India - Second Madhya Pradesh Agricultural Extension Project

Document of The World Bank FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Report No. 9189 PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT INDIA MADHYA PRADESH AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION PROJECT (PHASE III) (CREDIT 1138-IN) DECEMBER 14, 1990 Agriculture Operations Division Country Department IV Asia Regional Office 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.  Currency Equivalent Currency Unit - Rupee (Rs.) US$ 1.00 c Rs.8.00 Appraisal (April 1981) US$ 1.00 c Rs.11.81 Intervening Years average US$ 1.00 Rs.16.50 Completion Year Weights and Measures: Met-riec Sqystem Glossary DOA Directorate of Agriculture DOE Directorate of Extension GOMP Government of Madhya Pradesh GOI Government of India IDA International Development Association MOA Ministry of Agriculture M&E Monitoring and Evaluation NAEP National Agricultural Extension Project SMS Subject Matter Specialist T&V Training and Visit VEW Village Extension Worker Fiscal Year of Borrower Government of India/Madhya Pradesh April 1 to March 31  FOR OFFCAL US ONLY THE WORLD SANK Washington. D.C. 20433 U.S.A. 0Fe io O#C iwv-Cwwtai December 14, 1990 MEMORANDUM TO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS AND THE PRESIDENT SUBJECT: Proje:t Completion Report - India Madhya Pradesh Agricultural ExtensionProlect (Cr. 1138-IN) Attached, for information, is a copy of a report entitled "Project Completion Report - India Madhya Pradesh Agricultural Extension Project (Credit 1138-IN)", prepared by the Asia Regional Office. No audit of this project has been made by the Operations Evaluation Department at this time. Attachment This document has a rtricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their ofilcial duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Dnk auuthoriation.  FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT INDIA MADHYA PRADESH AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION PROJECT (PHASE III) (CREDIT 1138-IN) TABLE OF CONTENTS PagnN6 Preface ........................................ i Evaluation Summary ............................. iii Part-I Project Review from Bank's Perspective Project Identity .......................... 1 Background ............................. . 1 Project Objectives and Descriptions ...... 2... 2 Project Design and Organization .. 3 Project Implementation .....................4 Project Results .......................... 5 Project Sustainability ..................... 6 Bank Performance .......................... 7 Lessons Learnt ........................... 7 Borrower Performance ....... ............... . X Project Relationship ....................... 9 Consulting Services ........................ 9 Project Documentation and Data .......... 9.... . .9 Part.TT Project Review from Borrower's Perspective .... Project and Bank Performance ...............11 art.ItTI Statistical Information Table 1 Related Bank Loans and/or Credit ............ 13 Table 2 Project Time Table ....................... 15 Table 3 Credit Disbursement ...................... 16 Table 4 Project Implementation .................... 17 Table 5 Project Costs and Financing .... ............ 20 Project Costs ........................ 20 Project Financing ..................... 21 Table 6 Project Results .......................... 22 Direct Benefits ....... ............... 22 Economic Impact ....... ............... 24 Financial Impact ......................-24 Studies ..................----24 Table 7 Status of Covenants-.------------------. 25 Table 8 Use of Bank Resources-.-------------------26 Staff Inputs .......................... 26 Missions ............................ 27 Map IBRD 15427 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.  PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT INDIA MADHYA PRADESH AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION PROJECT (PHASE III) (CREDIT 1138-IN) PREFACE This is the Project Completion Report (PCR) for the Madhya Pradesh Agricultural Extension Project, Phase II, for which Credit 1138- IN, in the amount of SDR 30.3 million (US$36.9 million) was approved on April 23, 1981. The Credit was closed on June 30, 1989 after two one- year extensions of Closing Date. The Credit was fully disbursed and final disbursement was made on January 18, 1990. The PCR was prepared by the Agriculture Operations Division 4 of the Asia Regional Office (Preface, Evaluation Summary, and Parts I and III), and the Borrower (Part II). Preparation of this PCR was started during the Bank's final supervision mission of the project in September 1989, and is based, inter alia, on the Staff Appraisal Report, the Development Credit Agreement and Project Agreement, supervision reports, correspondence between the Bank and the Borrower, and internal Bank memoranda.  -iii - PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT INDIA MADHYA PRADESH AtGRICULTURAL EXTENSION PROJECT (PHASE III) (CREDIT 1138-IN) EVALUtTION SUMMARY O binie 1. The project sought to achieve early and sustained increases in agricultural production in 33 project districts through the reorganization and strengthening of the extension services of the Department of Agriculture (DOA). The project aimed to achieve this reorganization over a five year implementation period, to develop a professional, village-based, agricultural extension service: capable of reaching all villages in the project area, with the systematic provision of useful advice on farming practices, through strictly programMed village visits, by regularly trained field staff, in continuous contact with the research system. Implementation Experience 2. Implementation experience witnessed that project design and organization was largely appropriate, although actual implementation was constrained by fund availability and delayed by two years as a result. By Credit closure, more than 90% of all extension positions were filled. Only the Agricultural Extension Officer grade was seriously depleted with 30% vacancies. The c4:il works program of 3,692 buildings was revised to 2,788; probably about 2,S-2 will be completed. This reduction, mainly in the number of staff houses, has not affected project impact. Except for 24 jeeps (not procured), vehicle and equipment procurement was satisfactory. Training implementation was satisfactory except for the utilization of provisions for higher level promotional training. With the two year extension of closing date the Credit was fully disbursed, although on several occasions during implementation, disbursements were temporarily suspended, due to delay in submission of audit reports. 3. The main risk identified at the time of appraisal, i.e., the transfer of multipurpose field workers and the establishment of a single, unified professional extension service with DOA, was successfully mitigated against by project management and Bank supervision, which paid special attention to this issue. As a result, a fully staffed, professional extension service was established. A risk not fully appreciated, at the time of appraisal, was the ability or commitment of GOMP to adequately fund the project. This issue was exacerbated during the two-year implementation overlap between this and the previous extension project in MP. Despite strong and continued follow-up by supervision missions, GOMP did not remedy the bu"-7tary support issue for many years.  - iv - Results 4. The project has achieved the principal objective of establishing a single line, unified, professional agricultural extension service in the project districts. Linkages with the research system, structured visits to farmers groups, sustained training of extension staff and technical guidance by Subject Matter Specialists (SMS) enabled the establishment of a meaningful agricultural extension service. Consequently, there have been encouraging agricultural production gains and significantly increased use of farm inputs, fertiliser and improved seed. There have also been significant changes in cropping patterns in some areas, leading to an increase in cropping intensity. 5. Yield increases significantly exceeded those estimated at appraisal as necessary to obtain a 50% ERR, assuming those yield increases were due to the project. Recalculation of an ERR with the actual cost stream, yields and prices, on the same cropped area confirmed it to be in excess of 50%. No attempt, however, has been made in the analysis to disaggregate the effect of extension on production from other factors. Human resource development has also been significant and resulted in 3,000 t:rained operational extensionists in the State and a more technically informed body of farmers. Sustainability 6. The extension service established under the Project is now part of the State's institutional framework, and recognized by the informed, as a powerful communication force for information dissemination and agricultural change. However, with ever-increasing salary scales, there is a risk that the state may hesitate to continue funding such a large extension organization. There is also a risk that pressures will build up to give increased non-extension functions to extension staff, reverting back to the failed, multipurpose Village Level Worker approach. These risks could be reduced by broad-basing the extension approach and increasing accountability to local institutions. Development of farmer paid field extension service also deserves serious consideration. Findings and Lessons Learned 7. The main lessons learnt from implementation of this project include the following: Two extension projects should not be implemented in the same state at the same time, as this restricts availability of budgetary resources. In most situations, the provision of staff housing is not essential to the development and operation of an effective extension service. Rented housing is readily available, cheaper, and more flexible. Target chasing in staff recruitment, and compromising on the basic academic quality of staff should be avoided, even at the expense of delayed implemertation. This is especially true in the case of Subject Matter Specialists.  Stronger action could usefully be taken by the Bank/GOI (including Credit suspension) in cases where states persistently fail to provide adequate budgetary support for agreed project implementation. Improved management at district and regional levels should be ensured by selecting district managers who possess management skills and ability.  