Final evaluation : crop diversification/irrigation project no. 532-0123

Evaluation covers the period from 1985 to 9/92, one year before the revised PACD. The project has had only marginal effects on nontraditional agricultural production and exports. Agro-21, which implemented the project from 1985-89, failed to attract large agribusiness investments into the project area. However, Agro-21 efficiently rehabilitated the Rio Cobre Irrigation Works (RCIW), which increased productivity for traditional crops. In addition, AGRO-21's policy initiatives led to the creation of a National Irrigation Commission (NIC), which assumed project implementation in 1989 and achieved notable successes in restructuring water user rates and collection procedures in its work on RCIW rehabilitation subprojects. The NIC is still weak institutionally, however, and lacks the capability to coordinate programs with other government agencies for crop diversification or small farmer linkages. During the RBIC rehabilitation, insufficient funds were provided for farmer education, and as a result efficiencies in on-farm irrigation are much below acceptable engineering standards. Moreover, the NIC's extension department is understaffed and is not likely to be effective in providing training programs to increase water efficiency in the near future. On the other hand, sustainability of the NIC's operations and maintenance system is promising because of low energy costs associated with RCIW's gravity-fed surface water system. The Agricultural Development Corporation's divestment program was efficiently implemented for irrigable land in the RCIW area, but due in part to the collapse of the Rio Cobre Dam and in part to increasing urbanization (as the Kingston Metropolitan area extends into the divested area), it is unlikely that the project will have any future impact on crop diversification. Lessons learned include the following. (1) Project designers should be certain that the targeted country possesses all elements essential to the success of nontraditional export-oriented agriculture before proceeding with planning. In this project, unrealistic goals were based on cursory assumptions about Jamaica's attractiveness to foreign agribusiness investors. (2) Agricultural irrigation success is determined by two factors: the cost-effectiveness of water delivery, and the efficient use of water once it has been delivered. (3) Development projects should include budgeted line items for baseline data management, measurement of impact, and maintenance of management information systems. In this project, although baseline data were collected, there was no continuous systems for monitoring changes in performance.