The research team in Mozambique organized a workshop in July 1999 to present the methodology and main conclusions of the SDAR/FAO pilot project to the academic community, local government representatives, the National Institute for Rural Development (INDER), and various international organizations. In the second part of the workshop, the participants were divided into smaller groups to discuss the main "policy implications" of the research findings, at local, regional and national levels. Their conclusions, presented in plenary, are summarized below. A complete Proceedings of the Policy Seminar is available in English from SDAR/FAO, and in Portuguese from Eduardo Mondlane University, Facultade de Agronomia.
Capacity-building of local institutions for:
managing financial resources decentralized to local levels;
identifying, valuing and managing resources available to the community;
promoting local mutual help associations, such as tsima.
Promotion of dialogue at grassroots level, through:
forums and councils representing the various social institutions and actors;
platforms to negotiate, channel funds and resolve conflicts.
recognizing and legitimizing local power.
Redistribute tax revenue from natural resources/agriculture to the lowest levels (e.g. from cotton, water resources).
Build a partnership of the state with the communities to provide social infrastructure such as schools, water and health.
Enforce control mechanisms to monitor and eliminate corruption and nepotism.
Constitute an independent judicial system.
Ensure transparency: government information made public and transparent; open consultations held with the communities before taking decisions, and decisions made public.
Tsima is a work rotation system on family farms.
