Project assistance completion report : Northwest Frontier Area development (391-0485)

The project was implemented by the Government of NWFP's Planning and Development Department, the United Nations Drug Abuse Control Program, and the Ministry of Narcotics Control. The project was successful in eradicating poppy production in the targeted area, but not without great financial expense (heavily subsidized interventions) and the loss of 13 lives when the Government of Pakistan (GOP) began to destroy the poppy crop and was met with armed resistance from the local population. The project made only minimal progress in the first 3 years as the GOP wanted to wait for visible benefits (in terms of alternative income generation for farmers) before it committed to the project. After the GOP did commit to the project by enforcing the poppy ban, residents accepted the project, and the project areas have been relatively free of poppy production ever since. However, poppy has appeared in surrounding, less accessible areas, in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. To counter this trend, project activities were extended into Kala Dhaka in 1990. Prior to the project, Gadoon Amazai was a net food deficit area, with more than 80% of its dietary requirement met through imported grains (the price of which consumed most of the income from opium sales); now the food deficit has been reduced to 15%-20%. However, the overall value of agricultural production decreased from Rs 216.69 million in 1984-87 (prior to opium suppression) to Rs 166.57 million in 1992-93 (following suppression), a decrease which was partially offset by a 36% increase in the acreage under cultivation, and by the fact that less food imports are needed now. While the project achieved its goal of poppy eradication in targeted areas, there are concerns regarding sustainability now that development initiatives in Gadoon Amazai have ceased. Without forced crop eradication and removal of drug traffickers, poppy will continue to be grown. While it is promising that the GOP became motivated to enforce a poppy ban, many areas where poppy cropping has spread are beyond its enforcement capabilities. However, many project initiatives are likely sustainable, e.g., (1) extensive infrastructure construction, including 116 km of roads, 6 clinics, 142 schools (103 for boys, 39 for girls), 30 nonformal education centers for women, 513 surface irrigation schemes and 12 tubewells, electrification of 52 villages, and development of the Gadoon Industrial Estate; (2) an increase in female literacy; (3) a cadre of village social organizers trained under the project and employed in agencies/NGOs; and (4) establishment of a drug abuse prevention resource center. The following lessons were learned. (1) The combination of development, enforcement, and demand reduction interventions was critical to project success. (2) NGOs require as long as 4 years to mature and become sustainable. (3) The standard practice of integrating advisors and GOP counterpart staff creates rather than prevents bottlenecks. (4) Local professionals may be more effective than long-term expatriate advisors in projects of this kind. (5) The GOP's lengthy process of transferring funds to the implementing agencies impeded implementation, especially at the outset. (6) The Project Coordination Units were successful and should be replicated. (7) The shift from a soft (subsidy-based) approach to a hard (disciplined development) approach in Gadoon, originally perceived as a "mission impossible," was successful and can be replicated. (8) Audits and reviews of host government implementing agencies should be conducted at least annually during a project. (9) Identification of Key Performance Indicators is crucial to monitoring. (10) Host government line agencies and target communities should participate in project design. (11) Once broad guidelines are agreed on, day-to-day implementation decisions should be made in the field.