June 30, 2003
AMES, Iowa — Working with rural communities to alleviate hunger and poverty in developing countries is the focus of a new Iowa State University initiative.
The Sustainable Rural Livelihoods program will involve ISU faculty and students with partners in rural communities. They will work together to respond to problems that underlie shortages of food, inadequate household income and poor health.
The program was established through the Wallace Chair for Sustainable Agriculture and the Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture. Because problems of hunger and poverty originate in many ways, a management team has been assembled from the colleges of agriculture, business, liberal arts and sciences, family and consumer sciences and the ISU Foundation.
Iowa State is well-positioned to understand and address problems of agriculture, malnutrition, community health and small business development. These are only a few of the challenges faced by impoverished rural communities in developing nations, said Lorna Michael Butler, holder of the Wallace Chair.
"We place a priority on working with local people to help carry out their ideas. By listening to community members, ISU faculty and students will learn about successful activities, local resources, innovative ideas and committed groups — as well as the challenges that they face. Community knowledge will be combined with faculty and student knowledge to determine where to begin," Butler said.
The first step will be to identify a partner country and communities. The partner country will be chosen initially based on significant need. Other factors include political stability, personal safety, local interest, organizations interested in partnerships and ties that ISU has established in the area. The initial partner country is expected to be chosen by December with work beginning in 2004.
The ISU team is gathering information about hunger and food security issues in several countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America by talking with faculty and students who have experience in the countries and making country visits. The long-term vision is for several countries to be partners in the SRL program.
A long-term commitment is envisioned, but the intention is to help ensure that the local social and economic base becomes increasingly sustainable so the program can continue with less ISU help over time, Butler said.
"We define a 'sustainable livelihood' as one that effectively addresses needs for food and income, copes with and recovers from shocks and stresses, and maintains and enhances capabilities and assets while not undermining the natural resource base," said Robert Mazur, an Iowa State sociology professor and interim director of Sustainable Rural Livelihoods.
The program will identify opportunities to partner with community-based organizations, non-governmental organizations, universities or colleges and the private business sector. Iowa State faculty and staff in many departments and disciplines will provide information and expertise. Other universities and organizations may also have partnership roles.
"The Iowa State community is expected to benefit through opportunities for faculty and graduate students to collaborate in cutting-edge research, and service learning projects for advanced undergraduate students," said Mazur.
A group of international advisers recently gathered at Iowa State to work with the management team in reviewing plans for the new program. This group urged that emphasis be given to a very poor region, especially within the continent of Africa, a region where ISU seeks to establish stronger relationships.
The management team's long-term plan is to strengthen existing institutional relationships and to establish new ones in several regions of the developing world. By fostering several long-term partnerships the program will provide opportunities for a wider cross-section of faculty and students.
The program has been made possible through a gift to the ISU Foundation from an Iowa State alumnus and his wife, who wish to remain anonymous. As the program moves ahead, the goal is to attract support from other donors.