State of Bahia - interim evaluation

Core Learning Partnership and users of the evaluation

Introduction

The Core Learning Partnership¹ met in Salvador , Bahia ( Brazil ) on 17 September 2003 to analyse the interim evaluation of the Community Development Project for the Rio Gavião Region and to identify and reach agreement on recommendations perceived as feasible by the main stakeholders. On 16 September, a workshop had been held in Vitória da Conquista with technical staff, rural representatives and representatives of coexecuting institutions to hear their comments and exchange opinions on the interim evaluation findings.

The following paragraphs present the recommendations and measures – grouped into six areas of key relevance – as agreed on by all the partners.

Main findings of the evaluation and recommendations agreed by the partners

Organization of implementation

During the past three years, the project went through a second phase of implementation marked by strong activity in all its components and achievement of its most "visible" targets, allowing it to make up for part of the delay that occurred during the first phase. With the formal implementation period now over, the project still has unused funds – from the IFAD loan and from the national counterpart – that would enable it to continue operating adequately for a two-year extension period.

The complexity of the changes fostered under the project and the new social and technological practices that the communities are pursuing and adopting in differing degrees require significant lead times and an ongoing effort to consolidate them. The project is felt to be only now entering a phase of maturation and fine-tuning of implementation; only with longer time frames and adjustments to the implementation policies will it be possible to consolidate a "new local community culture" that will lead to a self-sustaining dynamic that could continue after the intervention period.

Implementation involved some very significant changes vis-à-vis the original design, affecting essentially the organization of implementation but also some substantive elements of the original approach. These changes were driven by the search for a level of operational efficiency that was not viewed as possible under the original design.

The Coordination Unit's work during the recent phase was very centralized, as reflected in several of the institutions that joined in implementation: Bahia Association of Community Schools and Rural Families (AECOFABA), National Microenterprise and Small Business Support Agency (SEBRAE), National Rural Training Agency (SENAR), National Agricultural Research Board (EMBRAPA) and BAHIA PESCA S/A. At the same time, this allowed the unit to be very effective and well organized, and to exhibit sound management.

The evaluation identified three areas of work that showed room for improvement in terms of performance: gender, environment, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E). A fourth area had, for all intents and purposes, not been implemented at all: marketing.

Some facets of the project that have not performed adequately – as well as options that have been defined but present strong uncertainties – could be revisited in the light of how they are addressed under other IFAD projects or experiences under way elsewhere in the country. The project has not utilized contributions from IFAD's regional programmes. Such external contributions could enrich the strategy for irrigated agriculture, marketing, gender focus, microenterprise development, microcredit, M&E, etc.

The partners should undertake joint diagnoses in conjunction with the institutions involved in implementation; formulate or adjust the respective strategies in light of programme outcomes, costs and objectives; take the necessary action to implement the new thrusts; and establish clear M&E mechanisms for the partnerships, inasmuch as these mechanisms are poorly defined at present.

If the implementation phase is extended, the members of the project team and partner organizations should receive additional training and, as necessary, be reorganized to reflect the increased demand for community development work. The mission underscored the low number of women in the field team. Problems are perceived in the lack of incentives, higher than normal levels in the fatigue that normally follows the main implementation phase, and the need for additional training in line with the new thrusts of work.

Recommendation 1. Extend the implementation period for two years.

Recommendation 2. Develop a more participatory work style that is decentralized towards the executing unit and rural associations.

Recommendation 3. Analyse and review gender, environment and M&E strategies. Formulate a marketing strategy for products covered by the project.

Recommendation 4. Focus more attention and investments on the project's technical team. Restructure the team placing more emphasis on staff specialized in social action, and increase the number of women on the team, to the extent possible. Retrain technical staff of the project and partner organizations in appropriate methodologies and content for the new phase of the project. Foster participation in non-project training activities and information.

Recommendation 5. Prepare a new, detailed work programme with the coexecuting institutions for the remainder of the implementation period.

