9p ~'y:v -,/o,pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/pdbav402.pdf · 9p ~'y:v-,/o, april. -30,, 1985 ....
TRANSCRIPT
~YV9p -O
APril -30 1985
NOTICE OF MEETING
TO See Distribution
FROM AFRPD Norman Chk
MEETINGi Chad - PVO Development Initiatives - PP Issues and ECPR
ISSUES ECPR DATE May 7 1985 DATE May 10 1985 TIME 1000 am TIME 200 pm PLACE Room 1406 NS PLACE Room 6941 NS
Except for Project Committe Members copies of annexes have not been distributed to all addressees If you want copies of annexes please call Mildred E Brown 632-7886 Please submit your written comment to M Brown (Room 2733-A NS) by cob May 6 1985
Attachment Project Paper
DISTRIBUTION
AAAFRMLEdelman 6935 NS PPCPBHHandler 3758 NS DAAAFRARLove 6936 NS PPCPDPRSPRSheppard (5) 3894 NS DAAAFRCWAJPJohnson 6944 NS PRESDBOBRDColbert-Blake 661 SA-14 AFRPDNCohen (3) 2497 NS SampTPOGEaton (4) 308C SA-18 AFRPDPSTGLee 2485 NS MSERCOMALIPJHagan 645 SA-14 GCAFRTBork 6891 NS MSERCMRODSDean 731 SA-14 AFRDPHJohnson (3) 3913 NS BIFADSJOweis 935 1717 H ST AAAAFRPREHIMunson 6671 NS Geographic Desk or RA (2) STATE R Sorenson 4250 NS AFRTRKSherper (3) 2497 NS AFRTRDivisions (6) 2485 NS
Project Committee Members AFRPDSWAP MEBrown AFRSWA YJohn AFRDP HMerrill AFRTR WFlynn GCAFR BBryant AAAAFRPRE H Munson
One copy of Annex included
AGEMCV FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPt ENY 1 TRANSACTION CODE DOCUMEN =A = Add AmndmmtNumber CODE
PROJECT DATA SHEET A MW-D = Delete 3 Z OUMNTRY[ENrTY 3 PROJECT NUMBER
CHAD [I-77-0051 ___
L BURAFkU1OYFICE 5PROJECT TITE (rnaxime40 cAhwtfen)
USAIDCHAD 67Z VPVO DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES
6 PROJECTr ASSISTANCE COMPLETION DATE (PACD) 7 ESTIMATED DArE OF OBUI GATION (rUder WEb elo w cmt er I Z 3a 4)
MM DD YY
8 ___COSTS000 OR EQUIVALENT $1 =
A- FUND NG SURCE FIRST FY LIFE OF PROJECT B_FX CLC D Total L FX - FLW GTotal
AID Appyoprie-d(Totalt) (3775- 3_shy(1Z25 (-[7 225 (Loan) ( ) ( ( ( _ ( )
e I PV S (estirmat ) 3000 3000 US 2
cth-r Dom( Is))
TOTALS 3725 J 725 15725 15725 9 SCHEDULE OF AMD FUN DINGIO0q)B C ppIV RY -E AMVOUNT APF RO VEDFLFOFROEq
APPOJPPJMARYp TrEC- CODE D OBLIGATIONS TO DATE F LIFE OF PROJECT PRDA iION LURPOSE r THIS AC7FION
CODE IGran 1an 2 Loan 2 Loan 2 Loan-Z 1 Gran I Grant I Grant
BI 13 010 _ _
OTALS _ 12725 112725 L _ PIarnNiu L (rirximum 6 codes of sposigiw each) i rs vNO )A f ruKrCSE CODE
022 J 120 940 440_I 213 14 SECIA- G0NCF RNS CODES (ynaxirun 7 codes of4 pojiiow cach)
ACode BS _ PVOU TECH [ 11Arrunt -T272TU0 9 0
13 PR)JET PURPOSE (airnum480 cvracturs)
in the Saheliarn zone to assist small-farmer food production and supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional develshyopment effects
14 SCHEDULED EVALUATIONS 15 SOURCEORIGIN OF GOODR AND SERVICES [Ii MM YY-
Tnttrim 1 1y 1 MM FinalW Q y I o ] 941 Locj (y] other(speci) 9 35 rY
ilLj 16 AM4FNrJMENrS[NATUREOF CHANGE PROPOSED (Thsu page) of a pcgePP Ame7dnenL)
various for individual subprojects
Ha r C us Cor oler Date US IDChad
~AI ILDAfE [KOCUMENT RECEIVED 17 APROVE~ -Jhn hWr Hcd IN AIDW OR FOR AIDW DOCUP
17 BPFOVED o hn B 4 - | MENTS DATE OF DISTRIBUTION BY Airle to Chad 7kE YY DD ereetaie f DD MM Y
aAJ_AD104(3-79)
CONTENTS
PAGE FACESHEET ACTION MEMORANDUM AUTHORIZATION APPROVALS CONTENTS MAP EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
I PROJECT RATIONALE AND DESCRIPTION A SETTING 1
1 Structural Change and-Impoverishment 1 2 Relief and Rehabilitation 4 3 Approaches to Development 6
B STRATEGY 8 1 AID Policy 8
2 Definition of the Project ii 3 Role and Use of PVOs 13
C ELEMENTS 16 1 Subprojects 16
2 Procedures 18
3 Results 18
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS 19
A BUDGET 19
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS 20
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE 21
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN 2222 A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW o 22 B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS 24
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID 26
IV MONITORING AND EVALUATION PLAN 27 A SUBPROJECT MONITORING 27
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS 27
C PROJECT EVALUATION 27
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES o28
A TECHNICAL 28 1 Agronomy o 28
2 Irrigation and Water Management 30 3 Private Sector 31
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC 33
1 Economic Rationale of the Project 33 2 Target Populations 36
3 Feasibility of Subprojects 37
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT- 39
ANNEXES A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK B PID APPROVAL CABLE AND IEE THRESHOLD DECISION C STATUTORY CHECKLIST AND SEC 121 (d) CERTIFICATION D LETTER OF REQUEST E ANALYSES
C H A D
0 100Scale200 300km
~~ bull
22 2
I N _
2
THAN EAa LACAi Abeche
ongoorneno
BA UI Am i
