Extract of Agreement at Completion Point

Interim Evaluation

Background

The Office of Evaluation (OE) of IFAD carried out an evaluation of the North Eastern Region Community Resource Management Project for Upland Areas (NERCRMP) in April/May 2005.

As per IFAD's Evaluation Policy, this Agreement at Completion Point (ACP) was the final step in the evaluation. It includes a summary of the main findings and recommendations drawn from the evaluation, agreed upon by the core evaluation partners, namely the Government of India and IFAD. OE facilitated the ACP process.  

Main evaluation findings

The NERCRMP was an ambitious project undertaken in a very large area characterised by serious under-development, precarious livelihoods and progressive resource degradation. In most cases, the project has exceeded the physical targets set, sometimes by exceptional margins. The area under shifting cultivation has been reduced by nearly a half; terraced and irrigated lands have been expanded and improved; diversified farming systems focusing on horticulture and tree crops have been widely adopted; measures have been taken to protect forests and watersheds.

After the increase of targets by the Mid Term Review (MTR), 862 villages have been covered by project activities, affecting around 40,000 households. An estimated 18% of these households have so far moved out of the poorest category according to wealth ranking exercises. The key factors in this respect have been project-supported on-farm production and income-generating activities. The evaluation found evidence for greater food security, rising incomes and increase in physical assets.

The project has also been successful in terms of the progressive commercialisation of the small farm subsistence sector through the encouragement of savings, thrift and credit, the diversification of farm enterprises and private sector linkage. The only weakness in term of expected impact has been related to environmental policies, with the efforts to increase biodiversity awareness proving so far disappointing.

At the time of the MTR, the Village Development Fund (VDF) was introduced as a mechanism for fostering stronger community participation, simplifying planning and financing procedures and providing greater flexibility of funding. The evaluation found that the envisaged benefits of the new mechanism had yet to be realised.

The major challenges identified during the evaluation have been:

• the recognition of the enormous amount of work still to be done, particularly in relation to the 540 villages added to project coverage by the MTR;
• the continuing problems concerning land rights, especially among women;
• the difficulties encountered in including the very poorest groups;
• the need for more resources for the provision of water supplies;
• the limited jurisdiction enjoyed by project management over district operations;
• the erratic and unreliable flow of project funds;
• the need for greater involvement of district line departments in the objectives and activities of the project;
• the need for an effective exit strategy in terms of continuing group development; and
• the importance of replicating the main features of the project in other villages and districts.

Recommendations agreed by all parties

In the light of the above, the evaluation made the following key recommendations.

Strategic Issues

In view of the immense task of bringing the large number of new villages to an acceptable level of self-reliance, the duration of the project should be extended for around two years from its present closing date.

A study on the topic of land tenure should be undertaken urgently and an action plan produced whereby the project will assist with advice on tenure registration and possibly with financial help in the form of a loan or matching grant aid for the completion of the necessary legal formalities. 

Operational issues

Priority should be given in the remaining years of the project to ensuring that villages and groups reach optimal reliance and proficiency, including through the assistance of additional staff and/or service providers. 

A strategy should be devised as a matter of urgency, for application across the project districts, and particularly among new villages, to ensure the inclusion of the poorest groups.

The guidelines relating to expenditure per household, per component and sub-component should be interpreted in a more flexible and pragmatic manner so as not to disqualify crucial infrastructure investments (such as water supply schemes) for smaller and poorer communities.

Management issues

The senior staff of the project Management team should be contracted to remain in service to the project for the remainder of the project (although not necessarily in the same positions).

 New and binding agreements should be made by all parties to remedy the deficiencies and delays in the flow of funds.

The project should make greater efforts to involve the block and district line departments in the development and empowerment of villages and groups. This could be done by invoking the support of District Collectors to familiarise the cadres with the project philosophy and operations, and to provide on-job training.

Exit strategy

A specific programme of liaison and knowledge sharing with block and district line agency staff should be devised and pursued, with a view to the devolution of tasks and responsibilities as the project winds down.

A similar programme should be set up of active engagement with – and technical and financial assistance to – the NGO sector, to prepare them for potential handover of group guidance and service provision.

The District Societies and the Regional Society should be given greater responsibility for the raising of financial resources from government, donor and NGO sources and the facilitation of development along project lines. This will require the allocation of project funding, and the strategic deployment of some of the project senior cadres for up to two years after project closure.