NIGER MARSHLANDS SURVEY PROJECT

EVALUATION COVERS THE PERIOD 8/76 - 10/79 AND CONSISTS OF A SUMMARY OF AN ACCOMPANYING SPECIAL EVALUATION COMPLEDED PROJECT SURVEYS WERE OF DUBIOUS TECHNICAL QUALITY AND THEREFORE HAVE YET TO BE FUNDED AS PROJECTS. TECHNICALLY USABLE STUDIES HAVE ONLY BEEN UNDERTAKEN RECENTLY. THE AUTHORS NOTE THAT SURVEYS OF THIS KIND HAVE NO IMMEDIATE AUDIENCE, ALTHOUGH SERERAL WILL PROBABLY BE FINANCED THROUGH NIGER"S RURAL INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT PROJECT. THE MAJOR PROBLEMS NOTED AT THE INPUT LEVEL WERE THAT: (1) THE WORK EXPECTED OF THE PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED A LEVEL OF TECHNICAL SKILL THAT THEY OFTEN LACKED; (2) THE SUPERVISION AND COLLABORATION EXPECTED FROM THE HOST COUNTRY IMPLEMENTING AGENT, NIGER"S RURAL ENGINEERING SERVICE (RES) WERE INADEQUATE; (3) THE TECHNICAL SURVEYING EQUIPMENT PROVIDED FOR THE PROJECT DID NOT PERFORM WELL. AT THE SUBGOAL LEVEL THE MATERIAL INVENTORY OF THE SUBDIVISIONS OF THE RES WAS INCREASED, BUT NOT ITS INSTITUTIONAL CAPABILITY AS TARGETED. SOME SUBGOAL ACHIEVEMENTS WILL BE POSSIBLE, HOWEVER, WITH THE ASSIGNMENT OF QUALIFIED VOLUNTEERS. SEVERAL LESSONS WERE LEARNED IN THIS PROJECT. THE PROJECT DESIGN WAS TOO OPTIMISTIC IN TERMS OF WHAT COULD BE ACCOMPLISHED AND PLANNERS MUST BE MORE AWARE OF THE LIMITED HUMAN RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO SUPPORT SUCH PROJECTS. ALSO THE DIFFERING OBJECTIVES BETWEEN USAID AND THE PEACE CORPS, CAUSED CONFUSION AND INADEQUATE PERFORMANCE. IMPLEMENTATION OF SMALL, SHORT TERM PROJECTS WAS ENCUMBERED BY TYING ASSISTANCE TO USAID PROCUREMENT. THE FOLLOWING THREE AREAS NEED FURTHER ATTENTION: (1) THE PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER"S MID-TERM CONFERENCE SHOULD BE ATTENDED TO EVALUATE THE QUALITY OF WORK CURRENTLY BEING DONE BY VOLUNTEERS AND TO ASSIST PLANNING; (2) A METHOD FOR PROVIDING OPERATIONAL EXPENSES ACCOUNTS FOR VOLUNTEERS MUST BE DETERMINED TO REDUCE FINANCIAL PROBLEMS; (3) DECIDE WITH THE GENIE RURAL AND THE MINISTRY OF PLAN THE LEVEL OF FUNDING NEED AND FUNDING SOURCES, POSSIBLY USING PL480 FUNDS.