Received: from ATHENA-AS-WELL.MIT.EDU by po7.MIT.EDU (5.61/4.7) id AA06849; Wed, 31 Aug 94 20:15:51 EDT Received: from vtbit.cc.vt.edu by MIT.EDU with SMTP id AA14601; Wed, 31 Aug 94 20:15:48 EDT Message-Id: <9409010015.AA14601@MIT.EDU> Received: from VTBIT.CC.VT.EDU by VTBIT.CC.VT.EDU (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 6791; Wed, 31 Aug 94 20:15:31 EDT Received: from VTBIT.CC.VT.EDU (NJE origin LISTBIT@VTBIT) by VTBIT.CC.VT.EDU (LMail V1.1d/1.7f) with BSMTP id 5665; Wed, 31 Aug 1994 20:15:28 -0400 Date: Wed, 31 Aug 1994 20:13:00 EST Reply-To: Volunteers in Technical Assistance Sender: Technology Transfer in International Development From: Volunteers in Technical Assistance Subject: Your September issue of DevelopNet News To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% @@@@@ @@@@@@ @@ @@ @@@@@@ @@ @@@@@ @@@@@@ @@ @@@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@@ @@@@@@ @@ @@ @@@@@@ @@ @@ @@ @@@@@@ @@ @@@ @@ @@@@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@@@@ @@@@@@ @@ @@@@@@ @@@@@@ @@@@@ @@ %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% @@ @@ @@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@ On-Line News and Views on @@@ @@ @@ @@ @@@@@@@ @@@@@@@ @@ Technology Transfer in @@ @@@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@@@@@@ @@ International Development %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% @@@@@ @@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@ @@ @@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@ @@@@@@ @@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@@ @@@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@ %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% September 1994 Volume 4, No. 9 IN THIS ISSUE POLICY WATCH Kenya: Technology Development Neglected LITERATURE REVIEWS A Flood of Beef The Costs of Preventing HIV Infection ORGANIZATIONS Mercy Corps International VITA PROJECTS Success May Extend Micro Enterprise Loans ANNOUNCEMENTS U.S.-Africa Telecoms and Broadcasting CD-ROM in African Libraries * * * DevelopNet News is published monthly by Volunteers in Technical Assistance (VITA) in Arlington, Virginia, USA. For additional information, please see the end of this newsletter. * * * P o l i c y W a t c h KENYA: TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT NEGLECTED By Leon B. M. Tomesen* Why does Kenya have a poor industrial infrastructure and poor human resource development in practical technical fields? It is because the country has no approved technology policy or plan to employ science and technology for the economic development of the country in general, and for small and medium industries in particular. Science and technology, capital and labor are the main inputs to the economic growth of a country. Unfortunately, despite the critical impor- tance of technology for industrial development, many developing coun- tries like Kenya pay limited attention to technology-related issues and lag behind in technological development. Even government organizations, NGOs, research institutions and donors active in small and medium enter- prise development, have concentrated substantially more on credit and nontechnical training than on technology development. In the long run this approach and the lack of a balanced technological base is harmful to the development of both small and large-scale industries and dampen a country's industrialization process. In the case of Kenya, a relatively successful industrialization process during the country's initial stages of development has been followed by industrialization and economic development policies that have explicitly and implicitly favored capital-intensive technology choices in a labor- abundant country. Policies for technology development This lack of a balanced technological base is harmful to the development of both small and large-scale industries. In order to turn things around, Kenya needs to develop and implement a comprehensive national technology policy that gives due attention to small and medium- enterprise development. The objectives and targets for technological development have to be set realistically on the basis of thorough analysis. All too often technol- ogy policies proclaim overambitious targets for export-based growth rates and propose revolutionary improvements overnight. In fact, a cer- tain adjustment period is necessary to counterbalance the negative effects of present policies. These include the lack of investment in human resource development, lack of infrastructure, high population growth rates, low productivity, political instability, distortions of the financial market and a banking system with severe problems. So Kenya has to adopt a sensible technology policy that into account the need for a period of adjustment. Likewise, a new technology policy needs to take into account that decrees are not sufficient for technological change. Technology develop- ment can only be accomplished through judicious allocation of resources, training of manpower, and a program of special incentives for technology development and technology importation. Even under these circumstances success is almost always the result of repeated attempts and experi- ments, and of a climate that encourages experimentation and understands and tolerates failure. Appropriate Technology for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Are there efficient technologies for SMEs that can ensure their signifi- cant contribution to economic development? There is ample evidence that appropriate small-scale technologies can effectively and efficiently increase output and growth and, thus, contribute to poverty alleviation, employment creation, and reduce inequalities. Two decades ago economist Ernst Friedrich Schumacher