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1. INTRODUCTION
CLADES has embarked on a large-scale education and training program in sustainable rural development for two main reasons. The first one is the marked decrease in the importance of rural development issues in the academic milieu, and the second one is the emergence of certain factors that have improved the prospects for rural development.
1.1. Rural development and universities
* In general, Latin American universities have adopted the negative attitude to rural development that is present in the rest of society (1). Although the reasons are different, it has meant that graduates leave with a negative view of the rural reality. This attitude is reinforced by the general belief that small producers resist modernization, which in turn has facilitated the development of real estate markets that favor the transfer of land from the hands of traditional producers to those who display more of an entrepreneurial spirit.
* Not integrating the agroecological approach into the education of future professionals in the fields of agriculture and agronomy means that the latter do not learn about alternative technologies that could increase the productivity of existing campesino resources, make farming more sustainable, and provide an interface with traditional knowledge that is still valid.
* The absence of institutional management issues relevant to rural development (institutional efficiency, development of incentives) in the university curriculum of agronomists, veterinarians, forestry specialists and social workers impedes the development of an institutional culture able to promote consistent development strategies.
* There are not enough trained people to teach all of the subject areas required for planning rural development. Natural resource management and the development of sustainable production systems, for example, are two fields where there is a lack of training.
1.2. New development opportunities
The second reason why a training program was considered is the progress that has been made in theories about wellbeing and human needs (2), which can be summarized as follows:
* The wellbeing of campesino families and their members depends on the access they have to economic, environmental, social, public and human goods and services. This approach to wellbeing aids in defining more clearly what the objectives of development should be and is better able to capture the imagination of the people who design strategies.
* A better understanding of what goods and services are needed in the rural sector will make it possible to develop a set of policies and incentives that take advantage of the opportunities mentioned above. (3)
* The systematic study of development initiatives will expand the knowledge base and enrich our learning of social intervention methodologies.
* The growing tendency to do away with the reductionist view of rural development where the latter is equated with agricultural development has awakened interest in identifying non-agricultural investments that could be made in the rural milieu. Many of these have to do with environmental and agro-ecotourist services.
* To successfully exploit a potentially profitable business, people are needed to mobilize the social capital, either as productive factors or as collaterals (4). For many businesses social capital is a resource that can lead to a decrease in transaction costs, compensate for the absence of legal land titles, make it possible to respond to a demand that cannot be met by an individual small producer but requires the cooperation of several, and provide access to institutional credit based on a joint guarantee.
2. OVERVIEW OF CLADES' COLLABORATION WITH UNIVERSITIES
Our objective is to provide basic, continuing and professional training to people who are active in sustainable rural development . The countries involved in this project are Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Cuba and Argentina.
2.1 Graduate studies
A) CLADES in collaboration with the University of Andalucìa, Spain, has set up a Master's degree program in "Agroecology and Sustainable Rural Development" for Latin American students. Presently there are four courses with 160 students, of which 120 are Latin Americans, including 72 academics, 24 people from agricultural research institutes and 24 civil servants and members of NGO's. Half of these students receive full scholarships from the university.
The study program involves an intensive two-month study period at the university to do the required course work. To obtain the degree students must then write a thesis.
B) CLADES and the Catholic University of Temuco have offered a Master in "Rural Development and Sustainable Agricultural Management" in 1999. The objective of the program is to produce professionals who are able to design development programs for specific agroecological areas and social realities. The program emphasizes local development management, and consists of three stages: a) tutorial period via Internet, supported by a network of universities involved with CLADES; b) an intensive study period at the Catholic University of Temuco, dedicated to the study of methodologies and research methods, economic and environmental management and impact evaluation, and; c) a thesis focusing on the analysis of a case study with the objective of contributing to enlarge the theoretical and methodological knowledge base already available(5).
Forty students have been admitted to this program.