INDIA MADHYA PRADESH AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION PROJECT (PHASE III) (CREDIT 1138-IN) PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT PART It PROJECT REVIEW FROM BANK'S PERSPECTIVE Proie.t Tdontitv 1. Name : Madhya Pradesh Agricultural Extension Project Phase Two Credit Number : Cr.1138-IN RVP Unit : ASI Country : India Sector : Agriculture Bakgroun* 2. Government of India's developmental plans consistently assign priority to increasing agricultural growth, alleviating poverty and creating employment in rural areas. Agriculture is the dominant sector in the Indian economy; it engages 70% of the labor force and contributes about 40% of the gross national product. Establishment of an efficient extension service to promote faster spread of improved farm technologies is one of the planks chosen by the national government for development of agriculture and of the rural economy as a whole. 3. Madhya Pradesh (MP) is India's largest state, covering an area of 44.3 million ha and has a population of about 52 million (1980). The population is predominantly rural (84%) and the agricultural sector dominates the state's economy. Yields of most major food crops in Madhya Pradesh are significantly below India's already low average. Between 1970/71 and 1978/79, the production of foodgrains increased only at the rate of 0.5% per annum whereas the average rate for India was 2.4% per annum. 84% of the cultivable area in 1977/78 (net area sown 18.8 million ha) was single-cropped, either with one rainfed Kharif season crop or with one Rabi crop grown on residual soil moisture following a monsoon fallow. Thus the productivity and cropping intensity of agriculture in Madhya Pradesh was poor. 4. In an attempt to overcome these deficiencies, and realising the importance of transferring more productive technologies to the mass of widely dispersed and small farmers, Madhya Pradesh became one of the first states in India to introduce reorganized, professional (training and visit [T&V]) extension services. This was fully consistent with Government of India's (GOI) policies. As a result, it received support from the World Bank under the Madhya Pradesh Agricultural Extension and Research Project (Credit 712-IN) which was appraised in October 1976, became effective in September 1977 and was completed March 1983. This project introduced T&V extension and strengthened research services in  15 of 45 districts in Madhya Pradesh. Background to, and performance of this project are covered in its PCR (Report No. 6281 of June 25, 1986). In summary the PCR stated "that significant achievements have been made, and a sound extension structure, e-tablished in fifteen districts, to which further improvements can be made". 5. The results of this first phase project were, thus, sufficiently encouraging for the Government of Madhya Pradesh (GOMP) to decide to expand the coverage c- professional (T&V) agricultural extension services to the entire state. This was to be achieved through the project currently under review, in this report. A World Bank Credit of SDR 30.3 M (US$37.OM) to the Government of India (GOI) became effective on July 22, 1981 for on-financing to GOMP through the normal centre- state financing arrangements, then pertaining. Through this Credit, professional extension services would be introduced into 30 more districts (since increased to 33), on the same lines as was achieved under Credit 712-IN in 15 districts of the state. ProjeAt Ohje tlves and Description 6. The project sought to achieve early and sustained increases in agricultural production in 33 project districts through the reorganization and strengthening of the extension services of the State Directorate of Agriculture (DOA). The project would support this reorganization over a five year period by: a. establishing a single line of command between full time village extension workers (VEW) and extension headquarters; b. consolidating staff from the special crop schemes into a single unified service and strengthening the linkage between agricultural research and extension; c. incorporating regular in-service training as an integral part of extension activities; d. introducing a systematic fixed schedule for regular and frequent visits by VEW to farmers' fields; e. strengthening of extension (VEW) training centres; f. developing regular monitoring and evaluation procedures; g. strengthening arrangements for coordination of input supplies and credit requirements; and h. providing additional staff, operating expenses, equipment, vehicles, training facilities, housing and office buildings required to implement these reforms.  -3- 7. The total project cost was estimated at USS 60 Million. Details of cost are given in Table SA; the main components are listed below: a. Incremental Staff Salaries: 43% of total base costs, for extei3ion, training and monitoring and evaluation staff. b. Civil works: 28% of total base costs, mainly for field staff horsing bui; also for sub-divisicnal officers and ste f training facilities. c. Vehicles and equipment: 9% of total base costs, to mobilize and provide extension and training services with basic office equipment and audio-visual aids. d. Training: 3% of total base costs, for basic and in- service training of extension staff. e. Incremental other operating costs: 17% of total base costs, for vehicle, travel and miscellaneous operating expenditures. Proi-ect Desiagn and Organization 8. The project was designed on a very well-tested logical conceptual frame: a unified extension service; one village extension worker for about 800 farm families; regular pre-sche'uled visits with specific timely mes ages; close supervision and guidance by an agricultural graduate extension orficer; support provided by field-based subject matter specialists; and fortnightly, field-oriented training and monthly workshops with the research system. To operationalize the chosen extension system, adequate funds were provided to establish a single line o'F control with strong linkages with the research system, to train staff regularly in latest technologies, and for housing, mobility and teaching aids. GOI and GOMP clearly shared and understood the project concept, aims and approaches. 9. The project was thoroughly prepared by GOMP with assistance from staff from the Bank's Resident Mission in India and in close consultation with the GOI and the State Agricultural University of,.icials. The roles and responsibilities, the linkages critical for e.ccess and methods of field operation were clearly articulated, discussed and finalised. 10. Whilst the timing of the project was quite logical, its first two years of execution overlapped with the last two years of the previous Extension and Research Project (Credit 712-IN). As GOMP was either unable to provide full budgetary requirements of both projects at the same time, the subject project was left very short of funds in the early years, seriously delaying implementation. 11. In retrospect, one could vouchsafe that the project design and organization was largely appropriate, although, as noted above, its overlap with a previous extension project constrained fund availability  -4- and severely delayed execution by two years. As a result of the project's design and organization, the technology delivery capability of the DOA has vastly improved through establishment of a professional extension service with a sound structure, training and mobility, with appropriate linkages with the research system and a closer contact with the farmers. In an anxiety to establish a unified professional agricultural extension service quickly, compromises have been made on the quality of Subject Matter Specialists (SMSs) engaged and in the quality of pre-service training of village extension. This has adversely affected the project implementation, particularly in its earlier years. Measures to redress this deficiency have been introduced through refresher, in-service training. Proiect Implementation 12. Implementation of physical components was substantially delayed because of poor budgetary support by GOMP. This affected all components in the early years of implementation. By 1986, however, most staff were in position. Because of delays the civil works component was substantially reduced at the time of the Mid-Term Review. However, though delayed, the project eventually succeeded in establishing a fully staffed, adequately accommodated and mostly mobile service, which is functioning well in most districts. It is worth noting that the presence of staff housing and a large civil works program has not proved essential to the establishmaent of effective extension, (rental quarters are available almost everywhere). Indeed, such a large civil works component, whilst boosting project costs and total disbursement, involved great administrative problems for extension managers and tended to divert their attention from more critical tasks. Sub-divisional office and training facilities have, however, proved extremely useful. 13. By Credit closure, more than 90% of all extension positions were filled, one half of which were new recruits. The Agricultural Extension Officer grade was severely depleted with 30% vacancies. Only 55% of the intended farm input coordination staff positions were filled, but this service was apparently able to function effectively. The civil works program of 3,692 buildings was revised to 2,788; probably about 2,312 will be completed. This reduction, mainly in the number of staff houses, has not affected project impact. Except for 24 jeeps (not procured), vehicle and equipment procurement, though delayed, was satisfactory. Training implementation was satisfactory e::cept for the utilization of provisions for higher level promotional training of village extension workers (VEW), Agricultural Extension Officers (AEO) and Subject Matter Specialists (SMS). Regrettably, this training provision was poorly used. 14. With an extension of closing date by two years, total Rupee expenditure increased to Rs.694 million against an SAR estimate of Rs.480 million. Rupee expenditure on incremental salaries substantially exceeded estimates because of pay scale revision and the