Haiti : review of the impact of two development projects on women

NOTES ON WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT NO. 33 HAITI REVIEW OF THE IMPACT OF TWO DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS ON WOMEN Office of the Advisor on Women in Development World Bank August, 1984 HAITI REVIEW OF THE IMPACT OF TWO DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS ON WOMEN Contents I. Introduction II. Rural Development Project III. Women's Rural Work, Project Participation and Impact IV. The Second Education Project V. Project Implementation and Impact on Women VI. Conclusion & Recommendations HAITI EVALUATION OF THE IMPACT OF TWO DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS ON WOMEN I. Introduction 1.01 This evaluation is part of a four-country study on the impact of development projects on women undertaken by the Office of the Advisor on Women and Development of the World Bank. These case studies, in turn, will become part of an inter-agency report designed to appraise the achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women. 1.02 The Haiti case study examines two IDA financed projects: the First Rural Development Project in the Northern Department, initiated in May 1977 and completed in June 1983, and the Second Education Project, which began in July 1978 and is scheduled for completion in December 1984.-1/ The choice of projects followed three criteria. First, the paramount im- portance of the agricultural and educational sectors in the lives of Haitian women. Second, the opportunity of focusing the analysis on a single region, namely the rural areas of the Northern Department where interventions of both projects overlap. And third, the fact that both projects were initiated and completed within the UN Decade for Women. 1.03 The present report is based on a review of the existing project document, previous studies on women in Haiti, and on the findings of a brief mission to Haiti which took place in June 1984. For both projects, the amount of data specifically related to women is very limited. This, combined with the short time devoted to the collection of additional data, restricts the scope of this evaluation to a partial assessment of how women benefitted or were disadvantaged by project activities. The first part of the report descrijes the rural development project, the roles of rural Haitian women in relation to the sector and the participa- tion of women in project activities. The second part reviews similar 1/ IDA Credits N9 675-HA and 770-HA, respectively. 2/ The list of documents consulted is given in Annex 1. The field mission comprising Mrs. Gloria L. Scott (World Bank Advisor on Women and Development) and Anna Maria Sant'Anna (consultant) visited Haiti from June 4-8, 1984. -2- issues in relation to the education project. The report concludes with questions about project design and implementation and with suggestions as to how women's contribution to development might be enhanced in similar future projects in Haiti. II. Rural Development Project in the Northern Department 2.01 Projects Objectives and Description. The project was inten- ded to remove key constraints to development in the Northern Department, especially the northern plaing one of the areas with high agricultural potential in the country. In particular, the project objectives were to improve agricultural production and rural incomes, improve the quality of rural life, and help build up regional institutions through financing basic infrastructure (rural roads, water supply and markets) and agricul- tural services (irrigation, credit, applied research and extension, animal health) for rural development. The agency created to coordinate project execution was the Organisme du Develonpement du Nord (ODN). Project interventions were designed to: (a) rehabilitate the Quartier Morin (1,200 ha) and St. Raphael (1,900 ha) irrigation systems, expand these systems by 800 ha at Quartier Morin, and irrigate up to 1,000 ha based on deep wells north of Quartier Morin; (b) rehabilitate and improve 66.5 km of feeder roads and 27 km of farm access roads; (c) construct up to 400 wells to be operated with hand pumps and up to five small water supply systems served by springs, for the rural potable water supply; (d) rehabilitate and improve the two municipal markets and abattoir in Cap Haitien, and build a market in St. Raphael; (e) provide short-term and medium-term credit to groups of small-scale farmers and to individual medium-scale farmers; -3- (f) initiate agricultural Lrials and improved seed multiplication; (g) provide agricultural extension, rural animation and veterinary services; and (h) create the Organisme de Developpement du Nord (ODN) to implement the project under the supervision of a Board of Directors chaired by the Secretary of Agriculture. 2.02 About 4,000 rural families were to benefit from the directly productive agriculturalcomponents of the project. In addition, some 26,000 rural families were expected to benefit from better roads, improved agricultural services and availability of improved seed, and about 3,000 rural households were to receive potable water. 2.03 Project Costs, Financing and Modifications in Project Design. Total project costs were estimated at US$13.4 million, with a foreign exchange component of US$8.2 million. Over one-third of the cost was for irrigation, one quarter for project administration, and 14% for roads. Actual costs ascended to US$15 million of which IDA financed US$10 million, the Government of Haiti US$2 million, the French Aid Agency and the Federal Republic of Germany US$2 million and the World Food Program (PAM) US$1 million. 