Evaluation report : Partners for Productivity, small farmer production/marketing project

Special evaluation covers the period 6/83-4/85 and is based on site visits and interviews with Ministry of Agriculture staff, PMO board members, and beneficiaries. One PMO, in Bushy Park, is operational and has recruited more than 150 members of whom 75 regularly market their produce through the PMO. Sales have improved rapidly, with a steady increase in the variety of items sold; the sales target needed to cover costs at the present level of operations could be achieved within a year. The PMO's returns to farmers are consistently higher than the prices paid by higglers, while retail prices substantially lower than those in public markets indicate potential benefits to consumers. The project has protected its farmers from ruinous competition caused by uncoordinated planting of crops; crop and variety trials have also been conducted, and an effective produce distribution system has been developed. Still, the PMO has not yet significantly affected the total volume and overall quality of fruit and vegetables grown and no major penetration of the U.S. market is likely in the next few years. The PMO board is functioning well and staff are being trained in procurement, accounting, and distribution; their performance is steadily improving. Relations between the PMO and its farmer members are quite good. The project was overdesigned and underfunded. Its achievements have been limited by such factors as lack of explicit funding for research, the original PMO board's inclination to restrict membership to itself (7 persons), and various production constraints (e.g., siltation of irrigation canals and farmers' unwillingness to coordinate their water use to increase availability to all, and a shortage of capital for pesticides and fertilizers). Formation of a second PMO has not materialized, as for logistical and other reasons, the project has focused its resources on the Bushy Park area. The project should be continued, especially the TA component. The imminent addition of an assembly-grading station will pose major managerial and economic challenges to the PMO and, given the decline in Jamaica's traditional exports, a major breakthrough in nontraditional exports is also urgently needed. Prospects are positive; project extension for 3 years is recommended.