C) A similar Master's program as the one above, called "Sustainable Rural Development Policies", mostly oriented to political authorities and civil servants of latinamerican municipalities linked to ICLEI, the institution responsible for implementing the 21 Local Agenda, is planned in collaboration with York University in Toronto, Canada, for the year 2000. This program will accommodate 160 students.
This means that by the year 2000, eight Master's degree programs will be running, hopefully with an enrolment of 320 students from Latin America.
2.2 Undergraduate studies
In 1998, on the initiative of CLADES, two universities, one in Ecuador and one in Chile, started offering undergraduate courses in sustainable rural development, in order to better prepare future professionals who might want to continue in this field at the postgraduate level. The courses are part of programs leading to careers in the agricultural sector.
The agreements with both institutions provide for the use of CLADES materials and for CLADES to act as a consultant to the professors in charge of the courses.
Our hope is that over the next three years 270 students will take these courses.
2.3 Training courses for professionals and technical experts
From the very beginning, CLADES organized training courses for professionals and technical experts that dealt with various topics related to agroecology, such as soils fertility, water management, biological control and holistic design of the household farm. These courses required attending one- or two-week sessions and attracted 500 people from various Latin American countries.
In 1994 CLADES started developing a graduate distance learning program. The program carries the title of "Agroecology and Rural Development" and has been available in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia, which all belong to the Andean region. It covers a period of nine months and is subdivided into three modules: Agroecology and Development, Scientific Foundations of Agroecology, and Sustainable Rural Development. Each module contains a theoretical, a methodological and a practical section. The course has been available for four years and in total around 1000 people have graduated. At this moment it is being advertised a fifth time. (6).
A similar program to the one for the Andean region was adapted to the Chilean and Argentina realities and offered under the title of Human and Agroecological Rural Development. It is also divided into three modules: History, Foundations and Present Situation, Design and Management of Agroecological Systems, and Policies and Strategies for Rural Human and Agroecological Development. This program has so far been offered twice and produced 839 graduates. (7).
Both programs, for the Andean and Southern region, include course materials, a study manual, group meetings with a tutor, tutorial help and a research project. Accreditation is provided through one of the universities (most of time is the Catholic University of Temuco) and CLADES.
The students have tended to be mature professionals, mostly men, working in the field of agronomy for various NGO's or, increasingly, government agencies. In Chile the program enjoys the support of government agencies dedicated to rural development, including the Instituto de Desarrollo Agropecuario (INDAP) and the Corporaciûn de Desarrollo Indìgena (CONADI).
The tutors hold training seminars and electronic conferences about specific topics.
2.4 Specialize Programs
In Cuba CLADES has developed a program in agroecology together with the Instituto Superior de Ciencias at the University of Havana. It is a graduate program that is now in its second year and has attracted more than 500 students. Seven universities and three agricultural research institutes actively participate in the project.
In the Andean region CLADES also offers a program in ecological soil management, which has a total enrolment of 277 students.
2.5 Continued education and specialize programs for school teachers in rural areas
En 1998 a program in agroecology and sustainable rural development targeting school teachers in rural areas was set up as a pilot project. Ninety-six students are presently enrolled in it.
2.6 Program for campesino leaders
This program has already been launched as a pilot project in the Andean region in 1999.
Tables 1 summarizes the educational activities of CLADES.
Table 1. Existing programs
Program or course
Target
Level
Region or country
Enrolment
Agroecology and specialized courses (soils, pests, rapid appraisal methods, etc.)
