DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

DIRECTION DES POLITIQUES DE DÉVELOPPEMENT

Sous-direction des politiques sectorielles et des objectifs du millénaire pour le développement

Bureau des politiques éducatives et d’insertion professionnelle

Summary of the report by Aurélie Venot on

Costs and Resources for

agricultural training policies

The Case of Cotton Farming in Burkina Faso

Internship performed by Aurelie Venot from July 4th to August 15th 2001, with the support of the French Foreign Affairs Ministry, DAGRIS, and SOFITEX, within the framework of training at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure, Cachan, France Tutor: Marc Poumadère

This document has been prepared upon the request of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. The analyses and comments contained herein are solely the work of the author and do not represent official policy.

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Summary

After termination of the structural adjustment programmes which, most often, left public measures for rural and agricultural training in an advanced state of abandon, this study is one of the first to have looked at the nature and cost of training measures not financed by the State budget. Today, as we are seeing a concentration of training in rural areas, this study has the advantage of providing elements of response to a topical question, that of the cost of training provisions for managers, supervisors, heads of agricultural consortia and producers. This study was carried out in 2001, within the technical support department for producers of the Burkina Faso Company for the Development of Textile Fibres (SOFITEX) in Bobo-Dioulasso.

This study of the cotton industry and the training provisions in Burkina Faso describes a

high-performance sector within a difficult economic context. Agriculture, which is mainly subsistence farming, needs to meet the challenge of food security in a context of increasing pressure on land due to demographic growth and environmental management issues, soil fertility in particular. Agricultural training structures, which are undergoing significant transformation, are seeing other training organisations emerge, often supported by technical and financial partners involved in the agricultural sector.

At the beginning of the 1990s, cut off from its suppliers, SOFITEX had to re-create an

agricultural extension "interface" in the context of a globalised market that required a permanent quality approach in a difficult technical and climatic environment that required rapid changes. It therefore became necessary to focus agricultural training towards increased professionalisation and greater empowerment of the rural milieu.

The training policy set up by SOFITEX stemmed from a process of identifying demand

and the needs of producers and managers in the industry. Producers required functional literacy and the ability to transcribe into vernacular languages. This therefore required training of trainers and extension workers on the use of "simplified" French and its transcription into vernacular languages - as well as training on the technical modules. This part looks at the typology of training actions – long, short, support-advisory – for all audiences starting from producers and Union managers through to supervisors and middle management and finally regional managers.

The last part is devoted to highlighting costs for each type of training set up by the various

structures involved in training. The study suggests an outline for presentation of the budget for a training session in the agricultural sector broken down into the principal items. The typology of training proposed is not characterised by different budget lines but by weighting of these items according to the type of session offered and the initial level of the target audience. Starting from this outline, it is then possible to obtain, based on data from the Burkina Faso cotton industry, an evaluation of the cost per person and per day of a certain number of types of training. However, caution should be exercised when using this data in the sense that these are calculations of average costs that may refer to budgets that do not always include exactly the same items.

Although the study is six years old and the cotton sector has evolved considerably in this time, it is still of interest since it enables us to identify the questions raised at the time concerning training as a tool to support change: strategies, methods, costs and training providers. The questions remain the same, but the solutions may vary according to the country, territory or sector.

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Résumé

A la sortie des programmes d’ajustement structurel qui ont, le plus souvent, laissé les dispositifs publics de formation agricole et rurale dans un état d’abandon avancé, cette étude est l’une des premières à avoir posé la question de la nature et du coût d’un dispositif de formation non financé par le budget de l’Etat. Aujourd’hui, alors qu’il est question de massification de la formation en milieu rural, l’étude présente l’avantage d’apporter des éléments de réponse à une question d’actualité : celle du coût d’un dispositif de formation pour des cadres, des agents d’encadrement, des responsables de groupements agricoles, des producteurs et des productrices. Elle a été réalisée en 2001, au sein du service d’appui technique aux producteurs de la société burkinabé pour le développement des fibres textiles (SOFITEX) à Bobo-Dioulasso.

L’étude de la filière cotonnière et du dispositif de formation au Burkina-Faso décrit un secteur performant évoluant dans un contexte économique difficile. L’agriculture essentiellement vivrière doit répondre au défi de la sécurité alimentaire dans un contexte de pression foncière accrue par la croissance démographique et par les difficultés de gestion de l’environnement, notamment de fertilité des sols. Les structures d’enseignement agricole en pleine mutation voient intervenir d'autres organismes de formation souvent appuyés par des partenaires techniques et financiers intervenant dans le secteur agricole.

Au début des années 90, coupée de ses fournisseurs, la SOFITEX est obligée de recréer une « interface » de vulgarisation dans un contexte de marché mondialisé exigeant une politique de qualité permanente et dans un environnement technique et climatique difficile nécessitant des évolutions rapides. Orienter la formation agricole vers une professionnalisation accrue des acteurs et vers une plus grande responsabilisation du monde rural devient alors une nécessité.

La politique de formation mise en place par la SOFITEX découle d'un processus d’identification de la demande et des besoins des producteurs et du personnel d’encadrement de la filière. Pour les premiers, l’alphabétisation fonctionnelle et la transcription en langues vernaculaires sont indispensables. Cela nécessite donc la formation des formateurs et vulgarisateurs sur l’utilisation d’un français « simplifié » et sur sa transcription en langues vernaculaires - en plus de celle sur les paquets techniques. Cette partie fait l’objet d’une typologie des actions de formation – longues, courtes, appui-conseil - pour l’ensemble des publics en partant des producteurs et des responsables d’Union, en passant par l’encadrement de base et intermédiaire pour terminer par les cadres régionaux.

La dernière partie est consacrée à dégager les éléments de coûts pour chacun des types de

formation mis en place par les différentes structures intervenant en formation. L'étude nous propose un canevas de présentation d’un budget de session de formation dans le secteur agricole décomposé en grands postes. La typologie de formation proposée est caractérisée non par des lignes budgétaires différentes mais par une pondération de ces postes en fonction du type de session proposée et du niveau initial du public-cible. Partant de ce canevas, il est donc possible d’obtenir à partir des données concernant la filière cotonnière burkinabé, une évaluation du coût par personne et par jour d’un certain nombre de types de formation. Il convient toutefois d’utiliser ces données avec précaution dans la mesure où il s’agit de calculs de coûts moyens pouvant porter sur des budgets ne comprenant pas toujours exactement les mêmes postes.

Bien que cette étude date de six ans et que le secteur du coton ait significativement évolué depuis, elle n’en reste pas moins intéressante car elle permet de saisir les questions qui se posaient, alors, autour de la formation, outil d’accompagnement du changement : les stratégies, les modalités, les coûts, les prestataires de formation. Ces questions restent les mêmes aujourd’hui, les réponses pouvant varier en fonctions des pays, des territoires ou des filières.

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Resumo Após os programas de ajuste estrutural que, na maioria dos casos, deixaram os

dispositivos públicos de formação agrícola e rural num estado avançado de abandono, este estudo é um dos primeiros a perguntar quais seriam a natureza e o custo de um dispositivo de formação não financiado pelo orçamento do Estado. Hoje, numa altura em que se contempla uma massificação da formação em meio rural, o estudo é interessante por trazer elementos de resposta a uma questão de actualidade : qual o custo de um dispositivo de formação para quadros, agentes de enquadramento, responsáveis de grupos agrícolas, produtores e produtoras? Foi realizado em 2001, pelo serviço de apoio técnico aos produtores da sociedade burquinesa para o desenvolvimento das fibras têxteis (SOFITEX) em Bobo-Dioulasso.

