The core learning partnership and the users of the evaluation

The Agreement at Completion Point (ACP), which is the end point of the evaluation process, records the understandings reached among members of the Core Learning Partnership with respect to the main recommendations and follow-up actions arising from the Egypt Country Program Evaluation (CPE). The Core Learning Partnership included the Government of Egypt (Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation; Ministry of International Cooperation); the Principal Bank for Development and Agricultural Credit (PBDAC); representatives of Project Management Units of ongoing IFAD supported projects; The WB; UNOPS and IFAD (Regional Division for Near East and North Africa). The Office of Evaluation facilitated the process. The CPE team was fielded in March/May 2004: the main objectives were to assess the results and impacts of the IFAD and Government of Egypt (GOE) development cooperation over the last 25 years, to draw lessons and insights from this experience and to provide building blocks for a new Country Strategy and Opportunities Paper (COSOP) for Egypt. This ACP has been prepared following the CPE workshop held in Cairo on March 23-24, and takes accounts of the discussions in that workshop, especially those related to the Issues Paper of the evaluation.

Overview of the main evaluation findings

IFAD's program in Egypt has comprised two main themes and groups of activities – support for settlement in newlands and support for productivity improvement in oldlands. The most recent project, the Sohag Rural Development Project (SRDP) added a further dimension and is an innovative and ambitious attempt to raise the capacity of rural communities to plan, implement, operate and maintain infrastructure projects in a poor Governorate of Upper Egypt. The CPE found that investment in newlands in the West Delta had clearly made a large difference to the quality of life for the targeted communities through improvements in economic and social infrastructure, improved farm productivity, marketing and water management. In the East Delta, the outlook at the time of evaluation was less bright, mainly because the environment for reclamation had been more difficult and challenges more severe. Newlands development supported by IFAD and the WB requires additional investment in the East Delta if the foundation built so far is to be brought to fruition. In the oldlands of Upper Egypt, IFAD has supported the agricultural research and extension system in three governorates and has promoted in the last of these projects a number of innovative approaches. The CPE concluded that whilst small farms in Upper Egypt are highly productive, scope remained to raise the productivity of the main crops even further, particularly in Southern Upper Egypt, and to diversify production into new commodities of higher value.

Key overarching factors identified by the CPE as affecting the outcomes of the program in Egypt have been: first, while IFAD has leveraged more resources from other donors over time, it has only cooperated with a few, namely the WB and the Italian Debt Swap imitative (IDS). Second, although IFAD has built a strong and successful relationship with GOE via the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (MALR), work in irrigation and water management and community based rural infrastructure lends itself to expanding partnerships with other agencies, e.g. the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (MWRI), the National Program for Integrated Rural Development (SHROUK), as well as NGOs, but this did not materialize. Third, IFAD's portfolio of projects in Egypt cannot yet be defined as a fully integrated "program" - rather IFAD has supported a set of development projects but without the integration needed to create a program. The CPE also found that progress in much of the portfolio had been marked by significant delays in implementation which had affected the flow of benefits and increased costs. The credit programs have also largely been ineffective, and in various instances supervision and implementation support could have been firmer and more effective.

Opportunities. The CPE found that IFAD had promoted some innovations in its operations, namely the Farming Systems Research approach and farmers' schools under the Agricultural Production Intensification Project (APIP) and the support for village level decentralization in rural infrastructure in SRDP. However, the conclusion was that in future a more systematic support to newer dimensions, such as applied research that benefits the poorest and women farmers, mechanisms that improve the marketing of small farmers' crops, growth in agriculturally-based off-farm employment, and saving and credit mechanisms that can be used successfully by the poor, needed to be given priority. The gender dimension of agriculture and off-farm employment was also identified as requiring urgent attention to address the perception of rural women as labour inputs for farm and domestic chores only.

Challenges. The first challenge is to establish an effective presence in donor forums in Cairo, and to this end IFAD has decided on a pilot field presence in Egypt. The second challenge is to engage in mutually beneficial partnerships. Given GOE's growing reluctance to borrow for activities that do not pay their way financially, IFAD will be hard pressed to propel its pro-poor agenda forward without strategic alliances with donors that share IFAD's priorities and have grant resources to deploy in partnerships. IFAD experience in poverty reduction can be shared in return. The third challenge is to address inertia: to move away from adherence too long to an old but comfortable agenda and unwillingness to apply new knowledge, identify new directions and take risks. IFAD's present strategy and program lags behind corporate level policy changes: while the Fund's mandate has become more clearly pro-poor, the empowerment of rural organizations of the poor and pro innovation, its program has not been adjusted and its behaviour remains risk-averse. This needs to be addressed in the new COSOP. A fourth challenge is the adoption of an approach to project implementation that is sufficiently demanding with respect to delivery and scheduling. IFAD needs to be firmer, when needed, with respect to agreements and determined schedules, and also has to apply the same discipline to its own responses to project and borrower needs.

