Village Problem Identification (VPI) using Participatory Rural Approach PRA
Ismail M. B. M. Department of Management Faculty of Management and Commerce South Eastern University of Sri Lanka Oluvil
[email protected]
Abstract Problem identification is one of the stages in problem- solving process. Alfred W. W. Schoennauer (1981) stated that problem finding requires a resource audit. Participatory Rural Appraisal refers to rural villagers participate for identifying their village- level problems with respect to resources and facilities they have in their village. Researcher raises research question as “What problems are faced by villagers of Aalim Senai of Oluvil?”. Objectives are to determine problems of villagers of Aalim Senai (Oluvil) and to prioritize the problems faced by villagers. Researcher selected 21 household units as PSU. Husbands and wives of these 21 household units have been taken as Secondary Sampling Units (SSU) using systematic sampling technique. Primary data are obtained via enumerator- administered questionnaire. Data are presented and analyzed using Excell and SPSS. All husbands prioritized water, menace of animal, transport, capital, other problem, marketing, production and electricity as their problem. All wives prioritized menace of animal, water, transport, marketing, capital, production, electricity and other as their problem. Value of Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (rs) is 0.6072. This refers to there is a substantial positive association between the problems of husbands and wives with respect to problems identified in Aalim Senai of Oluvil. The test statistics indicated that there is no relationship between problems preferred by males and those of females in Aalim Senai of Oluvil. Water, transportation, menace of animal and marketing are mostly important to villagers of Aalim senai of Oluvil. Electricity, capital, production and other problems are most important to them. Divisional Secretariat, other Governmental organizations and Non – Governmental Organizations -NGOs- have to take initiatives and steps to implement solutions for the identified problems above in this village. Key words: Aalim Senai Problem, Participatory Rural Approach
Background of the research Aalim Senai of Oluvil is situated in Ampara, Eastern province of Sri Lanka. There are around 175 families consisting of 674 family members. There are potentialities for rising number of families in future. When family members get married they would seek for separate accommodations there. People are moving towards this village due to t- sunami and flood. People are attracted to this village for their natural entertainment. Villagers have traditional technology in their agricultural production. Families cultivate agri- products on their own for their self- sufficiency. Excess agri- products are sold in their own garden or in some other outside village fairs. Cultivation of agri- products are undertaken during rainy seasons. Cultivation of agri- products would be minimal during drought seasons. Villagers face difficulties in selling their products. Other essential items are bought by villagers from outside the village. There are a very few home based shops for the need of villagers. Divisional secretariat of Addalaichenai as Government Institution does the need of the villagers to their level best. Some Non – Governmental Organizations –NGOs- also help to the needy people. Villagers’ income is so poor. They get their income from seasonal agriproducts. They have no income during off- seasonal agri- products. They borrow money from outsiders for their needs. They have credit facilities from outside people. This research is organized as research question (RQ), objectives of the research, significance of the research, previous literatures, research framework, exploratory research design , methodology, field work and data collection, data presentation & analysis, results & discussion of findings, implications for policy makers, limitations & further research avenues, originality and references.
Research question Researcher carried out a semi- structured interview. Interviewees were the group of villagers of Aalim Senai (Oluvil). Few males have replied that they face problems with respect to water and capital period to period. Some males have indicated transportation problem. Researcher carried out semi- structured interview using key informants. Researcher designed few questions on the basis of the above key problems such as water, capital and transportation. Some females have indicated capital and transportation. Some females other have indicated water as problem. However, it has been confirmed that there are problems in water, capital and transportation. However, there is no (zero) relationship between the preferential responses of husbands and wives in population of Aalim senai (Oluvil) with respect to problems such as water, capital & transportation.
From the above background study and the brief literature review, research problem exists on problems in water, capital and transportation. These problems arise the following research question. “What main problems are faced by villagers of Aalim Senai (Oluvil)?”
