Inadequate quantities and inequities in food production and supply in poor countries need to be addressed as problems of both agricultural resource management and rural democratization. "Reluctant Partners" combines comprehensive empirical insights into the work of non-governmental organizations in agriculture with wider considerations of their relationships with the government and their contribution to democratic pluralism.
This overview volume for the "Non-Governmental Organisations" series contextualizes and synthesizes the case study material in the three regional volumes on Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It presents data from more than sixty specially commissioned case studies of farmer participatory approaches to agricultural innovation. The contributors examine the performance of NGOs in promoting technological innovation and their role in addressing constraints to change in peasant agriculture. They also explore the effectiveness of NGOs at strengthening grassroots/local organizations, and how donor pressures influence NGOs and their links to government.