Legacy and impact of USAID/Cameroon's agricultural and natural resources programs 1987 to 1994

The need for this assessment came about following the Agency's decision in November 1993 to close the USAID Mission in Cameroon. The study takes the term legacy to mean any accomplishment that remains after a program has ended. Impact is taken to mean the measurement of change, usually the number of years after a program has ended. However, for the special purpose of this assessment, attempts are made to detect such change even while most of the programs are still ongoing. For a few of the programs it is too early to attempt an impact assessment. During the period of observation, the 1980s, the bulk of USAID's agriculture and natural resource portfolio, reflecting food security and productivity concerns, was in research and institution building. This focus was consistent with USAID's Strategic Objectives (1982) and also those of the Development Fund for Africa (DFA). The DFA objectives are particularly appropriate for judging impact for this group of projects. In their totality, the research, education, and cooperative programs leave behind a strong legacy of increased capacity for research, management, and networking. Impressive facilities for education and research are also part of the USAID legacy, although the difficult economic position of the country raises serious questions about the sustainability of this legacy. Cursory observations would indicate that sustainability appears to be excellent for the cooperatives, good for the university, and fair to poor for the research capacity. However, even for the latter, in recognition of its impressive capacity, forces are at work in the United Nations, the World Bank, and other donors to address its sustainability. If this effort is successful, the sustainability of the research capacity would improve dramatically. Looking at the impact of these USAID activities, there can be no doubt as to very substantive and far-reaching contributions to Cameroon. The success of USAID's research, education, and cooperative work is indisputable. Yet the good news is still to come. The benefit stream of U.S. investment in Cameroon is only in its infancy. The research results, already changing the food scene in Cameroon, are continuing to show effects at an increasing rate. One USAID-assisted farmer, for example, was extending her knowledge to fifty other farmers. A handful of national and international organizations are using USAID-generated research to extend it to local farmers and to Tchad, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal, and the Central African Republic. On the educational front, USAID's contribution leaves behind a greatly improved national philosophy of education, and a more manageable system. The reforms replace a decrepit system based on rote learning that had compromised the potential of young minds since the beginning of formal educational systems in Cameroon. A statist perspective of education cut off interaction, and was oblivious to issues of relevance. The United States leaves behind an appropriate capacity for self education and technical innovation in the food system, agriculture, and natural resources. The cooperative assisted by USAID is an important economic player in Cameroon. It is an important intermediary in the financial market and has provided an important cushion to its members during Cameroon's economic decline. Over 75,000 people belong to this cooperative. It is a self-sustaining operation. (Author abstract)