EVALUACION FINAL DEL PROGRAMA DE DESARROLLO AGROPECUARIO; 1971-1974 (FINAL EVALUATION OF THE FARM DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM; 1971-1974)

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the University of Costa Rica, and six other public institutions had responsibilities for different project tasks which included: (1) reorganization of small farmer services; (2) coordination of the agricultural sector; (3) adoption of evaluation techniques; (4) credit programs; (5) sale of and title to land; (6) seed laboratory; (7) nutrition technology laboratory; and (8) encouraging the cooperation of farmers. Major shortcomings encountered were: (1) the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock did not give adequate support to program and regionalization activities; (2) correspondent banks did not increase the availability of credit to small farmers; (3) the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock did not coordinate its activities with other institutions; (4) personnel responsible for developing cooperatives did not have the necessary skills to administer cooperatives or develop satisfactory relations with other institutions; (5) the National Production Council was reluctant to accept administrative reforms and it performed poorly in the grain storage project; and (6) the community development institution was unable to coordinate its activities in the rural communities. Although the primary objective of helping small farmers was accepted by the participating institutions, variations of interpretation sometimes resulted in effective neglect of the program's intended goals. Shortcomings notwithstanding, the evaluators believe the program is relatively successful. Their recommendations include: (1) reduce the number of participating agencies; (2) hire better qualified personnel; and (3) improve coordination between institutions.