SMALL FARMER TRAINING (ACPO)

EVALUATION COVERS THE PERIOD 1/78-1/79 AND IS BASED ON ACPO QUARTERLY REPORTS. TO DATE, EA"S PLANT LAYOUT HAS BEEN ARRANGED FOR MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY AND MOST OF THE PROJECT-FUNDED EQUIPMENT HAS ARRIVED. ONLY 20% OF THIS EQUIPMENT HAS BEEN INSTALLED, HOWEVER, SO IT HAS NOT YET HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO IMPACT ON THE PROJECT. NONETHELESS, EA"S PROFIT FOR 1977 WAS 21 MILLION PESOS AND IS PROJECTED AT 26 MILLION FOR 1978, BOTH FIGURES AS TARGETED. ASSISTANCE WAS PROVIDED TO EA IN MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION, PRINTING PLANNING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS, CURRICULUM, RADIO EDUCATION, AND PROJECT DEVELOPMENT. UNDER THE PROJECT, ACPO HAS BEGUN REFORMS WITHIN ITS PROGRAMS, DEVELOPED AN EVALUATION PLAN, AND MADE MANAGEMENT CHANGES. DESPITE LOSING GOVERNMENT FUNDING IN 1977, TARGETS FOR ACPO"S 1978 TRAINING PROGRAM WERE FREQUENTLY EXCEEDED. A TOTAL OF 1,047 CAMPESINO VOLUNTEERS, 130 LEADERS, AND 19 SUPERVISORS WERE TRAINED. IN ADDITION, 150,000 WERE ENROLLED IN RADIO SCHOOLS (WHICH ALSO USED 29,000 VOLUNTEERS), 336 ACPO EMPLOYEES RECEIVED IN-SERVICE TRAINING, AND 34,000 PARTICIPATED IN THE LETTER-WRITING PROGRAM. ON THE OTHER HAND, ONLY 150 OF 370 TARGETED LEADERS WERE ACTUALLY ASSIGNED (ACPO HAS NOT SET A DATE FOR ASSIGNING THE REST) AND PUBLICATIONS FELL SHORT, ALTHOUGH COURSE REVISIONS WERE GENERALLY ON TARGET. EVALUATORS BELIEVE THAT THE ACPO PROGRAM IS REPLICABLE IN OTHER COUNTRIES, BUT THAT THE DESIGN OF REGIONAL PROJECTS SUCH AS THE PRESENT ONE AND THE GRANT TO FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY TO EVALUATE ACPO -- BOTH PROJECTS CONCEIVED AND NEGOTIATED BY AID/W -- DO NOT ALWAYS RELATE TO THE PROJECT"S OBJECTIVES AND SHOULD THEREFORE BE COORDINATED WITH MISSION BILATERAL OBJECTIVES AND BE MANAGED BY THE MISSIONS (WHICH COULD BE DONE AT MUCH LOWER COSTS). EVALUATORS ALSO BELIEVE THAT FUTURE PROJECTS OF THIS KIND SHOULD GATHER BASELINE DATA REGARDING CAMPESINO INCOME.