bull LUERA IV
00-ASALKAT]
i L OYNC LOCONE7i Mourou ah U Saharian zone
FCONE0- Sahelian-7- zone OCCIDENTAL Soudanian zone
Ni ER 00 ~ixjXKNational boundaries A E 00[CNE ORIENTALI Boundaries ofN OPrefectures
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Grantee The Government of Chad
Implementing Agencies American Private and Voluntary Organizations (PVOs) resident in Chad
Financial Plan Grant from Sahel Development Program funds of $12725 million to be obligated FY 1985-87 (FY 85 obligation $3725 million) PACD 93089 Approximate PVO contribution of $30 million no host country contribution estimated at this time
Purpose In the Sahelian zone to assist small-farmer food production and supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Background Chad has been wracked by recurrent war and drought for the past 15 years and is now a major recipient of disaster assistance and the worlds poorest country Increasing food production is its major need but the time is not right for long-term agricultural projects Nor is the Government (GOC) capable of out-reach to farmers in sufficient degree especially in the most impoverished area the Sahelian zone AID in the past two yearr has had very positive expel uilue wi Lh Anmerican PVOs in its relief and rehabilitation and refugee resettlement activities They have proved efficient vehicles for development assistance in the most difficult of circumstances and their rural rehabilitation and private sector interventions give promise for intensified food production interventions that are small-scale and from which essential lessons can be learned for application in later more profound development efforts
Description The Project will support four to five subprojects designed implemented and monitored by American PVOs having a major presence in Chad Settled populations will be assisted to achieve food self-sufficiency and small entrepreneurs will be assisted to start food production-related businesses The former will exploit potential for small-scale irrigation and receive PVO-organized technical assistance inputs nd food-for-work for construction as appropriate The latter will receive technical assistance and loan capital out of a revolving fund The PVO umbrella structure of the project will minimize the management burden of AID and the GOC The results will be not only increased food availaibility to populations on the verge at present of starvation but also techniques and approaches (including organizational) will have been tested which will inform
future larger-scaled agricultural development projects as and if conditions in Chad become favorable for them
Findings Detailed technical economic social environmental and financial analyses will be required in the PVO proposals which generate subprojects General analyses of conditions in the Sahelian zone indicate considerable water exploitation potential for food production availability of low-cost technologies sufficient PVO management expertise and suitable susceptible and organizable beneficiaries
Small Disadvantagd and Woman-owned Firms PVOs are not that however at least one minority PVO will be a major participant and all PVOs will be encouraged to avail themselves of technical advisory services from Historically Black American Universities and Colleges
Waivers A blanket vehicle waiver for procurement from Code 935 sources is attached as is a Delegation of Authority from AAAFR to the Chad Aid Representative to limit invitation for PVO application to a single source in thn case of each subproject which is deemed unique or mcst appropriate to undertake the effort (HBl3JB2e(3))
Major Conditions Precedent and Covenants None
Project Team Members James Osbcrn PDO Diana McLain agronomist Dan Jenkins engineer Douglas Barnett economist Lucien Strevinou PRE advisor Alex Newton RLA -- all of REDSOWCA
2
I PROJECT RATIONALE AND DESCRIPTION
A SETTING
Chad was one of the poorest countries in Africa before recurring drought and war in the 1970s and 1980s now it is perhaps the most wrecked Severe dislocations destruction and destitution in the northern two-thirds of the country and political instability coupled with drought in the usually lusher south face a government with pitifully few resources Humanitarian and political impulses have brought forth multilateral and western bilateral assistance and a major effort by private voluntary organizations -shydirected both to relief and limited rehabilitation on the one hand and stabilization and nuturing of national systems on the other
Even a ten to twenty year perspective on the develepment (or redevelopment) of Chad cannot be surelyoptimistic But the United States and other donors have a measured commitment to reestablishing Chads economic viability and giving impetus to growth There is some potential amidst the waste and tragedy A developmentproject must be adroit to seize and build upon it as part of a long-term effort in a harsh and uncertain environment