2.04 The project faced several implementation problems including institutional weakness and financial difficulties, and underwent a substantial reformulation in mid-1981. The main changes introduced were: (i) reduction in the scope of the irrigation component; (ii) expansion of the water supply program; (iii) reduction in the volume of agricultural credit; (iv) more emphasis on agricultural trials to develop technical packages; and (v) establishment of a revolving fund with an advance from the proceeds of the IDA credit to facilitate payment of project expendi- tures. The implementation period was extended from the original 4.5 years to 6.5 years. -4- 2.05 Proje-ct Implementation and Impact. The project achieved mixed results. Targets for agricultural production were not met but the road program was carried out beyond the original target, the water supply program was expanded and field trials exceeded the original prOjeqtions. Probably the most important result of the project is that it bul'tt up a regional rural development institution (ODN) establishing a model that is replicable in other parts of the country. As will be shown later, thi' project's impact on women's productive and household maintenance activities was positive although benefits cannot be quantified (see section 3 below). 2.06 The irrigation component was restricted to rehabilitation works in the area of St. Raphael since investments made in the area of Quartier Morin were negligible and the irrigation program from wells was deleted from the project. At St. Raphael, 460 ha of improved irrigation works were completed and support services including maintenance were intro- duced. These investments permitted farmers to begin growing two crops a year (rice and vegetables) resulting in a substantial increase in cropping intensity and production. Irrigation works benefitted an estima- ted 450 families. The increase in vegetable output directly benefitted women who habitually assist their husbands in the fields and, most importantly, are largely responsible for marketing the produce in local, regional and urban markets. 2.07 The water supply program served almost five times the popu- lation originally planned. Instead of 400 wells and five community systems to serve approximately 20,500 inhabitants, a total of 150 wells and 25 community systems were built for a population of about 100,000. This program is considered to have a high return and the average investment cost was only US$25 per beneficiary. Since previously _there was no potable water in the region, the health and welfare impacts of the component are substantial. Women's time, formerly burdened with hauling water over large distances, was freed to be employed in other activities. An estimated 14,700 women directly benefitted from the program. It can be suggested that, with minimal extra cost, a program of water consumer educa- -5- tion could have been established as part of this component. Experience with water consumer education elsewhere in the developing world indi- cates that it greatly enhances the health impact of water supply invest- ments. Water consumer education could be introduced in primary schools, adult education programs and radio education broadcasts now operating in the Northern Department. 2.08 The feeder and access roads rehabilitation program was also increased from the original 93.5 km target to 106 km. The improved road network had a significant impact on traffic increase and movement of agricultural output from the region to the Citadelle sugarcane mill and to the cities of Cap Haitien and Port-au-Prince, thus contributing to the rehabilitation of the sugarcane sector. Average daily traffic counts at the pertinent road sections in 1980 and 1983 show increases in the number of vehicles ranging from 131 percent (Haut du Cap to Lory) to 3,100 percent (Limonade to Bois de Lance). The increase was mostly in rural buses which carry both people and produce and assure regularly scheduled service instead of the itinerant bush taxi service. Agricultural output is carried by bus or trucks to major centers, such as Cap Haiten, Dondon, Duty and Acul du Nord. Another benefit was that pedestrian and pack animal traffic was made possible even after rains. Since women are largely responsible for transporting produce to markets, the option afforded by the improved roads to use bus services is highly beneficial to them. In buses women can carry larger amounts of produce per market day, dedi- cate more time to market activities, possibly reduce the number of over-night stays at the market site and decrease the amount of produce lost due to spoilage. Taking into account only the markets directly affected by better access roads, an estimated 2,600 women vendors would have benefitted from the program, as follows: 700 at the Limonade market, 700 at Acul du Nord, 1,000 at Grande Rivere and 200 at Ribillard.-1/ 1/ Market survey reported in Annex 2 ("Characteristiques des Marches) in, ODN, "Projet du Developpement du Nord, Premi re Phase, Rapport Final 1977-1982," n/d. -6- 2.09 The market rehabilitation program was restricted to the upgrading of the Cap Haitien market and abattoir. Due to cost overruns, the upgrading of St. Raphael market was deleted from the project. Cap Haitien is the most important urban market in the region and congregates approximately 1,000 women vendors who work daily but more intensively on Mondays and Saturdays trading in all sorts of produce at both retail and wholesale levels. The market attracts approximately 20 buses in a normal work day and some 100-125 women wholesale dealers (Madame Saras). Data from the market survey conducted by ODN indicate that an estimated 21,000 women vendors operate in the region, distributed in 31 markets and that Cap Haitien vendors represent about 5 percent of all vendors. Most markets are deficient in on-site infrastructure and road access. The St. Raphael market is a good example of the observed deficiencies. It attracts an average of 500 vendors twice per week but has no specialized site nor abode. Marketing takes place on the ground, mostly on the main access road where pedestrians, buyers, vehicles and vendors compete for narrow areas of pavement. 