Zambia - Agricultural Research and Extension Project

Domatof The World Bank FOR OICIAL USE ONLY Report No. 5679-ZA STAFF APPRAISAL REPORT ZAMBIA AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EXTENSION PROJECT November 17, 1986 Eastern and Southern Africa Projects Southern Agriculture Division This document has a restrictd disuibution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties Its contents may not otherwise be discklsed without World Bank authorization.  CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS Currency Unit = Zamhian Kwacha (K) US$1.00 = K 9.00 US$0.11 = K 1.00 The exchange rate is determined weekly by auction; the rate shown above is the rate that prevailed around October 18, 19bb. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 1 lima 0.25 hectares 1 hectare (ha) 2.47 acres 1 millimeter (mm) 0.039 inches I meter (m) 3.28 feet I square meter (m2) = 10.76 square feet 1 kilometer (km) = 0.62 miles 1 kilogram (kg) = 2.205 pounds 1 metric ton (mt) = 2,205 pounds GRZ Financial Year January 1 - December 31  FOR OFFCIAL USE ONLY ZAMBIA AGRICUaTURAL RESEARCH AND EXTENSION PROJECT STAFF APPRAISAL REPORT Table of Contents Page No. I. BACKGROUND .... ............................................... 1 A. The Economy ................................1............... B. The Agriculture Sector ..................... ................ 1 C. Previous Bank Involvement in Agriculture . . 4 II. NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EXTENSION SERVICES . 6 A. Organizational Structure. 6 B. Staff Establisbment and Trainig. 7 C. Focus, Programs and Hethodology...........................t 8 D. Major Constraints ..0 III. THE PROJECT .14 A. Origin, Objectives and Design . . .14 B. Project Area ...15 C. Project Summary Description . . .16 D. Project Detailed Description . . .16 E. Cost Estimates . . ............... 23 F. Financing Arrangements ............24 G. Procurement ...................... ....... ....... .26 H. Disbursements .7 I. Status of Project Preparation .27 J. Environmental Effects .28 IV. PROJECT IMPLENENTATION .29 A. Organization and Management . . . 29 B. Staffing Arrangements . . .34 C. Implementation Schedule . ......... ..34 D. Monitoring and Evalauation (M&E) ...............35 E. Financial Management and Audits . . .37 F. Project Supervision and Progress Reporting. . 37 V. BENEFITS AND JUSTIFICATION .................................... 39 A. Main Benefits and Beneficiaries ............................ 39 B. Direct Budgetary Impact .................................... 40 C. Project Risks ..................................... 41 D. Justification for IDA Financing . ........................... 42 VI. AGREEMENTS REACHED AND RECOMHENDATIONS ........................43 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 authorization.  ANNUES 1. Supporting Tables T-1 Capital Expenditures Related to Agricultural Research and Extension, 1980-85 T-2 Recurrent Expenditures Related to Agricultural Research and Extension, 1980-85 T-3 Planned Changes in the Research Station Network T-4 Locations of CRT Teams and Experimental Sites T-5 Summary and Schedule of Long-Term Technical Assistance T-6 Summary and Schedule of Short-term Consultancie3 T-7 Breakdown of Summary Accounts T-8 Summary Accounts by Project Component T-9 Project Componeats by Year T-10 Financing Arrangements by Inputs T-11 Financing Plan by Project Component T-12 Financing Arrangements by Project Year T-13 Incremental Budgetary Impact T-14 Estimated Schedule of Disbursement T-15 Summary of Extension Staff Deployment T-16 Summary of Project Participants 2. Status of Agricultural Research 3. Training of Research and Extension Staff 4. Summary of Available Technical Recommendations 5. The Project Areas 6. Terms of Reference of Key Technical Assistance Personnel 7. Selected Documents and Data Available in Project File CEHARTS 1: Present Structure of the Department of Agriculture 2: Proposed Structure of the Department of Agriculture 3: Proposed Structure of the Research Branch 4: Proposed Structure of the Extension Branch 5: Implementation Schedule MAPS 1. IBRD 18916 Research Stations and Sites 2. IBRD 18917 Agricultural Extension Development: Project Area  ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYKS AFC - Agricultural Finance Company ARPT - Adaptive Research Planning Team AVRDC - Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center BS - Block Supervisor CARO - Chief Agricultural Research Officer CEW - Camp Extension Worker CIAT - International Center for Tropical Agriculture CDMMYT - International Center for Maize & Wheat Improvement CKEU - Central Monitoring and Evaluation Unit CRT - Commodity Research Team DAO - District Agricultural Officer DOA - Department of Agrictlture (MAJD) DVTCS - Department of Veterinary & Tsetse Control Services EEC - European Economic Counmnity FC - Financial Controller FINNIDA - Finnish International Development Agency GDP - Gross Domestic Product GRZ - Government of the Republic of Zambia ICRISAT - International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics IFAD - International Fund for Agricultural Development IITA - International Institute of Tropical Agriculture iRDP - Integrated Rural Development Program IRRI - International Rice Research Institute Lintco - Lint Company of Zambia HAMD - Ministry of Agriculture and Water Development M&E - Monitoring and Evaluation MEO - Monitoring and Evaluation Officer MOWS - Ministry of Works and Supplies NAMBOARD - National Agricultural Marketing Board ICSR - National Council for Scientific Research NORAD - Norwegian Agency for International Development NAREC - National Agricultural Research and Extension