ForeWorD ďż˝ Catholic Relief Services takes pride in being a dynamic organization that encourages innovation and adjusts the way we do business as global, national and local circumstances change. The challenges that we and our partners confront often seem insurmountable, and in a rapidly changing world new challenges constantly arise. So we cannot rest on our laurels. However successful we may be now, we cannot base our future as an organization solely on our past performance. We need to continually reflect on what we do, take risks, and try new ideas. We have to grow as an organization that champions a culture of learning and change, an essential condition for maintaining our relevance in this fast changing world. This book leads us through a process of how CRS saw the opportunity to embrace a market- and business-oriented approach to agricultural development. Over time, we have come to a fuller understanding that the best way to help poor rural people move out of poverty is to boost household income in a sustained way. We concluded that building the capacity of poor farmers to engage in profitable enterprises had to become an integral part of our agricultural development strategy. This shift has required a whole new mind-set among managers and technical staff alike. Those who work in the field have had to learn new skills; managers have had to engage new staff with appropriate education and experience. Our partnerships and alliances with others have been fundamental to our success in this process. New concepts and methods in agroenterprise development originating with researchers have been combined with many years of field experience on the part of CRS and other development agencies. This has provided the basis for an ongoing, mutual process of learning, practice, and reflection that has in turn led to new ways of working in the field. Through this book, we would like to share the story of this learning process and how it has influenced change within CRS. It is having a profound influence on our performance in building the capacity of our development partners and poor farmers to confront the challenges of market-oriented agriculture. The process has also brought significant benefits to CRS. Most importantly, it has proved efficient and effective in providing us with a lasting capacity to respond to the needs of the farm families we serve.
Ken Hackett President Working together, Learning together LEARnIng ALLIAnCES In AgROEnTERpRISE DEVELOpmEnT
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