A análise do sector do algodão e do dispositivo de formação no Burquina Faso descreve um sector eficiente evoluindo num contexto económico difícil. A agricultura essencialmente de subsistência deve enfrentar o desafio da segurança alimentar num contexto de pressão fundiária, factor agravado pelo crescimento demográfico e pelas dificuldades de gestão ambiental, nomeadamente de fertilidade dos solos. As estruturas de ensino agrícola em plena mutação beneficiam da intervenção de outros organismos de formação muitas vezes apoiados por parceiros técnicos e financeiros envolvidos no sector agrícola.

No início dos anos 90, desvinculada dos seus fornecedores, a SOFITEX é obrigada a recriar uma « interface » de divulgação num contexto de mercado globalizado exigindo uma política de qualidade permanente, e num contexto técnico e climático difícil, necessitando evoluções rápidas. Orientar a formação agrícola rumo a uma profissionalização crescente e a uma maior responsabilização do mundo rural passa a ser imprescindível.

A política de formação implementada pela SOFITEX resulta de um processo de identificação da procura e das necessidades dos produtores e do pessoal de enquadramento do sector. Para os primeiros, a alfabetização funcional e a transcrição em línguas vernaculares são indispensáveis. Isto requer a formação de formadores e divulgadores em matéria de uso de um francês « simplificado » e de transcrição em línguas vernaculares – para além da formação sobre os pacotes técnicos. Esta parte é alvo de uma tipologia das acções de formação – longas, curtas, apoio-conselho – para todos os públicos, começando com os produtores e responsáveis de União, passando pelo enquadramento de base e intermédio e terminando com os quadros regionais.

A última parte é dedicada ao cálculo dos custos para cada um dos tipos de formação instaurados pelas várias estruturas de formação. O estudo propõe um modelo de apresentação de orçamento para uma sessão de formação agrícola, discriminado em grandes rubricas. A tipologia de formação proposta é caracterizada não por rubricas orçamentais diferentes mas por uma ponderação destas rubricas conforme o tipo de sessão proposto e do nível inicial do público-alvo. A partir deste modelo, fica possível obter a partir dos dados relativos ao sector do algodão burquinês, uma avaliação do custo por pessoa e por dia para vários tipos de formação. Convém, no entanto, utilizar estes dados com cautela por se tratar de cálculos de custos médios a partir de orçamentos que nem sempre contêm as mesmas rubricas.

Este estudo não deixa de ser interessante, embora já tenha seis anos, e o sector do algodão tenha evoluído muito, pois ajuda a compreender os desafios naquela altura para a formação, ferramenta de acompanhamento da mudança : as estratégias, as modalidades, os custos, os fornecedores de formação. Estas questões permanecem hoje, as respostas podendo variar conforme os países, os territórios ou os sectores.

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Preamble

The French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, within the framework of preparation for the ADEA Biennial in 2008 devoted to the theme of post-primary education and training with a particular focus on education and training in rural areas, offered to fund a certain number of contributing documents for the ADEA.

Among these contributions, the internship report by Aurélie Venot – of which a summary was produced by the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs - is of particular interest. After termination of the structural adjustment programmes which, most often, left public measures for rural and agricultural training in an advanced state of abandon, this report is one of the first to have questioned the nature and cost of training measures not financed by the State budget: training for the cotton sector in Burkina Faso. This training was set up to train managers, supervisors, agricultural consortium managers and producers. Although the report dates from six years ago and the cotton sector has evolved considerably since then, it is still of interest since it enables us to identify the questions raised at the time concerning training as a tool to support change: strategies, methods, costs and training providers. The questions remain the same, but the solutions may vary according to the country, territory or sector. Aurélie Venot focused her study on the issue of training costs. In this respect, the approach of calculating the cost per person/day of training captured our attention and enables us, in fine, to compare "training investment" depending on the audience to be trained or types of training to be implemented. This report, when placed in context, is full of insights into the economics of training in rural environments.

Jean Bosco Bouyer Chargé de mission Office of education policy and professional integration French Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs

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Introduction 1 1 THE COTTON INDUSTRY IN BURKINA FASO - A HIGH-PERFORMANCE SECTOR WITHIN A

DIFFICULT ECONOMIC CONTEXT 2

1.1 The economic context 2

1.2 Training provisions in Burkina Faso 2 1.2.1 Transformation of agricultural education structures 2 1.2.2 Other players in the cotton industry 2

1.3 Cotton farming in Burkina Faso 3 1.3.1 The economic role of cotton in the agricultural sector 3 1.3.2 Institutional blueprint 3 1.3.3 Towards professionalisation and greater accountability of the rural world 3

1.4 Why and how was SOFITEX led to set up agricultural extension and training services? 4 1.4.1 A difficult technical and climatic environment requiring rapid change 4 1.4.2 A global market demanding a permanent quality approach 4 1.4.3 At the beginning of the 1990s, cut off from its suppliers, SOFITEX had to re-create an agricultural

extension "interface" 4

2 TRAINING OF PRODUCERS AND EXTENSION WORKERS 6

2.1 Training and agricultural extension - forms of training 6 2.1.1 Literacy, functional literacy, transcription 6 2.1.2 Agricultural training courses 6 2.1.3 Agricultural extension 6 2.1.4 Commercial policies and agricultural extension 7

2.2 Process of identifying the training needs and recipients 7 2.2.1 Training built according to recipients' demands 7 2.2.2 The definition of target audiences is subject to sociological and technical constraints 8

2.3 Typology of training actions and agricultural extension in the agricultural sector 8

3 PREPARATION OF TRAINING BUDGETS - COST ELEMENTS 10

3.1 Training budget items 10 3.1.1 Outline for presentation of a training session budget 10 3.1.2 Trainers' fees depend on the organisation providing the training 10 3.1.3 Payment of allowances and travel and accommodation costs is at the discretion of the organisers 10 3.1.4 Constraints related to transport influence the organisation of sessions 11 3.1.5 Administrative costs include supplies and depreciation of fixed assets 11 3.1.6 Documentation costs have a greater impact than implied by their weight in budgets 11

3.2 The cost of a training module can be evaluated according to the type of session offered and the initial level of the target audience 12

3.2.1 Literacy costs in short sessions were minimised by projects 12 3.2.2 The cost of short training sessions on management, coordination of the GPCs (cotton producers'

groups) and agricultural techniques depends primarily on the duration of the modules 13 3.2.3 Training of managers is usually entrusted to service providers 14 3.2.4 Unlike study trips abroad, which are difficult for the farmers' organisations to fund, inter-union

exchanges enable different training that is accessible to producers 15 3.2.5 Increasing attention is being paid to the setting up of agricultural extension services 16

3.3 Conclusion on training costs 17

CONCLUSION 19

LIST OF ACRONYMS 19

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INTRODUCTION

Forty years after independence, despite unquestionable progress in terms of growth, education and health, underdevelopment and poverty are still major concerns for Southern countries, particularly in primarily rural areas. Africa is now facing a demographic challenge. Its population is growing extremely fast, 45% of the population is under 15 and the population is set to double in the next 30 years with increasingly fast urbanisation. This challenge is contributing to the definition of a new spatial distribution of populations.1. Management of space and natural resources is therefore no longer solely determined by climatic constraints, but also by these constraints of a demographic nature.

At the same time, the agricultural sector is facing a twofold challenge of increasing production and implementation of sustainable development processes, to avoid the trap of growth that increases poverty. In addition, the change in the urban/rural relationship requires producers to increase productivity of labour.

In the face of these new challenges, training is a key factor in the fight against unemployment and under-employment generated by demographic growth and productivity gains in an increasingly merchant and open economy. It should contribute, by strengthening mastery of skills, to a better organisation of the various agricultural and economic factors for rural development and help these agents to anticipate change.

Education and training provisions in sub-Saharan Africa were defined by the young States in the 1960s and were built to respond to the issues of the time2. The systems set up are characterised by a significant role given to higher education in order to train engineers, justified as long as the civil service provided employment prospects, but which slowed down considerably starting from the 1980s. Training measures were then revealed to be even less suited to the needs of the economy in that the content of teaching was based on specialist areas that corresponded more closely to the principal directorates of agricultural administration rather than analysis of production systems.