2.10 Agricultural credit provided was significantly below project estimates, with disbursement figures at about one-third of the original US$800 thousand allocation. A total of US$115,000 equivalent was given in medium-term credit for minor farm equipment and small process- ing facilities to 81 borrowers, or an average of US$1,400 equivalent per loan. Short-term credit was provided mostly in kind for farm inputs for a total of US$137,000 equivalent distributed in 3,758 loans, or an individual loan average of US$37 equivalent. Since the administrative cost per loan was excessively high (about US$25 equivalent) and the recovery rate was only 50 percent, the rate of return of this component can be considered highly negative. Credit demand was limited for several reasons: farms are small, incomes are low, seeds which is the input in highest demand, were scarce, and the decision by ODN to concentrate credit on individuals rather than groups, demanding with each application land deed as collateral, has severely reduced the number of,potential -7- borrowers. Women were not formally excluded from credit but the collate- ral requirements hampered women more than men since only a few have legal proof of land ownership. 2ll Agricultural trials, seed production, extension services adi animal health. The agricultural research program was expanded to cover not only the trials by extension agents on farmer's fields originally planned, but also the development of several field experiment centers, a main experimental farm and a seed production center. Coverage was extended to the entire Northern Department and 120 trials were carried out. This research program has led to the selection of higher yielding varieties for cassava, rice, maize, sugarcane and beans that could substantially increase production at the farm level. However, the appropriate techni- cal packages were not ready in time for the development of suitable extension messages and the impact of the extension services on production was limited. The animal health sub-component was affected by the scarcity of veterinarian drugs and trained personnel. Notwithstanding these limi- tations, an estimated 18,800 animals were treated. Rural organization was strengthened with the establishement of about 200 peasant-groups and the training of approximately 100 peasant leaders. This structure is expected to facilitate the distribution of agricultural credit and the introduction of technical agricultural packages during the second phase of the project. The ODN has also collaborated with the Organization 1/ NationaL d'Alfabetization at Action Communale (ONAAC) -- in the organi- zation. of community councils (Conseils d'Action Communautaire). In the Northern Department there are 40 such councils with a membership of 2/ 15,000 peasants, 27 percent on them women.2 1/ A description of some of the activities of ONAAC is given in Para. 4.09 below. 2/ See Allman, Suzanne, "Profil de la Femme Haitienne," UNDP, Port-au-Prince, May 1984. Manuscript. Pages 76-77. -8- III. Women's Rural Work, Project Participation and Impact 3.01 The division of labor by sex in the rural areas has evolved in recent decades from the traditional heavy involvement of women in field work to their increasing employment in marketing agricultural pro- ducts. Although separate data by sex for rural and urban labor force participation are not available, total employment data indicate that the share of agricultural employment has declined more for women than for men, while commercial sector employment has increased more than proportionally for women as compared to men. The relevant figures are the following: HAITI Employment in Agriculture and Commerce by sex as percentage of the total 1950-1982 Agriculture Commerce Years Men Women Men Women 1950 86 82 0.9 12 1973 82 62 1.2 20 1982 81 51 3.0 33 Source: ILO, Yearbook of Labor Statistics, 1970 and 1983. Trading is a full-time occupation for large numbers of rural women. Often it involves long journeys to the market and forces women to spend extensive periods away from home, in some communities as much as six 1/ months of the year.- Although women's work as traders has increased very significantly in recent decades, the majority of those employed still do agricultural work, particularly at harvesting times. 1/ For community level employment data, see Gerald F. Murray, "The Economic Context of Fertility Patterns in Rural Haitian Communities." Manuscript, 1972. -9- 3.02 Woman's occupational patterns vary regionally. In the Northern Department her economic role tends to be more traditional than in other regions, centered around the household and combining trading activity in near-by markets, subsistence agriculture and care for small, animals with child care, household management, cooking, cleaning and laundry for the family. The marketing of cash crops such as sugarcane and coffee is done by men while women tend to specialize in selling vegetables and fruits. A substantial amount of women's time is devoted to hauling water and transporting produce to the market. The modest income women derive from trade is used to purchase non-agricultural pro- ducts for the household, to finance the education of children and the recurrent marketing expenditures. Earnings are often not enough to meet women's transport expenditures either by bus or by animal pack. Often women are seen in the country roads walking to or from the market carrying heavy loads. 