Madagascar - Agricultural Extension Pilot Project

 Agricultural extension pilot project Report No: ; Type: Report/Evaluation Memorandum ; Country: Madagascar; Region: Africa; Sector: Agricultural Extension; Major Sector: Agriculture; ProjectID: P001521 Madagascar: Agricultural Extension Pilot Project (Credit 2150- MAG) The Madagascar Agricultural Extension Pilot project, supported by Credit 2150-MAG for SDR 2.8 million (US$3.68 million equivalent), was approved in FY90. The project's original closing date was extended by one year to June 30, 1995. An undisbursed balance of SDR 238,164 was canceled. The Africa Regional Office prepared the Implementation Completion Report (ICR), with the borrower contributing Part II. The project was directed at services in five extension districts, three of which had already been the focus of an earlier pilot funded under a project preparation facility in 1988, but political and institutional instability prevented the pilot from becoming a national project in 1989. The pilot's objective was to test an extension strategy for providing sustainable, cost-effective services nationwide. The extension service was to be reorganized to incorporate the Training and Visit (T&V) management system, under which field staff would make regular, supervised visits to groups of farmers, with technical specialists providing training support. In the three-year implementation period, the project was also intended to improve links with research institutions, monitoring and evaluation, and financial and organizational management; to undertake studies; and to prepare a national project. The program was to harmonize with the approaches of other agricultural projects supported by donors and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). In the project's early years, political and social unrest in Madagascar and a lack of borrower and implementing agency commitment caused funding shortfalls, hindered staff reorganization and training, and kept the service from procuring vehicles. But in 1993, new managers began to make substantial improvements, emphasizing staff reductions and streamlining field operations. The proportion of farmers directly receiving services in the project area expanded to about 20 percent, and extention staff estimated that over 50 percent of farmers had benefited in some way. The substantial "small plot" demonstration program verified the benefits of technologies being promoted, particularly the early transplanting of rice seedlings and improved water management. No independent survey of adoption rates was made, but the ICR estimates a rate of return (ERR) of 24 percent, assuming 25 percent of farmers adopted the recommended improvements. Little progress was made in collaborating with other projects using different extensions systems. However, a national extension project was prepared and has been supported by IDA (Cr. 2042), and as new districts are incorporated, extension staff have been holding workshops to promote complementary assistance activities within the sector. Some belated improvements were made in financial management. And women now occupy almost half the posts at the agency's central office, which should enhance the service's ability to work with women farmers. The Operations Evaluation Department (OED) agrees with the ICR in rating the project outcome as satisfactory, its institutional development impact as substantial, and its sustainability as likely at this stage. Bank performance was satisfactory. The borrower is committed to expanding the reorganized services nationwide under Cr. 2042. The borrower's assessment of the pilot is largely consistent with that of Bank staff. Lessons from this project show that (i) strong commitment by the borrower and implementing agency is necessary if pilot activities are to be implemented successfully and contribute to further development; (ii) capable leadership and management are essential if new modes of extension are to be tested, and (iii) pilot projects should have effective monitoring and evaluation capabilities. The ICR is satisfactory overall but lacks a coherent description of some aspects of implementation. Preparation of the national project supported under Cr. 2024 provided the plans for future development of the extension service. The projected reduction in fiscal resources to be allocated to extension in Madagascar will depend heavily on the extent to which the many extension services in distinct projects can be rationalized. An audit is not planned but is likely at the completion of Cr. 2042. At that time, substantial monitoring and evaluation data should be available, and OED can more reliably assess fiscal sustainability and the extent to which the extension system has adapted to different production and social environments in Madagascar.