Evaluation : Mozambique private sector rehabilitation II program, commodity import component, grant no. 656-K-601A

External evaluation covers the period through 11/86 and is based on document review and interviews conducted during field visits. CIP foreign exchange has enabled the GPRM to purchase critically needed agricultural inputs and equipment (seeds, fertilizers, farm machines, hand tools, ox-drawn equipment, trucks, spare parts, fuel) for distribution to private commercial, family, and cooperative farms in Maputo Province (especially in the Green Zones) and the Chokwe and Xai Xai districts in Gaza Province. The CIP continues to be private farmers" major supplier of inputs, has helped increase both food production (vegetable production alone has increased 38%) and food supply in its target areas, and has given novice farmers the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to produce. The CIP has also provided zinc sheets and raw materials for the manufacture of tires, hoses, irrigation pipes, and rubber boots to select private firms. Commodity procurement, shipment, and distribution were performed easily and on time, and the allocation system generally operated effectively, ensuring the availability of inputs to targeted groups as needed. The use of private traders to distribute commodities has increased slightly. The A.I.D. Affairs Office in Maputo (AAO/M) has managed the project well, although increased secretarial support would lighten the administrative burdens on its Commodity Management Office and allow monitors more time in the field to collect data. Periodic visits by a farming specialist could help AAO/M make technical changes in the commodity mix, where appropriate. On the policy side, GPRM price liberalization initiatives made prices rise greatly at first, but as vegetables produced with CIP inputs came to market, prices began to approach true market value. Prices are now higher than under price control, but the quantities of vegetables are also greater. The GPRM"s successful use of a surcharge to obtain approximately market value for CIP-financed farm equipment and trucks has led to surcharge application on other valuable goods not CIP-financed. Finally, the GPRM continues to transfer resources (e.g., state-owned land) to the private sector. Overall, the project is achieving its objectives and has had the unexpected effect of influencing other donors to reexamine their state-farm oriented agricultural programs. The demand for CIP commodities in target areas is great enough for at least the next 2-3 years to absorb the current $10 million funding level and even increased levels.