proposed that: "The poor of the world cannot be helped by mass production . . . [which is] based on sophisticated, highly capital-intensive, high energy-input dependent, and human labor-saving technology. The technology of mass production is inherently violent, ecologically damaging, self-defeating in terms of nonrenewable resources, and stultifying for the human person." Over the last few years a considerable amount of evidence has emerged which shows that SMEs can be turned into engines of growth, equality, and development. Studies of seven different industries in five devel- oping countries revealed that capital intensity (the ratio of capital services to value added) was systematically higher in large-scale (40.8) than in small-scale (2.4) firms. At the same time, economic profit was usually higher in small-scale firms than in most of the large-scale activities. The obvious success of a long tradition of small-scale production and appropriate technologies that has been well documented in the newly industrializing countries in Asia has further confirmed not only the feasibility of appropriate technologies for SMEs but their potential as engines of economic growth as well. Given the feasibility of appropriate technology for SMEs for Kenya with its abundant supply of labor and scarcity of capital, the development and dissemination of such technology is undoubtedly an attractive option. Fortunately, the significant potential of appropriate technology for economically and technologically efficient and socially desirable development is now, although still hesitantly, beginning to gain recog- nition in Kenya. Technology Assessment Nonetheless, problems still exist with technology development. Often small-scale entrepreneurs are not aware of the existence of alternative, appropriate technologies. Therefore, more information on technology options is needed. In many cases, even when entrepreneurs are aware of new technologies, they often lack the skills to assess them and choose the most appropriate one. Thus, like many other countries, Kenya faces the absence of systematic evaluation methods needed for rational decision making in technology choices. In the last few years, improved methodologies for technology assessment are being developed, which promise to be better instruments than such conventional techniques as purely economic cost-benefit analysis. The development and application of appropriate methods of technology assessment in Kenya forms an important policy instrument to enable rational technology choices which are relevant for development now and in the future. Kenyan research and development institutions and organizations should therefore increasingly assume responsibilities for assessing, modifying and adapting foreign technologies to suit local conditions and long-term developmental objectives. Research and Development (R&D) Few R&D institutions in Kenya have produced results of research in industrial development applicable to small and medium-scale enterprises. These institutions direct most of their activities towards capital- intensive technologies. In the light of their poor past performance, there is certainly a need for institutional reform. New types of decentralized R&D institutions are needed and new incentive systems governing their operation have to be developed. Similarly, reform is required in technology dissemination institutions, to make these more appropriate for and accessible to the medium and small-scale entrepreneurs. The Role of Donors The objectives and approaches of donor agencies do not always favor appropriate technology choices. While there are very good examples where aid has favored more appropriate technologies, very often foreign assis- tance has encouraged investments in large-scale, capital-intensive plants and machinery. The objectives of some donors, especially the larger ones, to maximize aid flow while minimizing bureaucratic costs is one possible cause. Another reason is that aid is often tied to supplies provided by the donor country. The role of government-owned and private aid agencies in the use of efficient appropriate technology requires more study and analysis. Of particular interest for Kenya is also the relationship between policy making for industrial and technology development and the conditions imposed by the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This type of analysis is relevant because there are strong com- plementarities between WB/IMF programs and technology policies. For example, cuts in government expenditure and in total credit normally result in cuts in expenditures on rural infrastructure, technology development and technology dissemination. The Regional Perspective With important differences, countries in the East African region, notably Tanzania and Uganda, face similar difficulties as Kenya in technology development. Therefore, regional cooperation and coordination could greatly increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the combined efforts in these countries. Conclusion The development of appropriate technologies for small and medium-scale enterprises is feasible and crucial. Different "actors", such as the government, NGOS, researchers, the private sector and donors, all have their own roles to play in policy development, research, manufacturing, marketing, subcontracting, information storage and retrieval, etc. To advance matters, a continuing dialogue is needed about "who is doing what" in technology development in Kenya in the most effective, effi- cient and coordinated manner. To look at these issues in a regional perspective would facilitate this process enormously. * The author is regional adviser for small enterprise development and urban poverty alleviation at the Royal Netherlands