Interim evaluation ¹

On Friday 12 April 2003, the Core Learning Partnership of PRODAM – expanded to include the members of the Project management unit (PMU) and the PRODAM-II formulation mission² – met at the PRODAM headquarters in Matam.

The meeting followed the PRODAM interim evaluation workshop that was held in Ourossogui from 10 to 12 April and was attended by over 80 participants.

Consensus was reached on the following points, which make up the preliminary elements of the agreement at completion point for the PRODAM evaluation.

The PRODAM-II formulation process

The positive outcomes of PRODAM-I, the advanced stage of organization and maturity of the participating farmers' organizations, the preparedness of the PMU and its local partners, as well as the work performed during the grass-roots evaluation and workshop in Ourossogui are all factors in favour of organizing a process to formulate a highly participative PRODAM-II, fully acknowledging the rights and capacities of local rural development stakeholders.

A local preparation committee for PRODAM-II will be set up with participation by representatives of the rural populations in the areas of Walo and Ferlo. In addition to the leaders of the farmer organization federations (especially the Kawrai Nguénar e Boseya federation (KNB), it will include representatives of women and young people.

The PMU of PRODAM will keep the members of this local committee informed in real time of the progress of preparations, along with the PDT members at IFAD headquarters. They will receive, by e-mail, the draft formulation and appraisal reports and will have the opportunity to respond.

The appraisal mission, scheduled for July 2002, will begin with delivery of the formulation report and a presentation of the terms of reference to the local preparation committee, which will thus be in a position to take an active part in designing PRODAM-II.

Transition period

PRODAM has not received any external financing for over a year and will probably have to wait at least one year more until it receives access to a new IFAD loan. Funding from the national budget is allowing for the continuity of the PMU and minimal monitoring in the field, but this is insufficient for pursuing the indispensable support, advice and training efforts for farmer organizations and, especially, the local savings and loan associations (CAPECs). The latter have enjoyed extreme popularity and are in high demand among their members: in the space of one year, the total credit granted by existing CAPECs rose from 1.2 million CFA francs (for 29 loans) in December 2000 to 21.7 million CFA francs (for 203 loans) in December 2001. The CAPECs are, however, still very fragile. Lack of experience coupled with tension between some economic interest groups and the Caisse nationale de crédit agricole du Sénégal (CNCAS) have exposed them to serious risks. Specialized support and advisory services are needed urgently.

PRODAM-II will be prepared in the shortest possible time frames that are consistent with IFAD's and the Government's procedures. An IFAD loan for PRODAM-II will be submitted to the December 2002 session of IFAD's Executive Board.

The conditions for effectiveness of the new loan will be streamlined to allow for effectiveness within three months after loan signature.

Until the loan is declared effective, the Government of Senegal is to ensure financing under the national budget to sustain an operational PMU in Matam.

A grant from IFAD (NGO/ECP) will be made available to the non-governmental organization USE as soon as possible, before the end of May 2002 if possible. This should allow for continuity of support from this NGO to the CAPECs and farmer organizations. Under the grant, a budget line to support the KNB federation will be studied by the stakeholders, which would allow it to continue providing a minimum level of service to its members. With regard to the communities waiting to be included in PRODAM-II, the federation should take a prudent stance and avoid assuming commitments that it may not be able to honour. With regard to all farmer organizations in arrears with the CNCAS, it should continue its work to sensitize them to the need to settle these debts promptly. As a rule, the federation and the CAPECs should continue their collaboration with the CNCAS.

PRODAM-II

Implementation of PRODAM-II will be designed and organized in such a way as to continue and ensure the gradual transfer of its functions to local, sustainable institutions and actors (farmer organizations, banks and SFDs, private and public service providers, local governments, etc.) The full transfer and assumption of responsibilities should be completed and tested well before the end of the project.

The functions to be taken over by farmer organizations and their federations should be selected on the basis of their priorities and financial and organizational capacities. The roles, prerogatives and capacity of local governments should also be taken into account.

The loan period for PRODAM-II and its exit process should be suited to the objective of ensuring the social, financial and institutional viability of the investments and of the development partnership supported by PRODAM. In this regard, it is recommended that a two-year follow-up period, that would phase out gradually, should follow the classic five- to six-year investment phase. The total duration of the IFAD loan for PRODAM-II would thus be from seven to eight years.

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1/ This agreement reflects an understanding among partners to adopt and implement recommendations stemming from the evaluation. The agreement was formulated in consultation with the members of the Core Learning Partnership (CLP) (see footnote 2 below).
2/ In attendance were: the director of PRODAM, Mr Thierno Ba, and the full PMU team; the president of the Kawrai Nguénar e Boseya Federation, Mr Abdou Diacko, representing the farmer organizations of the Walo area; the president of the Malandou Forage Committee and UP, Abou Raby Bâ, representing the farmer organizations of the Ferlo area; the IFAD portfolio officer for Senegal, Mr M. Ben Senia; BOAD representative, Mr E.J.Boka (PRODAM cofinancing and supervision); the head of formulation mission, Mr Marc Lebrun, and all the members of the formulation mission; and the IFAD evaluation officer for Senegal, Mr J. Ph. Audinet and the members of the interim evaluation mission.