Committee NRDC - Natural Resources Development College ODA - Overseas Development Administration (U.K.) OEM - Operation and Maintenance PAO - Provincial Agricultural Officer PIC - Project Implementation Committee PIO - Project Implementation Officer PCU - Provincial Cooperative Union PCW - Provincial Commissioner of Works PMEO - Provincial Monitoring and Evaluation Ofticer PXEU - Provincial Monitoring and Evaluation Unit PPF - Project Preparation Facility RELO - Research-Extension Liaison Officer RETU - Research and Extension Training Unit SIDA - Swedish International Development Agency SMS - Subject Matter Specialist SOE - Statement of Exuenditure SRT - Specialist Research Teams STO - Senior Training Officer T&V - Training and Visit UNZA - University of Zambia ZADB - Zambia Agricultural Development Bank  REPUBLIC OF ZABBIA AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EXTENSION PROJECT CREDIT AND PROJECT SUMMARY Borrower: Republic of Zambia Executing Agency: Ministry of Agriculture and Water Development Amount: SDR 10.8 million (US$13.0 million equivalent) Terms: Standard Project Description: The purpose of this Project is to raise the productivity of Zambia's agricultural sector by improving research and extension services to farmers, particularly small- holders. The Project provides for staff training, technical assistance, civil works, equipment and other facilities to strengthen existing institutions and infrastructure in support ot adaptive and applied research programs and extension services. It would support reorganization of extension services in three of Zambia's nine provinces, and improve linkages between research and extension services that are more responsive to smallholders' needs and constraints; promote more efficient utilization of agricultural resources, better coordination of external assistance; and improve institutional framework and upgrade manpower resources. Benefits and The Project would benefit a wide spectrum of farmers, Risks but particularly the vast majority of small traditional producers, through the development and application of more appropriate technological packages. Possible risks include delays in physical implementation, unforeseen difficulties in the adoption of the T&V system, reduction of the number of research scientists currently provided by various donors, shortage of production inputs, and inefficient marketing and credit services. These risks would be respectively minimized by the facts that: the Project includes a large technical assistance component to strengthen the Project implementation capability; implementation of the T&V system is geographically phased so that efforts would be concentrated in resolving difficulties encountered in areas covered by the first phase, instead ot expanding into new areas; the Project would provide a fund to finance replacements of key research scientists if other donors are unable to continue funding these scientists; and the Government has initiated measures to liberalize agricultural marketing and input distribution, and to strengthen the agricultural credit system under a possible Bank-supported project now in an advanced stage of preparation.  - ii- Estimated Cost Local Foreign Total - US$ Million A. Technical Assistance 1.1 5.5 6.6 B. Overseas Training and Travel 1.4 1.4 C. Local Training 0.5 0.5 D. Civil Works 4.3 3.4 7.7 E. Vehicles 0.3 3.8 4.1 F. Equipment and Supplies 0.5 2.5 3.0 G. Incremental Recurrent Costs 1.9 1.9 3.8 Total Baseline Cost 8.6 18.5 27.1 Physical Contingencies 1.0 2.1 3.1 Price Contingencies 2.8 5.8 8.6 Total Cost 12.4 26.4 38.8 (of which taxes and duties) (0.6) (0.6) Financing Plan Local Foreign Total Z -UUS$ Million IDA 1.5 11.5 13.0 34 AfDB 3.4 9.2 12.6 33 NORAD 1.5 5.7 7.2 18 Government 6.0 6.0 15 12.4 26.4 38.8 100 Estimated Disbursements of IDA Credit IDA FY 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 US$ Million Annual 0.8 2.2 2.6 2.8 2.2 1.3 0.9 0.2 Cumulative 0.8 3.0 5.6 8.4 10.6 11.9 12.8 13.0 Rate of Return: Not Applicable Staff Appraisal Report: Report No. 5679-ZA, dated November 17, 1986 Maps: IBRD 18916 and 18917  ZAIMBIA AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EXTENSION PROJECT I. Background A. The Economy 1.01 Zambia is a land-locked country with a surface area of 763,000 sq. km, a population of about 6.3 million of which 43% is urban, and a per capita income of about US$340. The service sector, consisting mostly of governmental services, constitutes about 46% of GDP, manufacturing about 25Z, agriculture about 17% and mining about 11%. Exports are dominated by minerals, representing about 95% of total exports while copper alone represents about 85%. The economy has been on a persistently declining trend since the mid-1970s, accompanied by a severe deterioration of the balance of payments and fiscal conditions. Despite various efforts to reverse the trend, the country's economic and financial condition remains extremely precarious, and the prospects in the foreseeable future look grim in the absence of effective measures to restructure the economy and stimulate growth. 