Morocco - Emergency Drought Recovery

 ICRR 10262 Report Number : ICRR10262 ICR Review Operations Evaluation Department 1. Project Data : OEDID : OEDID: L3935 Project ID : P041303 Project Name : Emergency Drought Recovery Country : Morocco Sector : Livestock L/C Number : L3935 Partners involved : Arab Fund, Kuwait Fund Prepared by : John R. Heath, OEDST Reviewed by : Laurie Effron Group Manager : Alain A. Barbu Date Posted : 03/16/1999 2. Project Objectives, Financing, Costs and Components : The objectives were to alleviate the impact of the 1994-95 drought by rehabilitating crop and livestock production, and improving rural roads and drinking water supply; and to enhance institutional capacity for managing drought . Components were purchase of seeds and livestock feed and medicines, construction of watering points, boreholes and wells, rehabilitation and upgrading of rural roads and tracks, and technical assistance to improve planning and monitoring. The actual project cost was US$250 million, compared to the US$334 million forecast at appraisal. Financing was provided by IBRD (38%), Arab Fund (9%), Kuwait Fund (16%), with the balance (37%) provided by Morocco and beneficiaries. 3. Achievement of Relevant Objectives : The physical targets set at appraisal were exceeded, except for water supply systems : with the Bank's agreement, this component was reduced by 43% once the drought ended. 1,650 km of rural roads were improved; the target was 1,500 km. Institutional objectives were also largely realized, with establishment of a Livestock Information and Modeling System and two permanent field monitoring systems . 4. Significant Achievements : The economic rate of return at project completion was 23% compared to an appraisal estimate of 18%. Construction was completed ahead of schedule, allowing for quicker than average disbursement for this sort of project . 5. Significant Shortcomings : Maintenance of roads and water fountains is an issue that has not been fully resolved; but this is difficult to tackle in a short-term emergency operation. The possible negative impact on sustainability only affects about 12 percent of fountains, and road maintenance is being tackled under the Secondary Roads Project (Loan 3901-MOR), which is now being implemented. 6. Ratings : ICR OED Review Reason for Disagreement /Comments Outcome : Highly Satisfactory Highly Satisfactory Institutional Dev .: Substantial High Same rating; different lexicon Sustainability : Likely Likely Bank Performance : Highly Satisfactory Highly Satisfactory Borrower Perf .: Highly Satisfactory Highly Satisfactory Quality of ICR : Satisfactory 7. Lessons of Broad Applicability : There are instructive lessons (set out at length in the ICR) about the prerequisites for fast implementation of an emergency project: these include using an expert panel and off -the-shelf design for engineering components . Speedy action by government ---removal of taxes on feed imports and advance of funds for building water points---was also a critical ingredient of project success . 8. Audit Recommended? Yes No 9. Comments on Quality of ICR : Concise and to the point. The lessons learned section is excellent . However, the assumptions underlying re -estimate of the ERR are not outlined and none of the workings are shown .