PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IMPACT ON EMPOWERMENT - A Minor Field Study of How Public-Private Partnerships in Development Can Facilitate Empowerment of Poor People by Interviewing Coffee Farmers in Tanzania

Abstract

Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) and Empowerment are two approaches that are becoming more important and acknowledged in development efforts. Despite the recognition of these approaches, there is not much literature on the linkage between the approaches e.g. whether and how PPP, which function as a means of external governments’ development policy, can facilitate empowerment of poor people, which consequently is the aim of this research. By using a theoretical framework that is based on theory on PPP and Empowerment, but specifically the linkage on how PPP can facilitate empowerment, the aim is to develop the theoretical and empirical understanding of such linkage. The research is conducted as a qualitative time comparative case study of a ‘typical’ PPP program for empowerment that aim to strengthen capacity building of smallholding coffee farmers in Tanzania in order to improve their livelihood. The narrow research objective is to examine whether and how PPP can led to a perceived improvement in ‘social’, ‘political’ and/or ‘psychological’ power among the farmers, but also if such empowerment isindependently of their position and gender, for which data is collected through sixteen semi structured respondent interviews of farmers. The result of the empirical study in Tanzania suggests that PPPs in general is successful to facilitate empowerment of poor people, which is particularly attributed to the mobilization of the farmer group structure, although patterns indicate people with lower social positions, especially women, perceived to be slightly less empowered than people in higher social positions.