1.02 The economy is heavily dependent on copper, the production of which is on a secular decline as copper deposits are becoming less accessible and ore grades less rich. It is estimated that the economically exploitable copper reserves are likely to fall substantially within the next 15-20 years. Although the country has a sizeable manufacturing base, the growth of this sector is seriously constrained by high dependence on imported inputs, the financing of which is becoming increasingly difficult as foreign exchange resources dwindle; and by the inability to compete in the export markets because of high production costs. On the other hand, the development of Zambia's agricultural sector, which requires fewer imported inputs and for which the country is well endowed with the requisite resource base, remains far below its potential. B. The Agricultural Sector Salient Features 1.03 Of the estimated 60 million ha of arable land in Zambia, only about 12 million or 20Z have been cleared, and only about 5 million ha of the cleared land is under regular cultivation while the rest is under shifting cultivation. Although much of the land is infertile and suitable only for extensive farming, there still remain large areas of idle land with mediun to high potential soils. Most of the country receives adequate, albeit erratic, rainfall, ranging from 700 mm to 1,400 mm, and other climatic conditions are generally favorable for the cultivation of a wide range of crops, in addition to livestock farming. Maize is by far the most important crop in terms of food supply, cropped area, and number of farmers; it accounts for nearly 75% of the marketed output. The other  -2- significant crops are cassava, sorghum, millet, groundnuts, tobacco, cotton, sunflower, sugarcan , rice, and soybeans. The country also has a sizeable number of various types of livestock; cattle, estimated at 2.5 million head, are an important source of income to many farmers, and offer a considerable potential for draft .ower. Irrigated agriculture covers about 18,000 ha, of which 50X is devoted to sugarcane, and the balance to wheat, tea, coffee, rice, and bananas; 't is estimated that the current development constitutes a small fraction of the irrigable potential. In sharp contrast to suirounding countries where agriculture contributes more than 40% to exports, in Zambia agriculture typically contributes less than 2% to total exports. Tobacco is the main agricultural export. 1.04 Zambia's agriculture is overwhelmingly dominated by a traditional farming system, comprising 460,000 farmers (76Z of the estimated 600,000 total farm households) who cultivate an average of 2 ha, using very few modern inputs and producing primarily for subsistence purposes, at very low levels of productivity and farm incomes. On the other extreme is the medium- and large-scale commercial farming system, consisting of about 24,000 farmers (4Z of the total farm households) who cultivate an average of 60-100 ha, using a complete range of modern inputs; this system is characterized by high productivity and incomes. Between the two extremes are the -emergent farmers, estimated at 125,000, who produce significantly for the market using appreciable quantities of modern inputs, and cultivating an average of 10-15 ha. The medium- and large-scale farmers produce about 40Z of the maize and 55Z of the other marketed products. 1.05 The country also has appreciable fishery resources, with a sustainable annual catch of about 75,000 tons of which 53,000 tons, or 70% of the potential is currently exploited. Forestry resources are also abundant; about 370,000 sq. km, or 50% of the land surface, is covered by forests. However, most of this consists of indigenous wood, the bulK of which is unsuitable for large-scale industrial exploitation. In addition, over-utilization for charcoal ari building materials has virtually depleted natural wood in the vicinity of the main urban centers. 1.06 Provision of agricultural support services is dominated by Governmental agencies, comprising the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Development (MAWD) and several parastatals, the most important of which are the National Agricultural Marketing Board (Namboard), the Cold Storage Company (CSC), the Dairy Produce Board (DPB), the National Tobacco Company (Natco), the Lint Company of Zambia (Lintco), the Agricultural Finance Company (AFC) and the Zambia Agricultural Development Bank (ZADB). In addition to Namboard, nine Provincial Cooperative Unions (PCUs) are involved in the marketing of all the major crops and the distribution of fertilizers. National Objectives and Performance 1.07 The national agricultural development objectives in Zambia aim primarily at diversifying the economy away from copper, attaining self- sufficiency in basic foods, and spreading development and increasing incomes in all regions, especially in the rural areas. Despit. innumerable programs and projects since Independence twenty years ago, little progress has been made towards achieving these objectives. The economy remains  -3- heavily dependent on copper and, therefore, highly sensitive and vulnerable to external shocks. During the last two decades, agriculture has been growing at an average annual rate of about 2.4%, less than the annual population growth rate nf over 3%. Consequently, overall self-sufficiency in food grains has deteriorated by about 21% during the last ten years and Zambia- once a net exporter of maize, has been a chronic importer since the mid-1970s. Development remains concentrated in a few areas, as the three ecologically better endowed and historically more developed provinces have continued to account for over 90% of the marketed commodities, more or less as they did before Independence. While about 60% of the Zambians derive their livelihood directly from agriculture, the sector typically contributes less than 20% to GDP, thus indicating the low level of rural productivity and incomes. Main Constraints 1.08 The poor performance of Zambia's agriculture is attributable to both internal and external factors, especially the acute shortage of foreign exchange stemming from weak copper prices since the mid-1970s and the severe drought that hit the country for three consecutive years at the turn of the current decade. However, the impact of the external factors has been exacerbated by several internal constraints, notably: inappropriate pricing policies; an inefficient marketing and input distribution system; a poor credit delivery and recovery system; inadequate and inefficient allocation of budgetary funds to agriculture; and weak research and extension services. 