Evaluation report : cooperative development services agricultural sector II program in Honduras

Evaluation covers the period 7/81-1/83 and is based on document review, site visits, and interviews with USAID/H, project, and co-op personnel, and with co-op members. Modifying a successful program in Guatemala, Agricultural Cooperative Development International (ACDI) has created two co-ops in Honduras, "20 de Marzo" in Morazan and "Maya Occidental" in La Entrada. After 9 months of operation, both co-ops have reached or surpassed 12-month goals in membership (728 for both co-ops), number of loans (736), amount of loans ($331,023), and level of capitalization ($54,041). Loan repayment has been nearly 100% where the agricultural cycle has been completed. Almost all co-op members interviewed reported markedly improved harvests and incomes as a result of the credit, technical, and marketing services being offered. The same people who engaged in preliminary field work are working as co-op managers and extensionists, a valuable continuity. The project"s success stems from open membership, professional management, systematic capitalization, and high repayment levels. However, extension agents and co-op managers lack formal training and experience, little documentation or promotional material has been prepared for co-op members, and more important, there is no substantial written description of the ACDI model. The "Maya Occidental" cooperative is behind in overall loan repayments (75% repaid), partly due to extensions given to some producers; this area received less land in the agrarian reform than the "20 de Marzo" co-op, which has a 98% repayment record and is also more active in member recruitment. A plan to have ACDI work with two co-ops from the Asociacion Nacional de Campesinos de Honduras (ANACH) appears ill-advised, as nearly all ANACH co-ops have serious management, capitalization, and repayment problems and none are committed to the ACDI model; an ACDI commitment to provide technical assistance to 15 other ANACH co-ops is also risky. Finally, withdrawal of any of the numerous institutions or interruption of the credit/supply/marketing functions supporting the two new co-ops could prove costly to the project. Recommendations are made to resolve these issues.