The evaluation process

IFAD's Office of Evaluation undertook a country programme evaluation in Morocco with three main objectives: (i) to evaluate the quality of the strategy pursued by IFAD since November 1999, (ii) to assess the performance and impact of the operations carried out, and (iii) to propose a set of conclusions and recommendations that will serve as a basis for IFAD in drawing up a new strategy document for Morocco. This new document will be based on the present agreement at completion point, which marks the completion of the evaluation process.

In May 2006, an approach paper set out the objectives, methodology and timetable of the evaluation, which was to be based on a key partnership that included representatives of the Government, project management units, PN and OE. A mission visited Morocco between 30 October and 1 December 2006, and the resulting report was discussed at various stages by officers of the Government and IFAD. A national workshop was organized in Marrakech on 28-29 June 2007 to (a) discuss the main results and lessons drawn and (b) prepare the ground for the formulation of the agreement at completion point.

In line with IFAD's evaluation policy and current procedures, OE is responsible for the content of the evaluation report, which it presents completely independently to the Executive Board. The agreement at completion point presents the conclusions, recommendations and steps to be taken and implemented as agreed by the Government of Morocco, represented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Fisheries (MAPM), and IFAD, represented by the Programme Management Department.

Main evaluation findings

Between 1979 and the period when the programme was being evaluated, IFAD financed nine projects in Morocco for a total of US$146.3 million in loans on intermediate terms.¹ The total cost of projects co-financed by IFAD in Morocco exceeds US$1.4 billion. Apart from the first two projects, IFAD has financed almost 41 per cent of project costs, while the Government has financed 37.5 per cent. Operations have been carried out in three priority areas: mountainous zones, low-potential rangeland zones (extensive livestock production) and arid zones in the south. Morocco has also benefited from technical assistance grants.

These grants have supported initiatives by such organizations as ACCION International, the International Food Policy Research Institute, the Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies, the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, the International Centre for Soil Fertility and Agricultural Development, the International Centre for Development and Research, the National Agricultural Research Institute, the Higher Institute for Trade and Business Administration, and the Hassan II Agricultural and Veterinary Institute and have targeted a wide range of sectors and issues, including rural finance, the participatory management of water resources, cereal cultivation, socio-economic studies and rural women. The grants are regional in nature, and the portion devoted to Morocco over the past five years has been about US$5 million. IFAD's last strategic document for Morocco was approved in November 1999 (the COSOP paper).

The evaluation has verified the relevance of IFAD's objectives in Morocco, which have been consistent both with Government policies and strategies and with IFAD's goals. IFAD's projects play a part in the development of approaches advocated by the Government and IFAD; there has been a move away from participation in the sense of awareness-raising and consultation to participation in the sense of negotiation for planning, cost-sharing and contracting in project implementation and management.²

While project objectives and approaches and the intervention subsectors themselves are relevant and consistent with the strategic orientations of the various partners, there are some weaknesses in interventions supporting production (for example, in the development of commodity chains and marketing) and in the design of rural finance interventions.³

The impacts have been visible in that they have involved the consolidation of and increase in the productive resources of the target populations through the expansion of fruit-tree growing, crop diversification and the consolidation of livestock numbers and health. With regard to employment and income opportunities, surveys carried out for the present evaluation show that improvements are more often seen among the beneficiaries of IFAD projects than among control groups. On the other hand, projects show recurrent weaknesses in all aspects of support for marketing and the organization of commodity chains, although some steps are starting to be taken in this respect. With regard to household food security, the positive impact of projects is primarily linked to small- and medium-scale irrigation schemes and improvements in livestock production. The adoption of approaches fostering the participation and empowerment of beneficiaries has had appreciable effects on the development and creation of a large number of professional associations and organizations in which young graduates tend to hold an important place.

The sustainability of impacts still depends on how the socio-economic and socio-political environment develops and on consolidation actions to be carried out. Positive aspects are linked to Government initiatives in the promotion of civil society and consultation and contracts with users.

The assumption of responsibility by beneficiaries in management and maintenance costs, as well as the good quality of infrastructure, may already be observed. However, vulnerable aspects are linked to factors such as the availability of adequate technical and financial support within the ordinary resources of public bodies in view of the major reduction in the numbers of Government staff and budgetary allocations.

With regard to innovations and replicability potential, IFAD projects have introduced innovations in terms of both approaches and techniques in the respective zones. These approaches and techniques may be already be implemented elsewhere, but they are new to Morocco and to the project areas. Some of the innovations have already been taken up by other donors or adopted by public organizations (the participatory management of irrigation schemes, small innovations in drinking water supplies, local planning at the douar level, and multilevel targeting).