1.09 For many years Zambia has kept producer and retail prices low, coupled with heavy subsidies, in order to provide cheap food to the mining and industrial workers. Thus, although budgetary allocations to agriculture have been rising in nominal terms, most of the funds have been going to consumer subsidies while essential services, notably research and extension, remain seriously under-funded. The marketing and input distribution system has been characterized by a high level of inefficiency in part arising from a legal monopoly conferred on Namboard and the PCUs in maize and fertilizer. The principal source of agriculture credit, AFC, has also been characterized by serious inefficiencies and persistent financial losses, while ZADB, created four years ago to replace AFC, remained dormant until a year ago, partly because of lack of capital funds. Research and extension services have continued to be weak and have failed to reach most of the small-scale and traditional farmers who constitute the preponderant majority of the farm households (paras. 2.09-2.21). 1.10 During the last five years, Zambia has taken positive measures to move away from the cheap food policy, to ensure adequate producer incentives, and to improve the efficiency of the marketing and input distribution system. Producer and consumer prices and the marketing of all agricultural commodities and inputs, except maize and fertilizer, have been decontrolled; maize and fertilizer prices have been increased periodically and significantly, correspondingly reduc'ng subsidies and improving incentives. Under the Bank-supported Agricultural Rehabilitation Project and Recovery Credit, the Government has undertaken to promote a broad-based liberalization of maize and fertilizer trade, with Namboard eventually serving as buyer and seller of last resort and managing food reserves; to eliminate fertilizer subsidies by May 1987; to eliminate maize used for  livestock feed, for beer, and for maize meal consumed by high income groups by the end of 1986; and to target the bulk of the remaining maize subsidies to the low income groups. An agricultural credit project, currently under preparation and to be financially supported by the Bank, would incorporate effective measures to improve the efficiency of the agricultural credit delivery and recovery system. 1.11 Notable efforts have also been underway to enhance the performance of the research and extension services. During November 1984, with the help of a firm of consultants financed by IDA, the Government formulated a comprehensive 15-year strategy for agricultural research ard extension, the main thrust of which is to improve the effectiveness of these services and re-orient them to the needs of small-scale and traditional farmers. The strategy seeks to achieve these objectives primarily by: (a) rationalizing the organizational structure and management processes; (b) upgrading the quality and efficiency of physical facilities, manpower resources, and logistic support; (c) establishing effective mechanisms to provide policy guidelines, to formulate coherent programs and priorities, and to coordinate, monitor and evaluate implementation of these programs; and (d) strengthening farmer-specific research activities and improving research-extension linkage and extension methodology, with emphasis on small-scale and traditional farmers. The proposed Project is designed to assist the Government initiate implementation of the first phase of this strategy. C. Previous World Bank Involvement in Agriculture 1.12 Previous Bank Group assiscance to Zambia's agriculture nas involved twelve projects: three for industrial forestry, two for livestock/dairy development, two for tobacco production, one for coffee production, two for area-based agricultural development (in Eastern and Southern Provinces), one for fisheries development, and one for policy-oriented agricultural rehabilitation. The first livestock loan was cancelled in 1973 at GRZ request because of pricing problems and poor management. The dairy project, which was approved in 1982 and aimed at improving milk production by smallholder producers, encountered initial implementation problems, was scaled down to a more realistic pilot design, and is now progressing well. The first and second industrial forestry projects were relatively well-executed; the third has been facing major problems stemming mainly from weak management, but promising measures have been initiated recently to alleviate these problems. The two tobacco farming projects were unsuccessful in meeting their objectives of training farmers and raising tobacco production because of managerial and pricing problems. The coffee project has also been hampered by cost overruns, shortages of foreign exchange and coiunterpart funds, and management deficiencies. The progress of the two area-based agricultural development projects, which have substantial research and extension components, has been slowed down by delays in recruitment of technical assistance personnel, inadequate funding, and lengthy procurement procedures; these problems are gradually being resolved. The fisheries project became effective in August 1985, after a delay of six months mainly because of difficulties in recruitment of key staff, and