1 Structural Chanqe and Impoverishment
Chad shares the major physical and historical characteristics of large Sahelian countries stratification from north to south French colonial heritage Saharan impingement primitive subsistence agriculture and husbandry supporting the bulk of the population and periodic tenuous legitimacy of government Before the twin blows of war and droughthowever Chad had as reasonable an expectation of gradual growth and development as any country in the region By the end of the 1960s a small but articulated system of government trade financing and management entities was prepared on the post-colonial French model and with French assistance to exploit the export agricultural potential of the south -- in turn to finance modest evolution of public services and improvedsubsistence agriculture and husbandry throughout Chad
In the years 1965 througY 1971 as Chads population grew from approximately 332 to 372 million food (cereal grain) production increased from 460000 to 690000 metric tons per year exceeding basic self-sufficiency (150 kgperson) by 24 percent in 1971 Cotton production increased in the period 1964-65 to 1968-69 from 99106 metric tons per year to 148819
--
with a productivity increase of 46 percent The cattle and goat population in the same period increased byabout 36 percent At this point the stage was set for conventional development policy action Domestic income and foreign aid and investment supported comparativelysophisticated development of cotton production and trade and the commencement of land transport importsubstitution agricultural infrastructural and publicservices projects
Then civil strife and droughts cyclically from 1971 through the present turned Chad from a relativelyunderdeveloped counLry with hope into a disaster Willful organized violence ran sporadically through1979 peaking for the moment with the military coupdetat in 1975 and escallating again in 1980-82 when the then President Goukouni Oueddei (with Libyansupport) vied with Defense Minister Hissein Habre for control Habre established the current government in June 1982 and reestablished a modicum of governmentalservice Goukouni and Libyan forces have since fought a war of position and nerves with the Government of Chad From 1983 conflict has stabilized into skirmishes across a line in north-central Chad From varyingdegrees of trouble in the south has emerged recently a stronger government position
This debilitating violence and instability over 20 years gradually ruined the governments ability to attract inpst-mont to man~neand dtvplopmentsystematically institutions allof sorts crumbledtrained professionals de-camped or-erly assistance became impossible In 1983 Chad in interndtional development terms practically rasawas a tabula But on the picture of man-made destruction Was also superimposed in 1970s sincethe and maligndrought-induced structural change as bad or wocrse than anywhere in the region This encompasses failed harvests debilitated herds dramatically lowered river and lake levels migration of the worst hit subsistence agriculturalists and pastoralists radical change in traditional practices culturaland relations an unprecedented risk of mass starvation and human damage
with all beyond the abilities of the government and private sector to cope
More specifically the drought has hit hardest the center or Sahelian zone of Chad where about two million of the approximately 44 million Chadians now reside and the government and many extant modern sectors are centered in NDjamena For a zone whose traditional rainfall should range from 350 mmyear in the extreme north to more than 900 mmyear in the south the averageof seven station- reporting from 1966 through 1970 was
2
784 mmyear This declined to 597 in 1971-73 rose to 755 in 1975-76 fell to 567 in 1977-78 rose to 840 in 1980-81 and bottomed at 536 mmyear average in1982-84 Cereal production in the zone declined from 279257 metric tons in 1976 to 169419 in 1983
Data for 1984 indicate a worse drought than ever For example around NDjamena the August rainfall average for the past 25 years has been 201 mm in 1983it was 1389 mm in 1984 476 mn In the region north of NDjamena to the lake there was no production in the past winter seasc)n pastures were dry and cattle dyingby September and pumping to irrigated perimeters from the river was impossible in some areas The 1984 harvest in the Sahelian zone was weak to nul and significantly curtailed thein southern Sudanian and Sudanian-Guinan climatic zones Small market-gardenplots around NDjamena producing muchas as 2000metric tons of vegetables on 300 ha in 1979 were down to 64 ha in 198384 producing no more than 100 MT There was a total failure of the rice crop in 1984