3.03 Impact of Infrastructure Components. Although not directly intended to benefit women, the rural development project has succeeded in extending rural infrastructure which, in itself, is highly beneficial to women. Improved access roads have reduced the isolation of many small farms and facilitated women's access to markets, making possible the use of modes of transport other than the traditional head carrying method. Likewise, the extensive provision of water supply, which reached an estimated 14,700 households, has freed 3 to 5 hours of women's daily work time formerly dedicated to hauling water for household use. More directly, the upgrading of Cap Haitien market improved women's working conditions at the site and most likely increased their productivity through better hygienic conditions and storage facilities, No data are available to quantify any of these benefits, but field observation does suggest an overall positive impact of infrastructure investments on women. - 10 - 3.04 Impact of Agricultural Components. The supply of agricul- tural credit, one of the least successful components of the project, could have been more efficient and have brought more benefits to women if implementation arrangements were better adjusted to women's needs and productive roles. The component was partially implemented by the Bureau de Credit Agricole (BCA). This bank has experience with lending for small groups of peasants organized into agricultural credit societies, but this experience was not widely used in the project. These credit groups of 7 to 15 people comprise men and women. Although a woman does not need authorization from her husband to participate, BCA regulations require that she be actively farming to apply for a loan. This restriction pro- bably explains the fact that among 20,000 farmers who benefitted from BCA credit in 1979, only 19% were women. Nevertheless, BCA also knows that women's repayment rates are better than men's precisely because they tend to spread the risk of agriculture by investing concomitantly in commerce. Thus, if incentives were given to group credit and credit be allowed for marketing and for the purchase of small animals, as well as agriculture, women's demand for credit and access to credit would have been significantly larger and repayment rates probably would have been better. There are good prospects for improvement in the performance of the credit component in the second phase of the rural development project, since more seeds are now available, technical packages have been developed and implementatiou arrangements will probably favor group credit. 3.05 With regard to agriculture extension services, the availa- bility of technical packages and clear messages in the second phase of the project will also tend to generate more benefits from this component. It may be suggested however, that women's involvement in agricultural extension work be given more attention. Women's participation can be enhanced in two ways: both as agricultural extension agents and as beneficiaries of extension programs specially designed for women. The latter could focus on the traditional responsibilities of Northern rural women in the care of small animals and of the family subsistence plot. - 11 - Both these activities could be assisted by the introduction of improved plant varieties, water management and animal health care training. Although women participate in community action groups, no woman was trained as farm leader under the first project. This situation could be altered in the second phase and demonstration plots led by women could be introduced. The opportunity afforded by the opening of the secondary agricultural school in Hinche, described in Para. 5.04 below, should be used to better link the education and rural development activities in the Northern Depart- ment and women should be encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity. IV. Second Education Project 4.01 Background. Since the completion of the first Education Project in 1981,- the Government of Haiti has reaffirmed its commitment to improve basic and vocational education and to implement the educational reform by establishing specific targets in its Third Five-Year Development 2/ Plan (1981-1986) and by expanding sectoral investments.- Impqrtant structural changes have been introduced in recent years in the sector, such as the merging of the urban and rural education systems into one in 1978; the establishment of Creole as the main school language; the reform of the primary school curriculum; the reorganization of the National Depart- ment of Education (DEN); and the initiation of extensive teacher training programs. 4.02 Although primary school enrolment almost doubled over the last ten years, still less than half of the 6-12 year olds (47% in 1981/82) go to school and rural enrolment rates only reach 34%. Enrolment of girls lags behind that of boys even though parents do not indicate a 1/ Partially financed by IDA Credit N9 618-HA implemented during the 1976-81 period. 2/ In the late 1970's expenditures in education were limited to an average of 1.5 percent of total governmental expenditures. See UNESCO, Statistical Yearbook, Paris, 1983. - 12 - preference for educating boys. In 1980, gross enrolment figures were 75 percent for boys at the primary level compared with 64 percent for 1/ girls.- Low and unequal enrolment rates are even more pronounced in the rural areas than they are in the cities, reflecting the lack of sufficient school places, the dispersed location of existing facilities, the cost of 2/ education to parents- poor health and nutrition of the children and demand for child labor in the fields and caring for siblings. The latter is particularly true in communities where women traders are frequently away from home and must leave their eldest daughter in charge of the house- hold for extended periods. The inefficiency of rural primary schools compounds the low enrolment problem, since not enough children who enter school complete the primary cycle. In rural areas, only about 20 percent complete six years of primary education and cognitive achievements of graduates are low. Parents are responsible for the purchase of school uniforms, shoes and learning materials at costs often in excess of their means, creating a situation in which only one in four rural primary students owns a textbook. 