Objectives of the research So as to answer the above research question, researcher sets the following two objectives. 1. To determine problems of villagers of Aalim Senai (Oluvil) 2. To prioritize the problems faced by villagers of Aalim Senai (Oluvil)
Significance of the research This research is carried out using PRA method in a remote village. This research is expected to find out main problems faced by villagers. Village development can contribute to regional and national development. This research can put forward some solutions for identified problems. There are few research articles in identifying problems using PRA. So, this research is expected to bridge the gap by adding value to existing literature and generating new knowledge.
Previous Literatures There are few literatures in problem identification of Aalim Senai (Oluvil). One study has been done in 2011. Ayoob, S. M. & Riswan, M. (2011), undertook a research on post- war economic activities of women In Ashraff Village. This study focused on livelihood depending on paddy cultivation, crop cultivation and husbandry. Main objective of this study is to study about to what extent, women participates in these activities?
Research framework My research framework is derived from a semi- structured interview by way of group discussion and key informants. Group discussion with few males revealed that they faced problems with respect to water and capital period to period. Some males have indicated transportation problem. Key informants with some females have expressed that their problem is on capital and transportation. Some other females have indicated water as their problem.
Figure 1: Problem identified
Hypotheses developed
From the above research framework and semi- structured interview by way of group discussion and key informants, researcher sets the following hypothesis. Null hypothesis: There is no (zero) relationship between the responses of husbands and wives in population of Aalim senai (Oluvil) with respect to problems such as water, transportation, electricity, capital, menace of animals such as animals, production, marketing and other. Alternative hypothesis: There is relationship between the responses of husbands and wives in population of Aalim senai (Oluvil) with respect to problems such as water, transportation, electricity, capital, menace of animals such as animals, production, marketing and other.
Exploratory research design
Semi structured interview is applied to define research problem with a limited number of people which is a small sample size. Research problem is identified via qualitative research design. Conclusive research design is done by descriptive and causal research design. Crosssectional research is also designed as descriptive. Data are collected only once from sample out of population. Further, causal research is designed to know the association between husbands and wives population responses.
Methodology
Target universe
Primary Sampling Units (PSU) are all the research sites. i.e. household units located in Aalim senai (Oluvil). Secondary Sampling Units (PSU) are all the respondents i.e. both husbands and wifes in this village.
Sample size
Sample size of the PSU is selected by using PPS – cumulative total method-. SSU is selected from the selected PSUs. Sample size is calculated by the following formulae.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………Equation 1
Where, б2 is the population variance of household units z is the confidence level. Suppose 95 % of the confidence level. Researcher determined the z value associated with confidence level using z table. 95 % of the confidence level the probability that population mean will fall outside one end of the interval is 0.025 (0.05/2). The associated z value is 1.96. z2 is the square of z value. D refers to the level of precision. This is the maximum permissible difference (D) between sample mean and population mean. Researcher considers +/- 2 as precision. This indicates that the researcher wants to determine average number of households so that precision will be within
household units. D2 is the
square of the level of precision. Cumulative total # of household units has been counted. Last cumulative total is 175 which is a 3 digit figure. Researcher decided to use a three digit random table to select household units. Researcher started at random. Selected random numbers were 836, 528, 906, 269 & 19. All random numbers except 19 exceeds the cumulative total of 175. 19 only exist within the range of the cumulative total. There are 50 house hold units in the census block of “Household units having 3 members”. Of the 50 house hold units, 19 households units have to be selected in real. Researcher selected 21 household units.
Secondary Sampling Units -SSUsResearcher selected both husband and wife as respondents to answer the questionnaire.
Sampling technique Systematic sampling method is used to select sample since the housing units are in alignment. Kth household unit is calculated using the following formulae. K = N/n (175/ 21 = 8). Every eighth household unit is selected for as PSU. Husbands and wives in every eight house hold unit are selected as PSU.