The food deficit in 198384 averaged 45 percentfor the Sahelian zone as a whole with a maximum of 78 percent in the eastern prefecture of Biltine-Ouaddai (centered on Abeche) 71 percent in Kanem north of thelake and 58 percent in Chari-Baguirmi which contains NDjamena The four southern prefectures generallyreferred to as Sudanian recorded an average 20 percent deficit
Drought is a greater contributor even than towar present human distress in Chad Head counts (and these are conservative estimates by resident relief agenciesassrembled by USAIDNDjamena) indicate magnitudethe as of April 19 1985 Chadian displaced (and destitute) persons numLered at 167658 and the1past this was stricken 2ure of an estimated 640000 peons at risk The prefectures of greatest burden were Guera in the center (34600 displaced persons) Ouaddai in the east (31250) Batha (28000) and Chari-Baguirmi around NDjamena (22600)
Thus multiple misfortunes converging on Chads people make for the following best-case composite a country of Tbout 443 million whose population growthrate generally has been about 22 percent infant mortality about 1501000 and life expectancy 40 yearsSurveys find Aficas worst levels of malnutrition here Ernploiment is 85 percent in agriculture and 41 percent of the population is 15 years old or youngerChads GNP per capita in 1984 was estimated to be $80reflecting a recent growth rate of -28 percent
3
North-south stratification finds two million
primitive farmers and pastoralists in the severe drought
zone of the Sahel at present unable by far to produce enough grain to eat -- although in the past for the most part they did The slightly more populous south has not
had severe drought until this year conditions more
generally benign to agricultu-e and a diligent cotton
production effort backed by what services the government has ever been able to provide (eg extension) There
is decline but survival given rain
The capital NDjamena has about 400000 people
who apart from some participants in the southern sugar
beer and cotton production industries represent Chads
modern sector A large exodus of the highly skilled
comprehensive destruction of physical plant and the
collapse of the banking sector mean the little reviving commerce and industry are small in scale and largely
informal in character although economic chaos is
forestalled by Chadian discipline and Chads position in
the CFA zone
The national government is not collapsing on the
contrary it is functioning seriously and remarkably
honestly However it is almost insolvent On revenues
in 1984 of 1122 billion CFA (ca $24 million) the
government carried expenditures of CFA 16503 billion
Its deficit is currently oscillating around $10 million
pet year largely find by France The budgetary crunch is expected to be most severe from September 1985
through March 1987 including earmarked revenues
(untabulated above) and assuming deficits are financed
somehow the governments total outlays for the present
will be around $35 million a year
For a country of four million people this is
considered to be about the irreducible minimum necessary
to maintain a modicum cf governmental presence and
functions And that modicum is operated by a sparse
civil service mostly at half salary The National
Office of Rural Development (ONDR which is responsible
nationally for agricultural extension organization of
productive inputs improving -gricultural technologies
and collection of agricultural statistics) to take one
example had 1406 employees in 1978 and 1571 in 1983
However in that period staff for general direction and
for work in the Sahel fell by 16 and 38 percent
respectively -- to 45 central managers and 219 civil servants serving all of the Sahelian zone
2 Relief and Rehabilitation
The international community has recognized Chads
crisis and responded This will continue for some time
to concentrate on food donations and emergency health
4
care rehabilitation of some productive capacity in the Sahelian zone and subventions to the central government to support and rehabilitate basic functions combined with support for agricultural production largelycotton in the south These efforts which are considerable given the hostility of Chads environment are setting parameters and conditions for Chads future development
Emergency food and medical assistance provided bymultilateral and bilateral agencies and privateorganizations treat the severest cases of deprivation in Chad In 1985 a food deficit of 300000 MT is possibleshould the south again be severely hit by drought a displaced population of as many as 240000 and an at risk population of up to one million are probableForeign-operated food distribution systems within Chad are attempting to deliver supplies at the rate of about 15000 MT per month to rural distribution points A thin but wide-spread emergency medical service is financed by donors and operated by a PVO (PrivateVoluntary Organization)