4.03 Vocational and technical education. The present vocational/ technical education subsector consists mainly of private schools (78%) offering either first-level or second-level vocational training (grades 7-9 and 10-12). These mainly urban schools offer modern sector oriented commercial and home economics courses. Of about 30,000 students enrolled in 1982, about 80 percent were girls and 70 percent followed home economics courses. Drop out in the first-level schools is high reaching over 40 percent. The second-level schools are intended to train skilled workers and middle level technicians. Recent plans to restructure the vocational/ technical training system contemplate shorter courses oriented towards 1/ uwC0, op.cit. 2/ Cost to parents per primary student is estimated in US$20 equivalent per year for the 1982/83 school year. This figure represents approxima- tely 10 percent of the national per capita income and perhaps as much as 20 percent of the rural per capita income. The cost of uniforms and shoes is not included in this estimate. - 13 - formal and informal sector employment in the first level (grades 7 to 10) and training up to the technical baccaleaureat in the second level (grades 10 to 12). 4.04 The emphasis on vocational education is linked to the achievement of the agricultural development goals proposed by the Govern- ment in that the rural youth must be provided with functional education and basic skills; the adult population must be motivated to understand, accept and apply innovative agricultural techniques and key agricultural development workers must be trained and appropriately utilized. The second education project described below has been conceived to respond to these objectives among others. 4.05 Project objectives and Description. The second education project has two major objectives: (i) correcting inequalities of access, improving the relevance and increasing the internal efficiency of basic education, and (ii) expanding the supply and improving the productivity of skilled and semi-skilled workers in Port-au-Prince and Cap Haitien and of agricultural extension and rural community developiment agents and rural farm leaders in the North and Artibonite regions. 4.06 Project components comprise construction, furnishing and equipping the following facilities: (a) Primary Education: (i) 31 rural basic schools (grades 1-4) with 9,000 places and enrolment capacity for 13,500 students supported 1/ by 120 units of staff housing;- (ii) 10 urban primary schools (grades 1-6) 1/ Eight of the 41 primary schools were built in the Northern Department. Three in rural areas, 1 in Cap Haitien and 4 in small towns including St. Raphael. -14- with 3,000 places and enrolment capacity for 6,000 students; (iii) one primary teacher training college (grades 10-12) with 240 places and equal enrolment capacity provided with 160 boarding places and 6 units of staff housing; (iv) radio education production facilities including one studio in Port-au-Prince and, if necessary, relay towers located in the different regions of the country. (b) Vocational and agricultural education: (v) two secon- dary vocational schools (grades 7-9) with 676 places and equal enrolment capacity complemented by 18 units of staff housing; (vi) one vocational training center devoted to non-formal education with 45 places and enrol- ment capacity for 800 students per annum; (vii) one agricultural training school (grades 10-11 and non-formal education) with 175 places and enrol- ment capacity for 650 students per annum, combined with 175 boarding places and 11 staff housing units. (c) Support for curriculum development, in-service teacher training, educational materials preparation, production and distribution, evaluation and studies, all related to primary education; (d) Technical assistance in the form of specialist services and fellowships. 4.07 Project costs and financing. Total project costs were estimated at US$12.67 million with a foreign exchange component of US$6.77 million. Financing was provided by an IDA credit of US$10 million, a UNDP grant of US$0.47 million and a contribution by the Government of Haiti of US$2.2 million. At approximately one year prior to project completion (January 1983) total project costs were estimated to have ascended to US$13 million and implementation problems to have caused a 12-month delay in project completion, now projected for the fourth quarter of 1984. - 15 - 4.08 Modifications in project design during execution. To counter-balance the impact of cost overruns due to delays in the construc- tion schedule of all the larger schools, the remodeling of the vocational school in Cap Haitien and the construction of a Teacher Training College have been deleted from the project. Furthermore, the radio education program was reduced because relay towers proved unnecessary. All other physical targets of the project have been achieved or are in the final stages of completion. It is expected that the Cap Haitien vocational school will be part of the proposed Fourth Education Project currently under preparation. 4.09 Special Sub-Components: Organization Nationale d'Alfabetization et Action Communale (ONAAC) and Community Integrated Nutrition and Education Centers (CINEC). In addition to classrooms, each basic rural school has a simply equipped and designed workshop and home management area intended for regular use during school hours and in the evenings by a total of about 2,510 out-of-school youths and adults for radio listening, functional literacy, artisan training and other activities organized by ONAAC and the Ministries of Health and Social Affairs. Similar facilities are provided in urban primary schools for evening use only by about 1,000 out-of-school youths. 4.10 ONAAC operated 25 home economics education centers in 1983/84 using the above mentioned facilities, with a total enrolment of approximately 1,000 young women. Enrolment per center ranges from 10 to 150 students with attendance varying irregularly between 25 and 40 students per day. Day courses are designed for unmarried young women (ages 15-18) with complete or incomplete primary education, who are functionally lite- rate. Courses include cutting and sewing, cooking, embroidery, nutrition, home economics, hygiene and child care. Family planning education is not provided.