Morocco - Agricultural Research and Extension Project

Document of The World Bank FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY 1V 3o B A-/oot Report No. 6943-MOR STAFF APPRAISAL REPORT KINGDOM OF MOROCCO AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EXTENSION PROJECT MARCH 17, 1989 Country Department II Europe, Middle East and North Africa Regional Office Agriculture Operations Division his document has a reshkied ditrbudon and may be used by redpints ody In te pedormance of teir official dutes. Its contents may not otewise be dbidod wihoun Wodd Bank authizaon.  CURRENCY EqUIWALENTS Currency Unit Dirham (DH) US$1.00 DR 8.00 DH 1.00 US$0.125 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES The metric system is used throughout this report. FISCAL YEAR January 1 - December 31 GLOSSARY OF ABREVIATIONS ACSAD - Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands Centre Arabe pour l'etude des Zones Arides et Terres Seches CMV - Cer.tres de Mise en Valeur Extension Centers (Irrigation) CNCA - Caisse Nationale de Credit Agricole National Agriculture Credit Bank CNERV - Centre National d'Etudes et de Recherche sur la Vulgarisation National Center for Studies and Research in Extension CRRA - Centre Regional de Recherche Agricole Regional Agricultural Research Centers CT - Centre de Travaux Extension Centers (Rainfed) DMVA - Direction de la Mise en Valeur Agricole Directorate of Agricultural Development DPA - Direction Provinciale de l'Agriculture Province Directorate for Agriculture DVRA - Direction de la Vulgarisation et de la Reforme Agraire Directorate of Extension and Agrarian Reform IAV - Ins6itut Agricole et Veterinaire Hassan II Agricultural and Veterinary Institute Hassan It ICARDA - International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas Centre International de RechercLs Agricole pour les Zones Seches ICRISAT - International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics Institut International de Recherche pour les Cultures en Regions Tropicales Semi-Arides INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique National Institute for Agricultural Research ISNAR - International Service for National Agricultural Research Service International pour la Recherche Agricole Nationale MARA - Ministere de l'Agriculture et de la Reforme Agraire Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reform ORMVA - Office Regional de Mise en Valeur Agricole Regional office for Agricultural Development (Irrigation) SD - Sub-Division (ORMVA) Sub-Division in Irrigated Schemes SMS - Subject matter specialist Sp6cialiste matiere (6quipes pluridisciplinaires) T&V - Training and Visit System Systeme Formation et Visite 348 9  FOR OMCIL USE ONLY STAFF APPRAISAL REPORT i'pJGDOM OF MOROCCO AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EXTENSION PROJECT Loan and Pr Bobtrower Kingdom of Morecco Amoount: US$28 Million equivalent Terms: Repayment in 20 years, including 5 years of grace, with interest at the Bank's standard variable interest rate. ExecutitnAgencies: National Instit^te for Agricultural Research (INRA) Directorate for Extension and Land Reforr4 (DVRA) Project lhsmarir-_ The project consists of a 5-year time slice of a ten-year development program for agricultural research and extension in Morocco. The research component would include: (a) INRA's reorganization; (b) development of programming by objectives for 5 research priority themes including: bread wheat, forage crops, livestock, oil crops and olives; (c) decentrali'sation of research, and development of two regional research centers; (d) rehabilitation of 13 research farms; (e) establishment of 8 research/development units; (f) strengthening of the information/doc-:i"entation division; (g) training, technical assistance and fellowships; and (h) improvement of INRA's personnel and financial management. The extension component would includet (a) establishment of an extension service at MARA; (b) introduction of new national extension system based on T&V system; (c) provision of improved research and extension linkage through the research development approach; (d) training, technical assistance and fellowships; (e) reorganization of audio-visual units for mass extension; and (f) establishment of Monitoring and Evaluation units at DVRA and in DPAs. Risks: Preliminary discussion and past joint activities over three years with INRA and DVRA helped significantly in reaching an agreement on the design and the content of the proposed project. The main risks for this project are associated with: (a) financing, particularly the allocation by the Government of insufficient counterpart funds to cover invesitment and operating expenses due to the difficult economic situation in Morocco; and (b) failure to retain trained staff. The funding risk has been reduced by ensuring that the project investments are within the Government's core investment program and maximizing the participation of cofinanciers. The risk of losing trained staff upon completion of their training abroad has been minimized by requiring tht trainees to work for INRA for a fixed time following the completion of training, and by the efforts made to improve remuneration levels for research scientists. This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authoiation.  ( ii ) Estimated Prolect Costs Local Foreian Total US$ Million - - Research component 12.4 13.0 25.4 Extensic.n component 16.2 9.7 25.9 Total Base Costs 28.6 22.7 51.3 Physical Contingencies 1.2 1.6 2.8 Price Contingencies 3.9 2.8 6.7 Total Project Costs 33.7 /a 27.1 60.8 Financing Plan Local ForeiRn Total -------US$ Million ----- World Bank 14.2 13.8 28.0 Cofinancing 4.0 11.6 15.6 Government 6.6 1.7 8.3 Net Project Cost 24.8 27.1 51.9 Taxes and Duties 8.9 - 8.9 Total Proje-t costs 33.7 27.1 60.8 Estimated Disbursement Bank FY 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 -US$ million - - Annual 2.0 1.5 4.5 6.0 6.0 5.5 2.5 Cummulative 2.0 3.5 8.0 14.0 20.0 25.5 28.0 Economic Rate of Return: n. a. Map No. IBRD 19938R - 19939R /a Includes US$8.9 million of taxes and duties. 3489t  KINGDOM OF MOROCCO STAFF APPRAISAL REPORT AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EXTENSION PROJECT Table of Contents Page No. I. INTRODUCTION ............................... . ........ 1 II. THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR ........... 1 A. Role of Agriculture in the Economy ........ 1 B. Experience with Past Lending in the Sector 3 III. AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EXTENSION IN MOROCCO .......... 5 A. Agricultural Research ........... .. o...o .......... 5 B. Extension Services 11 IV. THE GOVERNMENT 10 YEAR RESEARCH AND EXTENSION DEVELOPMENT P RO G R A M 15 A. Program Objectives and Strategy ..........15 B. Summary Program Description 16 C. Program Detailed Features ..es.es............a ......... 