has been making satisfactory progress. However, disbursemenr of sub-loans to the fishermen remains low due to the inability of many of the fishermen to raise enough funds for the required down payment; steps are underway to resolve the problem. The  - 5 - Agricultural Rehabilitation Project has made notable achievements In promoting pollcy and institutional changes (para. 1.10). On the other hand, the sbarp devaluation of the Kwacha has radically altered the structure of devand tor agricultural imported inputs, especially for farm .machinery and implements the demand of which has shifted In favor of animal draft power and reconditioning of existing machinery, thus slowing down the use of project funds for agricultural purposes. Partly because of this, the Credit Agreement was subsequently amended to allow project funds to be used for general imports, subject to a negative list, and the project funds have now been fully committed, mostly for industrial and energy-related imports. 1.14 Assistance to agriculture has also been provided through projects in other sectors. The Fourth Education Project, for example, had a major component to strengthen the training of extension staff and farmers; lines of credit to the Development Bank of Zambia have provided medium and long-term loans to commercial farmers. In addition to project financing, the Bank has assisted the Government in carrying out an extensive program of in-depth studies to improve the institutional and policy framework in Zanbia's agriculture, including specific studies on M&WD's plar-ing capabilities, research and extension, credit, policy options and strategies for agricultural growth, and agricultural pricing and parastatal performance. The proposed Project has sought to incorporate various lessons learned from the Bank's previous involvement in Zambia's agriculture, particularly with regard to the recurring management, local funding, accounting and procurement problems in the two area-based projects (para 3.04).  - 6 - II. National Agricultural Research and Extension Services A. Organizational Structure General 2.01 Overall responsibility for agricultural research and extension services in Zambia falls under the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Development (MAWD). Other agencies involved in agricultural research and extension services are: the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources for forestry research and extension; the National Council for Scientific Research (NCSR) for research in animal nutrition and disease control, and food processing technology; the University of Zambia (UNZA) School of Agricultural Sciences, for agronomic research and socio-economic studies respectively, through UNZA's School of Agricultural Sciences and Rural Development Studies Bureau; and Lint Company of Zambia (LINTCO) for extension services relating to cotton, coffee and soyabeans, using staff seconded from MAWD. The present organizational structure of MAWD (Chart 1) is essentially sound. Research and extension services for crops and livestock husbandry are under the Department of Agriculture (DOA) and are organized into three branches: research, extension and land use services. Animal health services come under the Department of Veterinary and Tsetse Control Services (DVTCS). The National Rural Information Services, under MAWD's Administration Division, provides mass media support to extension services through radio broadcasts, publications and exhibitions. Research 2.02 The Research Branch of DOA is headed by an Assistant Director. supported by the Chief Agricultural Research Officer (CARO) while the day- to-day operations of the research stations aLe managed by officers-in- charge. Research programs are organized on an inter-disciplinary basis, comprising Commodity Research Teams (CRTs) for on-station research such as plant breeding, variety screening, and pest and disease control; Adaptive Research Planning Teams (ARPTs) for field trials under farmer-specific conditions; and Specialist Research Teams (SRTs). There are now nine CRTs: cereals, oilseeds, fiber, root and tuber crops, vegetables, grain legumes, tobacco, tree crops, and animal husbandry and pastures; and seven SRTs: weed control, soil productivity, cropping systems, food storage and conservation, farm machinery and tillage, and plant crop protection. The Research Branch also administers three advisory services: crop advisory, seed control and library services. 2.03 ARPTs operate on a provincial basis and, at present, there are six of them in Central, Western, Lusaka, Eastern, Luapula and Northwest Provinces; a seventh one is being established for the Northern Province. These teams, comprising an agronomist and an economist, start by determining areas with similar farming systems, followed by identification of farmers' constraints and possible solutions; they then test and refine recommendations from research stations to reflect farmer-specific constraints and conditions. Through the assistance of the Research-Extension Liaison Officer (RELO), ARPTs release new research recommendations for wider dissemination in the relevant locations only after an economic evaluation and initial farmer response have confirmed their viability and acceptability. In addition to ensuring that technical  - 7- packages are relevant to farmers' conditions, the CRT and ARPT approach has demonstrated major advantages in that it promotes effective linkages between research and extension services, as staff from the two services are involved in various activities of ARPTs which also generate feedback information on specific farming conditions for further research by CRTs. 2.04 The res.