In this context, agricultural training provisions3 in sub-Saharan African require an overhaul. This redefinition must take into account the expectations and demands of all stakeholders in rural development. In view of the development in education budgets available to countries in sub-Saharan Africa, what resources to implement to organise education to ensure training of the greatest number of stakeholders in rural development at as low a cost as possible?

The diversity of existing training programmes results in large differences in costs linked to the type of training implemented, the target audience, the purpose or the content. This report aims to suggest elements for presentation and basic figures for preparing a training budget, and to provide ratios that enable rapid assessment of the cost of a training measure. This report is based on a study of the cotton industry in Burkina Faso performed with the support of the French Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs following the initiative of a MAE/MAP working group on the topic of the engineering of training measures internationally and the Compagnie française pour le développement des fibres textiles (DAGRIS since 2001). This study was carried out within the technical support department for producers of the Burkina Faso Company for the Development of Textile Fibres (SOFITEX) in Bobo-Dioulasso. It enabled comparison of resources and policies for agricultural extension and training of supervisory agents for a large agricultural industry company.

The study of specific features of the cotton industry and the current training provisions in Burkina Faso (part 1) will enable us to outline reflection on the definition of training and agricultural extension methods (part 2) and to highlight characteristic cost elements for each type of training set up for the structures involved in the agricultural sector (part 3).

1 Pierre DEBOUVRY [1999] distinguishes four reference situations: poor areas marginally integrated in the merchant economy that tend towards

desertification; dense areas that tend to get denser with development of the merchant economy; urban and peri-urban areas, integrated in the merchant economy, subject to accelerated densification, and finally under-populated areas with good agricultural potential.

2 The issue is, therefore, according to Alain MARAGNANI [1997] to "increase State income by developing export goods, which is why it is necessary to train the managers and engineers needed to set up administration and agricultural projects; and to answer to the need for qualified personnel for the planned industrial and urban development."

3 The training provisions include a basic education system, vocational training, support training through agricultural extension, follow-up and support for producers, agricultural consulting and management, and also a system of higher education and ongoing training aimed at supervisors and agricultural advisors.

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1 THE COTTON INDUSTRY IN BURKINA FASO - A HIGH -PERFORMANCE SECTOR

WITHIN A DIFFICULT ECONOMIC CONTEXT

1.1 The economic context

The population of Burkina Faso is young (47% are under 15), and it is growing at a sustained pace (on average 2.5% between 1975 and 1999). Covering food requirements is therefore a major issue for the economy. Productivity of labour in the primary sector, which employs 86% of the active population and contributes 40% of GDP, is insufficient. Agriculture, which is mainly subsistence farming, needs to meet the challenge of food security in a context of increasing pressure on land due to demographic growth and environmental management issues, soil fertility in particular.

1.2 Training provisions in Burkina Faso

1.2.1 Transformation of agricultural education structures

Public agricultural education is mainly provided by schools that are under the aegis of the Ministry for Agriculture and Animal Resources. Initial training takes place in training centres for young farmers and rural promotion centres. Specialist Technical Agricultural Agents (ATAS) and Senior Technicians (TS) are trained at the CAP in Matourkou. The Ministry of Agriculture is also responsible for training centres for agricultural trainers and the national school for animal husbandry and health. These institutions made the education structure in Burkina Faso an original model in the 1980s. Faced with a lack of funding and students, these schools have seen their existence called into question in the last few years, and may even be threatened with closure (for example the inter-state school for the fight against the tsetse fly - ELAT - in Bobo-Dioulasso).

Two other ministries are involved in agricultural education. The Ministry for Higher Education is in charge of the Rural Development Institute (IRD), which trains agronomics engineers recruited by research organisations, projects, NGOs and trade organisations. The Ministry for the Environment, Water and Forests is responsible for training agents, assistants and inspectors for water and forests at the national school for water and forests in Dinderesso.

1.2.2 Other players in the cotton industry

Two types of institutions are involved in organising training in the cotton industry. There are service providers, mainly for instructors and managers working in rural areas, and support projects for local initiatives that contribute to financing training for managers and especially for producers.

� Ongoing training organisations

The Pan African Institute for Development - West Africa and Sahel (PAID-WA), the African Institute for Social and Economic Development (INADES Formation) in Ouagadougou and the West African Centre for Economic and Social Research (CESAO) in Bobo-Dioulasso, whose work is based on a research-action approach, offer ongoing training to managers at SOFITEX and/or various projects (individual and group training).

The Research and Support Group for Self-Promotion of Populations (GRAAP) offers instructors and those in charge of training organisations the opportunity to use its educational material designed to disseminate messages on health, the environment and management among villagers.

� Support projects for producers

There are three projects for training of producers:

- The support project for training of farmers' groups and rural development structures (AFGP/SDR), which concerns on the one hand literate farmers, members of village groups and on the other the extension workers from the regional directorates for agriculture and other rural development structures. The specific nature of the project resides in the production of educational material (trainer's guides, technical data sheets, agricultural extension brochures, etc.) translated into national languages as support material for the training. The topics selected

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were defined based on a diagnosis by agents from the regional directorates for agriculture, and they were treated in such a way as to leave a significant place for traditional knowledge.

- To improve the way farmers' organisations work, all producers need to be given responsibility in the organisation of groups or consortia. In this respect, the support project for professional agriculture organisations (PA/OPA) set itself the goal of ensuring literacy of and training a large number of producers in management at a low cost.

- Financed by French Cooperation from 1992 to 2000, the project for development and integrated research in the provinces of Houët, Kossi and Mouhoun (PDRI/HKM) set up training with the objective of contributing to better management of natural resources by populations in order to conserve their production potential and to support financing for development projects.

1.3 Cotton farming in Burkina Faso

1.3.1 The economic role of cotton in the agricultural sector

Cotton occupies a special position as the main cash crop in Burkina Faso. In an essentially agricultural economy, it represents a significant source of currency, since in some years it accounts for 65% of export value. Cotton is a factor for development of farms and of agriculture in general4, and contrary to what occurs for other cash crops, there is no antagonism between cotton and cereal production, they are complementary. In addition, the cotton industry is an important sector in terms of employment in agriculture and industry (ginning and spinning plants, oilseed plants, phytosanitary industry). For many farmers, the sale of cotton is the only way to access monetary resources and therefore to acquire consumer goods or small capital goods.

1.3.2 Institutional blueprint

Until 1999, SOFITEX was a mixed public-private company, with the State of Burkina Faso holding 65% of the capital, the Compagnie française pour le développement des fibres textiles (CFDT) 34% and banks (in particular the Caisse nationale de crédit agricole) 1%. This organisation was modified in 1999 when the State sold a 30% share in the capital to the Union nationale des producteurs de coton burkinabé (UNPC-B). This direct investment by producers makes SOFITEX's shareholding structure a unique model in West Africa at present.

1.3.3 Towards professionalisation and greater accountability of the rural world

Farmers in Burkina Faso perform well both from a technical and an organisational point of view. They obtain good returns despite an unfavourable environment5. In 1993 the cotton industry experienced a serious crisis due to problems managing input credit and the debt overload of village consortia that were SOFITEX's contacts at the time. This crisis led to a transformation in the way the rural world was organised. Starting from 1996, SOFITEX no longer worked directly with village groups (GV) that were supposed to manage all the village's development issues and in which the cotton producers did not have full control, but dealt with groups or consortia of cotton producers (GPC).

These new groups, defined in their articles of association as "pre-cooperative professional organisations of an economic and social nature aimed at improving the living conditions of their members" formed the basis of a new structure for the cotton industry in departmental, regional and national unions of cotton producers.

This process contributed to making producers more responsible and also to their involvement in the organisation of the cotton industry and particularly in training.