17 D. Program Implementation in Physical Terms and Cost Estimates 23 V. FIXANCING AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE FIRST FIVE YEAR TIME SIICE PROJECT ..............26 A. The Five Year Project .2....... . ........ 26 Bo Cost Estiatsi m a t es..*0*00. 28 Co Financing...o.o.. 60000..0 es. .& * e% 29 Do Proc urement........ .se . . 30 E. Disbursementso ............ 32 VI. PROJECT ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 34 A. Research sees............. ............................. 34 B. Extension e....o.. .o.o.....se.. .. 38 C. Research and Extension Links... ....... 41 D. Staffing, Reporting, Audits and Environment...se..... 41 VII. BENEFITS, JUSTIFICATION AND RISKS ........................... 43 VIII. SUMMARY OF AGREEMENTS AND RECOMMENDATION ...se................ 45 ts*OEv  Table of Contents (Cont'd) Page No. TABLES: 1. Total Acreage and Production .................. 47 2. Summary Cost Estimates ..****......** .... .................. 48 3. Estimated Schedule of Disbursement of Bank Loan ................... 52 ANNEXES: 1. Planned Organization of the Project Extension Services ............ 53 2. Status of Research by Crops and Disciplines ...................... 60 3. Guidelines for Improvement of INRA's Financial Management ......... 63 ORGANIGRAMS: 1. Research: INRA .......................... .... 66 2. Extension: Central Level ............................. 67 3. Extension: Province Level ................................ 68 IMPLEMENTATION CHARTS: 1, Research ........... 69 2. Extension . . ....*.... 0 . . ... ********** 70 MAPS: 1. IBRD 19939R : INRA Network t. IBRD 19938R : Extension Network ANNEXES: (IMPLEMENTATION VOLUME) I. Research (INRA) II. Extension (DVRA) III. Training for Extension and Research IV. INRA's Organization, Management and Computerization V. INRA's Information and Documentation Development VI. Detailed Project Cost Estimates 34.93  KINGDOM OF MOROCCO STAFF APPRAIAL REPORT AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EXTENSION PROJECT L INTRODUCTION 1.01 As part of the 1985-89 Medium Term Sector Adjustment Program (MTSAP) for the agriculture sector supported by the Agriculture Sector Adjustment Loan (Loan 2590-MOR), the Government of Morocco has decided to implement a reform of agricultural resea.rch and extension. These vital services to agriculture need radical improvement to provide the support needed to sustain the government's new effort to give an impetus to growth in the sector. Following the preparation by the Ministry of Agriculture of a 10-year development program for both research and extension, the proposed project was formulated to support the implementation of the first phase of the reform program. The project would provide for the widespread introduction of a Training and Visit (T&V) based system of extension, an introduction of a more focussed system of research by objectives, and for improved linkage between research and extension. 1.02 The program is based on experience drawn from on-going rural development projects, from master plans prepared for extension and research, the latter in cooperation with the "International Service for National Agricultural Research" (ISNAR) and technical assistance provided by international specialists. The proposed project is consistent with ongoing and programmed work by other financing agencies, including USAID and GTZ (para. 4.06), and is likely to benefit from parallel co-financing by KfW, GTZ, French and Italian agencies. The project was prepared by the Government with assistance from the FAO/IBRD cooperative program and Bank staff. It was appraised in June 1987 by a mission composed of Mr. F. Reeb (mission leader), Mr. J. Cole (agriculturist), Mr. J. M. Verdier (training) (Bank), and Mr. Chavancy (research specialist) (consultant). Negotiations, which were delayed until remuneration levels for research scientists were increased (para. 3.11), were held in February 1989. H. "THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR A. Role of Agriculture in the Economy 2.01 Background. Overall, about 83% of the 77 million ha of arable land is cultivated., In 1985/86 cereals covered 81% of the cultivated surface and the balance was under pulses, fruit trees, olives, oil seed, vegetables and forage. Surfaces and production are shown in Table I. Of Morocco's 60 million ha only 7.7 million are suitable for agriculture, with another 20 21ctr  - 2 - million ha in semi-arid or mountain regions suitable for grazing. Of the cultivable land, about 502 receives an erratic rainfall of less than 400 mm, and can only be put under a relatively high risk, low value barley/fallow cropping system. The remaining 50%, which benefits from good, but sometimes erratic rainfall, can be cultivated with cereals, forage and fruit crops. Out of an estimated potential for irrigation of 1.3 million ha, about 760,000 ha are currently irrigated. The livestock sector includes 11.5 million sheep, 4.2 million goats, 2.4 million cattle and 1.4 million draught animals. The rural population in Morocco numbers around 13.0 million people or 58% of the total population. The agricultural sector includes about 1.5 million farms and employs about 3.8 million people, most of whom are illiterate (82%). About 1.5 million small and medium farms (less than 50 ha), which represent 992 of the total number of farms, account for 83% of the cultivated land, while 17% of the land is distributed amongst large farms (over 50 ha). Small farmers own an average of four plots. Individual land ownership accounts for some 692 of total arable land; 5% of the land is government-owned, around 132 is collectively owned and the remainder comes under various other systems. 2.02 Past Performance of the Agricultural Sector and Potential. The performance of the agricultural sector has been uneven. Following a period of -xpansion in the sixties, when agriculture grew at more than 3% p.a., and accounted for 25% of the total growth in GDP, the rate of development of Moroccan agricultvtre has slowed considerably. During the seventies and early eighties, the sector's average annual growth rate was adversely affected by successive droughts, which not only affected rainfed production but also caused a serious shortage of water in the irrigated areas, and averaged only 1.27. In comparison with other middle income countries, agricultural sector development was thus slow. With the return of more normal weather conditions in the mid-eighties,production increased considerably, but the earlier experience has highlighted the importance of better mobilizing technology to provide for more stable growth and need for technical packages formulated on the expectation of recurring drought, both subjects included in the themes of the proposed project. 