Embassy, Nairobi. Fax +254 (2) 339-155. L i t e r a t u r e R e v i e w s A FLOOD OF BEEF Montague Keen, 1993. "EC Beef Swamps West Africa." African Farming (November / December), page 10. In 1993, the European Community was "facing a growing mountain of sur- plus beef," according to Keen. In Great Britain alone, there was nearly a million tons in storage or preparing for export. To relieve the beef glut, much of the meat continues to be exported, at costs heavily sub- sidized by taxpayers in EC countries, to Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Senegal, Togo, and even Nigeria. But while food surpluses on other continents usually mean good news for Africa, the dumping of beef in West Africa is ruining local beef-cattle industry and creating health problems due to improper storage of the meat. Some African countries have tried to address the problem by rais- ing import taxes, but this has merely encouraged smuggling. Peter Madden (Christian Aid) argues that "if all the 250,000 tons of EC- subsidized beef were replaced by cattle from the Sahel it would restore the market for 250,000 animals and would encourage a move among poorer consumers to fish as alternative protein source." Poultry is another alternative. However, the EC countries are likely to continue to try to export surplus beef wherever markets can be found. THE COSTS OF PREVENTING HIV INFECTION N. S derlund, J. Lavis, J. Broomberg, and A. Mills, 1993. "The Costs of HIV Prevention Strategies in Developing Countries." Bulletin of the World Health Organization, vol. 71, no. 5, pages 595-604. Abstract in French. Much has been written and put into practice about strategies for pre- venting infection with human immunodeficiency virus. But how much does prevention cost? At this time it is possible to study cases where efforts have been made and where costs have been calculated on a unit basis. Today, the main public health strategies for prevention of HIV are promotion of safer sexual behaviors through mass education and person- to-person education, provision of condoms through mass marketing, pro- vision of treatment of sexually transmitted diseases and prevention services, prevention of unsafe practices by intravenous drug users, and provision of a safe blood supply for transfusions. S derlund (University of Oxford, U.K.), Lavis (McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada) and their colleagues (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, U.K.) studied projects in all areas of the world. They found no standard measures of effort or output, so that the data varied according to whether the individual contacts were costed, or the support costs per education, social, or health worker were measured. Moreover, costs varied according to whether the effort was subsidized by a government. The variation in reported costs was large from one project to the next. For example, the median cost of selling condoms in three low-income countries was 6 cents; in seven low-middle-income countries it was 11 cents. Of what value are such cost analyses? The authors say, "Economic evalua- tion is just one tool which can help policy makers" to decide the appro- priate allocation of resources among various HIV prevention strategies. In the absence of a common measure of output, health workers need to develop a database and use cost as a factor to determine cost effectiveness in the immediate future as behaviors change. O r g a n i z a t i o n s MERCY CORPS INTERNATIONAL Since 1979 Mercy Corps International has provided agricultural develop- ment assistance, primary health care, development education, and emer- gency relief in areas of need all over the world. The organization is a private, voluntary organization that also promotes awareness of basic human rights, justice and peace issues. Program countries include Afghanistan, Honduras, Israel and the West Bank, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Nicaragua, Pakistan, the Philippines, and the Sudan. Information: Mercy Corps International, 3030 S.W. First Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97201; tel. +1 (503) 242-1032; fax +1 (503) 223-0501; telex 5101002493; cable MERCY CORPS INT; e-mail . V I T A P r o j e c t s SUCCESS MAY EXTEND MICRO ENTERPRISE LOANS Mahamat Faki Ali is a professional transporter of goods in Bangui, the capital city of the Central African Republic (CAR). He owns three vans and two taxis, but with his limited finances had been unable to keep them in service since the beginning of the country's latest economic crisis. "I could only travel on foot and did not know whom to contact for financing which would allow me to get the vehicles back into working order. The mechanical problems were not very serious but access to commercial banks under these circumstances was very difficult," says Ali. "One day, when I was watching television and listening to the radio, I heard a program about VITA's project. I decided to try my luck and was able to get a [US$ 1,000 equivalent] loan. The money saved me and my family. It allowed me to get the van back into service and then fix the second one which is now running very well. Thanks to the . . . loan, I was even able to buy a new frame for a third [van]. I now have six full time employees." Ali is one of more than 7,000 businesspeople who have applied for loans since the program started in 1990. It has made over 4,000 loans total- ling US$ 1.65 million equivalent. Surveys show increased micro enter- prise profits and assets, greater consumption of goods, and creation of more new jobs. of goods, and increased job creation. A recent World Bank evaluation confirmed that the program is improving the economic situa- tion of its clients and is moving toward institutionalization. The