Niamey department development (NDD II) : first interim evaluation

Interim special evaluation covers the period 1981-83 and is based on document review and interviews with project consultants and other personnel. Results have been mixed. In the Technical Service Delivery System component, 7 of the 10 targeted farmer couple training centers (CPT"s) have become operational to date and trainee selection criteria improved. Each CPT is operating at full capacity, graduating 20 farmer couples annually; 400 couples will have graduated by 1983. The technical package being delivered to farmer couples, however, is only marginally acceptable for use in the project area (animal traction should not be made a necessary part of the package), although additional technical staff are being recruited for the CPT"s and the Niamey Development Department (NDD) has made real progress in institutionalizing a teamwork approach to planning and delivering technical services. Although over 100 (versus a target of 50-60) village co-ops - a key project activity - have been organized, operations have remained limited; however, a strategy to move this component forward will be implemented in 1983. A major problem has been the absence of a sound program for financing farm inputs. Although a revolving credit fund was established and 247 medium-term loans made, no short-term credit - such credit was disallowed by the Government of Niger (GON) even prior to the project - has been offered and only 28% of loan payments have been repaid on time. Two consultants have made viable recommendations to improve the situation. A Monitoring and Evaluation Unit has yet to be made operational due to inadequate manpower, but staff additions are leading to steady progress in the women"s training component. General recommendations are that: the End of Project Status indicators be redefined in terms of institutionalizing a process rather than merely quantitative achievements; the GON and USAID/N determine post-project organizational arrangements; and that the project establish close linkages with the Agricultural Production Support Project. Included are three lengthy consultant reports and 52 specific recommendations.