2.03 Currently, the agriculture sector accounts for about 177 of GDP and provides about 40X of all employment compared with 28S of GDP and 55% employment in 1974. Since the mid-seventies food production has failed to keep pace with increased domestic demand generated by a combination of rapid population growth (2.52 per year), a high rate of urbanization (4.87), and declining real prices for food. Food imports have increased by about 107 p.a. and self-sufficiency rate for key items has declined (cereals from 862 to 607, edible oils from 32% to 152). Altogether, agricultural impo.^ts now account for about 257 of the merchandise imports. In view of this deteriorating situation, improved food production is given, high priority by the government. Prior to the start in 1985 of the Government's Medium Term Adjustment Program for agriculture (para. 2.04), the total value of agricultural exports had been stagnant for fifteen years, and today, the agricultural sector accounts for about a third of Morocco's merchandise exports and 157 of total exports. Recent growth in exports and productivity has underlined the fact that Morocco's agricultural potential is far from being fully realized. The potential for increasing cereal production on the basis of available cereal 1/ Programe d'action et possibilit6s d'investissement dans le secteur cerealier No. 33/82 TA-MOR7, dated October 24, 1982  -3- technology was estimated at 602 by an FAO study,*' while for other crops use of improved cultural practices at farmers' level has been shown to yield increases between 40 to 1202. 2.04 The Medium-Term Agricultural Sector Adjustment Program. MTASAP was prepared by the Government in 1984 in response to the poor performance of the sector compared with potential. The five-year program started in 1985 with prime objectives of reestablishing growth, at the same time as reducing the burden of the sector on the national budget. To achieve this, MTASAP is: (a) restructuring the public investment and expenditure program in agriculture; (b) correcting the prices and incentives framework; (c) strengthening the agricultural support services offered by the Government; (d) building up institutional capacity for agricultural policy planning and analysis and strengthening the organization and structure of the agricultural sector; and (e) helping resolve the basic issues of improving productivity of land use and protecting the natural resource base. The proposed project would directly support (c) above. In the meantime, some progress has been made by MARA in improving agricultural efficiency and production through institutional changes and definition of long-term policies for research and extension discussed in specific development plans. The Bank has strongly supported the above program through two consecutive agricultural sector adjustment loans. 2.05 Agricultural Sector Adjustment Loans (ASAL). The first and second Agricultural Sector Adjustment Loans (2590-MOR and 2885-MOR) address key MTASAP objectives, which are to ensure success of any future development programs in the sector. ASAL-I was signed in July 1985 and progressed well with timely action being taken by the Government to implement its reform program. ASAL-II which builds upon the MTASAP with an emphasis on the prices and incentives framework for major agricultural commodities, became effective in July 1988. 2.06 Under the ASALs, the Government has taken, among the other measures, initial steps to implement institutional changes required to strengthen research and extension (para. 3.14) and prepared a ten year development program for each subsector (Chapter IV). In parallel with the reforms proposed for research and extension under ASAL-I, actions have been taken to improve inputs distribution networks while maintaining present levels of growth in consumption, by ensuring adequate and timely availability of fertilizer and seeds across the country and encouraging private and cooperative sector participation in inputs marketing. In addition to the development of agricultural credit through the Bank's sixth line of credit to CNCA (2731-MOR), measures already taken in the sector such as: adjustment of fertilizer marketing margins, participation of private companies in fertilizer import and distribution planning, partial transfer of seed productioai tG4) from INRA to SONACOS/SOGETA, and granting royalties to INRA for varietal development of seeds, are expected to improve credit availability and input distribution to all farmers of the country. The above measures would also strengthen the base for the successful implementation of a research and extension project which has to rely on well-developed and efficient support agencies to reach farmers and develop sector demand."' B. Eperience with Past Lending in the Sector 2.07 The Bank has provided considerable support to Moroccan agriculture in recent years, performance of Bank-financed projects has generally been 1/ Fnr more details of the MTAIJAP see Report No. P-4437, dated March 1987.  - 4 - satisfactory and the projects have helped provide a good basis for further growth in the sector. Bank group lending for agriculture began in 1965. To date 13 projects have been coroleted, 10 projects are underway and one was negotiated in 1988. They include eight irrigation projects: Sidi Slimane (FY65), Sebou I (FY70), Souss Groundwater (FY75), Doukkala I (FY76), Doukkala II (FY77), ail completed, two Small and Medium Scale Irrigation projects (FY83 completed and FY88 not yet effective) and the Large Scale Irrigation Improvement (FY86). There have also been six agricultural credit projects (FY66, FY73, FY77, FY79 and FY84, all completed, and FY66 on-going), an agro-industries and flood control project (Sebou II, FY74 completed), five rainfed agricultural development projects: Meknes (FY75) and Loukkos (FY80), completed, and the on-going Fes--Karia-Tissa (FY78), Middle Atlas (FY82), and Oulmes Rommani (FY83), an export-oriented Vegetable and Marketing Project (FY79), a Forestry Project (FY82), and two Agricultural Sector Adjustment Loans (FY85 completed and FY88). Several of these projects have been reviewed in the OED report "Strengthening Agricultural Research and Extension". 2.08 Rural Development and Credit Projects. In the rainfed subsector, the first project (Meknes, Credit No. 555-MOR) experienced considerable delays in implementation due to land redistribution problems, poor preparation of project components, over-optimistic assessment of implementation targets, and inexperience in the organization and management of rural development projects. The Fes-Karia-Tissa Project (Loan No. 1602-MOR) was designed to minimize organization and management problems encountered with Meknes, and the implementation of both the productive and the social components are generally satisfactory. After a good start, implementation of the Loukkos, Midile Atlas, Oulmes Rommani, and Forestry Projects (Loan Nos. 1848, 2082, 2217, and 2110-MOR respectively) has been delayed as a result of the budgetary constraints faced by the country. However, valuable experience has been gained through these projects in testing the organizational arrangements needed for a successful extension service in Morocco and staff training requirements. In addition, closer contacts with research have been achieved in Middle Atlas showing how cooperation between research and extension can be expanded. Performance of the five completed agricultural credit projects has been good. Project Performance Audit Reports (PPARs) stress the contribution made by the projects to the country's agricultural development, their success in establishing an efficient credit institution and the successful expansion of credit to small farwars. They also underline the importance of improving agricultural price policy, extension and inputs distribution for improved economic and financial performance of the credit loans. These issues are being addressed through Bank sector work and through the MTASAP (para. 2.04). 