This study analyses profitability in terms of relationships between various aspects, indicators and cash-crop cultivation preferences. Both financial and pragmatic aspects of profitability were found to be related to cash-crop preferences. Apart from the need to promote a crop with a good farm gate price and to reduce production and marketing costs, promoters need to strengthen the wider system by supporting profitability as well as household consumption requirements. The correlation between indicators of expected profitability improved as more financial and pragmatic aspects were incorporated. Smallholder farmers' rankings of profitability correlated better with cash-crop preferences when the analysis incorporated more aspects of profitability. In addition, the results indicated the institutional support needed to improve the profitability of cash crops. This simple method of identifying smallholder preferences for one cash crop among many is of paramount importance in the design of strategies for improving agricultural market participation.Profitability, cash-crop preferences, smallholder cash-crop cultivation, northern Mozambique,

This study investigates the value of participation on meeting a project's objectives by comparing the impact of participatory and non-participatory evaluation frameworks. We assessed HIV/AIDS projects that shared similarities in terms of objectives and implementation strategies, but differed in their evaluation strategies, in order to identify differences in the outcome of the projects on the beneficiaries. The study concentrated on documentary and interview evidence of communication-based HIV/AIDS projects. The results highlight that in spite of socio-demographic differences, consistent use of a participatory methodology created an enabling environment, in terms of implementation, for meeting a project's objectives (particularly improved group awareness, knowledge, attitude, empowerment, functioning and sustainability); and, in terms of evaluation, a participatory methodology better enabled the internalisation of those objectives, through activities such as focus group discussions.