Fish culture project (696-0112) : evaluation

Special evaluation covers the period 9/81-12/84 and is based on document review, site visits, and personal and group interviews. Although poor management has caused delays in extension, construction, and training, as well as inefficient control of the local cost budget with resulting delinquent salary payments to some moniteurs and support staff, progress has been made towards attaining quantifiable targets. A total of 1,458 fish farmers, owners of 525 ponds, are being reached, and appropriate fish culture techniques are being applied. The introduction of improved fish transport techniques, the use of holding tanks, and the extension methodology have already had a positive effect. Training of moniteurs has been especially effective; the 33 moniteurs (13 project-trained) currently working in project zones are proving motivated and knowledgeable. In 1984, 58 new fish ponds were built, and 89 were under construction in 1/85. Less positively, however, of the six fish stations in project zones only two are fully operational, and station management is very poor, characterized by inadequate recordkeeping, high fish mortality, and general lack of planning. Commercial production is, at best, at one-half to one-third of its potential. Overall project management has suffered from breakdown of communications among the project director, the Auburn University team (which is technically very competent and has managed its operations adequately), the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Office of the A.I.D. Representative/R (which cannot provide intensive monitoring due to staffing problems). These parties have been using different documents (project paper, PROAG, TA contract) as the basis of implementation, and both confusion and outright disagreement have resulted. Forty recommendations are made, among them to: (1) limit extension services to six geographic zones within five prefectures, instead of all 10 prefectures as originally planned; (2) schedule another evaluation before 1/86 to determine if collaboration among the interested parties has been established and management improvements realized; (3) strengthen the training of agronomes, responsible for station management.