Agriculture sector support project : VITA ARS cooperative agreement (subproject)

Mainly for purposes of comparison, similar activities inside Afghanistan undertaken by CARE, Mercy Corps International, and International Rescue Committee are also evaluated. The evaluation is based on a review of project documents and interviews since the team was not able to travel inside Afghanistan. Major findings are as follows. (1) VITA enjoys good relations in a politically difficult environment. Its widespread activities are effective and appreciated. Staff are technically competent. (2) The single-purpose nature of VITA"s interventions provide little scope for continuing involvement with beneficiary communities. This is contrasted with CARE"s more diversified involvement in fewer localities. (3) VITA"s narrow infrastructural focus does not lend itself to analysis of program impact, which can only be determined with reference to improvements in agricultural production and marketing. (4) Monitoring of technical implementation is satisfactory, but VITA staff are not trained to evaluate impact. There is need in all four PVO"s for better training of monitors. (5) Coordination of PVO operational activities is almost non-existent, and USAID"s supervision of the various PVO programs is highly compartmentalized. (6) Afghan PVO"s represent an important resource to be used in future rehabilitation inside Afghanistan. VITA should establish a collaborative relationship with Afghan PVO"s to acquire agricultural competence and also to attract outside funding. (Author abstract, modified) See also abstract of PD-ABD-526.