Interim evaluation ¹

Major findings, recommendations and agreed follow-up

IFAD, in conjunction with the Government of Tunisia, undertook to conduct a midterm evaluation of the Integrated Agricultural and Rural Development Project (PDARI) in the Governorate of Siliana. A Core Learning Partnership including representatives of all stakeholders was set up in April 2004.² An approach paper outlining objectives, key questions and process was prepared and refined by the partners. The evaluation mission took place from 19 April to 6 May 2004. A feedback workshop held on 3 May 2004 in Siliana provided an opportunity to discuss conclusions and add to recommendations made by the evaluation mission. It was followed by a synthesis meeting with core partners in Tunis on 4 May 2004. The PDARI evaluation concluded with a feedback workshop on findings and recommendations held on 30 September 2004 in Siliana for the expanded partnership and on 1 October 2004 in Tunis for the core partnership group. Discussions with core partnership members led to the formulation of the agreement at completion point set forth below, which presents the major findings and recommendations upon which consensus was reached, as well as follow-up measures the partners undertook to carry out.

Main recommendations and agreed follow-up

Financing a second phase of PDARI

Overall finding by IFAD's Office of Evaluation

PDARI has unquestionably contributed to development in the Governorate of Siliana as a result of the investments made and actions taken to realize the potential of land, improve production tools and protect the environment.

General recommendation by IFAD's Office of Evaluation

It is recommended that a second phase be financed in order to consolidate project results and deepen their impact.

Follow-up agreed upon

The partners agree that a second phase should be formulated along two major lines: (i) maximizing agricultural and non-agricultural value added, and (ii) safeguarding natural resources.

Approach to PDARI intervention

IFAD's Office of Evaluation findings

In an area where off-farm activities play an important part in strategies to maximize the revenues of rural populations, PDARI set itself ambitious objectives and has contributed to raising the general level of development in the Governorate of Siliana. To this end, the project has made substantial investments in improving production instruments, including soil and water conservation, establishing and repairing irrigated perimeters using the drip and borehole methods, research and development, and forestry and agricultural development. Action has also been taken to strengthen the skills and raise the incomes of young women and farmers. Drinking water supply has been provided and access opened up for several localities.

These initiatives – though they shape a framework for emancipating the rural world generally, and young girls in particular – have not been sufficient to overcome several major challenges of poverty, such as rural exodus and a weak local economic fabric that excludes young people. There are a number of reasons for this: (i) vulnerable local economies that have not diversified their revenue sources; (ii) insufficient advisory support structures adapted to the needs of local communities; (iii) limitations of the participatory approach followed; and (iv) the lack of an overall vision encompassing town/country relations, consensus-building with local actors and revenue diversification strategies by sub-zone.

PDARI has not yet managed to create an integrated rural development framework that is open to changes in local production systems, to diversifying revenue sources to reduce farming risks, to promoting off-farm employment and income-generating activities and to the dynamics of the town/country exchanges upon which the future of the Governorate will depend.

IFAD's Office of Evaluation recommendations

In the future, the project should tackle these problems based on a truly participatory approach and in the context of a type of local government in which agro-sylvo-pastoral and off-farm activities together with proximity services will have a strategic scope and impact on local development dynamics. This will entail strategic choices in terms of instruments and modes of intervention, as well as efficient institutional arrangements that can better reconcile the dynamics of local actors and institutions.

To this end, IFAD should support governmental efforts to accelerate the development process and reduce rural poverty in the Governorate of Siliana. The approaches proposed should have the potential to reconcile the imperative of conserving natural resources with the need to diversify revenue sources and improve living standards for poor populations, particularly in micro-zones (generally sub-watersheds) where concentrated intervention should be of a scope and impact capable of bringing change and generating multiple lasting socio-economic effects. Support instruments should also be adapted to the diversity of local development actors to ensure basic investments and investments to promote local private initiatives.

Follow-up agreed upon

The partners agree that in formulating the next project phase, the Governorate of Siliana, the Tunisian Government, IFAD and the French Development Agency (AFD), together with any other partners, will specify the content and the financial and institutional scope of the approach proposed to encompass: (i) multisector development; (ii) improvements in the capacities of populations, technical services, NGOs, etc. through a participatory approach to planning and local programming.

Soil and water conservation

IFAD's Office of Evaluation findings

The large area of land treated reflects the extent of investments made to preserve the Governorate's land assets and reduce the effects of erosion. It also demonstrates technical and operational capacities on the part of the Regional Agricultural Development Commission (CRDA), the project management unit (PMU) and private enterprises to carry out this kind of intervention. The efficient conservation work done translates today into increased – though not full – protection for 79 water reservoirs, where extending useful life is vital to the expansion of local agriculture. Constraints on watershed development remain, however, mainly in connection with: (i) the lack of evaluation by the project of technical and socio-economic performance by the systems established; (ii) the lack of technical manuals and reference materials specific to Siliana³; (iii) the tendency in the field to apply simple formulas in the scaling of conservation work⁴; and (iv) the persistence of a welfare mentality among farmers given the limitations of the participatory approach and the failure to develop a true partnership.