Nevertheless, it should be pointed out that, at the project implementation stage, mechanisms – especially with regard to partnership with research and development institutions – are not always put in place to identify within the project or elsewhere, optimize and promote innovations for the benefit of intervention zones, while the synergy between projects (loans) and technical assistance grants still tends to be weak.

Recommendations and observations of the partners

Main thrusts of IFAD's new strategy in Morocco

Recommendations of the Evaluation:
The preparation of a new COSOP is anticipated, and the document must be drawn up according to IFAD's new directives on preparing country strategies. It must also be based on IFAD's new action plan and the operational procedures now in force. Given the results of the present evaluation, the new COSOP must take the following points into account:

Changes in the poverty situation in Morocco, which is now more well known thanks to the poverty map, but also changes in the obstacles to poverty reduction;
Changes in the country's socio-economic and political context, the new regional and national strategies and initiatives (such as the National Human Development Initiative and regional strategies where these exist) and sectoral intervention programmes, especially in rural development and natural resource management. In this context, it will be important to reflect more closely on the prospects for multisectoral interventions, not merely agricultural rural interventions; and
The definition of partnerships, including partnerships with government institutions, by broadening the partnership to take account of institutions that have so far been little involved. Examples are provincial and regional governments, which are starting to play a leading role in defining territorial development strategies. At the same time, the definition of partnerships with international organizations (for example, AfDB, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Bank, the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme) should be more detailed (objectives and rules of involvement). Similarly, the role of non-governmental actors (including NGOs, cooperatives and other grass-roots associations) and the private sector in the programme of cooperation between IFAD and the Government of Morocco needs to be more clearly defined.

Given IFAD's long experience in rural development and poverty reduction in Morocco and its knowledge of Moroccan Government policies and institutions, the Fund should step up its policy dialogue, in coordination with other international bodies. It should do this both with Government actors – to improve the institutional and socio-economic context for implementing the strategy – and with non-governmental actors (professional organizations, NGOs, the private sector, the scientific community). Boosting IFAD's presence in the country (using an appropriate procedure to be defined according to the objectives and the available resources) would facilitate not only the deepening of policy dialogue with the Government and coordination with partners, but also the pilot testing and implementation of projects.

Lastly, the preparation of the new COSOP should be organized within the framework of broader consultation and coordination involving all public, private and associational actors, and regular updating and adjustment of the COSOP programme should be anticipated, since a strategy must be flexible if it is to adapt to changes in the political, social, economic and institutional context.

Observations of the Government of Morocco - MAPM
IFAD's multisectoral interventions in Morocco should always encompass agricultural development.

As an agricultural development support fund, IFAD should continue to focus its interventions on aspects linked to the promotion of agriculture, with the aim of combating poverty, increasing the incomes of the most vulnerable people and preserving natural resources in areas of particular economic and social backwardness, especially mountain and arid zones. 

Activities focusing on other multisectoral aspects may be the subject of partnerships with the actors concerned, within the context of projects financed by the Fund.

Supplementary Recommendations

• In partnership with the specialized units of MAPM, adopt a more ambitious communication strategy based on a wider dissemination among partners of advances that might help to boost policy dialogue for the mobilization of policymakers and the rural population

• Continue to boost local capacities by organizing local inhabitants and improving their self-management capacities; this should be a constant concern of projects, for it represents a guarantee of project sustainability.

Proposed timetable
Incorporation of the recommendations during formulation of the new COSOP.

Partners involved
Government: the MAPM; the High Commission for Forests, Water and Combating Desertification; the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF); the Ministry of the Interior
International institutions: the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, AfDB, the European Union
National partners: the National Agricultural Research Institute, the Hassan II Agricultural and Veterinary Institute, the National Sheep and Goat Association, etc.
Local partners: IFAD projects and actors in the country's provinces
Civil society: organizations and associations involved in the rural world

Development of commodity chains, funding and the promotion of innovations

Boosting production optimization: integration of products promoted by IFAD projects into the appropriate commodity chains, as well as improvement in financing in the rural environment

Recommendations of the evaluation:

The issue of marketing and the integration of agricultural products promoted by IFAD-financed projects into appropriate commodity chains warrants special attention with a view to fostering the economic viability of many interventions and the sustainability of their impact. Here, it seems necessary to establish better links among productive activities launched in the target douars, input markets and end-consumers.

Given the difficulties in implementation and some poor adjustments in the approaches adopted, a review and updating of interventions in rural finance and support for microenterprises are highly recommended in light of IFAD's operating policies and changes in these subsectors in Morocco, in particular, but not exclusively, with regard to activities targeting women. The priorities focus on two points: (i) support for the development of microcredit products better suited to borrower needs and (ii) ways to open access to initial investments that microcredit associations cannot cover from their own funds.