Professionals and technical experts
Training and specialization
Latin America
500
Agroecology and Sustainable Rural Development, U. of Andalucia
Professionals
Master's
Latin America
120
Sustainable Rural Development
University students
Under-graduate
Ecuador and Chile
270
Agroecology and Rural Development
Professionals and technical experts
Training
Andean region
1000
Human and Agroecological Rural Development
Professionals and technical experts
Training
Chile
839
Agroecology
Professionals and technical experts
Training
Cuba
500
Ecological Soil Management
Professionals and technical experts
Specialization
Andean region
277
Agroecology and Sustainable Rural Development
Rural school teachers
Specialization
Andean region
96
Agroecology and Sustainable Rural Development Campesino leaders Training Andean Region 90
Rural Development and Sustainable Agricultural Management, Catholic University of Temuco, Chile
Professionals
Master's
Latin America
40
Policies for Sustainable Rural Development, Catholic University of Temuco with the support of York University, Toronto, Canada
Professionals
Master's (to be delivered in 2000)
Latin America
160
3. EVALUATION OF OUR EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES
CLADES uses three complementary evaluation processes.
3.1. The first one is carried out by the students of the diploma program in Agroecology and Sustainable Rural Development for the Andean region, and has produced the following assessment:
Part I was considered excellent, very good and good by 91.2% of the respondents. Parts II and III received the same assessment from 98% of the respondents(6).
3.2. The second one is a follow-up questionnaire for the graduates of the Chilean program a year after their graduation. Asked whether they found the program useful for their work, 95% responded positively, giving the following reasons:
- Better environmental awareness; - More precise use of concepts; - Ability to distinguish and prioritize the elements that should be present in sustainable development; - Confirmation that small farms are sustainable. In terms of how they applied what they had learned to their work: - Integration of HARD (Human and Agroecological Rural Development) objectives in the job description of agricultural technician; - Integration of agroforestry, medicinal plants and organic agriculture. (7)
3.3. The external evaluation commission set up by the agencies providing partial funding for the grants in the Andean region said the following:
"The results of CLADES' training program are impressive. Students in all the participating countries confirm that the courses have been pivotal in creating a solid base of agroecological expertise. The courses have also made it possible to establish international, national and local networks of persons and institutions involved in similar work. Thanks to its training programs, CLADES is helping to lay the foundation for an agroecological and sustainable rural development movement" (8)
The training program has the following benefits and drawbacks:
Benefits
* It builds on the motivation of the students and generates the will to be engaged in the practice of agroecological agriculture.
* It has created a critical mass of expertise at Latin American universities for teaching the subjects involved.
* It has responded to the need for training of the various agents in the rural development sector.
* All the programs lead to a diploma or degree.
* The courses at every level have helped organizations involved in agriculture and received the necessary university support.
Drawbacks
* It is difficult to mobilize the required public funding for the programs.
* There is resistance from agricultural research institutions to pursuing technological developments in the field of sustainable agriculture based on agroecological methods. This impedes the development of a consistent level of technological expertise for the different agroecological zones involved.
* The founding of chairs in Agroecology and Rural Development is still slow, as it requires additional investment in continued and graduate education.
Bibliography
1.CLADES-FAO. "Incorporando la Agroecologìa en el Currìculo Agronûmico" in AgroecologÌa y Desarrollo, Issue No. 2/3. CLADES, 1992.
2. Kamenetzky, Mario. "The Economics of the Satisfaction of Needs" in Real Life Economics. Routledge, 1992.
3. Yurjevic, Andrès. "Polìticas para un Desarrollo Rural Humano y Agroecolûgico" in Agroecologìa y Desarrollo, Issue No. 11/12. CLADES, 1997.
4. Serageldin, Ismail and A. Steer. Editors. Making Development Sustainable: from Concepts to Action. The World Bank. Washington, D.C., 1994.
5. Yurjevic, Andrès. " Gestiûn en Desarrollo Rural y Agricultura Sustentable." Document explaining the concept behind the Master's program, prepared for the Kellogg Foundation, 1998. 6. Manrique, Antonieta. Correspondence Course in "Agroecologìa y Desarrollo". Report 1994-1997. Photocopy. CLADES, 1997.
7. Valdivieso, Cristi·n. "Informe de Actividades Unidad de Recursos Humanos" Internal CET report, 1998.
8. Engel, Paul, C. Ranaboldo and R. Fugere. CLADES External Evaluation
Report. Photocopy. CLADES, 1998.