Evaluation report on the NCDC/CLUSA oilseeds management OPG

Evaluation covers the period 8/78-3/81 and is based on site visits and interviews with the Cooperative League of the United States of America (CLUSA) advisors and Indian counterparts. CLUSA and India"s National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) achieved significant progress -- the operations manual (OM) is nearly complete; informal in-plant training is on-going; and significant technical advances in oil processing were achieved. Nevertheless, the expected training of six Indian trainers and a general manager and staff of eight for each plant was unrealistic although may, with a 6-month extension, be feasible on a reduced scale. CLUSA"s technical advisor wrote a lengthy oil processing manual, but made few field visits, had no experience in expeller or solvent oil extraction, and offered little counterpart training. By contrast, the management advisor (MA) was exceptional. He worked with three NCDC counterparts, contributed to the OM, visited 12 processing plants, and at five of these provided intensive assistance which markedly increased lint recovery, expeller through-put, and/or solvent extractor output and lowered costs. CLUSA"s India representative provided adequate reporting and logistical oversight, but made infrequent field visits and devoted too much time to the larger Oilseeds Growers Cooperative Project (OCGP). The NCDC initiated a groundnut promotion scheme and a successful employee incentive plan, but overemphasized the OM as a cure-all and did not assign counterparts on a full-time basis or provide them the expected back-up. It is recommended that CLUSA: (1) request a 6-month extension of the project and of the MA"s tour to 7/81; (2) recruit skilled practitioners rather than academics as advisors and require them to make frequent field visits; (3) ensure that the NCDC provides adequate counterpart participation; (4) postpone a U.S. tour by NCDC technicians until late 1981; (5) brief all new NCDC staff; (6) discuss with the NCDC the envisioned use of the OM; (7) address the Representative"s over-involvement with the OGCP; (8) obtain a waiver on air travel restrictions for NCDC counterparts; and (9) require expatriate staff to submit brief monthly reports.