While the overall development of cotton companies is now characterised by refocusing on the industrial activity of cotton processing, in Burkina Faso we have moved from strictly industrial companies to companies that also deal with agricultural extension. SOFITEX, like all cotton companies in French-

4 Through new technologies, the possibility of financing the purchase of agricultural equipment, etc. 5 The average yield per hectare of seed cotton was multiplied by 3.65 in 30 years, from 291kg in 1970 to 1061kg in 2000/20001.

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speaking West Africa, has had to rethink its role among stakeholders in rural development, and participate in building new alternatives for the way the cotton industry works.

In the last year, cuts in funding from the Ministry of Agriculture have obliged regional directorates for agriculture to redefine their tasks. In the face of insufficient State resources to support all producers, the Union nationale des producteurs de coton (UNPC-B) will, in collaboration with agents from the administration, rethink the roles of each partner in the organisation of the rural world.

1.4 Why and how was SOFITEX led to set up agricultural extension and training services?

1.4.1 A difficult technical and climatic environment requiring rapid change

Cotton farming uses technologies that are changing rapidly. Farms are generally better equipped than the average farm in terms of agricultural equipment that requires specific maintenance. Production is subject to major climate, phytosanitary and epizootic risks.6. Particular attention is paid to phytosanitary protection of the cotton plant, and this requires regular training for extension workers.

Production has a certain impact on the environment. The increase in surface areas cultivated and the decreasing time left fallow pose, for example, serious problems of erosion and soil fertility management. To the extent where it is one of the focuses for sustainable development, (cotton culture must be designed so as not to be based on poverty-creating growth), it requires ongoing training of producers and supervisory staff.

1.4.2 A global market demanding a permanent quality approach

The global cotton market, as a commodities market, is characterised by its instability and the variability of prices (linked to the low elasticity of demand). The need for African producers to be competitive is amplified by the fact that their North American and European competitors benefit, in various forms, from subsidy policies (for example, within the framework of the CAP for European Union countries).

In addition, the seed cotton harvested in Burkina Faso may undergo ginning in one of SOFITEX's 13 plants, but only a small percentage of the cotton is then spun on site. The cost of African cotton is thus increased due to transport costs. Logistics is a major issue for Burkina Faso because the country does not have direct access to the sea, and depends on neighbouring countries (Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana) for maritime freight. To maintain their position on the world market, Burkina Faso's producers need to implement a permanent quality approach.

1.4.3 At the beginning of the 1990s, cut off from its suppliers, SOFITEX had to re-create an agricultural extension "interface".

From 1979 to the beginning of the1990s, SOFITEX was an industrial and commercial company without a supervisory structure. From 1980 to 1993 it had few relations with the agricultural world, except for a mechanisation project. The link with the field was established by the administration of the Ministry for Agriculture.

� History of events

At the end of the 1980s, the State withdrew from functions that it could no longer take on. In 1993, the reclassification of managers of the mechanisation project led to the creation of the first cotton correspondent positions within the Technical Support for Producers Department (SATP). These cotton correspondents formed an interface with producers, ensuring they were informed and facilitating sales of seed cotton. Their initial training profiles were very diverse (vocational studies certificate level, university, university technology institute, senior technician courses, engineering schools, etc.) as were their fields of study (agronomics, rural development, geography, management, and even mechanics and the textile industry). Despite additional recruitment, follow-up in the field remained insufficient. This meant that, in a context of a crisis of the village groups, SOFITEX was not taking full advantage of the positive effects of the devaluation of the CFA Franc. Aware of this problem, in 1995/96, SOFITEX and the government put together a programme to boost cotton production.

6 In 1998/99, production plummeted by 16% following a violent parasite attack (whitefly).

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� Current structures for agricultural extension and training

� SOFITEX's management methods

At the end of 1997, 130 cotton correspondents were present in the field, spread across Burkina Faso's 110 cotton-producing departments, with approximately one agent for 50 cotton producer groups. In parallel, a body of technical cotton agents (ATCs) was created, whose initial educational level was extremely heterogeneous: from the 3rd year of secondary education to university or engineering school graduates. The task of the 275 ATCs hired in 1997 was to ensure supervision of the workers and extension of the agricultural technologies required for growing cotton. Today there is one agent for 20 groups on average. The same year, to answer to the need for supervision of the agricultural extension structure, 14 of the first cotton correspondents were promoted to head of zone.

In addition, faced with the need to ensure ongoing vocational training for supervisory staff, SOFITEX offered nine correspondents a two-month training course at the end of 1999 at the IPD-AOS in Ouagadougou followed by a year-long internship (financial year 2000) after which eight were recruited as regional trainers.

The breadth of the task of the various SOFITEX agricultural extension workers means they have to be flexible. They need to have skills in both farming techniques and management consulting, and be able to pass on their knowledge. SOFITEX progressively set up ongoing vocational training programmes7 for its supervisors carried out by regional trainers and service providers

� Public structures for agricultural extension

These are headed by the Agricultural Extension Directorate (DVA) at the Ministry of Agriculture. The DVA is represented locally by the regional and provincial directorates of agriculture and animal husbandry. The provinces are subdivided into zones then agricultural coordination units under the responsibility of a supervisory agent. The DVA set up a cascading training system, funded by the World Bank until 2000, based on the Training and Visit model. At regional level, the support and advisory service for producers and agricultural trade organisations that coordinates and supervises activities in the field includes an operational training and communication office, an agricultural trade organisation support office and an office in charge of agricultural extension and research and development. Research uses two support points (PAPEM) to carry out tests and experiments. Each province possesses a team of three specialised technicians who act as relays between the researchers and the field agents they supervise (15 on average). Each of these agents supports approximately 16 working groups that may be groups of cotton producers in the cotton-farming zones and each count around 20 members. The national average is one supervisor from the regional agricultural directorate for eight villages. This system is now compromised and needs to be overhauled following termination of the funding from the World Bank.

� The various stakeholders in the cotton industry work together in the field

The SOFITEX regional trainers and the agents from the regional agriculture directorates may offer agricultural extension actions that cover the same topics and target the same audiences, and the working groups set up by the regional agricultural directorates sometimes overlap the cotton producer groups. Although their collaboration is not formally organised at national structure level, in practice the regional SOFITEX agents and those from the Ministry of Agriculture have to work together and define their respective skills.

In the same way, projects that have implemented training modules in the cotton farming zones have taken existing structures into account. In this way, agents from the regional agricultural directorates have been able to benefit from training set up for PDRI-HKM staff.

7 agricultural techniques, management and coordination of farmers' organisations, approaches to the rural world

6

2 TRAINING OF PRODUCERS AND EXTENSION WORKERS Support and advisory activities on the part of the Ministry for Agriculture, cotton companies and

producers' unions that fall within agricultural extension services may appear to be training actions. What criteria to use to distinguish between training and agricultural extension?

2.1 Training and agricultural extension - forms of training

2.1.1 Literacy, functional literacy, transcription

The high illiteracy rates in the rural areas of Burkina Faso emerge as an obstacle to the dissemination of technical knowledge. Literacy has a significant impact on the practices in farming new crops such as cotton8 and taking up responsibilities in the management of farmers' organisations requires mastery of basic reading, writing and mathematics skills. To develop participation in the management of their organisations and therefore truly democratise the working of these groups, projects relating to the cotton industry have set up vast literacy campaigns.

Two levels of targets have been defined. The first level of so-called "basic" literacy in the vernacular language, followed by more in-depth functional literacy sessions (PA/OPA) or additional training in mathematics and basic management (PDRI/HKM).

To ensure literacy in local languages, it is important that the trainers (literate in French) are able to communicate in these languages themselves. This sometimes requires training of extension workers in the use of "simplified" French and transcription into vernacular languages.