IFAD's Office of Evaluation recommendations

Ensuring the permanence of soil and water conservation work will require support to gradually develop a sense of ownership among farmers undertaking maintenance and development. The future support strategy for conservation work should be based on a more participatory approach using techniques adapted to the environment. Such a strategy would be reflected in an overall soil and water conservation plan that is consistent and precise in terms of financing and implementation arrangements, according to specific conditions in place in the various sub-zones of the Governorate.

Follow-up agreed upon

In the context of preparing for a second phase, IFAD will obtain technical assistance for CRDA to design soil and water conservation measures based on an overall programme, with implementation plans for each micro-basin under a participatory approach that involves farmers and takes into account specific land conditions. The departments of the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources, including CRDA, will endeavour to take innovative technical and normative initiatives that reflect the participatory approach to planning and programming in accordance with the Soil and Water Conservation Code of 1995. They will favour the creation of conditions that ensure permanence for farmers' organizations and local consultative bodies, encouraging them to take increased responsibility for maintenance and sustainable development of infrastructure established.

Forestry and Pasture Development

IFAD's Office of Evaluation findings

Livestock-raising systems are highly dependent on natural forest and non-forest terrain, which is no longer capable of sustaining the animals vital to subsistence by small and medium-sized producers in the region. The forestry and pasture development interventions on land subject to the forestry regime and pasture improvement on private land proposed by the project and the Livestock Office (OEP) are relevant. However, their definition within forest, pasture and agro-pasture ecosystems leaves room for improvement. One innovation brought forest clearings into the process of forestry and agricultural development in the region.

Forestry development as initiated by PDARI is crucial for rural residents living nearby, for whom the forest is the major source of energy, wood, fodder, food, non-wood forest products, and so on. Such development contributes significantly to improving the ecological balance and its impact on agricultural productivity in forest clearings.

The pasture improvements carried out in conjunction with OEP in forests and on private land could make a very substantial contribution to fodder in dry periods, and could generate non-negligible stable financial revenues.

IFAD's Office of Evaluation recommendations

CRDA should address the consolidation of pasture improvements and the application of proper methods for their management in ongoing activity, focusing on the following:

• diversifying the standard model for pasture improvements implemented to date;
• providing training to OEP and CRDA technicians and promoters to familiarize them with methods of sustainable management for pasture improvements introduced on private, collective and communal land.

Since wooded areas are suitable for forestry and large in size, and given their social, economic and environmental importance to the region, the forestry development component should occupy a much larger place than during the first phase of the project. The creation of forestry groups will be extended to all parts of the project area that are suitable for forestry, and their status as micro-enterprises in partnership with the forestry service will be strengthened to increase their involvement in performing forestry and pasture improvement contracts.

The experience with participatory development in the forest clearings of Bargou will be consolidated and replicated in other areas in the region that are suitable for forestry.

Follow-up agreed upon

The partners agree that CRDA will refer to integrated forestry management projects in formulating participatory management plans for communally-owned forests, involving neighbouring residents in the protection, conservation, development and sustainable use of their resources. CRDA will endeavour to develop non-wood forest products (rosemary, Aleppo pine nuts [zgougou], acorns, mushrooms, medicinal plants) and will refine methods for sustainable participatory management and for assistance to be provided to residents to enter local, regional and national markets. The partners agree that CRDA will promote the organization of residents into forestry groups with the status of micro-enterprises working in partnership with the forestry service, to ensure sustainable participatory management of forests, guarantee their permanence and improve their production potential.

The partners agree that CRDA, with technical assistance support, will act to develop and realize the foraging potential of communally owned forest lands as well as private and collective territory in the project area, and will formulate ways to enable sustainable development and participatory and responsible use of these areas for pasture improvement.

Research and Development

IFAD's Office of Evaluation findings

The project has initiated an approach that involves national institutions in research on leading themes in innovation and change in production systems. The anticipated impact of this approach is gradually to develop production systems using direct seeding and soft techniques, and improving cattle feed with proven effects on livestock revenues. The key to success of this research and development activity lies in combining the efforts of research institutes and the PDARI team with the creation of a climate of trust and partnership in the pilot zones, under a reference group approach. The receptiveness of farmers and listening skills of PDARI researchers and technicians have made it possible to establish a sound and lasting foundation for cooperation between the rural world and the technicians.

