Action learning in the service of food security and poverty alleviation in Mozambique

We report the use of action learning within a state-owned enterprise charged with delivering a large food security and poverty alleviation program in Mozambique. Successful management of the program requires the co-ordination of a wide variety of different stakeholders including both commercial and subsistence farmers, community leaders and international private investors. Organizational issues arose within the program as efforts to foster cooperation were hindered by apparently intractable differences in the agendas of autonomous stakeholders. When the stakeholder conflicts could not be resolved with traditional project management techniques, an action learning practice was developed in order to more thoroughly explore the barriers to cooperation. In describing the challenges of adopting action learning in this context of social action, we draw attention to three particular elements of the practices developed: an unusually large and diverse action learning set; fostering critical reflection within a culture that does not question seniors; and having a set facilitator who identifies as a scholar-practitioner.