Recommendations agreed by all partners

Partnerships

Work through partnerships and engage in policy dialogue. The CPE concluded that IFAD must work less in isolation and more in partnership with like-minded others. Partnerships should be sought on the basis of shared goals and practical synergies, where the strengths of partners are complementary both in knowledge and modalities of finance (grants and loans). As IFAD seeks to be a privileged dialogue partner of GOE and key donors, it has to equip itself with relevant knowledge and experience, be present in the appropriate forums, employ its links to leaders and policy makers, and engage on the development scene. The precursor to developing such partnerships, according the CPE was clearly to identify IFAD's "niche", so that the value-added by cooperating with the Fund could be demonstrated.

The ACP workshop participants, whilst agreeing with these conclusions, added that IFAD should be careful to assess the skills and capacities of potential partners (especially NGOs) and to define the areas in which they had advantages (e.g. literacy, health etc). The workshop participants also recommended supporting such agencies to allow them to develop their implementation capabilities, and involving NGOs early on in the project planning processes as well as in the implementation stages. A way to further enhance the importance of NGOs (and other civil society organizations) may be by ensuring their representation on project steering committees, etc.

The appropriate time to seek new partners, according to the CPE, was during the process of updating the country strategy, when the "fit" with the development ambitions of potential partners can be assessed. Although of relatively recent vintage, the CPE found that the COSOP required updating to take account of the fast-changing circumstances in the rural economy of Egypt. During this process IFAD should take full account of the potential for widening partnerships with other funding agencies.

The rationale for having a presence in Cairo was clearly described in the CPE and endorsed by the workshop. The representative should participate in the regular GOE and donor forums that plan, monitor and evaluate donor assistance to the rural sector and occasionally participate in project supervision missions. The CPE concluded that an enhanced field presence should also seek to strengthen the Fund's sectoral knowledge base. This could be done through closer associations with Egyptian universities and research organizations, and other relevant multilaterals and bilaterals. The workshop further recommended that the IFAD presence could be made more visible by sponsoring appropriate conferences and seminars and developing contacts with the local media.

Extend Implementation Partnerships and improve supervision and monitoring arrangements. This recommendation from the CPE will require a frank and open dialogue with existing implementation partners and implies widening the number of such partnerships. To implement innovative projects and pilot actions, or to scale-up successes, IFAD needs to get closer to the action on the ground. This also implies more effective project supervision, and improving the capacity for implementation support. In the supervision provided so far there is often more emphasis on maintaining fiduciary responsibility at the expense of problem solving: the Fund should therefore review the results it wants from supervision in Egypt, and, at the same time and as a necessary adjunct, no longer be prepared to accept weak performance in project Monitoring & Evaluation.

The workshop participants welcomed and endorsed the need to broaden the range of implementing partners but cautioned that one main implementing agency was still needed for each project. The participants also emphasized the need to arrange for more effective communication between the projects for sharing experiences and lessons (for example through a website and an annual programme review workshop). On the matter of improving monitoring and supervision of projects the participants called, firstly, for greater clarity in the project documents with respect to development objectives and indicators, and secondly, the use of former project staff on supervision missions. The hope was expressed that, with a field presence in Cairo, much better implementation support and faster reactions to project requests would be achieved.

Summary Agreements

• IFAD to engage in dialogue with all relevant agencies in Egypt, to be fully involved in development fora and to develop a more proactive approach to publicizing project results and development findings;
• Broaden the spectrum of implementation partnerships and intensify implementation support in order to seek the optimisation of project and grant impacts; support the development of potential NGOs as potential partners;
• Facilitate the communication of innovative approaches and experiences across projects through regular workshops and field visits. Wider consultation with project users and staff may also facilitate support to innovative approaches.
• IFAD should insist on higher quality monitoring and impact assessments in order to retain the emphasis on achieving development objectives and to share knowledge across projects. Utilise local skills of project staff to help in this respect.

Suggested Timing:

• Immediate - use the new COSOP process to establish partnerships and dialogue in Egypt;
• Consider revising implementation mechanism/partnerships as part of the review of SRDP and the planning of a new pipeline of projects.

Geographical focus and targeting

Shift the Geographical Focus of IFAD interventions. The CPE recommended that IFAD should shift its strategic focus towards the rural areas of the Governorates in Upper Egypt with a higher poverty prevalence, closely aligning areas of intervention to meet the needs of the poorest members of society and helping realize the development intentions in the PRSP. The workshop agreed with the proposed shift and highlighted the need for an exit strategy for projects in Lower Egypt.

Invest more in social development and sequence program interventions properly. According to the CPE, IFAD's investments so far have placed stronger emphasis on the hardware needed for poverty reduction, e.g. irrigation and rural infrastructure and credit. Emphasis on local level institutional strengthening and community development (i.e. building social capital) have received less attention overall. However, IFAD's global experience has indicated that local level institutional strengthening is often a precondition for successful investment in rural infrastructure and agriculture, and hence sequencing is an important element of country strategy and project design. The workshop endorsed these recommendations and further stressed the need to support governorates and local authorities and improve flexibility at the implementation phase.

