AGRODEP recently conducted its second training course – out of eight planned for 2012 - in Dakar, Senegal on April 24-27, 2012. This four-day course entitled “Poverty Measurement and Analysis” was taught by Dr. Philippe van Kerm and Dr. Anne-Clair Thomas from Belgium.
Dr. Philippe van Kerm is currently an invited lecturer at the Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium. He is a research economist at the 'Centre d'Etudes de Populations, de Pauvreté et de Politiques Socio-Economiques/International Networks for Studies in Technology, Environment, Alternatives, Development' (CEPS/INSTEAD) in Luxembourg. Dr. Anne-Claire Thomas is currently working at the Université catholique de Louvain (UCL), Belgium. Her work is mostly applied and covers poverty, risk and insurance issues in rural areas of developing countries.
The objective of this training course was to introduce participants to the tools and methods for the analysis of poverty using household survey data. The instructors focused on measuring and interpreting static poverty measures using household survey data, modeling poverty dynamics using longitudinal survey data, distinguishing poverty from vulnerability, estimating pro-poor growth, and understanding the basics of poverty monitoring and impact evaluation. In this course, they also provided hands-on experience on the STATA software.
Eight AGRODEP members (Oscar Ingasia Ayuya, Patience Mlongo Mshenga, Ruth Chepchirchir Taruss, Mercyline Waithira Kamande, Nassim Oulmane, Reuben Adeolu Alabi, Cheickh Sadibou Fall, and Fatou Cisse) attended this intensive four-days training course. Every AGRODEP training course is evaluated by the AGRODEP participants. As in the previous course, the attendees provided valuable feedback about the training.They also expressed their opinions on how AGRODEP can improve these courses in the future so that participants get the maximum benefit from them.
Cheickh Sadibou Fall, a research engineer at the lnstitut Senegalais de Recherches Agric oles (ISRA) in Senegal, described his experience about this course:
"I was very pleased to participate in this very rich and comprehensive training workshop on poverty measurement and analysis. In fact, I never suspected that the analysis of poverty is so extensive and technical. After all, this is quite normal because analyzing and measuring a phenomenon as widespread and difficult to eradicate cannot be so simple. Moreover, I also liked the way we constantly juggled between the theory and the practice with STATA software throughout the conduct of the training. Again thank you to AGRODEP for allowing me to deepen my knowledge in this field.”
Ruth Taruss, a research assistant at the AGRICOM Consultants Ltd-Nairobi in Kenya, emphasized her experience as well:
“I am very grateful to the African Growth and Development Policy (AGRODEP) modeling consortium who gave me a chance to be one of the participants in the training workshop on poverty measurement and analysis. Special thanks to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Dakar, Senegal for conducting the training program; with enthusiastic staff and in an exceptional way. During the training course, I had a chance to learn variety of concepts of which my favorite parts including the basics of poverty measurement. I must say my appreciation towards the sincerity, devotion and dedicated efforts of the trainers Dr. Philippe van Kerm, and Dr. Anne-Claire Thomas who made the training program more victorious beyond my aspiration. Besides, the AGRODEP participants who made the training interactive, vibrant and enjoyable. God Bless You All!!”
You can find information about this training course, including AGRODEP members who attended it, photos taken during the training course, and training materials on the AGRODEP website. Please note, however, that participation in the course and the training materials are only available to AGRODEP members.