2.09 Irrigation Projects. Performance of the irrigation projects has been good once initial problems of land distribution and organizational delays in construction and procurement of irrigation equipment were overcome. The PPAR for the Sebou I Project (Loan No. 643-MOR) stresses the project's success in institution building and in providing infrastructure to achieve production increases in irrigated crops. It also highlights the need to complete land reform programs before the start of irrigation works, the importance of successful extension work, timely allocation of funds to O&M, and collectior. of water charges. The PPARs for the Doukkala I Irrigation Project (Loan No. 1201-MOR) and Doukkala II Project (Loan 1416-MOR) indicate that both projects were successfully completed with actual production and cropping intensity exceeding appraisal targets. The PPAR of the Souss Groundwater Project (Loan No. 1123-MOR) stresses the successful land consolidation of freehold land,  - 5 - distribution of state and collectively-owned land and the establishmect of service cooperatives. It, however, highlights the neglect of regular operation and maintenance caused by inadequate funding and lack of qualified staff. This problem inter alia is being addressed by the Large Scale Irrigation Improvement Project (Loan No. 2656-MOR). The PPAR of the Sebou II Project (Loan No. 1018-MOR) notes that as a result of the Project, commercial sugar cane production and processing were successfully established but emphasizes the vulnerability of investments aimed at the production of a single, internationally-traded commodity like sugar which is subject to wide price fluctuations, and also dependent on the successful development of sensitive new crops like sugar cane. Under the on-going Large Scale Irrigation Project, a T&V based extension system is being implemented in all irrigated schemes in line with recommendations made in the proposed project, and the irrigation project agencies are committed to contract research work with INRA or other research agencies in order to facilitate implementation of the research and extension project. M1. AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EXTENSION IN MOROCCO A. Mricultural Research Institutions Currently Involved 3.01 Several agencies currently carry out agricultural research in Morocco. The most important is the Agricultural Research Institute (INRA) (para. 3.06), which, created in 1981 with its Regional Research Network (CRRA's) (para. 3.07), is the only institution in Morocco whose activities are exclusively devoted to agricultural research. Other institutions (public, para-public or private) carry out agricultural research as a support to their main activities of which the most important are the "Ecole Nationale d'Agriculture" of Meknes (ENA) and the "Institut Agronomique et V6terinaire Hassan II" (IAV) in Rabat. Although these programs often tend to be oriented to educational purposes rather than to production, and therefore often are of little use in providing efficient support to farmers, IAV's potential for livestock and social science research is considered to be the best in Morocco because of the high calibre of its facilities. Within MARA, the livestock department runs its own research stations. At a regional level, the "Directions Provinciales de l'Agriculture" (DPAs) and "Offices Regionaux de Mise en Valeur" (ORMVAs) also carry out some limited research programs either directly or through contracts with INRA or IAV. Important citrus research is carried out on the Royal Estates. With the exception of the "Societ6 Agricole de Services au Maroc" (SASMA), an apex cooperative institution, which has a good reputation for vegetable research, private sector activity appears to be negligible. 3.02 Links between institutions doing research in Morocco are loose resulting in a lack of integration and coordination between them; consequently, the sector requires the leadership of a research agency perceived throughout the country as strong, efficient, and .eliable. INRA was created to provide this leadership. INRA, whose activities have in the past been severely limited by staffing and financing constraints, has recently started to extend its potential throuph joint research programs with ENA/Mek.es, IAV, SASMA, and the University of Marrakech, and has contracted a joint research program with the Royal Estates for in-vitro plant production.  -6- Research Fin&ncing 3.03 In recent years expenditures on agricultural research have grown slowly and in the 1988 Morocco "Loi de Finances" INRA's budget accounts for only 1.3X of MARA's budget. INRA's resources are estimated by ISNAR at only 0.302 of agricultural GDP, which is slightly less than the average for African countries (0.36X), and considerably below the average in high income countries (2.22). Current Research Priorities 3.04 As part of the reform of the nation's research system INRA's Board of Directors approved in July 1983 three priority groups of crops to be covered by the national research effort as follows: First Prioritr Second Priority Third Priority Cereals Fruit trees Pulses Rainfed forage Citrus Red meat (sheep) Vegetables Oil seeds and olives Sugar crops This prioritization, which still remains valid, is generally consistent with assessments of Morocco's comparative advantage in agriculture1' and supports both import substitution crops and export crops. 