Beyond stemmuing tragedy the effects of such efforts should have important consequences Firstmigrants away from famine and civil strife can be organized into settled agriculture (if and where there is potential) being displaced from traditik 1 contexts in theory they can be more amenable adopting improved production practices Second there is a demonstration and training effect involving largenumbers of Chadian workers local organizations and the few available government officials which despiteeverything could energize future institutional development at several levels Third physicalinfrastructure to support emergency operations is in limited degrees of necessity being put in placevehicle fleets communications a bridge to Cameroon etc
At the same time considerable donor assistancebuilding since the 1982 Geneva Conference has been planned and some delivered for basic reconstruction and rehabilitation Of $250 totalthe million aid requested then perhaps two-thirds is in the pipelineThis not only supports public administration capitalinfrastructure rehabilitation and revitalization of cotton exports but also small-holder agriculturalproduction in a few accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- a certain amount of it managed by PVOs From experience with the last it is possible to see a small basis and certain opportunities for longer-term development of traditional agriculture
5
In particular water is available for small-scale farming in the Lake Chad alluvial basin with modestapplication of andlabor capital along riverperimeters in wadis with catchment from shallow wellsand recessionally via poldering Technicalorganizational snags however
and are not fully worked
out Reliable seed of course is essential andimproved varieties when obtainable are successfullyadopted Village organizations can cooperatively applylabor accumulate inputs and market excess produce withorganizational assistance Likewise a vigorous smallbusiness community willing take canto risks benurtured and find profitable opportunities in rural development (See V and Annex E below)
Eighteen or more small projects concerningirrigated and rainfed agriculture in the Sahelian zone are underway or planned For the next several yearsthey will demonstrate the feasibilities of particularcropcultivation practice combinations inputpracticalities small business roles in food productionand the potentials of areas from Kanem in the north to Bongor in the south to Abeche in the east
3 AppK(oaches to Developmen t
That is a small beginning to a large task for theindefinite future putting Chad back on the track toself-reliance and growth The necessity for a primaryconcentration on agriculture is evident as is the needfor more assistance The most recent comprehensivestudy on the subject (Club du SahelCILSSCONACILSSBilan Pro9ramme des Productions Veqetaies PluvialsetIrri du Tchad Sector Analysis Rainfed andIrrigated Crop Production in Chad December 1984) citesthe following first order constraints on agriculturaldevelopment in addition generally to drought and inadequate foreign aid
-- insufficient availability of seed
insufficient attention (policyinvestment) to irrigation properly scaled and
absence of significant intervention onproducer prices and marketing of agricultural products and on the costs of production inputs
The study also notes the general absence of adaptive andsub-regional research rural credit and extensionsophisticated inputs and planning
6
The prescription of CILSS to which it is difficult to take exception intellectually or in principle conwprises orientations building for the longer term and more or less iniaediate actions These are the basis for a national development strategy And until further study (eg on costs) and experience (egwith adoption of technologies) or a radical change in conditions indicate otherwise they will probablyreceive general assent The eight orientations are undifferentiated and unordered but offer opportunities for all They are
-- give priority to food self-sufficiency
-- operationalize irrigation potential not least small scale
-- protect and develop cotton production through intensification
revitalize rural development in the Sahelian zone through regional planning
define and operate a producer price and marketing policy which stimulates increased production
-- promote small-farmer initiative and responsibility through training cooperativization etc
-- adequately support rural development institutions for programming research crop protection extension etc and
-- acquire massive concerted properly adapted foreign aid applying better donor-Chadian cocrdination
Immediate actions called for are