extra years of implementation, civil works expenditure was more or less as estimated, and expenditure on training, vehicles and equipment and operating costs, significantly below SAR estimates. The Credit was fully disbursed. On several occasions during implementation, disbursements  -5- were temporarily suspended, due to delay in submission of audit reports. Estimated and Actual Expenditure (Rs.M) SAR Actual Incremental Staff 208.00 464.19 Civil Works 133.00 150.08 Equipment & Vehicles 40.00 22.05 Training 15.00 9.35 Operational Costs 84.00 48.83 Total 480.00 694.50 15. At the time of appraisal, the transfer of multipurpose field workers and the establishment of a single, unified professional extension service, was considered to be a major risk, as this marked a significant departure from past practice in India. This risk was successfully mitigated against by project management and Bank supervision, which paid special attention to this issue. As a result, a fully staffed, professonal extension service was established, having a conspicuous impact on technology transfer and production. A risk not fully appreciated, at the time of appraisal, was the ability or commitment of GOMP to adequately fund the project. Furthermore, in hindsight, it would probably have been better not to have started this second phase project until the first phase was fully completed. Despite strong, and continued follow-up by supervision missions, GOMP was not able to remedy the budgetary support issue for several years, due to state-wide issue of budgetary stringency. Project Results 16. The project has achieved the principal objective of establishing a single line, unified, professional agricultural extension service in the project districts. Linkages with research system, structured visits to farmers groups, sustained training of extension staff and technical guidance by Subject Matter Specialists enabled the establishment of a meaningful agricultural extension service. Consequently, there have been encouraging agricultural production gains and significantly increased use of farm inputs, fertiliser and improved seed (Table 6, page 1). There have also been significant changes in cropping patterns. The increase in area planted to soyabean and the consequent reduction in Kharif fallows in black soil regions of the state is seen as a significant achievement under the project. The soyabean area has gone up from 0.3 million ha in 1981-82 to 1.3 million ha in 1987-88. The introduction of the short duration pigeon pea and a mixed cropping of long duration pigeon pea with soyabean in the Kharif season are other important achievements. The increase in Kharif cropped area, though modest, is a significant breakthrough in black soil areas which otherwise, were left fallow. The data on Kharif land use from 1981-82 to 1985-86 collected from Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India is presented below:  -6 - Year Area in Million Hectares 1981-82 12.85 1982-83 12.87 1983-84 13.09 1984-85 13.15 1985-86 13.23 Kharif crop intensity in 1985-86 has increased by 3% over 1981-82. The trend is continuing and accelerating and the overall cropping intensity increasing. 17. Apart from physical achievements under the project, qualitative improvements such as upgrading technical competence of staff, establishing a working pattern of technology transfer and bringing extension and research organizations closer together represent a strong foundation for future improvement and development of the agricultural sector as a whole. 18. Attributing a precise level of benefit to an extension project is difficult as it is just one of several factors contributing to increase in productivity and cropping intensity. The Staff Appraisal Report noted that a rate of return of 50% would be obtainable, providing certain assumed crop yield increases were obtained. Recalculating the internal rate of return using the actual and extended cost stream, actual yield increases and current economic prices confirms that an internal rate of return of over 50% was obtained; with the actual yield increases exceeding assumptions of the Staff Appraisal Report. No attempt has been made to disaggregate the effect of extension from other factors in the analyses. Comparison of three-year yield averages, pre- project and for the last three years of the project, show increases in the productivity of rice and wheat of 272 Kgs and 326 Kgs per ha, respectively. 