3.05 INRA's research activities are managed either at headquarters in Rabat or at regional level in the CRRAs. Research themes, managed at headquarters are part of national programs devised and executed by headquarters departments through regional experimental stations in charge of field implementation. They include research by crops and by disciplines as detailed in Annex 2. The Institut National de la Recherche Agronomigue (INRA) 3.06 INRA is a public enterprise responsible for coordinating research in Morocco. It has financial autonomy and is under the aegis of the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reform.a' INRA's responsibilities as defined by legal texte include: (a) scientific, technical and economic research related to agriculture and livestock development; (b) studies on natural environment and on improvement of plant and animal production; (c) trials of new crops and processing and utilization of plant and animal products; (0 monitoring research, stiAies, and works carried out for Government agencies; (e) making information on domestic and foreign research available to the agricultural sector; (f) studying and determining methods of application of research results and advising extension services and farmezs; and (g) exchanging 1/ See for example, Morocco "Agriculture Prices and Incentives Study" Report No. 6045-MOR. 2/ INRA's resources are provided through the Government budget and it is authorized to borrow money, earn revenues or receive contributions.  results of its own domestic experiments, studies, and work with other research agencies. Although not originally included within the above description, INRA's activity expanded over the years to include foundation and registered seed production up to G4 level with the h-ope of generating revenues. This experience proved to be costly as well as financially non-viable, and the foundation seed program was reduced down to G-3 production under ASAL-I. 3.07 INRA's general director reports to a Board of Directors which is responsible for approving research programs, budget, financing, and organizational changes. The Board of Directors includes representatives of six ministries, "Chambres d'Agriculture" and farmers' associations and is chaired by a representative of the Prime Minister's office. Until 1986, INRA's structure was very complex and unevenly balanced with a large research and experimentation division opposed to several small divisions and services. At province level, definition of responsibilities was unclear with ambiguous criteria defining links between units and an ill-defined hierarchy which caused many conflicts. In order to remedy that situation, a new organization was prepared on the basis of ISNAR's proposals in 1984 (Impl. Vol. Annex I, Appendix 1) and was approved by the Ministry of Finance in February 1986. This new organization is being progressively implemented and most of the key positions are now filled. As a result, INRA is now divided into four directorates: information and training, planning, management of the CRRAs and administration and seven scientific departments for main disciplines. Regional research is managed through eight CRRAs at Tangier, Oujda, Kenitra, Meknes, Settat, Afourer, Marrakech, and Agadir. In the meantime, research farms were consolidated under the first Agricultural Sector Adjustment Loan from 48 to 22. This INRA extensive network was not out of proportion with the country's size but it was not in keeping with the available scientific staff and financial resources. 3.08 About half of the scientific personnel is concenttated in Rabat. At all levels, admiristrative tasks are carried out by research scientists to the detriment of scientific work and cause a significant loss of efficiency. At regional level, scientific personnel is isolated and most of the 8 CRRAs have a staff of less than 10 engineers while 65% of research farms are managed by technicians and contractual engineers. Regional understaffing also prevents full utilization of INRA land and in spite of a significant land ownership reduction by 431 in 1986, only 75% is cultivated (101 for experimentation - 440 ha, 45b for seed multiplication, and 202 for cereal production). However, the CRRAs do achicve some valuable research results by managing research on certain crops such as: (i) research on citrus for which varietal improvement, plant protection and cultural practices components are dealt with by INRA and SASMA in Kenitra and Agadir; (ii) research on vegetables which is integrated with all other components of the cropping systems of the region of Agadir and answers specific local problems. However, the Agadir CRRA's works and responsibilities have not been extended to other CRRAs as expected, a situation which increases its isolation in the South and prevents it from coordinating its activities with those carried out elsewhere; (iii) Saharan agronomy in Marrakech which needs better multi-disciplinary integration and a socio-economic component to handle analysis of problems arising in agriculture south of the Atlas chain; and (iv) research on agriculture in arid zones which is successfully carried out in close coordination with USAID and US universities and includes a comprehensive study of most agricultural and socio-economic problems in the CRRA of Settat (Impl. Vol. Annex I,  - 8 - Appendix 7). This decentralization is expected to be greatly expanded under the proposed project. 3.09 Inadequate maintenance financing exacerbated by the size of the research network and its geographical dibpersion has led to a deterioration of INRA's physical infrastructure and consequently buildings need urgent repairs and 73Z of vehicles are old and inoperable. Existing agricultural equipment is similarly inadequate and modern and appropriate machinery for research is required. The information department at INRA is at a standstill due to a lack of both qualified personnel and adequate financing, while an important amount of existing information which has remained unused for decades needs to be sorted, classified, and made easily available to research scientists. This situation also prevents timely publication of research scientists' work. Implementation of programming by objectives, strengthening of management and decentralization to be carried out under the Project should help to alleviate these problems. INRA Resources and Financial Management 3.10 About 97Z of INRA resources are provided through Government budgetary transfers with the difference being made up by sales of foundation and registered seeds (2.5X) and contracts for research work with ORMVAs and other departments in MARA (0.52). This low percentage o. income from contracts reflects INRA's lack of credibility. Although granted financial autonomy, INRA is governed by such rigid rules under the Ministry of Finance's monitoring that very little flexibility is left to the institution to use the funds for coping with the inevitable erratic and sometimes unpredictable needs of a cropping season. In addition, procedures to release funds are inadequate and the allocated budget often becomes available after delays of several months, thus significantly hampering research programs and discouraging staff by raising the stress levels under which they work. These key issues w3uld be addressed under the proposed Project. INRA Staffing 3.11 After a period of stagnation from 1963 to 1975, INRA's staff grew to its present level of about 2,225 of which only about 180 are engineers and 300 are technical agents. In the meantime, foreign technical staff was reduced in number from 117 to 20. IARA's