Rural organizations and environmental conservation activity : ROCA/TechnoServe evaluation -- contract no. 519-C-00-99-00064-00 : final report

ROCA/TNS has made important contributions to improving targeted small farmers' income and standard of living by increasing access of their products to local markets, as well as by developing 2LOs' and 1LOs' entrepreneurial capacity. Farm management centers' (FMCs) services have attained partial sustainability and were valued by the majority of direct clientele interviewed. Partners' participation in FMCs staff selection process was essential. Some assumptions proved unrealistic, however, e.g., that 1LO and members will prefer to market their production through their own 2LO FMCs based on a strong sense of belonging, compromise, and loyalty. Also, the original number of target beneficiaries was excessive, mainly during the first year. The activity has made important contributions to environmental conservation. A total of 1,507 hectares are now covered by organic cropping, 362 hectares with integrated pest management, and 552 hectares with soil conservation practices. Training was a key activity, but massive diffusion of training products and achievements was not very successful. Also, early efforts to improve credit availability did not make progress, in part due to farmers' reluctance to use their land title as guarantee as required by financial institutions. One of the FMCs' most recognized services among the small farmers visited was product transportation from the farm to the market. The majority of ROCA/TNS technicians have been continuously involved in transport of products using FMC vehicles. Although this situation created small farmer dependency on activity vehicles and personnel and affected the activity's technical performance and operational costs, it facilitated farmers' access to markets. Institutional problems limited CENTA's capacity to offer TA to small farmers in a sustainable basis. As result, ROCA/TNS personnel increased their work load pursuing the use of alternative technology information sources to obtain appropriate recommendations for small producers, especially for high value horticulture crops. ROCA/TNS responded in 86 municipalities to the two earthquakes that affected El Salvador in 2001. Lessons learned are as follows: (1) Projects to increase small farmers based on a market demand approach should not limit existing income generating activities carried out by project implementation units. The challenge is to take advantage of existing market opportunities in order to increase net family income increase and raise the standard of living. (2) Changing the mindset of an organization from a traditional to a more business oriented approach and to mobilize small farmers' scarce resources from traditional crops and slash and burn agriculture to horticulture and other high value crops using environmental sound practices is usually a very slow process. Building up a critical mass of beneficiaries and significantly increasing their number will take a long time and dedication. (3) Special attention must be devoted to analyzing the conceptual framework that will support future USAID projects of this kind. Project design must deal not just with technical and commercial aspects, but also with the sociocultural background and institutional setting. (4) Flexibility and proactive behavior by project staff seem to be key to success in market demand oriented projects. (5) To increase FMC impact on small farmer welfare, it is necessary to share such experience with outside organizations and a broad range of audiences. (6) A mid-term evaluation should be considered in future projects, in order to introduce necessary changes at the right time. (7) Pilot testing new agricultural development approaches permits the assimilation of important lessons for future activities, reduces risk and uncertainty, and increases the chances of success while improving the use of scarce resources. (8) In a project mainly geared to increasing small farmer income, research must be more hands-on and less academic, with findings presented in a readable form for a wider audience. (9) Promotion and diffusion of project activities, achievements, financial support are essential.