2.1.2 Agricultural training courses

The technicians and engineers who work as extension workers at all levels of the Burkina Faso cotton industry have extremely varied professional and training backgrounds, just like the technical agents. To pursue their agricultural extension and advisory actions among the rural community in a rapidly changing economic and technical environment, it is important for them to receive regular ongoing training. In the national structures (SOFITEX, Ministry of Agriculture), this training can be organised in a cascade system: the regional managers who benefit from training programmes transmit their newly acquired knowledge to all extension workers.

Training is a crucial issue for the farmers' organisations. Their managers are concerned by training projects, particularly management training set up by the PA/OPA, and they can also benefit from ongoing training organised by SOFITEX.

The wealth of training courses offered by service providers is partly based on the diverse nature of participants and the coming together of stakeholders in rural development from diverse origins.

2.1.3 Agricultural extension

Agricultural extension actions aim to make knowledge that is generally scientific or practices accessible to the general public. They differ from training actions due to their recipients. The means employed by agricultural extension can be broader than those of training as such. Agricultural extension does not necessarily require prior literacy, it can take various forms. Resources can include, for example, demonstrations of how to use equipment, broadcasting of educational messages in written form (newspapers, booklets, instruction leaflets, etc.) or audiovisual media (radio and television).

Some agricultural extension actions, to the extent that they enable producers who dropped out of the school system to reach a given level of knowledge or expertise, can be considered as producer training policies. The difference between training and agricultural extension actions can be difficult to establish, in that they aim to reach the largest audience possible and the actions aimed at producers are considered here as agricultural extension actions.

8 A. Schartz [1991] notes that heads of cotton farms are on average twice as literate as those heading farms for other crops (13.15% compared with

7.73%).

7

The support and advisory services of SOFITEX and the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources that work with producers therefore carry out agricultural extension actions when they disseminate messages concerning agricultural techniques or farm management methods.

2.1.4 Commercial policies and agricultural extension

The technical advice provided to producers by SOFITEX includes information on the equipment to be used. Is support for the circulation of higher performance agricultural equipment, which brings new technologies and requires specific skills to operate, a separate type of agricultural extension? Where does agricultural extension end and commercial aspects begin? The distinction between advice given by the management structure of cotton companies and the training offered by the phytosanitary industry to users of its products is all the more difficult to establish in that cotton companies recommend certain models or a single range for some machines.

Support provided by extension workers from cotton companies and State departments to producers for the use of agricultural equipment cannot be separated from the whole formed by the consulting/advisory activities. Demonstrations by industrial manufacturers are part of their sales policy, and so can hardly be considered to form a separate agricultural extension method.

2.2 Process of identifying the training needs and recipients

2.2.1 Training built according to recipients' demands

� SOFITEX's agricultural extension policy is now programmed by the regional trainers

The position of the regional trainers in the SOFITEX management structure enables them to study the training needs of technical agents and cotton correspondents by comparing the expectations expressed by the agents themselves, the shortfalls perceived by the zone heads and the information sent by the technical support department. Analysis of the results of this study should enable translation of the needs into topics and the preparation of a programme addressed to the agents for amendment. They need to define the content of the modules and look for skills inside or outside the company to set up the programme for the following campaign.

At the start of the session, the trainer ensures that the content of the module and the participants' expectations correspond. Where possible, additional elements are integrated on request or taken into account in subsequent modules. Each session leads to an evaluation that gives indications as to the way the form and content were perceived. In addition, evaluation questionnaires are given at the beginning of the module to encourage agents to maintain their knowledge, and these questionnaires lead to definition of the topics chosen for subsequent sessions.

� How training service providers operate

For organisations operating as training service providers, the identification process for participants consists of checking the match between the applicant profile, his or her position, their potential for career development and the type of training they are looking for.

� The Research and Support Group for Self-Promotion of Populations (GRAAP) Its goal is to encourage communities to take responsibility for themselves with a view to improving

their living conditions. To achieve this, the GRAAP seeks to analyse their situation to produce a suitable educational tool and trains instructors to use it. With this purpose, it offers basic training sessions and initiation sessions open to instructors and organisation managers. It can also set up training on request and provide support for organisations that wish to prepare educational support material on new topics.

� The West African Centre for Social and Economic Research (CESAO) In this non-governmental organisation that primarily works with the unions of farmers' organisations,

support organisations (State, NGOs, churches, etc.) and decentralised local authorities, the preparation of training modules is part of the three-year programmes. At the end of a programme, meetings with representatives of the various stakeholders are organised and training needs are discussed. Discussions are also organised with producers in order to identify their expectations. By cross-referencing these two sources, the CESAO agents can define the skills that it would be useful to include in training programmes. Multidisciplinary teams are then set up and asked to build modules based on the selected topics. They are

8

asked to define the issues, goals, audiences, support materials and the duration. The projects are then presented and discussed in a plenary meeting in order to produce a preliminary brochure.

� Decision-making mechanisms for training to be covered by projects

� The support project for professional agriculture organisations (PA/OPA) The support for farmers' organisations provided by the PA/OPA was exemplified by two vast literacy

campaigns (basic and functional), with the aim of reaching five producers per cotton producer group. The PA/OPA's choice to entrust the work of identifying participants, literacy centres and instructors to producers' unions shows the determination to foster accountability of farmers' unions in organising training measures.

� The integrated development and research project in the provinces of Houët, Kossi and Mouhoun

(PDRI/HKM)

The PDRI/HKM has developed an approach that consists of working on preparation of training on request from populations. The organisation defines its mission as support for local initiatives in collaboration with all the existing structures (farmers' organisations, NGOs, State departments).

The PDRI/HKM was also faced with the need to train project agents and partners on technical issues and transcription in vernacular languages within the framework of joint programmes (for example regional agriculture directorates, ministries of the environment and animal husbandry). The original aspect of the PDRI/HKM's experience is also due to the stress placed by the management team on internal communication and its determination to promote a highly participative management system.

2.2.2 The definition of target audiences is subject to sociological and technical constraints

For the methods suggested in training to be accepted and put into practice, recipients of the training must be able to influence decision-making in agricultural operations. Farm managers therefore need to be personally involved in the agricultural extension process. If this is not the case, resistance to innovation and to change may occur.

Particular attention could be paid to the role of women in the organisation of agricultural operations. Project managers are now aware of their specific demands for training and their contribution to the workings of economic structures. Training programmes on basic management or specific agricultural techniques have been set up in some regions of Burkina Faso specifically targeting female producers.9. Projects therefore intervene in response to local and very specific requests. However, numerous obstacles limit women’s access to greater responsibility. Until now, they have benefited less from the education system (only 13.3% of women in Burkina Faso are literate compared with 23% of men, 18% of girls are enrolled in school compared with 28% of boys), and their varied social activities considerably limit the possibilities for ongoing training.

2.3 Typology of training actions and agricultural extension in the agricultural sector

The problems inherent in defining training actions make a global approach to training costs in the agricultural sector impossible. The diversity of needs expressed by the different agents who are an integral part of this sector require classification of training actions by target audience.

TRAINING TYPES

Training types Target audiences

Content Duration Objectives Institutions

Basic literacy Long training Initial training DPEBA

Short session Ongoing training Projects

Promotion

Functional literacy Short session (422) Ongoing training Projects

Producers

Promotion

9 For example, in 1999, the PDRI supported a training programme in drying techniques for fruit and vegetables within the framework of a micro-

project on market garden production.