-/ The program functions 4 hours per day 4 days per week for 18 1/ The Ministry of Health has created a family planning service which was rated one of the most effective public agencies in Haiti. This service* uses radio broadcasts as its main vehicle. Regretably, ONAAC does not coordinate with the Ministry of Health in this area. - 16 - months. More than 50 percent of the students drop out after the first year and no evaluation of the program's effectiveness has yet been made. Although Creole is used, courses are designed to be taught in French and, most likely, students with incomplete primary education do not comprehend French well enough to follow the instructions. Teaching materials and equipment are scarce. When equipment is available, such as sewing machines, it is often unutilized due to lack of maintenance.Materials for student use are unavailable unless purchased by the students themselves, the cost often beyond their means. Course contents have no bearing on women's economic roles apart from reproduction and home maintenance. 4.11 Evening courses are designed for an older audience and focus on functional literacy in Creole and community activities. These courses are attended by both men and women but women predominate. Enrolment figures, teaching programs, number of successfully trained participants and unit costs were not available. In sum, there are no firm indications regarding the effectiveness of the programs offered by ONAAC. 4.12 The CINEC program is a rural pre-school education program not formally part of the project but functioning since 1977 at the new basic rural schools. The CINEC was conceived after a study done in 1974 which showed that for every 100 rural children who begin the first grade only 3 or 4 would still be enroled in grade 7.-/ The same study indicated that only 17.8 percent of rural children in the 0-5 age group had normal weight for their age and 82 percent suffered from malnutrition. The program was established with resources from CARE to provide nutritional and health care, intellectual stimulation and psycho-motor training for pre-schoolers in preparation for their entrance into primary school. Mothers are expected to donate both labor and money to the program and 1/ See O'Rourke, Shelagh K., "The Community Intcgrated Nutrition and Edu- cation Centers (CINEC) Project: A HeadStart Type Program for Rural Haiti." CARE & USAID, Port-au-Prince, May 1984. Manuscript. - 17 - receive nutrition and health education at the centers. By the end of 1981/83 school year, CINEC had 96 centers in operation serving 24,000 rural children. Each center serves 250 children (200 zero to four year-olds on an out-care basis and 50 five year-olds at the center itself). The younger children receive dry food supplements and vitamin A and the five year-olds attend the center at regular school hours, have a daily hot lunch, health surveillance, pre-school training and automatically become the experimental first grade class of the project schools. Each center is coordinated by one high-school educated woman who completes a 6 month special training program. The cost of the program is estimated in 1984 at US$12 per child per year, including a US$3 equivalent contribu- tion from each family per year. No drop out rate has been recorded thus far and an analysis of 125 CINEC graduates shows better than average performance at the first grade as well as better health status, demonstrat- ing the benefits of early childhood nutrition and cognitive stimulation. V. Implementation of the Second Education Project and its impact on women 5.01 Primary Education. Physical project objectives including construction, equipping and furnishing of 31 rural basic schools and 10 urban primary schools have basically been met. The few units still unfinished are scheduled for completion before the beginning of the 1984/85 school year in October of 1984. During the 1982/83 school year, 11 rural basic schools were already in operation. In-service primary school teacher training targets have so far surpassed original project estimates, in part compensating for the postponement of the construction of the.Primary Teacher Training College. Experimental teaching materials, including textbooks and teacher guides have been prepared and distributed for grades 1-3 in the experimental schools and work on curriculum reform for grade 4 is on-going. The primary school mapping program is completed for four departments and under preparation for the rest of the country. 5.02 Quantitative enrolment targets, both for rural and urban primary schools, have been reduced by about 50 percent in view of the - - 18 - difficulties in operating schools on double shift.-/ Current expected enrolment is 6,000 in rural basic schools and 3,000 in urban primary schools. Both boys and girls are expected to benefit equally from the expanded primary education opportunities. 5.03 Vocational and agriculture education. Physical facilities for the urban vocational school in Port-au-Prince and the rural agricul- tural training school in Hinche are virtually completed and courses are scheduled to begin in October of 1984. The Port-au-Prince vocational school has an enrolment capacity for 416 students and an expected annual output of about 128 skilled workers. The programmed courses include general mechanics, electricity, metal work, plumbing, construction, carpen- try and masonry. Enrolment is expected to be basically male since training for the most common female urban occupations such as commerce, electronics, garments, leather work, basket weaving, bakery and handicrafts 2/ is not contemplated.- 5.04 The secondary agricultural school in Hinche has a capacity for 175 students including 150 boarding places, 30 of them for women. Program development and teacher training for this school has been carefully designed to achieve optimal combination of classroom activities with field work as well as good integration with the rural development project and future employment opportunities. Courses will be offered at two levels: a three-year course for rural technicians eventually to be employed as agricultural extension agents, and a two-year multi-purpose 1/ Data from 1980/81 school year show that only 3 percent of the primary schools in the country, both public and private, use double shift. Most of the schools operating thus are located in the cites. See, DEN "Study of Sample of Primary Schools 1980/81," December 1981. Manuscript. 