Observations of IFAD - Programme Management Department
There are no poor adjustments in approaches. Some actions or activities have been designed as pilot experiments, in consultation with the Moroccan authorities in order to try out new working approaches. These would eventually be used as a basis for a national-level consultation and dialogue on rural finance policy.

Furthermore, so long as qualified human resources are not recruited or redeployed to manage "rural finance services" and "microenterprise promotion" components, as anticipated in loan agreements, there will be difficulties in implementing these components. Financial resources also need to be allocated as and when expected if these activities or components are to have the desired impact.

Observations of the Government of Morocco - MAPM
Constraints linked to the implementation of microfinance components and support for microenterprises are not a result of poor adjustments in approaches, but of matters of a practical order linked particularly to difficulties in finding sectoral specialists with a view to their recruitment for projects.

Given this situation, the Ministry decided to redeploy its officers (agricultural engineers or agroeconomists) so as to entrust them with the task of supporting microfinance promotion and microenterprises within project management units. Taking into account the limitations of these approaches, the solution may eventually be to outsource the implementation of these activities to specialized operators outside the public sector.

Moreover, a more concerted effort is needed by the MAPM, the MEF, the other concerned authorities and IFAD in order to tailor microcredit products more closely to the specific features of the agricultural sector and to the development of commodity chains, in line with the recommendations of the workshop mentioned above.

The COSOP must incorporate the Ministry's strategic perspective on the enhancement of agricultural commodity chains, when applicable to IFAD target groups, laying special stress on boosting productive capacities and professional organizations.

Proposed timetable
Incorporation of the recommendations during formulation of new projects and implementation of current projects

Partners involved
The MAPM; the MEF; the Social Development Agency; the Ministry of Tourism and Handicrafts; the regions; IFAD projects; the Moroccan Agricultural Credit Bank; microcredit associations; cooperating institutions

Boosting the promotion of innovations

Recommendations of the evaluation:

Possible synergies between project activities (based on loans) and technical assistance grants for research and development deserve more reflection with regard to strategy, as well as operational aspects.

Improvement in the performance of the partnership as a whole is important in both promoting and replicating innovations. There are two priorities: (i) to anticipate a framework for the systematic collaboration between grants and projects (pilot experiments, analysis and capitalization, the dissemination of advances) and (ii) to strengthen collaboration between innovating agents (NGOs, the research and development system, farmers, other development programmes) and IFAD's programme, which will probably entail boosting IFAD's involvement and intervention.

Proposed timetable
Incorporation during formulation of the new COSOP, new projects and technical assistance grants

Partners involved
Government: the MAPM; the High Commission for Forests, Water and Combating Desertification; the MEF
International institutions: the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, the International Centre for Soil Fertility and Agricultural Development, ACCION International, the International Centre for Development and Research, the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor
National research institutions

Boosting project implementation support mechanisms

Recommendations of the evaluation:

In order to improve project performance and impact and to be consistent with IFAD's new action plan, IFAD's implementation support capacities need to be boosted, especially through more regular review and support missions and involvement in direct supervision. This means moving from traditional supervision that focuses on tasks and physical results to a new form of supervision that focuses on quality, innovation and impact. Actions on the part of the relevant Government agencies are also needed, however, in order to ensure an adequate level of human resources (numbers, fields of specialization and levels of qualification) on project management teams.

M&E systems must be improved through ongoing support, exchanges among project M&E teams and the introduction of the Results and Impact Management System. Projects need, in particular, to strengthen their day-to-day monitoring capacity (simple methods of information gathering, management and analysis) and periodic review and evaluation (small-scale surveys, case studies, participatory reviews).

Projections in terms of project planning, disbursement capacity and staff availability (especially taking into account the voluntary severance programme) have turned out to be unrealistic, and a discussion of these procedures and projections is therefore needed to ensure the real availability of human and financial resources as and when anticipated. This recommendation applies also to the sustainability of results and impacts, which is often considered late in the project cycle.

Proposed timetable
During formulation of the COSOP and implementation of current projects

Partners involved
Government: the MAPM; the MEF; provinces; cooperating institutions
Local partners: IFAD-financed projects
International partners: other donors active in Morocco

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1/ The nine projects were financed through 10 loans, inasmuch as PDRT was financed through two loans. In September 2007, the IFAD Executive Board approved a tenth project. The total value of IFAD's loans now stands at US$164 million.

2/ According to the MAPMs, major efforts have been made in the context of projects to build up the local capacities of all those involved in development (training, organization into associations and cooperatives, diversification of activities). These efforts have apparently made a major contribution to improving and capitalizing on local know-how and, hence, to enriching the human capital that is the basis of any sustainability.

3/ According to the MAPM, the results of microcredit actions are satisfactory (the amount mobilized by microcredit associations in the Haouz project zone is two and a half times as much as the total amount granted by local agricultural credit banks through conventional loans).