an appeal for food aid in 198485 an important part in the forms of food-for-work and that generating sales proceeds
-- an appeal for building up a cereal seed stock for 198485
-- intensification of irrigation investments via food-for-work and by launching already proposed schemes
-- provisional suspension of transfer to small farmers of the real costs of production inputs
7
--
-- significant assistance to theInterministerial Bureau for Studies andProgramming (BEP) under the Minister of State for Agricultural and Rural Development and
-- intervention by the Nationai CerealsOffice in the consumer price systemthrough the use of donated food
In other words Chadian agriculture needseverything and much of this at once However there aredefinite practical steps to take that are developmentaland not shotgun crisis-reactive The proolems whichwill confront donors and the Government of Chad areassessment of risk husbanding of scarce resourceschoice of targets and timing Whereas policy dialogueand formulation Cor example should be fruitful civenChads disarray and are inexpensive larqe-scaleirrigation schemes massiveor provision of proaoictiveinputs and rural services are not necessarily eithe atpresent The challenge of Chad is not simple
B STRATEGY 1 AID Polic
The United States has several interests in Chadserved by its foreign assistance program Theseinterlock and are pursued through multilateralcoordination The humanitarian concern and efforts torelieve immediate mass suffering todue famine areessential But they would be insufficient -shypotentially futile if systemic improvements were notassisted eventually which should prevent the recurrenceof disaster even if drought pevails Such developmentcannot proceed however in an insecure polity subjecthaphazardly to turmoil and governmental paralysisespecially that induced by a capricious enemy neighbor
rherefore American policy action has focused since1982 on the recstablishment of a stable and vigorousgovernment which deals with Chads imradiate problemseffectively establishing credibility wkth the Chadianpeople and good relations with its neighbors AID hasprovided some of the means food medicines transportbudget support finance for small-scale physicalrehabilitation and the services of PVOs for outreachAmerican food assistance approved from Junethrough April 1985 to
1982 sum 139680 MT of grain andvegoil at a cost of $6948 million including transportand management Of that 7500 MT riceof and sorghumhave been granted to Chad the sales proceeds of which
will be devoted to emergency rehabilitation
8
Non-food assistance to be obligated through FY1985 and serve the above purpose in a quick-disbursingfashion will total $1935 million That is devoted largely with considerable success to agriculturalrestoration (35 percent) health restoration (21percent) and budget support (16 percent) with lesser amounts for basic assistance in human resources privateenterprise administrative management and road repair
At the same time after almost three yearsexperience the Government of Chad (GOC) the donor community at andlarge AID have concluded that efforts can and should be made to plan and commence investment programs that attack Chads root problems As indicated in the above discussions reliable food supply is Chads paramount need And for the foreseeable future this need can be served only by local production or food aid purchase of food out of export earnings is not in the cards Development of food production capacity is an immediate and long-term necessity and the sine qua non of all else developmental
Although Chad is an extreme case this fact is congruent with broader observations that have informed current AID policy For Africa this makes agriculturethe central focus and AIDs goal to assist African governments reverse the declining per capita food production trend increaseand overall agriculturalproduction and productivity increase farm incomes and improve nutritional status particularly of the small holder (Strategic Plan Executive Summary 62883p 12) Sahel development strategy (Review STATE 287422 July 14 1984) cites the need for realistic goals over a 10-20 year time frame based on food availability rather foodthan production as the central objective of AID assistance in the Sahel And the first emphasis is on food security however attained Secondarily sustainable food production to reduce dependence on emergency relief should be an objective
AIDs Chad policy is therefore to devote the largest part of its development assistance over the next decade at least to food production Economic SupportFund resources will support in a new project the development of a road maintenance capacity and there may be further need for budget support from the same source Limited interventions in health care human resources and management development from bilateral and regional development assistance projects will be adjuncts The isquestion how to proceed in promotingsustained increasing food production and consumption