2/ Apart from home economics, private vocational schools offer some courses specially designed for women. These include language training, garments and bakery. A few courses, such as those offered by the Centre Haitien de Recherches pour la Promotion Feminine (CHREPOFR) in Port-au-Prince, attempt to link informal vocational training with job placement services for young women - 19 - course for rural community development agents. Both courses are open to men and women but women's enrolment is not expected to exceed 25 percent of the total. The budget for operating the school is still uncertain and future simplification of the proposed program may become necessary. In fact, the problem of financing recurrent costs of education in Haiti is felt throughout the sector and by no means restricted to new facilities. Although the establishment of the agricultural school in Hinche is a significant step towards equalizing urban and rural secondary educational opportunities, the subsector is still almost exclusively urban. Young men and women who want to proceed with their studies must move to the cities. 5.05 Other vocational education: Institute National de Formation Professionnelle (INFP). The INFP was established in 1973 to coordinate vocational/technical training in Haiti and to develop appropri- ate curricula. Under the project, INFP vocation training center in Port-au-Prince was built and began operating in 1983. Since then the same training format has been expanded to other INFP facilities. The pro- gram contemplates short courses (two-week average duration) to increase the productivity of workers in assembly and other manufacturing industries. Local industries pay for the cost of the courses and provide specialized equipment when necessary. An output of 800 trainees per year has been projected. Actual output figures were not available for the first year of operation. The number of women benefitting from these courses is also yet unknown at the moment. 5.06 The model used by INFP is similar to that employed successfully in several other developing countries such as Colombia and Brazil. Its basic thrust is the direct involvement of the private sector and the clear link between instruction and employment. In spite of the fact that INFP still operates at too high costs, low efficiency, suffers from low quality instruction and does not fully respond to the labor market requirements of the country, it does offer a great potential - 20 - for improvement. As the proposed Fourth Education Project includes amongst its basic objectives the strengthening of INFP, it would be highly desirable that courses specifically designed for women were included in the reformulated program as well as training for formal and informal labor market activities. 5.07 As mentioved in Paras. 4.09 and 4.10 above, the results of the adult literacy and family education programs conducted by ONAAC are virtually unknown. Observed activities and operating conditions, particularly in the "centres menagers" (home economics centers) seem to indicate severe shortcomings. Courses appear to be too long, unrelated to women's employment needs and traditional in orientation. 5.08 Impact on Women. A much more detailed analysis of educa- tional statistics and project results would be required to evaluate the actual and otential impacts of this project on gomen. Nevertheless, the available information, despite its deficiencies, does suggest some general comments. First, the emphasis given by the project on the improvement and expansion of primary education will tend to equalize enrolment of boys and girls over time and substantially increase literacy rates among rural women. On the other hand, the original projections of enrolment of girls in rural areas are probably too optimistic if based on the assumption of double shift school operation. It is unlikely that girls not accustomed to be out in the evenings will attend the second shift. Second, vocational/ technical training programs, both formal and informal, seem to be syste- matically biased towards male occupations and locationally are mostly city based. Third, non-formal education programs specifically designed for women under ONAAC's management, appear rather wasteful and inefficient. Modest improvements in this program could increase considerably its usefulness at minimal extra cost. It is conceivable that ONAAC courses could be disagregated into short-term single-skill programs and the current multi-purpose home economics course be abandoned. Single-skill courses should not start without proper equipment, spare parts, maintenance routines, materials and trained instructors and should adopt a curriculum that responds to the regional differences observed in women's employment 21 - patterns. Alternatively and perhaps still better, ONAAC youth program could be entirely abolished and INFP program reformulated and expanded to accommodate women's vocational training needs. Under this assumption, ONAAC's activities would be restricted to adult literacy and community development. A reformulation of INFP program for women could, initially offer commercial and garment industry courses and gradually introduce other skill-specific moduli. Care should be taken however, to establish an appropriate rural/urban balance in the location of future INFP training facilities. Fourth the pre-school program as developed by CINEC appears commendable not only for its record of successful primary school entrants but also because it is designed to involve mxothers in both nutrition and pre-school education, ma'ing them directly responsible for the pre- paration of their children's career in primary school. Fifth the radio education program does not seem, so far, very successful, although data about audiences actually reached are not available. Radio education was meant to be broadcasted all over the nation by private and offical stations and, at one point, coverage was indeed extensive. More recently, however, several radio stations have refused tc broadcast the programs and there is no longer national coverage. Besides attempting to reach a larger audience, radio programs should more systematically incorporate agricultural and water consumer messages to the extent possible geared to the conditions of each region. VI. Concluding Remarks 6.01 The 1983 Constitution of Haiti includes among its preambular paragraphs the following objective: "(2-arzn ir a la femme son eminente dignite de personne humaine"- (guarantee to woman her eminent dignity as a human being). To achieve this objective, it seems 1/ R publique d'Haiti, Constitution, 1983, Preambule. - 22 - clear that the needs and resources of women should be more explicitly addressed in the design and implementation of development projects in Haiti. 