>arch network is characterized by a fairly wide geographical dispersion (IBRD Map 18916). In addition to the Mt. Makulu Central Station, which also serves Lusaka Province, there are nine regional research stations, nine substations, seven trial sites, a plant quarantine station at Chelston, and a national irrigation research station at Nanga. The regional research stations at Msekera and the substation at Masumba are currently being strengthened under the Bank-supported Eastern Province Agricultural Development Project, while a new regional station is being built at Mutanda in the Northwestern Province with IFAD assistance. Extension 2.05 The Extension Branch is also headed by an Assistant Director, supported by seven Subject Hatter Specialists (SMSs) in animal, crop husbandry, horticulture, training, tobacco, youth services, and home economics. The Provincial Agricultural Officer (PAO), supported by provincial SMSs and administrative personnel, is responsible for the overall extension activities in each of the nine provinces. Below him are the District Agricultural Officers (DAOs) who operate through Block Supervisors (BSs) and Camp Extension Workers (CEWs). A camp constitutes the ultimate level of extension outreach and CEWs provide the day-to-day contact with farmers. On the average, 6-8 camps make up a block. the Extension Branch also provides advisory services in home economics to rural women through women's clubs, and agricultural advisory services to rural youth through Young Farmers' Clubs. B. Staff Establishment and Training 2.06 One of the major problems facing agricultural research in Zambia is an acute shortage of professionally qualified Zambians. Out of a total of 125 professional research staff, 65, or 53%, are expatriates funded Ly 12 different bilateral aid agencies. The shortage of local manpower resources is particularly pronounced at the PhD level, where only 6 out of 24 staff are local, and at the MSc level where 18 out of 34 staff are local. About one-half of the research staff are at the central research station, Mt. Makulu. The extension services also suffer from a similar shortage of qualified professional staff, as only 80 of the staff are university graduates. 2.07 The total number of DOA's extension staff is 2,400, excluding administrative personnel, about one-half (1,250) of which are based at the block and camp levels. Nearly two-thirds (about 860) of the CEWs and BSs are diploma or certificate holders, occupying established posts in the Civil Service; the balance of about 390 are commodity demonstrators who, although fairly experienced, have had no pre-service training in agriculture, and are classified as daily employees. The total number of extension staff at the farmer-contact level is satisfactory, with a staff- farmer ratio of about 1:600; however, there are considerable variations, ranging from 200 to 1,500 farmers per extension worker, mainly reflecting  - 8 - varying densities of the farmers, farming systems, and agricultural potentials. 2.08 Research and extension staff with university training have received such training from UNZq for undergraduate studies, and from abroad for post-graduate studies. The diploma holders have been trained through a three-year course at the Natural Resources Development College (NRDC), while the certificate holders have attended a two-year course in general agriculture either at Monze or Mpika Colleges o'f Agriculture. The Extension Branch provides in-service training at eight provincial Farm Institutes (FIs), while a few additional centers give in-service training in specialized fields: horticulture, tobacco, and dairy farming. Most of the districts have Farmer Training Centers (FTCs) that provide resident and day training courses to farmers; however, the results have been generally disappointing and the trend now is to train farmers in their own village surroundings. There is an urgent need for intensive programs to train research and extension staff at all levels. As part of the recently formulated strategy, the Government has clearly identified and projected future training needs for research personnel; a similar exercise would be carried out for extension personnel under the proposed Project. C. Focus, Programs and Methodology Research Focus and Programs 2.09 Focus. In the past, research efforts were directed primarily toward the needs of the medium- and large-scale farms, with major emphasis on cash crops with high yield potential under the most favorable climatic and soil conditions. Little work was done on the management and productivity of acidic, low-fertility soils on which traditional farmers practice shifting cultivation, or on intercropping, a widely used and sensible practice on traditional farms. Research recommendations were based for the most part on individual crops grown under mono-culture applicable to the more progressive strata of farmers, and these recommendations tended to be too generalized and therefore of limited usefulness in a country as large and varied as Zambia. The Lima Program, launched in 1979, was a concrete step towards improving smallholder farming through a simpler, well-defined extension approach (para. 2.12). In reality, however, this program still represented scaled-down technical packages for commercially-oriented, capital-intensive farming, and mostly dealt with hybrid maize, high fertilizer levels, and cash crops such as cotton, groundnuts and soybeans, which are not particularly appropriate for the conditions under which most of the smallholders operate. Few, if any, messages were developed for traditional crops such as cassava, finger millet, sorghum and beans. 