9

Agricultural technologies Long training Initial training MARA

Short session Ongoing training Projects

Support-advisory Development companies Producers' unions

Basic literacy Long training Initial training DPEBA

Short session Ongoing training Projects

Promotion

Functional literacy Short session Ongoing training Projects

Promotion

Role and function of organisations Short session (4232)

Ongoing training Projects

Management of community associations

Support-advisory Development companies Producers' unions

Agricultural technologies

Internal study trips Ongoing training Projects

Union heads

Study trips in Africa Development companies Producers' unions

Techniques for transcription into vernacular languages

Long training Ongoing training MARA

Agricultural technologies Short session Promotion Development companies

Role and function of organisations Support-advisory Management of community associations

Agricultural technologies

Basic management

Internal study trips

Techniques for transcription into vernacular languages

Long training Ongoing training MARA

Agricultural technologies Short session Promotion Development companies

Role and function of organisations Support-advisory Management of community associations

Agricultural technologies

Intermediate management

Internal study trips

Transcription techniques Long training Ongoing training MARA

Agricultural technologies Short session Promotion Development companies

Role and function of organisations Support-advisory Management of community associations

Agricultural technologies

Management

Regional directorates

Study trips outside Africa

Literacy, a prerequisite for the implementation of other training programmes, is the subject of specific campaigns, the aim of which is to reach the greatest number of producers possible

10

3 PREPARATION OF TRAINING BUDGETS - COST ELEMENTS

The aim of this section is to define the main items in a training budget, specifying for each item its content and the cost elements observed at SOFITEX and the various organisations involved in training of stakeholders in rural development in Burkina Faso. Each type of training will then be evaluated in figures.

3.1 Training budget items

3.1.1 Outline for presentation of a training session budget

Although training provided in the agricultural sector is extremely diverse, the budgets prepared for implementation of this training can be broken down into major items according to an outline that includes the unit cost, quantity and/or duration and the total cost. The type of training offered is characterised according to how the items are weighted.

The nature of the expenses is included in the following items:

- trainers' fees: preparation, co-ordination, report on the session;

- compensation: trainers' and participants accommodation and travel costs;

- transport for trainers and participants;

- administration: hire of rooms, secretariat, educational material, supplies, depreciation of equipment.

3.1.2 Trainers' fees depend on the organisation providing the training

Trainers' fees costs vary depending on whether the structure uses internal skills or a service provider. However, it is important not to underestimate the time spent by internal staff on preparation and implementation of a training module. The cost of using an external trainer is broken down into fees measured in person/days and per diems.

Due to the cascade structure of the organisation of ongoing training, service providers tend to intervene at senior management level. However, companies and organisations may also call on external skills to train their basic supervisory agents on certain specific points of agricultural techniques or management.

Cost of services Pan African Institute for Development Structure Person-day Per diem Local and national NGOs

45,000 F DDA (regional directorate for agriculture) rate

International and non-African NGOs 67,500 F DDA rate Projects with external financing 82,500 F DDA rate International bodies 102,300 F User rate

Research and Support Group for Self-Promotion of Populations (GRAAP)

30,000 F Travel, accommodation, meals and documentation the responsibility of the requester

3.1.3 Payment of allowances and travel and accommodation costs is at the discretion of the organisers

It is also necessary to specify whether those being trained will receive an allowance or per diem during their training (especially for long sessions) or whether they have to bear part of the costs themselves. When allowances covering travel and accommodation costs are paid by the project, the amount is determined by the choice of location for the training (are the trainers travelling, the trainees, all the participants?). The differences between the travel costs of a trainer in several bush locations and trainees grouped together in a large town for training aimed at the same audience enable organisers to calculate how to minimise costs related to payment of allowances that could contribute to the decision whether or not to set up the training modules.

Evaluation based on the SOFITEX allowance grid.

Allowance and travel costs

11

Type of assignment Directors and

Heads of Department

Managers Supervisors White collar

and blue collar workers

Day assignment 3,000 F 2,000 F 2,000 F 1,500 F Assignment with night spent in Ouagadougou or Bobo-Dioulasso

8,000 F 8,000 F 6,000 F

Mission with night spent in Houndé, Koudougou, Dédougou or Di

5,000 F 4,000 F 3,500 F 3,000 F

Mission with night spent in other locations (bush)

3,500 F 3,000 F 2,500 F 2,000 F

3.1.4 Constraints related to transport influence the organisation of sessions

The choice of location for training of agents must be made taking into account the constraints in Burkina Faso in terms of travel options for the trainers and trainees.

The transport item (depreciation and maintenance of vehicles, fuel costs) is a non-negligible expense for extension workers who have to cover a vast geographical area. The choice of a cascade training policy supposes that the regional managers are able to regularly meet with the agents in the field.

Example of a transport budget for a SOFITEX regional trainer

Travel budget for a SOFITEX Regional Trainer Standard travel cost with a light vehicle 293 F / km Average distance 70 km Average number of trips/month 5 Expenses paid for driver 1,500 F/ day for trips Estimate for a year 2,900,000 F

3.1.5 Administrative costs include supplies and depreciation of fixed assets

The cost of office supplies and small equipment (IT equipment in particular) represents 6 to 7% of the global budget of SOFITEX's regional trainers (appendix 4).

Trainers' equipment partially conditions their effectiveness. It is easier to produce training support material, for example, when the trainer has access to computer equipment. However, the impact of the equipment budget on how training and agricultural extension services function, although unquestionable, is difficult to measure. In training budgets, the depreciation items generally include depreciation of transportation means (cars or mopeds available to the supervisory agents).

Courses are generally given in hired rooms, when rooms are not made available by the session organiser. The daily cost of room hire depends on its size and location. It may vary between 5,000 F (for a small group in Bobo-Dioulasso or in medium-sized towns) and 50,000 F (ventilated amphitheatre in Ouagadougou). A solution used by SOFITEX regional trainers is to use classrooms that are not occupied during the school holidays.

3.1.6 Documentation costs have a greater impact than implied by their weight in budgets

There are two separate aspects to the "documentation" item. On the one hand, the documentation made available to trainers in order to keep their knowledge up to date and on the other hand the educational material produced by these trainers to disseminate knowledge to supervisory agents and producers.

Access to technical documentation in general often poses a problem for supervisory agents (credits for subscriptions squeezed, sometimes non-existent). The educational documents produced by supervisory agents (for example support material produced by SOFITEX's regional trainers) are not widely disseminated. It would certainly be possible, by facilitating coordination and cooperation between these agents, to reduce the time spent (and therefore the related costs) on producing educational material by more widely disseminating existing documentation.

The success of the brochures produced by the AFGP demonstrates that there is demand from producers for material that enables them to maintain knowledge gained in training at a fairly low cost. The cost of brochures varies between 490 F and 1,750 F depending on length (50 to 120 pages). For the first print run of booklets, 1,000 copies, the AFGP calculated an average cost of 1,500 F per brochure. Whatever their

12

cost price, these booklets were sold to the public at the subsidised price of 500 F. Some organisations bill documentation costs related to the organisation of a session separately.

There is therefore a considerable and useful document collection that could be used at a reduced cost (less than the cost of producing new booklets). Educational material for producers and villagers produced by these organisations can be translated into various vernacular languages (transcriptions exist for the languages spoken in Burkina Faso) and disseminated across West Africa.

3.2 The cost of a training module can be evaluated according to the type of session offered and the initial level of the target audience

Starting from the typology suggested in section 3.3 and the data collected from SOFITEX and organisations involved in agricultural training, the aim of this section is to:

- evaluate costs per trainee of a basic or functional literacy campaign, - calculate the budget for a short training module for extension workers according to their level (this

budget depends little on the content of the training), - collect ongoing training prices from training providers (in general over several weeks) for agricultural

extension department managers, - study the price of inter-union study trips and trips abroad according to the participants, - finally to estimate the global cost of agricultural extension services.

The goal of this estimate is to sketch thinking on how to assess the development of the agricultural management item in the SOFITEX budgets; which shows increasing attention paid to training by the national cotton producers' union.