6.02 The two projects summarized in this paper are typical examples of development efforts that benefit women through the provision of basic services and infrastructure while failing to enhance directly women's economic contribution to society. Women have had negligible par- ticipation in project design. The almost entire lack of gender-specific data make project evaluation extremely deficient. Differential access of men and women to project benefits was salient in the cases of agricul- tural credit, extension services and vocational education, suggesting that the high labor force participation of women in Haiti and their key role in commerce and agriculture has not received serious attention in project preparation. Since both projects are time-slices of longer term invest- ment programs, the opportunity does exist to correct the observed defi- ciencies and achieve a more balanced approach in future projects. 6.03 To recapitulate the comments made in the text regarding pos- sible ways to increase womens benefit in similar projects, the following suggestions can be highlighted: (i) adjustment of agricultural credit terms to the present economic conditions of rural women; (ii) introduction of agricultural extension messages and technical packages suitable for small-scale agricul- ture and small animal production; (iii) integration of water consumer education in water supply program; (iv) expansion of infrastructure facilities and minimal extensions of produce markets in small towns to improve hygienic conditions, provide basic roofing, allow for storage of goods and improve access; (v) reinforce the linkages between rural development and education programs in rural areas, as for instance - 23 - through radio education; (vi) train women to become agricultural extension agents and farm leaders along with men; (vii) develop yccational/technical curricula that address the prominent role of women in comnerce and locate training facilities as to make them accessible both to urban and to rural women; (viii) address directly the problem of rural primary school attendance of girls under the double-shift system so as to minimize absenteism; (ix) include in project financial provisions larger alloca- tions for the production and distribution of textbooks and other pedagogical materials so as to minimize the cost of education to parents, particularly at the primary level in rural areas; (x) bring women into project planning, management and supervision activities. 6.04 In closing, it is worth mentioning that some lessons regarding information on women were learned during the prepara- tion of this study. While in most instances gender-specific data were not available, the process of requesting such data and discussing with various people how they would be utilized, has in itself been instrumen- tal in sensitizing them about the need for more gender-specific infor- mation in project preparation and implementation. It is hoped that this new awareness will be reflected in on-going and future projects. ANNEX 1 DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE IN THE WIN FILE Allman, Suzanne "Profil de la Femme liaitienne," UNDP, Port-au-Prince, May 1984, (mimeo). Fass, Simon, "The Economics of Survival: A Study of Poverty and Planning in Maiti," Office of Urban Development, USAID, October 1980, (mimeo). Organisme de Developpement du Nord (ODN), "Project de Developpement Rural du Nord, Primere Phase, Rapport Final 1977-1982," Cap-Haitienne, n.d. O'Rourke, Shelagh K., "The Community Integrated Nutrition and Education Centers (CINEC) Project: A 11eadStart Type Program for Rural Haiti," (Draft), CARE & USAID, Port-au-Prince, May 1984. Plotkin, Donna, "Haitian Women's Participation in Development: Energy and Forestry," (Draft), UNDP, Port-au-Prince, May 1984. Salat-Desgranges, M.11., "Evaluation des Implications sur les Femmes du Projet Agro-Pastoral du Mutara," World Bank, Kigali-Rwanda, April 1984, (mimeo). Smucker, Jacqueline Nowak, "The Role of Rural laitiam Women in Development," USAID, Port-au-Prince, February 1981 (mimeo). UNDP, Evaluation Study NQ 3, Rural Women's Participation in Development New York, June 1980. Worl.d Bank, Appraisal of a First Education Project - The Republic of Haiti, Report N9 939a-UA, Washington, D.C. February 9, 1976. World Bank, Development Credit Agreement, Credit Number 618-HA, Washington, D.C., February 27, 1976. World Bank, Haiti - First Education Project (Credit 618-HA), Project Completion Report, Washington, D.C., June 29, 1982. World Bank, Haiti - econd Education Project Staff Appraisal Report, Report N9 1813a-HA, Washington, D.C., February 8, 1978. World Bank, Haiti - Development Agreement (Second Education Project), Credit N9 770-HA, Washington, D.C., March 17, 1978. World Bank, Appraisal of Rural Development Project in the Northern Department - Haiti, Report N9 128a-IIA, Washington, D.C., December 13, 1976. World Bank, Development Credit Agreement (Rural Development Project), Credit N9 675-1A, Washington, D.C., January 14, 1977. World Bank, Rural Development in the NorthértÉDepartment >-Projéct'Còiiipletion Raport,'Credit N9 675-HA, Washington, D.C., May 11, 1984. World Bank, Second Rural Developmenkt Project in the'North - Haiti, Staff Appraisal Report, Report NQ 4396b-HA, Washington, D.C. June 17, 1983.