AUDIT REPORT REVIEW OF FOOD AND NUTRITION SECTOR USAID/NEPAL AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 1978

EVALUATION COVERS THE PERIOD FROM THE INCEPTION OF EACH PROJECT THROUGH 9/30/78 AND IS BASED ON STANDARD AUDIT PROCEDURES. AUDIT CONTAINS EVALUATIONS OF PROJECTS 3670102, 36770114, 4980251, 9310209, AND 9310234. THE PRESENT EVALUATION CONCERNS A PROJECT TO TRAIN NEPALESE IN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PLANNING. THE AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (ADC) RECEIVED A TWO YEAR GRANT TO EXECUTE THE PROJECT. BECAUSE IMPLEMENTATION HAS BEEN SLOW AND PERFORMANCE POOR, THE PROJECT WILL EXTEND FAR BEYOND THE NEW COMPLETION DATE OF 9/29/79. USAID CONSIDERS THE EXTENSION TO BE UNWARRANTED. POOR PERFORMANCE IS ATTRIBUTED TO STAFFING PROBLEMS. ONE OF TWO TEAM MEMBERS ARRIVED ONE YEAR LATE. THE TEAM LEADER DEPARTED PREMATURELY BUT WAS REPLACED IN 8/78. UNDER THIS GRANT, AID/W RETAINS LITTLE PROJECT RESPONSIBILITY. USAID, AID/W, AND ASIA/PD/PVO RECEIVE THE GRANTEE"S SEMI-ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORTS BUT HAVE NO SPECIFIC AUTHORITY FOR PROJECT SUPERVISION. THE FIRST ANNUAL OVERALL EVALUATION FROM ADC IS DUE 11/78. BECAUSE OF THE ILL-DEFINED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN USAID AND ADC STAFF IN NEPAL, USAID WAS UNCERTAIN OF THE EXTEND OF ITS PARTICIPATION IN THE EVALUATION PROCESS. THE CURRENT ADC TEAM LEADER ADVISED AUDITORS THAT THE ADC EVALUATION WILL INCLUDE REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE GON, USAID, AND ADC HEADQUARTERS, AND WILL CONCENTRATE ON DETAILING WORK PLANS FOR THE NEXT 12 MONTHS. THE TEAM LEADER AGREES WITH THE AUDITORS" RECOMMENDATION THAT USAID, IN COOPERATION WITH ASIA/PD/PVO AS APPROPRIATE, ENSURE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A REVISED WORK PLAN, INCLUDING A RELATED TIME FRAME. USAID SHOULD ASSUME THIS RESPONSIBILITY BECAUSE OF ITS CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE GRANTEE"S FIELD PERSONNEL. AUDITORS CONSIDER THAT A CONTRACT, INSTEAD OF A GRANT TO ADC, WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE APPROPRIATE BECAUSE TIGHTER CONTROLS COULD HAVE BEEN IMPOSED BY AID/W. UNLESS THERE IS MARKED IMPROVEMENT, AUDITORS RECOMMEND THAT NO FURTHER GRANTS BE GIVEN TO ADC.