3.2.1 Literacy costs in short sessions were minimised by projects PDRI-HKM 1997/98 1998/99 1999/2000 Average Total Initial literacy

Enrolled 1,520 3,989 4,778 10,287 Literate 495 1,368 1,514 3,377

Additional Basic Training Enrolled 329 362 1,182 1,873

Successfully completed 141 188 594 923

Total cost 9,810,702 40,901,331 42,113,955 92,825,988 Cost per participant enrolled 5,306 9,400 7,066 7,257 Cost per participant successfully trained in literacy or successfully completed course

15,426 26,286 19,978 20,563

PA/OPA 1998 1999 Literacy Individuals trained 744 2,024 Total cost of training 10,657,168 28,595,218 Cost per person trained 14,319 14,128

The PA/OPA estimates that these literacy costs, which drop to 5,000 F if we calculate per participant enrolled and not per participant trained, can be paid by farmers' organisations. These exceptionally low costs can be obtained by the PA/OPA by involving all stakeholders by organising literacy sessions in partnership with the producers' unions, calling on external skills (for example by subcontracting the evaluation of literacy sessions to provincial directorates of basic education and literacy). It should be noted that the PA/OPA refused to set up a per diem, incompatible with its task of support for professionalisation.

13

3.2.2 The cost of short training sessions on management, coordination of the GPCs (cotton producers' groups) and agricultural techniques depends primarily on the duration of the modules

� Direct costs of ongoing training of supervisory agents in a cascade training framework are not high

The budgets prepared by the SOFITEX regional trainers give an estimate of the cost of days of ongoing training for agents within the framework of a cascade system. The differences in cost between the modules are primarily related to whether or not an external instructor is covered (cost of fees varying from 20,000 to 40,000 F per person and per day).

The budgets for training modules established by the SOFITEX regional trainers include coverage of the trainer when it is not the regional trainer him or herself, the travel and accommodation costs of participants when they are SOFITEX employees, the cost of hiring the training room, a coffee break for all those present, supplies for participants and any educational material necessary, and the expenses relating to field visits if relevant.

Cotton correspondents (CC) Ouarkoye zone, 2000

Duration in days Module

Useful time Travel Participants Total cost

Cost per participant

Advice on farm management 2 2 10 505,500 F 50,550 F

Soil fertility management 3 2 10 506,075 F 50,608 F

Phytosanitary protection of the cotton plant 3 2 10 231,075 F 23,108 F

Conducting farming using livestock for traction 3 2 10 521,075 F 52,108 F

Evaluation and programming of operations 1 2 10 135,250 F 13,525 F

Study trip 2 2 10 500,797 F 50,080 F

Annual total 14 12 2,399,772 F 239,977 F

Technical Cotton Agents (ATC) Ouarkoye zone, 2000

Duration in days Module

Useful time Travel Participants Total cost

Cost per participant

Participative approaches to the rural world 3 2 23 490,925 F 21,345 F

Soil fertility management 3 2 23 738,325 F 32,101 F

Phytosanitary protection of the cotton plant 3 2 23 463,325 F 20,145 F

Weeds and methods to fight them 3 2 23 520,825 F 22,645 F

Conducting farming using livestock for traction 3 2 23 738,325 F 32,101 F

Evaluation and programming of operations 1 2 26 285,250 F 10,971 F

Study trip 2 2 23 568,029 F 24,697 F

Annual total 18 14 3,805,004 F 165,435 F

� Members and managers of groups and departmental and provincial unions of cotton producers also benefit from these low costs

The cost is evaluated based on data established during training set up by the PA/OPA in accounting/management, coordination, organisation and operation of groups of cotton producers over a period of ten days.

Training in accounting and management

for members of producers' groups Training in accounting and management

for union heads

1998 1999 1999

Total number trained 683 1862 100 Total cost of the training

10,831,350 F 21,932,498 F 1,177,900 F

14

Cost per person trained 15,858 F 11,779 F 11,779 F

Training in coordination, organisation

and operations for members of producers' groups

Training in coordination, organisation and operations for heads of departmental

or provincial producers' unions

1998 1999 1998 1999

Total number trained 1,300 5,784 74 167 Total cost of the training

26,000,000 F 123,125,000 F 10,800,000 F 3,680,000 F

Cost per person trained 20,000 F 21,287 F 145,946 F 22,036 F

The heads of departmental and provincial producers' unions also benefited from training organised by the SOFITEX regional trainers. The budget for each module uses the same elements as for the previous training, except that accommodation and travel costs are not paid for by SOFITEX.

Heads of producers' unions Ouarkoye zone, 2000 Duration in days

Module Useful time Travel

Participants Total cost Cost per

participant

Organisation and operation of unions 3 2 30 360,075 F 12,003 F Management of inputs and credit 3 2 30 120,075 F 4,003 F Evaluation and programming of operations

1 33 31,250 F 947 F

Guided tour: production and use of organic fertiliser

1 510,000 F

Annual total 8 4 1,021,400

F

3.2.3 Training of managers is usually entrusted to service providers

� Sessions programmed by service providers

The brochures offered by the various service providers enable evaluation of the cost of training for managers and trainers involved in rural development.

The cost of training units at the Pan African Institute for Development includes travel, accommodation, meals, daily allowances paid to trainees, health cover, cost of the field trip and documentation and enrolment costs.

15

Cost per participant of training units at the Pan African Institute for Development

Training using information technology Duration of training

No Yes Three weeks 611,625 F 720,900 F Four weeks 814,500 F 961,200 F Five weeks 1,018,125 F to 1,201,125

F

The cost of sessions at the West African Centre for Social and Economic Research (CESAO) includes enrolment fees (5,000 F for an agent sent by a farmers' organisation, 15,000 F for other organisations), accommodation and meals (65,000 F per week) and the cost of the training (60,000 F per week). The CESAO does not cover transport, supplies or allowances for trainees. Training courses generally last three to four weeks.

Cost per participant of training at the CESAO Duration of training Cost

Three weeks 390,000 F Four weeks 515,000 F

The cost of participation for individual instructors in educational training offered by the Research and Support Group for Self-Promotion of Populations (GRAAP) and use of the organisation's educational material depends on the duration of the training but also the location in terms of the cost of accommodation and meals.

Cost per participant of training at the GRAAP Duration of training Cost

Ten days 35,000 F Two weeks 50,000 F

� An example of long-term training for agricultural extension managers

The training of SOFITEX regional trainers by the Pan African Institute for Development (IPD/AOS) at the end of 1999 is an example of ongoing training that aimed to provide knowledge, techniques, tools and expertise but also know-how in terms of action by offering the agents concerned an opportunity for career development. The global duration of the course provided by the Pan African Institute for Development, organised around services by three resource-people (a planning economist, a training advisor and a rural sociologist) was 90 days, of which 45 were actual training days.

The total budget for the training offered by the Pan African Institute for Development, including managers' fees and per diems, secretariat, supply of educational material to participants and a complementary accommodation and catering service, was 24,808,250 F or 2,756,472 F per participant.

3.2.4 Unlike study trips abroad, which are difficult for the trade organisations to fund, inter-union exchanges enable different training that is accessible to producers

The SOFITEX regional trainers set up study trips within Burkina Faso, grouping together supervisory agents (ATCs or CCs, zone heads, follow-up/evaluation correspondents, regional trainers) and model producers.

16

Study trip for CCs from the Dédougou zone in 2000

Study trip for ATCs from the Dédougou zone in 2000

Total number of participants 23 Total number of participants 25 Total cost (4 days) 500,797 F Total cost (4 days) 568,029 F

of which transport costs 44% of which transport costs 33% Cost per participant 21,774 F

Cost per participant 22,721 F

The PA/OPA's experience enables an estimation of the cost of exchange trips for producer union heads within Burkina Faso and in neighbouring countries (e.g. Benin).

Inter-union exchange trip in 1999

Total number trained 33 Cost of the training 266,900 F Cost by individuals trained 8,088 F

The unit cost drawn up by the PA/OPA corresponds to 50% of the exchange trip costs, the other half being covered by the departmental union that set it up.

