Western Sudan agricultural research project : evaluation team midterm report

Special evaluation covers the period 8/79-11/82 and is based on document review, interviews with key personnel, and site visits. Good initial progress has been made; administrative, support, and communications system are or soon will be in place and personnel are enthusiastic about the project's systems approach. Research is slightly ahead of schedule. At Kadugli, where construction of major facilities is complete, scientists have conducted valuable early research on the local area and have developed, in close contact with farmers, a working knowledge of traditional farming practices. Research programs in range management and animal production, socioeconomics, and cropping systems and agronomy are planned for the 1983/84 or 1984/85 seasons. Research plans for the other three stations - where construction is considerably behind schedule due to factors mostly beyond the control of project architects and administrators - remain general. The major constraint to the project is a lack of experienced Sudanese staff at all levels; e.g., of the nine Sudanese scientists stationed at Kadugli, seven are scheduled to go abroad in 1983 for advanced degree training. Poor conditions in the area make it difficult to attract good scientists and technicians; an additional problem is the lack of adequate mechanisms and personnel to maintain equipment, vehicles, and facilities. Further, the evaluators stress that the project must be sustained beyond the planned 5-7 years in order to ensure its permanent effectiveness. Twenty-four recommendations are presented relating to: project integration into the ARC and coordination with Government of Sudan institutions; project management and support, stressing the needs to delegate routine responsibilies, develop relations to other programs and institutions, and improve communications and information dissemination activities; research approach, including developing research priorities and a plan to institutionalize the system's approach within the ARC; research programs, including developing practical and relevant research priorities; and administration, especially providing incentives to recruit project staff.