SMALL FARMER ORGANIZATION

EVALUATION IS BASED ON A REVIEW OF THE PROJECT BY USAID DIRECTORS AND THE GOVERNMENT OF BOLIVIA (GOB) IMPLEMENTING AGENCY, THE NATIONAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SERVICE (NCDS). THE 4 IC"S HAVE BEEN CREATED AND HAVE BECOME EFFECTIVE CHANNELS OF SERVICE TO SMALL FARMERS. MEMBERSHIP IN THE 3 IC"S OPERATIVE DURING THE 78/79 CROP YEAR DOUBLED PROJECTIONS AND EACH SHOWED A FINANCIAL RETURN BETTER THAN EXPECTED. A TOTAL OF 5,273 OF BOLIVIA"S POOREST FARMERS HAVE RECEIVED LOANS AVERAGING $567 (ONE OF THE LOWEST AVERAGE LOAN SIZES IN BOLIVIA) TO IMPROVE PRODUCTION OF ANNUAL CROPS AND FOR THE PURCHASE OF FARM ANIMALS. IC"S HAVE IMPORTED LOW-COST FERTILIZER AND HAVE ENGAGED SUCCESSFULLY IN DAIRY ACTIVITIES WITH GOB AND LARGE FARMER ORGANIZATIONS TO THE BENEFIT OF SMALL FARMERS. IC"S HAVE NOT, HOWEVER, DEMONSTRATED LONG-TERM FINANCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL VIABILITY. THIS HAS BEEN DUE TO INADEQUATE MEMBERSHIP TRAINING, THE NEED FOR NEW LEADERSHIP PATTERNS IN RURAL AREAS (DUE TO THE NON-FUNCTIONING OF THE ASSOCIATED ZONAL GROUPS [AZG"S] AND THE IRRESPONSIBILITY OF SOME IC DIRECTORS), AND TO NCDS INABILITY TO SUPPORT THE PROJECT EFFECTIVELY. THE PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY SHOULD BE DESIGNED TO INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING: (1) TRANSFER OF IMPLEMENTATION RESPONSIBILITY FROM NCDS TO THE BOLIVIAN FEDERATION OF SAVINGS AND CREDIT COOPERATIVES (FENACRE); (2) TRANSFER OF MANAGEMENT OF SUB-LOAN FUNDS TO THE BOLIVIAN AGRICULTURAL BANK (BAB); (3) REDUCTION AND RESTRUCTURING OF THE ROBERT R. NATHAN ASSOC.TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TEAM IN LINE WITH (1) AND (2); (4) IMPLEMENTATION OF AN INTENSIVE MEMBERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM; AND (5) LIMITATION OF GOB"S ROLE IN COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT TO A SUPPORT FUNCTION. APPENDED IS A PROJECT PAPER (PP) REVISION (PD-AAA-065-B1) INCORPORATING THE ABOVE PROJECT CHANGES WHICH WAS SUBMITTED TO AID/W. REVISED PP TREATS THE TOPICS COVERED UNDER NUMBERS 15-23 OF THE STANDARD PES FORMAT.