Irrigation development

Evaluation covered the period 9/86 to 5/89. The project has fallen significantly short of target outputs: the number of beneficiaries assisted was 31 instead of the projected 794; agricultural production with the new irrigation systems reached only 268 MT of the targeted 15,300; the increase in productivity was 25% less than projected; only 5 irrigation systems were constructed on 49 ha instead of 159 systems on 1,437 ha; and credit disbursements for irrigation construction and crop production totaled $209,177 compared to a projected $2.5 million. Additionally, the project is not reaching the subsistence level farmer due to the commercial orientation of the credit mechanism, which requires substantial collateral, effectively denying campesino farmers access to credit. The key factors in project shortfalls were inadequate Honduran government project management, insufficient TA (especially in project planning and organization), ineffective USAID/H supervision, and overly ambitious implementation targets. The failure to reach the subsistence farmer is primarily due to USAID/H"s changes in the project design, which would have guaranteed public sector credit to all participants. Nevertheless, during the past year, much progress has been made on addressing these management constraints. Four lessons were learned. (1) Adequate time should be allowed for compliance with condition precedents to initial disbursement. (2) Leadership of TA teams should be assigned to persons with proven managerial experience. (3) There should be continuity and stability in A.I.D. project management during the early stages of project implementation, and A.I.D. direct procurements should be expedited. (4) Project design should not overestimate the receptivity of project beneficiaries and the disposition of key institutions (e.g., private banks) to participate in the project.