program now has branches in two cities, Bangui and Bambari, as well as a mobile unit. It specifically promotes woman-owned businesses and value-added enterprises of the small-production sector. Credit extended to Caution Solidaire groups (individuals grouped to provide mutual per- sonal guarantees) accounts for 77% of the loans. The program is funded by the World Bank. VITA, the government of the Central African Republic, and the World Bank are discussing a possible extension of the program for two to three more years (1995-1998). It would expand and improve loan activities, client training, and technical assistance, as well as reach a state of self-sufficiency. The extended program would open two new branches, initiate new client training pro- grams, further staff development, and encourage input from clients and CAR ministries. Information: Mohammad Shah, VITA . A n n o u n c e m e n t s U.S.-AFRICA TELECOMS AND BROADCASTING The Third U.S.-Africa Telecoms and Broadcasting Conference, also known as AFCOM'94, will meet 7 through 9 September at the Stouffer Concourse Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. With its theme, "Progress Through Interna- tional Cooperation," it is expected to bring together key players in the telecommunications and broadcasting community from the United States and Africa to discuss policy issues, market conditions, technology needs and issues related to privatization. The specific aims of the conference are to develop U.S.-Africa private / public sector partnerships, disseminate information on the resource requirements for improving Africa's communications industry, facilitate opportunities for trade, investment, and technology transfer, and pro- vide participants with an update on future communications projects. Presentations will include lectures and panel discussions. AFCOM'94 will also provide a special telecommunications and broadcasting technology showcase, and exhibits of U.S. and African companies. The conference is co-sponsored by Africa Communications Magazine, the Regional African Satellite Communication Organization, The Pan-African Telecommunications Union, and the Union of African National Television Radio Agencies. Information: AFCOM International, 10560 Main Street, Suite 512, Fairfax, Virginia 22030; tel: +1 (703) 691-3570; fax: +1 (703) 691-3572. CD-ROM IN AFRICAN LIBRARIES The American Association for the Advancement of Science is now trying to make CD-ROM more useful to the growing number of African libraries that have this technology. Even without it, medical libraries can now use e- mail to conduct literature searches for health professionals. But full- text documents are still hard to obtain, and AAAS has launched a pilot project with seven African universities and three U.S. foundations that provides CD-ROM databases and document-delivery assistance. The project will evaluate how well this combination can supplement journal subscriptions. In March 1994 librarians and end-users met in Dar es-Salaam, Tanzania, to plan the project. The universities are those of Addis Ababa, Dar es- Salaam, Ghana, Ibadan (Nigeria), Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Information: Amy Gimbel or Lisbeth Levey , both at the American Association for the Advancement of Science; tel. +1 (202) 326-6730. Also see: Science (25 March 1994), vol. 263, page 1785. * * * HOW TO JOIN VITA'S ELECTRONIC FORUM VITA's free, public, online discussion forum, DEVEL-L, provides for the exchange of ideas and information on a wide range of issues and topics related to technology transfer in international development; for exam- ple, technologies, communications in development, sustainable agricul- ture, women in development, the environment, small enterprise develop- ment, meetings, and book reviews. Subscribers to DEVEL-L automatically receive this newsletter and can download documents free from a special archive by using FTP requests or e-mail messages. To join the forum, send this command or message that reads: SUB DEVEL-L your_real_name to this address: or . You can receive the same benefits by joining the newsgroup bit.listserv.devel-l. You can subscribe to DevelopNet News without joining the discussion forum by sending the following message to the same address: SUB DNN-L your_real_name . Please do not send these messages to VITA. * * * DevelopNet News is an electronic newsletter published monthly by Volun- teers in Technical Assistance (VITA), a private, nonprofit, interna- tional development organization located in Arlington, Virginia. The newsletter needs your stories: you are invited to send them to the edi- tor in electronic form. Your redistribution of DevelopNet News is encouraged. Kindly send us a message on the approximate size of your mailing list; it will be helpful in our planning. President: Henry R. Norman Acting Editor: Vicki Tsiliopoulos Editorial Assistant: Rafe Ronkin, VITA Volunteer VITA specializes in information dissemination and communications tech- nology. It offers services related to sustainable agriculture, food processing, renewable energy applications, water sanitation and supply, small enterprise development, and information management. It has pro- jects in 6 African countries. VITA's publications, on a variety of practical subjects, are designed to assist persons and organizations in developing countries. You can request a descriptive publications list by postal mail, phone, or fax. Be sure to include your postal address. Volunteers in Technical Assistance (VITA), 1600 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 500, Arlington, Virginia 22209. Tel. +1 (703) 276-1800, 24-hr BBS: +1 (703) 527-1086 [up to 9600, N,8,1], fax +1 (703) 243-1865, telex 440192 VITAUI, cable VITAINC, e-mail: Internet , FidoNet 1:109/165 .