19. There is no doubt that the project has had a very significant impact in providing village-based professional agricultural advisory services to most, if not all, villages in the 33 project districts. A service has been developed, appreciated and used by farmers. Human resource development has also been considerable, resulting in 3,000 trained operational extensionists in the State. Developmental changes are most prominent in irrigated farming situations and in the high moisture-retention, black soil, rainfed areas. Horticulture, tree farming, fodder development and natural resources conservation, inclusive of soil moisture conservation, have not received adequate attention. Planning and management of agricultural programs are yet to attain a desirable professional standard. Project Sustainability 20. The extension service established under the Project is now part of the State's institutional framework, and recognized by the informed, as a powerful communication force for information dissemination and  agricultural change. To consolidate the project gains and improve upon them, timely and adequate budgetary support, particularly for operating costs and vehicle replacement, is critical. Further, attention also needs to be given to continuous human resource development; the broad basing of extension with the aims of cost effectiveness and the provision of an integrated service to the farmers. High quality research support, close coordination with other support systems, and the introduction of improved planning and management methods are also important. Above all, continued firm commitment by GOMP to provide extension service through a single line agency is vital. GOMP has said that they are impressed by the impact of single line professional extension approach and that they intend to maintain it as such. 21. The present extension approach is relatively staff-intensive. With ever-increasing salary scales, there is a risk that the state may hesitate to continue funding a large extension organization. This risk could be mitigated against by conscious and visible efforts to make extension cost effective by the assignment of all land-based agriculture- related extension activities; increasing the accountability of extension _.o local bodies without losing direct administrative control, and by exploring ways of establishing a farmer-paid field extension service, at least on a pilot scale. Bank Performanco 22. The Bank has assisted GOI/GOMP to establish a reformed extension service, critical for rapid development of agriculture, which is a national priority. The performance of the Bank has been satisfactory. The project preparation and appraisal have been completed within a reasonable time frame with substantial support from the New Delhi Office. Supervision missions have assisted the project management to improve its performance and consistently focussed attention on key implementation issues. The intensity of supervision in the first two years appears low, however, with only 7 manweeks spent in the field. Further, the first field mission took place one year after the declaration of effectiveness. Given the start-up problems faced by the project, it is surprising that more intensive supervision was not accorded the project at this critical time. However, Bank supervision missions on the previous project were dealing with many of the same institutions up to FY85. Subsequently, missions have been regular, at least two per year. sons LAarnt 23. In retrospect, a number of lessons do emerge from the implementation experience of this pruject: a) Two extension projects should not be allowed to overlap in the same state. This puts too much pressure on available budgetary resources. (NB: Unfortunately, the same problem has occured with this project overlapping ,with National Agricultural Extension Project (NAEP) I in Madhya Pradesh, and with the same effect on the budgetary support for NAEP I.)  - 8 - b) In most situations, the provision of staff quarters is not essential to the development and operation of an effective extension service. Rented housing is readily available, cheaper, and more flexible. c) Target chasing in staff recruitment, and compromising on the basic academic quality of staff should be avoided, even at the expense of delayed implementation. This is especially true in the case of Subject Matter Specialists. d) Stronger action could usefully be taken by the Bank/GOl (including Credit suspension) in cases where states persistently fail to provide adequate budgetary support for agreed project implementation. e) A clear understanding should be reached with the Accountant General (based at Gwalior not Bhopal) on Bank requirements, and on the need for timely preparation and submission of audited accounts and certificates of expenditure on statements of expenditure. Borrower Performance 24. GOI and the executing agency, GOMP, genuinely participated in the preparation and appraisal of the project. Participation of the Department of Agriculture was intense. Unfortunately, the commitments made were not strictly adhered to, in respect of providing adequate budgetary support, in timely recruitment of staff, in construction of buildings, and in procurement of vehicles. These led to project objectives being achieved two years late. The failure to release adequate funds was probably a result of several factors; a genuine lack of resources in the State because of recurrent drought conditions, and because higher priority was given to scarcity relief and State counterpart funding of centrally sponsored schemes in the allocation of the scarce financial resources. Also, budgeted funds were frequently not actually released until late in the fiscal year, contributing to implementation slippage. During implementation, the project was also affected by various State-wide bans on vehicle purchase, training, etc., all of which served to frustrate implementation to a greater or lesser extent. 