Project assistance completion report : agricultural planning project, project no. 497-0342

Thanks in part ot a highly qualified TA team, the project achieved a number of its objectives and, in the case of training, significantly exceeded targets. Whereas plans were to provide Master"s degree training for 30 individuals and short-term courses in planning and policy analysis for 375 MOA staff, actual outputs were 47 Master"s degrees, 8 Ph.D."s, and 1,633 short-term trainees. The target number of practica was also exceeded, with 24 completed in three provinces, compared with the planned 10 in two provinces. The practica, along with short-term training, resulted in better coordination of central and provincial planning units. The project also provided English- language training to 321 MOA central and provincial staff. Although the implementation of a centralized national agricultural data base was infeasible due to the overwhelming size of the information base, insufficient computer capacity, and inadequate demand, the provision of 73 microcomputers facilitated the development of decentralized data bases throughout the MOA. Since the planned reorganization of the MOA never occurred, the formal system for sharing information among MOA agencies was never developed. These offices did, however, benefit from project-supported seminars, special studies, and computerization. The special studies completed under the project resulted in numerous reports and recommendations on specific policy issues. For example, project-generated information was used by an inter- ministerial working group in devising a strategy for phasing out fertilizer subsidies and by the provincial House of Representatives in Central Java to draft a law on cropping patterns. Lessons learned include the following. (1) Host country cash and in-kind contributions should be utilized consistently. A.I.D. should develop mechanisms to improve monitoring of these contributions. (2) Members of working groups or project steering committees should not include individuals of high ministerial rank, since it is usually impossible to draw these individuals together regularly to provide effective direction.