staff situation is characterized by: (a) an uneven distribution of research scientists between headquarters (52%) and the regions (48X) where they are scattered in small inefficient groups with inadequate incentives, financing, and equipment; and (b) a rapid turnover of regional research scientists due to the above conditions which inhibits continuity, experience and useful training and has detrimental consequences for research work; (c) an iriadequate number of research scientists of disparate skills who often have to carry out time-consuming administrative and management tasks; (d) an insufficient staffing at medium level (technical agents); (e) an over-abundance of unqualified workers who are unproductive and consequently costly and difficult to manage; and (f) a lack of qualified administrative personnel who could relieve research scientists from administrative tasks. In order to improve that situation, a new statute was adopted for INRA's personnel in 1985 with a more attractive salary scale and a special classification for research scientists. However, this decisin had  -9- less impact than expected since MARA engineer salaries were increased by 100% in 1986 and therefore INRA's salary scale became uncompetitive. The situation improved following the realignment of salary levels with MARA's engineers in the 1989 budget, but further changes will be required to satisfy the goals of the 1985 statute and enable INRA to attract senior research scientists. In addition to a salary revision for senior research scientists, an increase in their number would be a prerequisite for INRA's development. INRA External Relations 3.12 INRA is relatively isolated within the national research system characterized by a number of ill-assorted institutions which do not sufficiently inter-communicate. Lack of diffusion of scientific information of work conducted by its research scientists, lack of enough joint research programs with o.her research institutions, and failure to address farmers' specific problems and to make scientific information readily available to them in the CRRAs also contribute to INRA's isolation and deprive the institution of the strength, authority and reliability which would have given it the leadership in research sought by the legislators (para. 3.06). However, at the regional level some informal contacts do exist (para. 3.08) resulting in better coordination of research work and better appreciation from farmers. Before it can effectively meet its responsibilities for coordination and evaluation of research carried out throughout the country, INRA would need to become a well-organized and reliable institution. Aware of that weakness, the Government has already initiated institutional and structural changes to improve INRA's efficiency (para. 3.14) and the proposed project aims at both completing and complementing these reforms. At the international level, INRA has close cooperation with countries such as France, West Germany, Spain and the United States and maintains links and sometimes coordination with international research agencies or institutions such as CIAT, EEC, FAO, IBPGR, ICRISAT, IFAD, IRRI, UNDP, etc. and particularly with ACSAD and ICARDA which provides expertise for food pulses and CIMMYT with whom an agreement is being negotiated for cereals improvement. INRA plans to further expand its external relations during the next coming years and is also studying possibilities of twinning the agency with foreign universities (pata. 4.12). * Constraints to Development in Agricultural Research and Recent Progress 3.13 Work carried out for preparation of the research development program has highlighted priority areas for action needed to give a new impetus to Morocco's agricultural research program. These include: (a) weakness of scientific potential compared with the scope of ongoing research programs. As discussed above (para. 3.11), the number of scientific staff is very low and represents only 82 of the total, with technical staff accounting for 13%, and support staff for 79Z. In addition, more than 50% of scientific and technical staff is concentrated in Rabat. The low quality level of most scientific staff is also an issue which shows INRA's inability to attract and keep top research scientists due to an inadequate statute for personnel, low salaries, isolation at provincial level, lack of working facilities and difficulty in publishing researchers' work. The project would address this problem by promoting training, increasing the number of research scientists, developing strong provincial centers and reorganizing the information department. It  - 10 - would also support revision of research scientists' statute and the increase of their salaries (paras. 4.05 and 6.07); (b) lack of clear systems to define research themes. Presently research programs are defined on an ad hoc basis on proposals presented by research/scientists. This prevents the establishment of sound development policy for research units. The project would address the problem by establishing programming by objectives (para. 6.04); (c) inadequate systems of technical message preparation. Attempts to improve INRA support to farmers have met with uneven success. Technical messages need to be developed, coordinated and adapted jointly with other institutions and particularly extension services, CRRA's and research development units before being included in technical packages in a single and precise format understandable to farmers. The project would address the problem by establishing research development units at CRRAs (para. 4.10); (d) 'ack of monitoring for research programs and research/scientists which prevents sound evaluation and improvement of research works and makes it difficult to reward research scientists according to merit. The project would address the problem by implementing a new evaluation system for INRA staff (para. 6.07); (e) centralized organization in which conception and execution of research was the responsibility of central stations at Rabat which carried out monodisciplinary programs based only on the specific conditions of research stations. This tended to produce scientific results that were of limited significance, particularly for traditional agriculture. The project would address the problem by implementing programming by objectives and decentralization of research work through CRRAs (paras. 