25. Given this general scenario, the Department of Agriculture performed reasonably well in its execution of the project. Throughout implementation, the project was rated '2' by supervision missions, with persistent problems being management and financial. Whilst the project has always been headed by competent senior staff at State headquarters, too frequent transfers and changes in personnel has led to discontinuity of management. Performance of village level staff has always been encouraging, but performance of SMS and district managers mixed. Lessons of experience that would be relevant in the preparation of future agricultural projects include: - the full commitment of the Department of Finance to the proje t should be ensured from the outset;  - audit reporting requirements should be very clearly established with the Office of the Accountant General; - improved management at district and regional levels should be ensured by selection of staff with management skills and ability; and - the Borrower, GOI, should monitor and follow up more intensively, persistent cases of slow disbursement and inadequate State budgetary support. Project Relationshio1 26. Bank relationship with C-OI/GOMP has been good throughout the project implementation period and continues to be so. Supervision missions have interacted primarily with the Department of Agriculture. More direct contact with the Department of Finance and the Office of the Accountant General could have been beneficial in resolving the financial issues earlier. Consultina servics 27. There was no special provision for consultancy services under the project. Implementation assistance was provided by GOI's Department of Extentions and, to a limited extent, by Bank staff. Proect Documentation and Data 28. The legal agreements for this project were quite adequate for achieving project objectives. Staff Appraisal Report provided a useful frame work for the Bank as well as GOI/ GOMP for project implementation and review. M&E reports helped in critically evaluating the project results and build a better data base.  - 11 - PART II: PROJECT REVIEW FROM BORROWER'S PERSPECTIVE 1. Factual information contained in Part III of the PCR has been confirmed and amended wherever necessary. 2. Borrower's comments on Part I were incorporated in this final version of the PCR. Project and Bank Performance 3. Project design and preparation has been appropriate, adequate supervision along with mid-term appraisals have yielded beneficial results. As a result, almost two-thirds of the State was brought under the T&V system with the Bank's assistance durir": this Phase-II Project. The entire state is now covered by a reformed single-line extension professional service. 4. The following observations regarding Bank's performance deserve mention: rates of reimbursement should have been fixed at 100% for all items such as buildings, vehicles, equipment and furniture as in the case of training; full reimbursement for both incremental technical and non- technical staff engaged in extension should have been allowed; a separate head of account for extension is in vogue, hence the entire expenditure rooked under this head every month should be reimbursable and since it is based on actual withdrawals, no certificate from the Auditor General should be insisted upon; it is admitted that full budgetary provisions either could not be made or if made, were subjected to cuts under compelling financial constraints. The reason may be mainly attributed to recurrent droughts and consequent diversion of funds. Secondly, due to the starting of this project (Phase- II) concurrently with the implementation of Phase-I, the usual annual provision needed abnormal augmentation which could not be met in full. It is, however, not correct to assume that the project was not assigned priority it deserved or that efforts were not made to obtain appropriate allocations. These unforeseen bottlenecks as narrated above, necessitated extension of the project implementation period by two years and the entire Credit now stands fully disbursed.  - 12 - The State made sincere efforts towards recruitment of village level workers and with a view to putting them on the job as early as possible, the pre-service training period was reduced and bare essential training was given. This has to be followed by in-service training now, and the state is now planning in this direction. As regards SMS, paucity of trained technical personnel in the state was the main cause for the delay in filling of posts. The state has made recruitment, and promotions within the framework of recruitment rules, and the entire staff available has been put on the job. Although SMS of the stipulated disciplines are not available everywhere, the state now is planning to impart training to SMS in the desired discipline and is arranging short courses. Relationship between the Bank and the state has been cordial during the implementation of the project; mutual understanding and sincere efforts have led to the success of the project and fulfillment of the stipulated goals to a large extent.  - 13 - PART III: STATISTIC.AL INFORMATION