Field work and Data collection Data are obtained using primary data collection method via enumerator- administered questionnaire as data collecting instrument. Questionnaire represented demographic profile, main problem identification question and auxiliary questions. Each section had both open ended and closed ended questions. Number of questions is 25. It took around fifteen minutes to fill a questionnaire. Researcher used trained enumerators for field work and for filling questionnaires. Trained enumerators were A/L school leavers of AK/ Al Hamra Maha Vidyalaya. 05 School leavers undertook the questionnaire filling. 75 questionnaires have been entrusted with them. 15 questionnaires have been filled by each school leaver. Data collection lasted for about one month. Response rate is 100% {(75/ 75) * 100}. Nonresponse rate is 0%. After collecting questionnaires, they were cleaned and open ended questionnaires were post coded.
Measurement and scaling Measures are measured using assigned values such as 5,4,3,2 &1 which represents mostly important, most important, important, less important & least important. Measures are scaled using ordinal scale i.e. 5 point likert scale.
Data presentation and analysis Data presentation and analysis were done using Excell with the version of 2007 and SPSS with the version of 16.0.
Data presentation and analysis Data presentation
Data presentation and analysis have been illustrated in the following tableau.
Table 1: Data presentation and analysis
Objective Number 1
2
Objective
To determine main problems of villagers of Aalim Senai (Oluvil)
Univariate data presentation
Bivariate data presentation
Bar charts & pie charts
NA
Mode
NA
Response summary tables
NA
Total score & rank
NA
To prioritize the problems of villagers of Aalim Senai (Oluvil)
Univariate data analysis
Bivariate data analysis
Results and discussion of findings Univariate data analysis Mode of husbands and wives
The following table shows 21 husbands’ and wives major problem on the basis of mode value. Water, transportation, animal menace and marketing are mostly important to husbands. Electricity, capital, production and other problems are most important. Table 2: Univariate data analysis Statistic s
Husbands’ and wives’ major problems Menac e of Wate Transportatio Electricit Capita Anima Productio r n y l l n
Mode 5 5 4 (H) Mode 5 5 4 (W) Total scores and Rank of husbands and wives
Marketin g
Othe r
4
5
4
5
4
4
5
4
5
4
Responses of 21 husbands and 21 wives have been summed up. Then, they have been converted into ranks in terms of the total score.
Table 3: Total scores and rank of husbands and wives
Responde Wat nts total er score & ranks Total 104 score of husbands Total 100 score of wives Husbands’ 1 rank Wives’ 2 rank
Transportat Electric ion ity
Capit al
Mena Producti ce of on anima ls 100 83
Marketi ng
Oth er
89
90
90
80
90
95
80
92
104
85
95
80
3
8
3
2
7
6
3
3
7
5
1
6
3
7
Bivariate analysis
Spearman rank correlation coefficient r s is used as bivariate rank correlation analysis. The following formula has used to calculate Spearman rank correlation coefficient.
Table 4: Bivariate analysis
Formula used rs = 1 – { 6*∑d2 / n (n2 – 1)} 6 * 33 = 198 8 * (63) = 504 198 / 504 = 0.3928
1 – 0.3928 = 0.6072
Interpretation of results: Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient is denoted by the symbol “rs”. The value of this is 0.6072. Sign is positive. This means that there is a substantial positive association between the responses of husbands and wives with respect to problems such as water, transportation, electricity, capital, menace of animals such as animals, production, marketing and other. Hypothesis testing Null hypothesis: There is no (zero) relationship between the preferential responses of husbands and wives in population of Aalim senai (Oluvil) with respect to problems such as
water, transportation, electricity, capital, menace of animals such as animals, production, marketing and other. Alternative hypothesis: There is relationship between the preferential responses of husbands and wives in population of Aalim senai (Oluvil) with respect to problems such as water, transportation, electricity, capital, menace of animals such as animals, production, marketing and other.
