CARICOM/CRFM/Spain Project: Diagnostic Study to Determine the Poverty Levels in Fishing Communities in Selected CARICOM/CRFM Member States
Description:
This Project will undertake a diagnosis of the socio-economic and demographic situations in fishing communities in selected CARICOM/CRFM Member States, especially as it relates to the determination of poverty levels in these communities, and its effects on the quality of life and community structures, in order to identify suitable models for planning and implementing alternative livelihood programmes and alleviate poverty in fishing communities. It is being funded by the Government of Spain under the CARICOM/Spain Scientific and Technical Cooperation Agreement.
Objectives and Outputs:
The objectives of this project are to organize a diagnostic study to determine the levels of poverty in fishing communities in selected CARICOM/CRFM Member States and develop models for planning and implementing alternative livelihood programmes suited to their socio-economic and natural environments; and to identify the demographic and socio-economic variables underlying the low standards of living in the fishing communities, and devise means of monitoring and evaluating them to determine the achievements of the poverty alleviation programmes. The expected outputs are: (i) the Diagnostic Study Report, including recommendations and models for planning and implementing alternative livelihood programmes, and the identification of suitable socio-economic and demographic indicators for ongoing monitoring and evaluation; and (ii) Skills in field research (qualitative and quantitative) acquired by field workers from Member States.
Status of the Project:
Implementation on this project commenced in October with a CARISEC/CRFM/Kingdom of Spain Workshop on 08-09 October 2009 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The Workshop reviewed: (i) the Terms of Reference for the Project; (ii) the Terms of Reference for a Regional Project Coordinator (iii) documentation relating the methodology to be employed in the survey, including the criteria for the identification of the 10 selected CRFM Member States in which the project is to be conducted; (iv) the timelines for the project activities and the attendant logistics and adjusted these as necessary; and (v) finalised the draft agenda/program, including duration, dates, venue and budget for training workshop for the surveyors.
The draft criteria and relevant questionnaires to solicit information needed to aid the selection of the ten countries in which the Study will be conducted were circulated to Member States. Based on the information received, the following countries were selected - Barbados, The Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago. The selected countries have been notified accordingly.
A training workshop for surveyors to inform them about the study, the surveys that will be undertaken and the subsequent analysis to be carried out on the data obtained; and to provide training in data collection techniques to the surveyors, was convened from 25 to 26 February 2010, in Grenada.
Following the training workshop, and in keeping with the agreed Way Forward, comments on the revised questionnaires and manual to be used in the survey, as well as updated country information, which will assist in the determination of the sample frame for each country, have been provided. The questionnaires and manual and the software for data entry are being finalized. The survey is slated to commence by the end of March 2010. However, due to the CARICOM Secretariat and the donor, Kingdom of Spain (AECID), having to address matters regarding the allocation of funds for the field activities as well as some other aspects of project funding, the start-up of the field survey was unavoidably delayed. These matters have been sorted out, and the CARICOM Secretariat and the CRFM Secretariat have now concluded an MOU regarding the disbursement of funds for the field activities. The commencement of the field survey has now been re-scheduled to July 2010.