6.04 and 6.05); (f) inadequacy of the regulatory financing framework applicable to INRA. The Ministry of Finance imposes very tight control on INRA such as prior monitoring of expenses, centralization of control in Rabat and lengthy budgetary procedures. This situation is aggravated by the lack of timely availability of annual budgets which significantly hampers research work during the first months of the year as well as lack of information concerning the amount upon which to rely. The project would address the problem by improving financial management of INRA (para. 6.10); and (g) lack of financing which is mainly due to the country's economic difficulties and a problem external to INRA but which has significant repercussions on research activities. Consequently, (i) agricultural equipment cannot be renewed and is obsolete while laboratory equipment is inadequate to cover priority programs; and (ii) the information and documentation department lacks qualified staff and adequate equipment and is virtually non-operational. The project would address the problem by providing adequate financing to carry out essential investments required to achieve smoo,th operations for INRA (Table 5.1).  - 11 - 3.14 Under ASAL I and ASAL II a good start has been made in taking the following measures to relieve the above constraints. Under ASAL I, through: (a) completiou of studies to reorganize INRA structure and research programs and definition of priority research themes; (b) implementation of a new statute for resea.ch scientists; (c) reduction of the research network by about 50' to consolidate staff and facilities; and (d) reduction of seed production by INRA to mother seeds level. Under ASAL II through: (a) improvement of budgeting procedures; (b) increasing research scientists staff; (c) establishment of new accounting offices in CRRAs; and (d) revision of research scientists' salaries. The project would build on the improvement of the policy framework obtained through the ASALs by means of specific investments and actions to upgrade the organization and execution of research in Morocco. B. Extension Services Organization of the extension Services 3.15 Extension services in Morocco are provided by MARA through the "Direction de la Vulgarisation et de la Reforme Agraire" (DVRA) established in 1980. Under supervision of MARA's "Comit6 technique de la vulgarisation", this Direction is responsible for integrating all extension activities and applying the same extension methodology throughout the country, defining suitable techniques, means and methods for extension and organizing extension training. It also has responsibility for promoting the development of cooperatives and ensuring liaison between MARA, professional associations and farmers' unions and for all activities related to land reform. 3.16 At the central level in Rabat, DVRA has a division for extension and cooperatives which is responsible for coordinating and planning all extension activities with the exception of livestock which is dealt with by the Livestock Department at MARA through a small group of specialized extension agents. At regional level, rainfed and irrigated areas have different extension structures. In the rainfed sector, MARA is represented by 35 provincial offices (DPAs) in which the extension services are represented at a relatively low level, i.e., a "bureau" within the "Service de la Mise en Valeur" under management of both DVRA and DPV (Direction de la Production V6getale). In the irrigated sector, extension operates through a "bureau" within the Agricultural Production Service in the nine ORMVAs. For both irrigated and rainfed agriculture, the extension "bureaux" deal with cultural practices, extension, training, subsidies, credit, cooperatives and audio-visual activities. At farmers' level, there are 121 CTs (extension centers in rainfed areas) throughout the country. The CT staff includes about 2,000 technical agents of which 800 work on extension providing a coverage of 1 agent for 1,740 farmers. Their activities have until recently included: (a) extension services; (b) cooperative development; (c) agricultural credit and investment code-related activities; (d) input supply although under ASAL reforms some of these activities are gradually being handed over to the private sector or other government agencies; and (e) administration and financing. Within the ORMVAs, there are 156 CMVs (extension centers in irrigated areas) wh4ch are the field administrative and technical units responsible for the implementation of ORMVA agricultural development programs. The CMV staff includes some 1,400 technical agents of which some 800 work on extension providing a coverage of 1 agent for 195 farmers. The  - 12 - areas covered by CMVs are smaller, but with a higher farmer density than in the CTs. The CMVs responsibilities include follow-up of development operations, input supply and management. In both CTs and CMVs, livestock extension is presently carried out by a very light and therefore not very efficient network of agents directly managed by the livestock department. These figures show that while coverage in irrigation is adequate, it is far from meeting the needs for rainfed farmers. The ratio of high level extension staff (agriculture engineers) is very low in rainfed areas with only 42 engineers, while it reaches 122 in irrigated schemes. The present extension organization provides a good basis for development but needs: (a) administrative upgrading to put extension at the same level as other MARA activities; (b) development to meet adequate efficiency criteria particularly at medium management level; and (c) expansion to cover all field units including integration of livestock extension within the activities of the main extension service. This would be started under the proposed project. Extension for Women 3.17 Women's extension is a new activity which is now receiving more attention from DVRA. Each DPA includes a women's section and about a hundred women extension agents were trained in 1987 in communication techniques, health, family planning, and small animal raising. The role of women in Moroccan agriculture changes greatly from one region to another. For example, in some regions they participate in livestock management and production systems, while in other regions this is fully the responsibility of men. Prior to the preparation of detailed programs for extension services for women in the different regions, the Government has decided to carry out a nationwide study with FAO support. Results are expected to be available by the end of 1989 and would be used to expand extension activities aimed at women (para. 4.16). Extension Activities 3.18 With the exception of 28 pilot CTs and 14 CTs located in Bank project areas, extension as presently carried out in Morocco is not effective due to the lack of a well-designed system at the national level and the resulting difficulty in providing staff with clear terms of reference and working programs at all levels. Present activities of extension agents include many operations which can only be classified as support activities. TU.