Innovative training for poverty reduction in rural Central Asia

Tuesday 30th June, 2009

This policy briefing examines the experience gained through an ETF-funded project focussing on vocational education and training (VET)–supported income generation activities. The approach to poverty alleviation builds on existing vocational training structures in rural areas of Central Asia. Community development approaches are used to enhance skills, while costly and donor-dominated interventions are avoided.

In many transition and developing countries the economic situation of the poor including their nutrition will remain unstable unless rural areas are able to produce sufficient products at affordable prices. This requires higher productivity and better food processing technologies – areas that are both linked to skills development, among other factors. Rural populations are, for reasons of survival, often involved in a multitude of different economic activities and this frequently requires a multi-skilling approach. This puts vocational education and training in a very functional light - fostering the productive potential of individuals and enterprises in accordance with local demands.

The reasons for poverty and low productivity are many. Given the complex nature of the problems, standardised or single sector solutions in rural areas are often not suitable. In certain circumstances, the acquisition of new skills can play an important role for income generation and poverty alleviation. The rural regions of Central Asia are an example. The Kolkhoz of the former Soviet Union used to divide work according to narrow skill profiles, which are no longer appropriate in the present context of small farming and self-subsistent rural households. The rural population in transition countries does by and large not yet possess the technical and business skills necessary to generate more income through self-employment and extended economic activities.

THE BACKGROUND

Rural areas in Central Asia tended to be neglected in the past by both national policymakers and international donors. These areas were frequently left out of development plans, and no attention was paid to improving education and training services in remote regions, where the absence of investment is not conducive to enhancing employment opportunities. At the same time, education and training is key for addressing issues such as:

Inadequate technical and business competences to diversify agricultural produce and engage in off-farm activities;
The lack of, or inadequate, marketing concepts and business plans;
Insufficient access to financial assistance (micro-credit schemes) and a poor credits management.

These difficulties concern a large proportion of the population. Donor interventions must deal with the complexity of these problems that are exacerbated by rural institutions which are in turn constrained by shortages of money, facilities and capacities, and perform poorly. Project interventions in such contexts are therefore often hampered by uncertainty as regards local capacity, while making firm assumptions about expected outcomes and impacts on socio-economic progress is almost impossible.

The lack of resources and capacity of rural institution s and organisations in Central Asia is not the only challenge. Donors must be aware of the specific socio-cultural patterns, the underlying traditions and attitudes of the people concerned. Donor interventions do not always take into account these realities, while at the same time, in many cases institutions are not open to innovation and change. People almost exclusively use well-known and accepted routines as opposed to trying out new techniques and methods from outside the cultural context.

The weak institutional capacity and organisational performance of prevailing institutions make the effects of any interventions hard to predict. Activities become ‘black boxes’ with little transparency, structural inertia and uncertain outcomes and impact.

Moreover, in rural regions of these countries the private sector is not yet represented because the purchasing power of small farmers is highly limited. The export-oriented cotton production is still state-owned. Hence, private firms cannot be used to exert a positive, demand-led influence on rural workers. On the contrary, almost all rural networks, including farmers’ groups, associations, business and marketing groups, etc. are fragile.

Innovative training for poverty reduction in rural Central Asia

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