Community Development

Community development efforts have yielded benefits for most of the communities, with activities being formalized and headway made in terms of better quality of life. These advances include improvement of the general situation of women and higher self-esteem of rural families as a result of the project's dynamics, training activities and creation of various social groups, as well as broad encouragement to become involved. The education and work provided in family farm-schools have given children and young people new opportunities. Training programmes and technical assistance have been wide-ranging and have covered beneficiaries' main areas of interest, helping to unleash the potential of the human and social capital in these communities that had never before been exposed to an opportunity of this magnitude.

Even so, the number of residents still excluded from several of these basic improvements is over double the number of those who are benefiting. Some important challenges remain in terms of actively including more members of these communities in project actions and ensuring fuller coverage of the benefits. Secondly, a modus operandi should be promoted among community organizations that focuses on the productive, economic and social problems of rural residents. Some areas of community interest are the maintenance of water storage and distribution infrastructure, maintenance of superior cassava cultivars for reproduction, marketing activities for groups with shared interests, formation of women's groups, use of microcredit, etc.

Recommendation 6. Strengthen rural participation and the operation of community organizations in order to extend project benefits to a greater number of families, beyond the communities already covered.

Recommendation 7. Associations should undertake activities of general community interest that are essential to the sustainability of project actions.

Recommendation 8. Continue and strengthen work with the gender perspective.

Recommendation 9. Evaluate the educational process in the three family farm- schools in the project area and their impact on rural development.

Social and territorial integration

The "institutionality" of the project has a good image in the field, both among beneficiary communities and in the organizations involved in implementation; local, political and civil society organizations, however, have a different perception. One of the main problems with the project, which is unrelated to its design, is its sharp isolation from local society, e.g. municipal governments, civil society organizations, and other federal and state projects under way in the area, in the state, elsewhere in Brazil , and in the region, including those promoted by IFAD. This has prevented the growth of social capital in the communities and has also stood in the way of other benefits that could have enhanced the achievements sought by this intervention. The future sustainability of the actions promoted under the project will hinge upon a development approach based on full territorial integration.

The current situation in the country is especially favourable for including the project in a number of spheres. The national government that took office in January 2003 has explicitly promoted support for: family agriculture; interregional balance and support for regions with critical historical deficiencies (e.g. the North-East); the territorial development approach as a basis for social and sector policies; and the advisability of coordinating and pooling efforts at the federal, state, regional and municipal level in pursuit of social and economic development.

Recommendation 10. Situate the project in the region, using a territorial development approach and strengthening linkages with local government, civil society and organizations linked to all projects under way in the area, be they federal or state, public or private.

Recommendation 11. The project should support implementation – in the same way as other active projects in Bahia – of the municipal action committees as called for in the original design and, if applicable, the establishment of a regional organization that groups all the municípios in the project area.

Recommendation 12. The project's technical, organizational and implementation capacity should be made available to local agencies in order to combine capacities and undertake integrated action for local development.

Infrastructure and Development of Production

By building infrastructure to provide communities with water, electric power and communications, the project has attained most of its original targets. In particular, the ensuring of water security for residents has had a notable impact on the project area. The impact on health conditions and women's work situation in the home is undeniable. However, the number of residents still excluded from several of these basic improvements is over double the number of those who are benefiting.

The development of agricultural production is the area showing the best outcomes in implementation. The strategic decision to focus on cassava turned out to be very much on the mark, both in retrospect and looking to the future. The applied research findings show great productive potential at the farm level and are for the most part sustainable. The challenge now is to ensure their broad dissemination, the continued availability of the superior materials selected, and further improvements. Appropriate technologies and practices have been adopted as well for local livestock. Under a very effective and well managed supervised loan, they have been expanded and have contributed to the development of a very broad category appreciated by small producers in the dry hinterland – " sertão" . Here as well, there is strong potential for expanding the package promoted – which includes technology, increasing inventories, and new forage and infrastructure for cattle, sheep and goats – to other farmers in project communities.

Against expectations, no progress has been made with irrigated crops, and this area has essentially been left adrift.

