CONSEQUENCES OF SMALL RICE FARM MECHANIZATION OF PRODUCTION, INCOMES, AND RURAL EMPLOYMENT IN SELECTED COUNTRIES OF ASIA (REVIEW PERIOD : 10/1-10/6/79)

EVALUATION COVERS THE PERIOD 9/77 TO 9/79 AND IS A DRAFT REPORT BASED ON PROJECT STAFF INTERVIEWS, AN IRRI ISSUES LIST, AND ONSITE VISITS. SATISFACTORY PROGRESS WAS MADE TOWARD THE ACHIEVEMENT OF PROJECT PURPOSES. THE SURVEY SAMPLE WAS SELECTED AND THE QUESTIONNAIRE WAS DEVISED. METHODOLOGIES FOR DATA ANALYSIS WERE DETERMINED. SURVEYS WERE INITIATED IN THREE OF THE FOUR COUNTRIES, BUT DUE TO A LATE START, THE SURVEYS ARE BARELY UNDERWAY. PROJECT DESIGN WAS QUESTIONNABLE BOTH IN TERMS OF THE RELIABILITY OF DRAWING CONCLUSIONS FROM NARROW DATA, AND THE PROJECT'S UNDERESTIMATED TIME FRAME. PROJECT MANAGEMENT WAS UNSATISFACTORY DUE TO FREQUENT PERSONNEL CHANGES, LACK OF PROJECT DOCUMENTATION, AND POOR COMMUNICATION BETWEEN USAID AND IRRI. AN ASSESSMENT OF THE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM IS NEEDED AS WELL AS SEMI-ANNUAL CONTRACTOR'S PROGRESS REPORTS. SEVERAL FACTORS CAUSES CONTRACT CHANGES. PROJECT FUNDING APPROVAL WAS DELAYED FOR ONE YEAR, CAUSING A DELAY IN DATA COLLECTION SINCE THE SURVEY, TAKEN OVER A YEARLY CROP CYCLE, HAD TO BE ADJUSTED TO A SUCCEEDING CROP YEAR CYCLE. PAKISTAN WAS NOT SURVEYED AND IRRI WAS UNABLE TO INITIATE WORK DUE TO EVENTS BEYOND THEIR CONTROL. DROUGHT AND OTHER UNFORESEEN EVENTS CAUSED THE NEED FOR CONTRACT EXTENSION FOR INTERVIEWING AND DEVELOPING QUANTITATIVE ANALYTICAL MODELS. ORIGINALLY, TWO SURVEY SITES IN EACH COUNTRY WERE TO BE SAMPLED. HOWEVER, IN THE PHILIPPINES AND THAILAND, THE TEAMS DECIDED TO SURVEY ONE SITE TWICE, RATHER THAN CHANGE SITES. THE EVALUATION TEAM APPROVED THIS ACTION. ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDE A REVISED TWO-YEAR EXTENSION CONTRACT WITH BUDGET CHANGES, AS WELL AS A MODIFICATION TO DELETE PAKISTAN, REALLOCATION OF ITS FUNDS FOR COST OVERRUNS IN THE REMAINING THREE COUNTRIES, AND INITIATION OF A SIMILAR PROJECT IN A FOURTH COUNTRY, SUCH AS BURMA.