-se include managing demonstration plots, training farmers, arranging trips to advanced farms, audio-visual activities, organizing agricultural contests and regional fairs, input supply and mechanized land preparation services. Extension agents also have to participate in government nationwide campaigns such as collective ploughing, promotion of medicago, expansion of bread wheat, development of sugar beet, etc. In addition, since November 1984, all CTs have been asked to train, over three years, young farmers who failed in their high school studies. All these activities (excluding livestock which comes under direct management of the livestock department of MARA) are carried out without methodology, on an ad hoc basis, and their impact is difficult to evaluate. As a consequence of the multiplicity of tasks, extension agents work only occasionally on true extension activities. 3.19 To remedy the above situation, a new approach based on an adaptation of the T&V system has been tested with success within pilot CTs and CTs in ongoing Bank-supported rural development projects. This new approach has been  - 13 - highly successful and has met with full support from DVRA management as well as from field staff. The government plans to expand it to cover all favorable rainfed and all irrigated areas starting with the proposed project. However, because of the lack of available technical packages, a full extension system cannot be set up in higher risk areas such as in the mountains and low rainfall regions. In these areas a different approach including emphasis on research (the "research development" approach) would be tested with the objective of developing suitable packages. Extension Training 3.20 Morocco has three higher level agricultural schools which provide degree level training: IAV in Rabat, ENA in Meknes and Ecole Nationale Forestiere d'Ingenieurs (ENFI) in Sale. None of these institutions teach extension or cooperative development. Technical agents are trained in 14 schools where extension curricula represent only 1 to 2% of the programs. This low proportion is insufficient to provide adequate training for extension agents. In an attempt to remedy this situation, two agricultural schools - Sahel Boutahar and Tiflet - have had their programs extended by one year to provide practical training in extension under two Bank financed ongoing rural development projects, Fes-Karia-Tissa (1602-MOR) and Oulmes Rommani (2217-MOR). On-the-job training has been carried out on an ad hoc basis by projects, IAV, ORMVAs, DVRA and CNERV and focuses on cultural practices to the detrimett of livestock, communication techniques and extension methods. However, on-the-job training for extension workers has shown significant improvement during the past two years with the establishment of 28 pilot CTs (with financial support from the Bank) and the taking over of the "Centre National d'Etudes et de Recherche sur la Vulgarisation" (CNERV), financed under a Bank education project, by ENA/Meknes which is in charge of most of the extension training courses. Much more progress is necessary to meet the requirements of a developing extension system and the proposed project would address this key issue (para. 4.17). Liaison between Extension/Research 3.21 DVRA and INRA are two separate entities with neither structural nor institutional linkages. Coordination in theory is provided through committees such as the "Conseil National de la Vulgarisation Agricole" and the "Comite Technique de la Vulgarisation" in which INRA should participate but neither of these committees are operational and both INRA and DVRA lack a coordination unit to ensure permanent communication with external agencies. At the regional level, the situation is similar and contacts between research and extension are irregular, and dependent on personal contacts of staff of both institutions. However, some steps in the right direction were taken in 1986 with the creation at INRA of (a) a division of information and training which is responsible for ensuring liaison with development institutions; and (b) a research development service within each CRRA in order to ensure cooperation with the DPAs and particularly with subject matter specialist (SMS) teams established at DPA/ORMVA level. These measures will be built on in the proposed project (para. 4.10).  - 14 - Constraints to the Development of the Extension Sector and Recent Progress 3.22 Work carried out during preparation of the national extension development program has highlighted the priority areas for action needed to upgrade Moroccan extension efforts. These include: (a) inappropriate institutional framework: At MARA, extension is managed jointly with cooperatives by the same division. At provincial level, extension representation is reduced to a unit (bureau) of the agriculture development division (Service de la mise en valeur) and therefore falls under double management of DVRA and DPV. In the provinces, DVRA has direct authority over the CTs, while in the ORMVAs field activities of the CMVs are under direct management of the Offices. A separate organization for extension is needed at DVRA and in the ORMVA to implement an efficient extension program. Except for Bank projects and pilot CTs, extension agents are not technically supported by SMS teams and livestock activities are carried out independently by the livestock department staff. The project would address the problem by establishing a separate extension structure from the Ministry down to the province level with assured SMS support (para. 4.14); (b) inadequate staff skill and motivation: Staff is generally poorly motivated because of insufficient skills and lack of on-the-job training, well-defined working programs and schedules (para. 3.18). This situation is aggravated by low salaries, difficult living conditions, and limited scope for promotion. The project would address the problem by implementing new extension methods (para. 4.15) and a sound training system (para. 4.17); and (c) financing constraints: Insufficient financing results in: (a) lack of housing for extension agents - only about one third are provided with a house while the others have to live in cities or villages with long travel time to the CTs and field at a period when vehicles are scarce and operating costs insufficient to meet basic needs; (b) lack of vehicles - only 19% of CTs and 302 of CMV technical personnel benefit from vehicles, most of which are in poor condition and therefore unreliable; and (c) lack of funds for operating costs - in general, budget allocations are largely insufficient to cover normal activities. As a consequence, extension activities are almost non-existent. In addition, CTs suffer from the late availability of budgetary credits (June/July), leading to a halt in field activities during the first months of the year, right in the middle of the growing season. Steps have been taken under ASAL-II and the Structural Adjustment Loan (3001-MOR) to improve the timing and flow if funds to agriculture, and the project would provide adequate inancing for investment and operating costs (Table 5.1).  - 15 - IV. THE GOVERNMENT 10-YEAR RESEARCH AND EXTENSION DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM A. Program Obje