Microenterprise development holds significant potential in the project area, and implementation has wagered heavily on a targeted strategy. Intense training has been given with this objective in mind, coupled with technical assistance, market studies, reviews of legal considerations, and analyses of industrial processes. A number of multi-family projects are being or have already been launched with support from a specific fund (Microenterprises and Artisans Support Fund – FAMA); there are high hopes for the outcomes and impact of these projects.

Credit has been used effectively in financing investments. The project has developed a strategy that establishes hierarchies within this development tool. Access is subject to a specific process of training and technical assistance, close supervision is exercised as of the time of the request up through use of the funds, and an effort is made to dispel the widespread mindset of viewing credit simply as a subsidy (i.e. no need to pay it back). A new microcredit line was launched recently – on a very limited scale – that could serve to expand access to clients other than farmers and provide experience with less centralized management of this resource.

Recommendation 13. Disseminate new technologies for cassava and livestock.

Recommendation 14. Ensure the maintenance of new selected plant materials for cassava, new rangelands, and regional/local stocking of fingerlings for reservoirs.

Recommendation 15. Develop a new technology package for bean/maize cropping, using the same methodology as for cassava.

Recommendation 16. Analyse the overall programme for irrigated crops, and design a new programme reflecting the necessary modalities.

Recommendation 17. Maintain the current microenterprise strategy and develop an alternative for action that is more participatory and grass-roots- based, less complex, and broader reaching in terms of beneficiaries and sustainability.

Recommendation 18. Tap microcredit potential as a means of empowerment and strengthening of grass-roots organization. Reformulate the programme for microcredit distribution and management adopting a social political approach.

Recommendation 19. Strengthen environmental awareness in all facets of the project.

Next steps

Extension of the implementation period. Based on the evaluation mission's assessment as presented herein, it is recommended that the implementation period be extended for an additional two years.

Upon completion of the implementation period, the communities of the Rio Gavião region will have made significant investments in physical infrastructure and in human, social and productive capital, making them an ideal platform for social and territorial integration and inclusion in sustainable development processes under way in the country.

A second stage limited to the same beneficiaries would probably not yield the same levels of effectiveness in terms of marginal outcomes and, moreover, would not be equitable vis-à-vis the extensive requirements of other municipalities ( municípios) in the region.

PROGAVIÃO has confirmed the project's forward-looking strategy of combining public and private efforts to address critical infrastructure issues that have a key impact on the quality of life of the rural poor in crucial areas (for instance, ensuring water security for residents and their livestock). At the same time, it has pursued actions to empower the rural poor by organizing communities and ensuring their participation in oversight and ownership of these processes of sustainable development.

Possible second phase or new project . In view of the foregoing, it is proposed that work be continued under a second phase through a new project in an appropriate area of Bahia having a baseline situation very similar to the one encountered at the beginning of PROGAVIÃO, combining infrastructure and production-related actions with community and social development. Under such conditions, it would be possible to tap the project's positive implementation experience, as well as the institutional capacity and technical human resources generated during the period. The new project could also include – to the extent possible – some small-scale actions in the current area of PROGAVIÃO, such as maintenance of services needed to ensure the sustainability of previous achievements and/or support for communities or farmers covered under the most recent implementation phase.

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1/ The group was set up for the purpose of analysing the evaluation process and identifying and agreeing on recommendations perceived as feasible by the principal users. Taking into account the features of the PROGAVIÃO project and the context of this interim evaluation, the group was made up of: Jean Jacques Gariglio, Country Portfolio Manager of the Latin America and the Caribbean Division of IFAD; Rodolfo Lauritto, Supervisor of the United Nations Office for Project Services; Augusto César de Oliveira Maynart, PROGAVIÃO Coordinator; Armando Avena, Secretary of Planning, Science and Technology of the State of Bahia (SEPLANTEC); and Umberto Raimundo Costa, Executive Director of the Bahia Action and Development Board (CAR). Paolo Silveri – Evaluation Officer with IFAD's Office of Evaluation, which carried out the interim evaluation – acted as facilitator for this process of agreement at completion point, together with Carlos Pérez Arrarte, mission leader of the interim evaluation.