FOOD FOR WORK - COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT... A PL-480, TITLE II PROGRAM IMPLEMENTED BY CARE

EVALUATION COVERS THE PERIOD 3/77 TO 5/78 AND IS BASED ON VISITS BY CARE FIELD SUPERVISORS TO 24 LOCAL OFFICES OF THE GOG COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTORATE AND INTERVIEWS WITH 196 COMMUNITY MEMBERS AT 40 PROJECT SITES. CARE INITIATED THE PROGRAM IN 3/77 IN COLLABORATION WITH THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTORATE. IT WAS TERMINATED IN 6/78 BECAUSE OF THE DIRECTORATE"S INABILITY TO PROVIDE COUNTERPART FUNDING. A TOTAL OF 102 SMALL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS WERE COMPLETED. HOWEVER, 100% OF THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS INTERVIEWED STATED THAT THE PROJECTS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES WOULD HAVE BEEN CARRIED OUT WITH OR WITHOUT FOOD FOR WORK. ALSO, 89% SAID THAT THEY WOULD HAVE WORKED AN EQUAL AMOUNT OF TIME WITHOUT FOOD. RECORDS WERE KEPT OF DAYS WORKED PER PERSON IN 96% OF THE PROJECTS. HOWEVER, FOOD WAS WEIGHED OR MEASURED FOR DISTRIBUTION IN ONLY 78% OF THE PROJECTS. THERE WERE VARYING DEGREES OF ACCEPTABILITY FOR THE VARIOUS FOODS USED IN THE PROGRAM: 44% FOUND SORGHUM ACCEPTABLE; BULGAR, 67%. FLOUR, 86%; CSM, 31%; OIL 83%; AND WSDM, 6%. THE DIRECTORATE"S INABILITY TO MEET ITS FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS STEMMED FROM A SALARY INCREASE FOR CIVIL SERVANTS. TO COVER THE INCREASE, THE GOG IMPLEMENTED A NUMBER OF BUDGET CUTS -- AMONG THEM A 20% CUT IN THE DIRECTORATE"S BUDGET. THIS EVALUATION PROVIDED DATA WHICH REFUTES THE RELEVANCE OF PL-480, TITLE II FOOD AS A CATALYST IN IMPLEMENTINGCOMMUNITY SELF-HELP PROJECTS.