Exchange trip to Benin in 1998 Total number trained 45 Cost of the training 9,910,000 F Cost by individuals trained 220,222 F

Exchange trips abroad are a relatively costly type of training, and because of this it is difficult to set them up regularly for farmers' organisations.

Project managers and managers from large companies or the civil service can benefit from training abroad at universities or research centres. The aims of these programmes are in particular to acquire diagnosis methods and tools and learn different methods of action for development.

3.2.5 Increasing attention is being paid to the setting up of agricultural extension services

� The item "agricultural supervision" on SOFITEX's ba lance sheet grew considerably between 1993 and 2000

The "agricultural supervision" item on SOFITEX's balance sheet increased tenfold in seven years, and as such shows the increasing importance allocated to agricultural extension actions.

The budget devoted to agricultural extension is clearly correlated with SOFITEX's supervisory staffing levels. Staffing costs represent the main expense item for the agricultural extension department. In 2000, for example, they represented 38.1% of this budget.

Breakdown of costs of agricultural supervision

0,36% 2,80%

35,19%

23,15%

38,51%

Travel costs

Supplies

External services

Staffing costs

17

Development in supervisory staffing levels

and cost of agricultural extension service

0200400600

1993

1995

1997

1999

2001

0

5 000

10 000

Global SOFITEX supervisory workforce

Cost of

agricultural

supervision per

tonne of cotton

Série2 Série1

� The cost of an operational advisory department within the national cotton producers' union (UNPC-B)

Faced with SOFITEX's move to refocus its industrial and commercial operations, the cotton producer unions’ responsibilities in terms of support and advice to producers increased. In view of this, the national cotton producers' union decided to create an operational advisory department.

V. Beuaval [1999] studies how such a department is set up.

Designing an operational advisory department within the UNPC-B Hypothesis Year Number of advisors Total costs in KF Cost per advisor in KF

1 10 90,000 F 9,000 F 2 15 81,000 F 5,400 F 3 20 93,000 F 4,650 F

1

Total 45 264,000 F 5,867 F 1 10 90,000 F 9,000 F 2 20 102,000 F 5,100 F 3 30 138,000 F 4,600 F

2

Total 60 330,000 F 5,500 F

In certain hypotheses, the number of producers reached by such a service (70 if the advisor provides individual advice, 240 on average for group work), the surface areas they cultivate (five to ten hectares), the average added value of a hectare of crop (estimated at 1,201,125 F) and the annual gain due to the advice (2 to 3% of the added value produced), added value gains emerge as higher than the annual cost of an advisor, and all the more so since, in addition to direct gains by farmers, the impact on neighbouring producers, medium and long term effects of preserving soil fertility and the implications in terms of knowledge of production and producers' economic performance can be taken into account.

3.3 Conclusion on training costs

It is therefore possible, based on data concerning the Burkina Faso cotton industry, to obtain an evaluation of the cost per person and per day of a certain number of training courses according to the type of training set up and the target audience category. This evaluation is a means to estimate the budgets needed to set up training programmes. However, caution should be exercised when using this data in the sense that these are calculations of average costs that may refer to budgets that do not always include exactly the same items.

COST PERSON-DAY

Training Audience Average duration Average cost per person

Average cost per person and per day

Initial literacy Producers 51 days 17,345 F 340 F Functional literacy

Producers 30 days

18

Producers 10 days 17,230 F 1,723 F

Union heads 10 days 47,885 F 4,788 F

CC 10 2.3 days 39,996 F 17,389 F

Short training courses (agricultural or management).

ATC 11 2.8 days 25,744 F 9,194 F

Agricultural extension managers

24 days 887,912 F 36,996 F Long training modules

Rural development coordinators

11 days 42,500 F 3,863 F

Long-term ongoing training Trainers 45 days 2,756,472 F 61,254 F

ATC 4 days 22,721 F 5,680 F Study trips

CC 4 days 21,774 F 5,444 F

The issue of the effectiveness of training and agricultural extension policies follows on from this reflection on the cost of these policies. Some training courses are subject to final assessment, which enables testing of the knowledge acquired by the trainees. However, evaluation and follow-up budgets are often tight, and it is particularly difficult to measure the medium and long-term effects of training. A way of measuring these effects is to consider that training of human capital is one of the explicative variables of the cotton production function, and compare the development of agricultural extension budgets, taken as indicators of the human capital employed, with total production. This would enable us to compare the budget for the "agricultural supervision" item on the SOFITEX budget with the tonnes of cotton produced per year in order to measure the explicative power of the training and agricultural extension variable in the production function.

Change in production and increase in the agricultural

supervision budget

050 000100 000150 000200 000250 000300 000350 000400 000

1993/94

1994/95

1995/96

1996/97

1997/98

1998/99

1999/00

2000/01

0

500 000

1 000 000

1 500 000

2 000 000

2 500 000Production of seed cotton in tonnes

Budget of the agricultural

supervision department in KF

Série2 Série1

Comparison of global trends in seed cotton production development and development of the

agricultural supervision item in the SOFITEX budget does not allow a clear correlation to be established between these two variables. The lack of data available and the large number of factors influencing the result of cotton campaigns mean this data should be handled with care. We would need a sufficiently accurate measure of the contribution of the main production factors (surface area cultivated, capital-fixed assets, inputs, etc. employed, the quantities of labour used) to be able to clearly establish the impact of training and agricultural extension on the development of production.

10 Cotton Correspondent 11 Technical Cotton Agent

19

CONCLUSION

Stakeholders in rural development have many and diverse expectations in terms of training. Supervision of working producers today does not stop at agricultural technical support for, but is increasingly integrating all aspects of advice on operational management. To respond to this development, training of extension workers has to constantly evolve with the environment and the market. The public agricultural education system has not, in the last few years, been able to satisfy new demands from the production system in terms of training human capital. Due to this, the role of each stakeholder in the agricultural sector is being redefined and the training offering has multiplied and diversified. There are currently a set of training provisions that are constantly evolving, seeking to better take into account the constraints related to the definition of training and agricultural extension programmes (initial level of trainees, time available for learning, etc.) and which unquestionably contribute to the operation of the cotton industry in Burkina Faso.

The efforts devoted to implementation of these measures have enabled relatively low training costs

(particularly for literacy campaigns) to be attained. However, the limited amount of long-term data available and the difficulty in comparing budgets drawn up by different structures, whose missions and objectives but also means of action are different, requires us to take great care in processing data collected on training costs.

We would especially need to be able to more accurately evaluate the impact of the different training

policies and the share of agricultural extension services in cotton production, but also take into account external positive or negative effects of these actions, since cotton farming has an impact on how entire operations function. Cost elements cannot really be used as a decision-support variable for training programmes unless they can be associated with indicators of the effectiveness of training, particularly in the medium term. The diversity of the effects to be taken into account and the difficulty of isolating the impact of a specific variable from the production function mean that such an indicator is beyond the scope of this study.

The first challenge of education is to give populations a means to control their own development.

Increasing empowerment of producers' unions in the organisation of agricultural sectors should enable all stakeholders in rural development to be associated with decision-making and the implementation of training that are an integral part of development projects. The weaknesses and unsuitability of the unique initial training model with regard to the current situation in sub-Saharan Africa have been proven. Training measures could move towards specific actions defined on request from recipients and in collaboration with them, according to methods we are seeing outlined in Burkina Faso, but which remain to be created and need to develop in step with the technological and economic environment in order to reach the greatest number of stakeholders possible.

L IST OF ACRONYMS AFGP/SDR Support project for training for farmers' groups and rural development structures CESAO West African centre for social and economic research PA/OPA Support Project for Professional Agriculture Organisations PDRI-HKM Integrated development and research project in the provinces of Houët, Kossi and Mouhoun SOFITEX Burkina Faso company for the development of textile fibres UNPC-B National cotton producers' union of Burkina Faso