2.10 Programs. Annex 2 summarizes the current status and future needs for agricultural research as identified by the recently formulated research and extension strategy. Although measures have been taken to correct the past deficiencies, improvements have been uneven in nature and scope. Rainfed crop research to date has mainly focnsed on plant introduction, selection and breeding work, with a fairly heavy emphasis on maize. In addition, short- and long-term fertilizer and crop protection trials have been carried out. Plant protection work is becoming increasingly relevant by concenitrating on diagnosis of pests and diseases, appropriate control  measures, and selection of disease-resistant varieties. Intercropping is also being investigated more regularly and intensively in current programs, particularly by ARPTs. Sowever, farm machinery and tillage work, including soil and water conservation practices that can profitably be adopted at the farm level, has not yet received the attention it deserves. Weed control, which is a very important aspect of improved crop husbandry, particularly for smallholder agriculture in the agro-ecologically poorer regions, also needs additional emphasis by ARPTs and in the work program of the farm machinery and tillage CRT. Soil science research, funded and carried out by a variety of units, agencies and donors, suffers from inadequate coordination. However, measures have been taken recently to improve operational efficiency by -aalgamating the soils research facilities (chemistry, physics and microbiology) under the coordination of the Research Technical Services Unit and staff functions and working procedures are being reviewed. Also, with the assistance of USAID, steps are underway to strengthen soil-related research by providing equipment, expertise and training. 2.11 Animal husbandry research and crop research programs have so far been designed and conducted largely independently of each other, thus ignoring the important role of livestock in smallholder farming systems. A first move towards achieving proper integration is the recent inclusion of animal husbandry expertise in the ARPT programs and proposed close coordination with the Cattle Development Area projects, which involve a considerable amount of adaptive research on livestock-crop interaction. However, there still remains an urgent need to formulate guidelines and a policy framework for developing the livestock subsector, and hence designing a balanced livestock research program (paras 3.08 and 3.09). Irrigation research is another example of the need for an examination of objectives and priorities to draw up more rational and focused programs. There is an urgent need for evaluating past experiences in irrigated agriculture, which appear so far to have yielded only limited results, and reviewing the ongoing, rather disjointed, research efforts and experiments at different locations. The Government has already started formulating an irrigation development policy framework to guide future irrigation research work programs (paras 3.08 and 3.09). Extension Methodology, Programs and Lessons Learned 2.12 Methodology and Programs: In 1978, Zambia initiated an extension approach along the lines of the Training and Visit (T&V) system, the classical version of which involves a programed, disciplined approach based on regular farm visits by trained staff, delivering key impact messages to carefully selected contact farmers, coupled with a rapid feedback of problems from farmers to researchers. To complement this T&V approach, the Lima Program was introduced in 1979 to facilitate the adoption of proven technological packages for smallholders, adapted as far as possible to their local situation. The program encourages the use of agricultural inputs for the major cash crops on a standard unit (0.25 ha) of land, using standardized measures of seed, fertilizer and insecticide. Recently, the concept of the -Lima Ladder- has been developed in which four different levels of management, experience with improved technology and resource constraints are defined, with progressively more sophisticated recommendat:ons (improved seed, weeding, fertilization, timely planting and liming) extended to those farmers who move up the ladder- in terms of resources and understanding.  - 10 - 2.13 In addition to the Lima Program, the country has had a wide range of agricultural development programs and proiects during the past two decades, involving extension services as a major component, several of which are on-going. At present, the major programs and projects comprise three integrated rural development programs, nine area-based agricultrual development projects, three of which are financed by the Bank and IFAD; and about ten general projects of varying sizes. These programs and projects are budgeted for K63 million in 1986, accounting for about 58% of the total budget allocation to activities directly relating to agricultural extension services in that year. The programs are concentrated in the relatively high agricultural potential areas of Southern, Central, Lusaka, Eastern, Northern, Northwest and Luapala provinces. Over 90% of the cost of these programs and projects is externally funded, the major donors, other than the Bank and IFAD, being EEC, NORAD, SIDA, USIAD, FINIDA, and ODA. it is generally recognized that most of these programs and projects are achieving substantially less than their original objectives and targets, and that most of them would be difficult to sustain once external assistance is terminated. 