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Supporting Pastoralism and Agriculture
in Recurrent and Protracted Crises
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Explore SPARC’s publications and resources as we create, distil, evaluate and share evidence and best practice on research and policy that aims to support pastoralists and farmers in dryland areas.

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1-9 of 15
  • Simon Levine
Local farmers in Khost Province Afghanistan - image by Resolute Support Media - CC BY 2.0 DEED Publications and resources

What does it mean to take context seriously for village-level governance? Lessons from community development councils in Afghanistan

This policy brief looks at why aid practitioners' governance reforms in Afghanistan failed to understand or engage with existing village-level governance structures.
An Afghan farmer and his family stand beside a tractor - image by SOC Neil Chapman Defence Images - CC BY-NC 2.0 DEED Publications and resources

What does it mean to take context seriously for rural differentiation? Lessons from Afghanistan

This policy brief looks at how aid practitioners in Afghanistan assumed a high degree of uniformity in the rural economy that does not exist, to the detriment of development interventions.
A local breadmaker prepares stacks of bread in Helmand Province, Afghanistan - image by Resolute Support Media - CC-BY-2.0-DEED Publications and resources

What does it mean to take context seriously for engaging in markets? Lessons from Afghanistan

This policy brief looks at why millions of dollars of aid and investment failed to transform Afghanistan's economy.
Wheat harvest in Panjshir Valley, Afghanistan - image by Alex Treadway / ICIMOD - CC-BY-NC-2.0-DEED Publications and resources

What does it mean to take context seriously for post-harvest processing and storage? Lessons from Afghanistan

This policy brief looks at why aid practitioners missed an important opportunity to bolster food security by supporting improved post-harvest processing and storage in Afghanistan.
A weaver in Kaldar district Afghanistan - image by Hand in Hand International - CC- BY-2.0-DEED Publications and resources

What does it mean to take context seriously for credit and microfinance? Lessons from informal credit in Afghanistan

This policy brief looks at why aid practitioners missed an important opportunity to understand and engage with informal credit systems in Afghanistan.
Men on the way to mosque in Bamiyan - Image by Eric Kanalstein / UN - CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED Publications and resources

Ten traps to avoid if aid programming is serious about engaging with context: Lessons from Afghanistan

Using examples from Afghanistan, this research outlines 10 traps that practitioners and donors working in fragile and conflict-affected regions must avoid if aid is to engage effectively with context.
Ploughing with cattle in southwestern Ethiopia. Credit: ILRI/Stevie Mann Publications and resources

How can development partners support food security in protracted crises?

This policy brief, developed for the UK’s 2023 Global Food Security Summit, summarises insights from recent SPARC research on how to bolster food security in countries affected by conflict and protracted crises.
Female pastoralist in Somalia Publications and resources

Somalia: Anticipatory Action in Advance of 'Wicked Crises'

This recent study from SPARC offers insights from a real-time study of people’s lives in Somalia during 2020–2022, looking at how crisis-affected people take their own anticipatory action.
Somali region drought response/ Photo Credit: UNICEF Ethiopia/2022/Mulugeta Ayene (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Publications and resources

Obstacles to and opportunities for anticipatory action in Somalia

This brief is the second in a series highlighting learnings from a longitudinal study on anticipatory action in Somalia.

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