Promote innovative approaches, their replication and scaling up. According to the CPE, project design and implementation processes should be realigned to the needs of promoting innovative approaches, and the appropriate mix of instruments (loans and grants) should be used to this effect. Successful innovative approaches in IFAD's current program should be supported and replicated. During the workshop it was highlighted that innovative approaches and experiences should be widely communicated and discussed across projects. In this context, the experience of Farming Systems Research (in APIP) and the innovative features of the Sohag Rural Development Programme should be reviewed and the results of the review widely disseminated.

Summary Agreements:

• Shift the geographical focus of IFAD's strategy to Upper Egypt and develop an exit strategy for Lower Egypt;
• Examine the need to invest more in and sequence better social development activities;
• Promote capacity of governorates, local authorities and local committees in managing and supporting rural development programmes;
• Along the same line, the performance of SRDP should be reviewed and the results of the review widely disseminated;

Suggested Timing:

• To start with the preparation of the next COSOP for Egypt and continue through the implementation of the new IFAD strategy.

Partners Involved:

• IFAD, MALR plus other GOE social development agencies and partner agencies already involved in Upper Egypt.

Rural financial services

Revise the approach to rural finance. IFAD's rural credit intervention has not succeeded in reaching the poor, the landless or women. The evaluation found that PBDAC has been unwilling to lend to these target groups. At the workshop PBDAC expressed its concern over conditions and procedures required under IFAD loans which differ from its own. The evaluation found that PBDAC and Governorate BDACs resisted suggestions to broaden their client base through sublending through an NGO network. Yet, during the workshop PBDAC voiced no objection to IFAD's working with civil society organizations that have the capacity to provide rural financial services as long as they operate within the existing financial sector framework.

Strengthen financial institutions and deepen financial services. The CPE recommended to strengthen the PBDAC village banking network and to extend its reach to poorer areas and market segments including women and the landless as future micro entrepreneurs. The workshop participants agreed on the need to identify innovative financial instruments that are relevant to the needs of unserved target groups. In the concluding session it was highlighted that all stakeholders (IFAD, PBDAC and others) should analyze and continue policy dialogue on promoting community-based microfinance institutions and the expansion of the PBDAC village banking network. It was recognized that those who lack land or other collateral had the potential to become micro-entrepreneurs and contribute greatly to income and employment generation on a national scale. This should be seen as a major banking opportunity.

Engage in rural finance policy dialogue. The CPE found that IFAD provided institutional support to the PBDAC system, but did not participate in the national policy dialogue on rural finance. Workshop participants agreed that IFAD should enter directly into dialogue with PBDAC, respecting its autonomy as a financial institution and should take an active part in the national policy dialogue on rural finance involving all relevant stakeholders.

Summary of ACP Agreements

1. Support the already existing and encourage the formation of new civil society organizations with the capacity to provide and manage financial services for rural development. To ensure their sustainability they should comply with legal requirements for financial institutions.
2. Through the field presence in Cairo, IFAD should take a lead role in stimulating the rural finance policy dialogue, especially to ensure better outreach to IFAD target groups.
3. IFAD should enter into direct dialogue with PBDAC, recognizing PBDAC's autonomy in deciding its financial policies and ensuring its sustainability (within the legal framework).
4. Assist PBDAC and other financial institutions to identify innovative financial instruments to reach women and the landless as future micro-entrepreneurs.

Suggested Timing:

• Policy dialogue agenda established at COSOP. New project used as entry point.

Partners Involved:

• IFAD, other donor agencies, PBDAC, suitable NGOs and CBOs.

Gender

Strengthen gender emphasis. The CPE found that the projects had addressed the needs of rural women in Egypt unevenly and concluded that IFAD needed to pursue a stronger empowerment agenda for women in its future investments in Egypt. IFAD investments had tried to enhance women's income through livestock production and micro-enterprise development; yet outreach to women has been unsatisfactory. The CPE attributed this shortcoming to a lack of mainstreaming gender concerns into project designs and suggested the Fund should consider using its grant mechanism to raise the profile of gender issues with its development partners. In discussions workshop participants recognized that rural women were doubly disadvantaged, by being both poor and female. To address this it was suggested that the gender focus in projects should be increased and that in certain circumstances it might be necessary to have separate gender components.

Increase women's skills and employment opportunities. The CPE suggested a stronger focus on skill development and employment generation for women and increased emphasis on the participation of women in the local institutions and fora such as water user associations, CDAs, etc. In Southern Upper Egypt, IFAD needs to focus more on women as farmers and micro-entrepreneurs by drawing them fully into research, extension and micro-credit activities, and extending the scope for more on- and off- farm income generation and employment opportunities. Workshop participants agreed with this and added that the Government should give more opportunities to women to reach leading positions in projects financed by IFAD as well as within implementation agencies

Summary of ACP Agreements:

• Increase the emphasis on gender aspects in projects.
• Use grant mechanisms to promote the empowerment agenda for women.
• Increase skills and employment opportunities for women through IFAD projects.

Suggested Timing:

• The new strategy for Upper Egypt should specify the use of grants and other suitable instruments to address the specific needs of rural women.

Partners Involved:

• IFAD, other donor agencies, suitable NGOs. Research organizations and NGOs for TAGs.