in a 1998 multi-donor effort to help Zimbabwe design its land reform and resettlement program, aimed at broadening access by the poor to land and water resources.
  
  
• Poverty Strategy: South Africa
  Sponsored research on poverty in South Africa and reported policy recommendations to the Deputy President and nine cabinet ministers.
  
  
• Engaging researchers, policymakers, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in dialogue through workshops and conferences
  Conducted 11 key policy workshops during 1999-2001, including:
  • Community Participation in Irrigation, 10-11 August 2000, Dar es Salam, Tanzania. Engaged 15 villagers, 15 staff from the Irrigation Section, 15 officials from the Ministry of Water, Ministry of Community Development, Cooperative Department, and local government offices, and 15 representatives from NGOs, training institutions and donors.
  • The Influence of Labor, Financial, and Land Markets on Rural Poverty, 12 August 1999, San Salvador, El Salvador. Presented research findings to more than 300 policymakers, researchers and practitioners.
  • Agricultural Policy, Resource Access and Human Nutrition, 3-5 November 1999, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Brought together more than 50 participants from teaching and research institutions, regional networks, government, NGOs and donor agencies in eastern and southern Africa.
  • Land Privatization Experiences in Eastern Europe and Russia, 21-23 August 2000, Minsk, Russia. Enabled 11 representatives from 7 transitional countries to work with US scientists and donor representatives on generating statistics on the degree to which marketable titles have been distributed to private owners and legally registered.
  • Two country workshops, 23 March 2000 and 24 July 2000, Bamako, Mali. Attended by 38 and 35 individuals respectively from NGOs, international organizations, government agencies, and others. Outlined research results on the contributions of non-agricultural and secondary agricultural activities to the economic well-being of a rural agricultural zone in Western Mali.
    
    
• Training
  Supported 32 students during the period 1997-2001, 10 female students and 22 male students. Twenty-two students were from the host-countries in which BASIS works, with 15 working toward a Ph.D., 10 toward a Master's degree, 4 toward a Bachelor's degree, and 2 were post-docs. During this period, 15 students completed their degrees.
  
  
• Collaborative Partnerships
  Established formal partnerships with 28 institutions (14 US institutions and 14 international institutions). More than 20 other institutions have been involved in BASIS research and training programs.

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