Rwanda communal afforestation project (USAID 698-0424.001) : project assistance completion report

The SP is strongly supported by the President of Rwanda, and most targets - e.g., planting 400 ha of communal woodlot and up to 2,500 ha of private farmland, and establishing 37 nurseries - were met prior to the original PACD of 9/87. However, delays in the construction of a house for the forestry extension officer in Butaro forced 2 extensions of the PACD, while construction of a house in Nyamugali was canceled because an extension officer was never assigned to the commune. The SP accrued unexpected expenses for both nursery workers, who originally were to be self-financed through the commercialization of nurseries, and for casual laborers. Although the SP responded to the mid-term evaluation by reducing the use of casual labor and increasing UMUGANDA (commune self-help) efforts, the unexpected labor costs forced the elimination of short-term TA from the SP. The TA component was further reduced when the last of 3 Peace Corps volunteers assigned to the SP resigned in 10/86. Also in response to the mid-term evaluation, the SP established a training curriculum which emphasized on-the-job training of extension officers, who in turn instructed farmers in alley cropping, intercropping, and nursery techniques. SP evaluation was made difficult by the fact that the project lacked both a logframe and a technical management plan for self-sustainability. A proposed framework recommended in the mid-term evaluation was not adopted by USAID/R, and Mission reviews focused only on physical outputs and achievements. On the positive side, an unplanned reforestation demonstration plot with a small nursery, established near the project office in Cyeru, provided a center for local extension activities and permitted field trials of forestry and groundcover species of proven quality without the risk of on-farm failure.