IFAD's Office of Evaluation recommendations

Given the relevance of the research and development approach and themes, these activities have shown results that warrant being capitalized, consolidated and extended by the Siliana CRDA. Additional budgetary and human resources should be allocated to this activity. It would be preferable and more effective, in carrying out research activities, to use flexible financial arrangements that take into account the real needs of researchers and institutions being called upon to provide follow-up and training of beneficiaries. Research and development, which was initially organized around the two major pillars (support and outreach), should be expanded. This will include establishing experimental protocols on plots, research for extension and dissemination to spread research and development findings.

Follow-up agreed upon

The partners agree that the Government, IFAD, AFD and other partners will ensure that substantial human, financial and material resources are allocated to consolidate research and development activities and extend the findings of the first phase of PDARI (reference groups, Bargou peach, feed blocks, direct seeding), while concentrating themes of subsequent research in micro-zones upstream from hill reservoirs.

Developing communities and promoting women

IFAD's Office of Evaluation findings

Building in specific objectives to develop communities and promote women is relevant and innovative compared to many similar projects designed during the same period. However, despite the innovative vision and intentions, mechanisms and specific actions to promote women remained conventional in nature (a programme centred around traditional training in small livestock-raising and weaving, with little mainstreaming of women into all project activities) and did not target women or major farming activities for which no specific actions were undertaken.

The pilot local development initiative (EPIDEL) did in fact mobilize the population of two local districts (imada) throughout the initial stages of diagnostic assessments and preliminary identification of priority activities. The pilot project sparked much interest among the population given the prospect of creating jobs, providing equipment and loans, and generating additional revenue. In this way, the foundation was laid for a truly participatory planning process, without however being accompanied by financial instruments or protocols of agreement with financial institutions adapted to the financial conditions of small and medium-sized farms. Generally speaking, the project activities were based on the formula of imada consultative development councils, which did not evolve into bodies effectively representing the various socio-economic strata.

IFAD's Office of Evaluation recommendations

The wide discrepancy between women's advancement issues as diagnosed and the measures proposed to solve them should be narrowed. It is recommended that the consultative approach stated for the project as a whole be applied through a participatory procedure to target beneficiaries and plan for interventions. It is recommended that support continue to be provided for consultative bodies such as those created by the project, and to work on transforming them into true forums for discussion and negotiation at the level of each imada.

Follow-up agreed upon

The partners agree that any future project should pay more attention to rural women and their principal agricultural activities. CRDA and the next project will adopt, together with local authorities, a participatory approach to targeting beneficiaries and planning interventions. They will support consultative bodies and work towards transforming them into true forums for discussion and negotiation at the level of each imada. They will target the most vulnerable areas within the Governorate of Siliana, mainly those in the south.

Developing rural micro-enterprise

IFAD's Office of Evaluation findings

Despite the constraints inherent in the environment for microlending to small promoters, PDARI undertook to support girls and smallholders engaged in farming and livestock-raising and wishing to carry out productive activities. This experience revealed certain constraints on the development of small-scale private initiatives, including the lack of advisory support structures to orient and inspire future promoters. In addition, the current Investment Code does not provide for incentives that favour local financing at the micro-zone level.⁵

IFAD's Office of Evaluation recommendations

It is clearly crucial, based on diagnostic studies, to support local initiatives to develop micro-enterprises in the PDARI project area. It is also essential to develop a regional operating strategy to promote local entrepreneurship in the form of a pool providing a wide range of services that can guide small projects through their development to completion.

Follow-up agreed upon

The partners agree that diagnostic studies will be financed by IFAD. They will be specific to the advantages and limitations of local initiatives in the Governorate of Siliana, particularly in disadvantaged micro-zones, with the objective of identifying financial, institutional and economic factors impeding the development of micro-enterprises. Studies should also outline several options (Environmental Development Action in the Third World – ENDA, and others) to create, using decentralized microlending and medium-sized loans, true opportunities for sustainable development of local initiatives.

Capitalizing on the PDARI experience

IFAD's Office of Evaluation findings

Many documents, reports and practices relating to agricultural, pasture and forestry development, as well as soil and water conservation, remain confined to various types of support, with no true collective memory of experiences that could otherwise be capitalized upon and used by other institutions, CRDA in particular.

IFAD's Office of Evaluation recommendations

In order to capitalize on the experiences of the first phase of PDARI, the Office of Evaluation recommends that CRDA:

• Make every effort urgently to establish a dynamic data base, lacking during the first phase, which would enable integrated development programmes to be prepared for each micro-basin;
• Create technical references and document major experiences and lessons learned in the areas of agro-forest-pasture and community development, research and development, and soil and water conservation;
• Put in place a monitoring and evaluation system adapted to the project context and assign staff with the required skills, particularly in data processing and analysis over space and time; and
• Set up within the monitoring and evaluation system a communication unit responsible for ongoing dissemination of experiences and lessons learned in the course of project implementation, at the regional and national levels.