2.14 Lessons Learned. Recent evaluations of some of the above projects and programs have brought to light several important lessons, summarized as follows: (a) To be effective in Zambia, the conventional T&V system needs major modifications in view of: (i) widely scattered farm households, with widely varying farming practices and cropping patterns; (ii) inadequate incentives, in terms of low-risk but high-return technological packages, to attract farmers to group meetings organized by extension workers; and (iii) a high degree of uncertainty regarding the quality and availability of requisite inputs, such as seeds and fertilizers; (b) The large number of discrete projects and programs has made coordination most difficult, thereby leading to the situation where the sum total of their demand on local manpower and funds is beyond the available resources, thus causing these projects and programs to be so largely donor- driven and dependent on expatriate personnel that it is difficult to sustain them once the donor aid is withdrawn; and (c) The large number of area-based projects and programs has tended to divert attention from strengthening the national institutional capability upon which the success of the area-based activities significantly depends. D. Major Constraints Physical and Technical Constraints 2.15 Location of Research Stations. The large number of widely dispersed research stations, substations and trial sites has had an adverse impact on the efficiency of research activities as it has resulted in scarce management and financial resources being so thinly spread that these  - 11 - facilities are poorly staffed and equipped. Furthermore, the facilities often involve unnecessary duplication of research efforts within similar agro-ecological zones, thereby leading to inefficient use of resources. There is, therefore, a need to rationalize the number and location of these facilities as recommended in the recently formulated research and extension strategy (Annex 1 Table T-3), while ARPTs continue to carry out trials on selected farmers' fields in all areas according to research and extension needs. Such a rationalization would enhance efficiency and would enable mo.-e cost-effective improvement and staffing of the research facilities as envisaged under the proposed Project. 2.16 Technical Packages. One of the major constraints on agricultural development in Zambia is that most of the available technolcgical packages are largely inappropriate for the majority of the farmers. As mentioned above (para 2.09) past research efforts have paid little attention to the needs of the smallholders in general and traditional farmers in particular. More specifically, insufficient efforts have been directed to finding practical ways of increasing productivity within the limits imposed by labor, management skills, and capital resources at the disposal of these farmers. Partly as a result of these constraints, the preponderant proportion of Zambia's agriculture is characterized by low productivity, both per unit of labor and land. Under similar growing conditions, the emergent and large-scale farmers usually achieve yields over 100% higher than traditional farmers for most crops. With regard to maize, emergent farmers obtain 2.7-3.3 tons/ha, large-scale farmers 5.5 tons/ha, while traditional farmers obtain 1.1-1.8 tons/ha. Annex 4 shows the possible yields for various crops which smallholders can achieve with improved varieties and cultural practices. The proposed Project would make a significant contribution to this end. Manpower Resources 2.17 The acute shortage of suits'l-- qualified and experienced Zambians has been one of the other major cons. .nts on the performance of the research and extension services. Research, in particular, has suffered from too heavy a reliance on expatriate personnel who are generally available for shorter periods than are required to ensure sufficient continuity in experimental and trial work. In extension, inadequacy of qualified manpower resources has been reflected in poor support provided to the field staff by SMSs and insufficient technical guidance at senior staff levels. Manpower constraints are exacerbated by low staff motivation and morale at all levels. Several factors account for this situation, the most important being unattractive terms and conditions of employment, coupled with poor career prospects, notably for DOAs, BSs, and CEWs whose posts are not within the civil service establishments; lack of clearly defined objectives; and inadequate housing facilities, transport and general logistic support. MAWD has recently submitted proposals to the Government that would appreciably improve terms and conditions of employment for all extension and research staff, including placing the posts of DOAs, BSs and CEWs within the civil service career development path. These proposals have been received favorably, though at informal levels, response and the matter is expected to be finalized during in 1987. The proposed Project would assist in raising staff morale and motivation by setting clear objectives as an integral part of the proposed monitoring and evaluation system, and by financing staff houses, transport and other logistic support.  - 12 - Institutional Constraints 2.18 The main institutional constraints are: an organizational structure that overloads technical personnel with administrative functions; lack of an overall framework for systematic planning, coordination and monitoring of research and extension activities; weak linkages between research and extension; and inadequate supervision of extension staff. 2.19 Under the present organizational arrangements, research and extension staff at all levels are required to carry out various administrative tasks for which they are not properly trained. Such tasks