2 April 2012: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has released a series of user guides to support the design of pro-poor programmes and policies in ways that consider social diversity.

The aim of the tools is to help practitioners better target and adapt programmes to address gender, ethnicity, age and disability, factors that can contribute to poverty, vulnerability, exclusion and powerlessness. The tools are part of a publication, “Social Analysis for Agriculture and Rural Investment Projects.” The first guide in the series is targeted at project managers and team leaders, and the other two guides target practitioners who may carry out social analyses. The Practitioner’s Guide provides a conceptual framework for social analysis and examines how to use a sustainable livelihoods framework to address rural poverty and livelihoods, including monitoring and evaluation of social aspects during project implementation. The Field Guide provides checklists and information on conducting fieldwork, including in national, regional and district level data collection. [FAO Publication: Social Analysis for Agriculture and Rural Investment Projects] [FAO Press Release]