Table 5: Rules for rejection of hypotheses
Hypothesis
Usual rule for rejecting a null hypothesis In this scenario, TS CAL < CV of TS CAL
rs test statistics calculated (TS CAL)
TS CAL
0.6072
Critical value (positive critical value) of test statistics calculated (TS CAL) CV of TS CAL 0.7143
rs test Reject statistics calculated (TS CAL) > critical value (positive critical value) TS CAL > H0 CV of TS CAL 0.7143 < Accept 0.6072 Ho
Accept
H1
Reject H1
Since the test statistics calculated (r s) is lower than critical value (positive critical value) of test statistics calculated (rs) Researcher accepts null and reject alternative. This refers to that there is no relationship between their preferential responses of husbands and wives in population of Aalim senai (Oluvil) with respect to problems such as water, transportation, electricity, capital, menace of animals such as animals, production, marketing and other.
Implications for policy makers Water, transportation, animal menace and marketing are mostly important to villagers of Aalim senai (Oluvil). Electricity, capital, production and other problems are most important to them. Researcher suggests the following solutions for policy makers.
Table 6: Implications for policy makers
Problem Water
Mostly important problem Solutions Issue drinking water at regular intervals in bousers Try to increase/ build tube well, public well Clean and arrange water from lake & rivers during draught season for agriculture
Transportation
Arrange bus service Try to issue push bikes to breadwinners and school going children
Animal menace
Workshops, seminars and awareness programmes by Department of Wild Life
Marketing
Sales points, market opportunities, Government purchase, etc.
Electricity
Most important problems Line connection to households
Capital
Ensuring the availability of capital from banks in the form of agricultural loans, support from Government organizations and NGOs
Production
Training to agricultural workers Granting necessary equipments and maintenance of them Easily accessible and high caliber seeds
Other
Entertainment facilities
Limitations and further research avenues 1. Demographic profile and auxiliary questions under each main problem have not been analyzed in this research. 2. 175 household units have been taken as PSU. 674 members have been counted in these 175 house hold units. These can vary time to time. Few villagers move time to time to some other places due to draught, search of employment opportunities, and for some other reasons. Therefore, this number can be subject to change. 3. Data for number of the Primary Sampling Units -PSU- and SSUs have been asked from a Samurdhi Development Officer (SDO) of Aalim senai (Oluvil). There can be incorrect figures in those numbers.
Originality PRA has been used as a data collection method. On the basis of this method, a questionnaire has been developed for collecting data from villagers of Aalim senai (Oluvil). This research is a data triangulation method for the first time in this research area as far as researcher’s knowledge is concerned.
References Ayoob, S. M. & Riswan, M. (2011), “Post war economic activities of women In Ashraff Village”, 1st International Symposium, South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, Oluvil. Basheer, A. L. M. Samurdhi Development Officer (SDO), Oluvil 01. Husaideen, A. L., Assistant Director of Planning (ADP), Divisional Secretariat of Addalaichenai, Addalaichenai. Kotler, P. (1986), “ Megamarketing”, Harvard Business Review, March- April, pp. 117-24. Kotler, P. (1986), “Megamarketing”, Harvard Business Review, March- April, pp. 117 – 24. Kotler, P. (1994), Marketing Management, Analysis, Planning, Implementation, and Control, Prentice- Hall, Englewood, Cliffs, NJ. Kotler, P. (2003), Marketing Management, 11th edition, Prentice Hall/ Pearson Education, Englewood, Cliff, NJ. Kotler, P., Armstrong, G., Saunders, J. and Wong, V. (2002), Principles of Marketing Pearson Education, Prentice- Hall, Europe, London. Richard I. Levin and David S. Rubin (2003), Statistics for management, 7 th edition, Prentice Hall of India Private Limited, New Delhi. Ricky W. Griffin (2000), Management, 5th edition, A. I. T. B. S. Publishers & Distributors, Krishna Nagar, Delhi. Saathick, M. C. Grama Niladari (GN), Oluvil 02.Schoennauer & Alfred W. W. (1981). Problem Finding and Solving, Chicago, Nelson-m Hal
