FINAL REPORT TO THE NATIONAL SERVICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT (SMALL FARMER DEVELOPMENT PROJECT)

Final evaluation, prepared by the contractor, Robert R. Nathan Associates (RN), covers the period 5/78-12/79 and is based on an incomplete review of project files. Progress has been uneven. Most IC"s were formed in areas where other co-op"s had failed, leading IC"s to expect the same of the new program. IC"s have also operated in isolation due to the inability of the RN team to standardize technical criteria. Further, the host country National Service of Community Development (SNDC) tried to promote IC"s with promises of easy credit. The RN team"s ability to work with SNDC has been limited by the inability of some team members to speak Spanish. The main problems, however, have been those inherited from the previous program: lack of internal controls, of accounting, and of administration and of the sense of a need for it. The project"s main achievement has been the organization of four IC"s -- at Cochabamba, Tahuantinsuyo, Santa Cruz, and Gran Chaco -- that, despite problems, continue to operate. Other achievements include creation of a capitalization program which in 2 1/2 years has allowed capitalization to small farmers of more than $b 5 million; of a restructured and centralized rotating credit program (CROFOC) financed by A.I.D. loan funds; and of an internal credit standard regulation for IC"s that was accepted by CROFOC"s credit committee. There are also signs that both IC"s and SNDC sense the need to take seriously the project"s new emphases on sound administration, credit regulations, and cooperative integration. The project"s key weakness has been the inadequacy of the training and education program for both IC"s and SNDC. The RN team"s main recommendation, arrived at together with SNDC and USAID, is that SNDC invite a private organization into the project. Other recommendations include primary concentration on educating IC"s; completing basic infrastructure (including human resources) before creating new IC"s; making initial credit criteria strict; and choosing better sites for IC"s.