Follow-up agreed upon

The partners agree that CRDA will receive support in the form of external expertise financed by IFAD. Such expertise will guide CRDA in the process of capitalizing on best practices in managing the natural environment and in community-based research and development, to be documented in the form of manuals and reference materials for use by the regional and national institutions concerned.

Involvement of PDARI partners

IFAD's Office of Evaluation findings

IFAD support is limited, as is that of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD), to basic requirements in accordance with the lending terms and conditions. Moreover, coordination among IFAD, AFD, AFESD and national partners has not been regular, nor has it been institutionalized. This has affected the consistency of the approaches and instruments used in implementing the PDARI components. By way of example, the lack of a forum for consensus-building and dialogue among the stakeholders prevented the EPIDEL experience from being set up as a model for extrapolation. Given the limited technical support provided for the project, and the lack of a local system for operational monitoring and evaluation, it was not possible to identify factors blocking progress and other weaknesses encountered.

IFAD's Office of Evaluation recommendations

Periodic evaluation and technical reviews of project interventions should be conducted by the Government, IFAD, AFD and their partners, with support from consultants and independent experts. Such reviews would be organized on the basis of technical and financial project reports. This would enable adjustments to be made to human and financial resources and would bring the flexibility needed for sound project implementation and to support new initiatives.

Follow-up agreed upon

The partners agree that a second phase of PDARI in Siliana should take into account the need for a system of periodic technical and financial reviews as well as an instrument in support of the project and its steering committee so that needed technical, financial and administrative adjustments can be made in a timely manner. They agree that IFAD and AFD will take part in all supervision missions. They also agree to ask IFAD to step up the frequency of supervision.

Additional recommendations identified by the partners

Consideration of land issues

The partners agree to add, for the second phase, a land regularization component for rain-fed land, in conjunction with the Agricultural Land Agency (AFA).

Training and technical assistance for CRDA

The partners agree to support training for PMU and CRDA technicians and to provide technical assistance for the latter organization.

Project intervention

The partners agree that the project, in a second phase, will consolidate progress made during the first phase in order to maximize its agricultural and non-agricultural value added and safeguard natural resources, particularly in the south of the governorate.

This agreement was reached in the presence of the following members of the core learning partnership:

Mr Lotfi Frad, representing Mr Kamel Ben Rejeb, Director, Ministry of Economic Development and External Cooperation
Mr Noureddine Kaabi, Director, Ministry of Economic Development and External Cooperation
Mr Ismail Lahmadi, Director General, Ministry of Finance
Mr Abdallah Mallek, Director General, DGFIOP, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment
Mr Rafâa Marouki, Project Director, DGFIOP
Mr Hédi Mettichi, Regional Commissioner for Agricultural Development, Siliana
Mr Jamel Ferchichi, Acting Director, Project Management Unit
Mrs Sylvaine Lefort, representing Mr Abdelwaheb Mkacher, Executive Director, AGER
Mr Bousaada Abdalla, Executive Director, FTDC
Mr Jean François Richard, Head of Mission, AFD
Mrs Rasha Omar, Country Portfolio Manager, IFAD

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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).

² The Core Learning Partnership members are: Mr Kamel Ben Rejeb, Director, Ministry of Economic Development and External Cooperation (MDECE); Mr Noureddine Kaabi, Director, MDECE; Mr Ismail Lahmadi, Director General, Ministry of Finance; Mr Abdallah Mallek, Director General, DGFIOP, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment; Mr Rafâa Marouki, Project Manager, DGFIOP; Mr Abderazek Derbali, General Secretary, Governorate of Siliana; Mr Hédi Mettichi, CRDA, Siliana; Mr Salah Touibi, Director, Project Management Unit (replaced by Mr Jamel Ferchichi); Mr Abdelwaheb Mkacher, Executive Director, AGER; Mr Bousaada Abdalla, Executive Director, FTDC; Mrs Khalida Bouzar, Global Mechanism for the Convention to Combat Desertification; Mr Jean François Richard, Head of Mission, AFD; Mr A. Bastos, Project Leader, AFESD; Mrs Rasha Omar, IFAD Country Portfolio Manager.

³ The DG/Aménagement et conservation des terres agricoles noted that a Master Plan for soil and water conservation work in Siliana was produced by a consultant firm in 2003, and a technical appraisal of soil and water conservation works has been undertaken by INGREF.

⁴ The DG/Aménagement et conservation des terres agricoles noted that a convention for the regionalisation of technical formulas has just been agreed with l'Institut National Agronomique (INAT).

⁵ The partners of the DG/Financement, Investissements et Orgasnismes professionnels (Financing, Investments and Professional organisations) are not in agreement on this issue. They state that many microfinance mechanisms whether managed by NGOs or by the Tunisian Bank of Solidarity provide an enabling environment to small promoters.