9
--
Three factors affect AIDs strategy First thechoice and sequence of interventions in the specificcontext of Chad must create -early pay-offs that buildand accelerate there is no time to waste and eventualcommitments to long-term massive structural orinstitutional developments must have solid grounding -shyin national stability proved approaches and Chadiancommitment Second AIDs development assistanceresources both financial and managerial will continueto be severely constrained Projected levels areobligations of $50 million per year through FY 1990out of a total economic assistance program of $15million annually Eight direct-hire staff will manageall AID activity country-wide Third the alreadyvariegated program of the international donor (includingPVO) community in Chad is expected to grow in volume andcomplexity as stability and responsiveness of Chadincrease
AIDs food production strategy in Chad as seen atthis point then envisages a program of overlappingphases slotted into the overall donor effort and makingthe most economical use of AIDs scarce resources asfollows
-- while current agricultural rehabilitation activities are continuing (through 1986)their technical and organizational lessonswill be absorbed and then operationalizedin
four to five new initiatives supported bythis project from 1985 to 1990 which support small-holder food productiondevelopment and contributing privatebusiness development These will testtechnical (especially water application)and organizational approaches and measuretheir benefits in the Sahelian zone wherethe food problem is theyAnd will beconceived in detail and carried out byPVOs whose expertise and economy ofoperation in this realm are r-nowned
-- as the PVO Development Initiatives Projectwill be fully obligated by FY 1987 thethird overlapping phase will be planned to commence in 1988 It will draw from theexperience of phase two and of otherdonors in similar efforts and insupporting systematic developmentslarger scales (irrigation
at systems seedprovision extension research and
planning price policy export croppromotion for example) Long-term major
10
interventions by AID at that point will probably be in order It is too soon to tell of what type but adaptive (farmingsystems) researchextension is a reasonable possiblity
2 Definition of the Project
Therefore the goal of the Project is to increaseChads production of food and its availability to thedeprived and lay groundwork for more profoundagricultural development Its purpose is in theSahelian zone to assist small farmer production andsupportive private sector activities havingdemonstration and institutional development (primarilylocal cooperation) effects The objective is toaccomplish this broadly and quickly enough to (a) make asignificant contribution to the welfare of Chadianshitherto subject to famine and the recipients of foodaid including settled displaced persons and (b)demonstrate approaches to developing small farmer andprivate sector food production systems which successorlonger-term projects can adopt or otherwise support
The magnitude and duration of the Project havebeen determined on the basis of three considerations availability of funds current and developableabsorptive capacity in Chad and the sequence ofagricultural development isAID following here Asindicated above the level of development assistance of$50 million or less per year in the next four years inthe AID bilateral programs obligations on the one handand the assignment of mission direct-hire staff on theother limit the program practically to newone startat present But the condition of Chads infrastructuregovernmental systems and societal fabric does not permitan immediate large-scale or long-term commitment inagriculture They also limit the organizational meansby which assistance to agriculture in Chad can be delivered and monitored
From this follows a deliberate focus andlimitation of the Project to the essential and to targets and means where current experience and analysesindicate feasibility as well as potential forfarther-future interventions That is new foodproduction employing water application small groundworks and self-help and loan finance for smallagricultural businesses -- in accessible areas of theSahelian zone (north and south of NDjamena and around Abeche) -- with a spread of small-scale efforts andtargets clustered in four (or possibly five)subprojects Certain activities may employ AIDfood-for-work or food sales proceeds to supplementproject finance that will support technical assistanceand management tools and other inputs and a loan fund
11
for entrepreneurs And GOC contribution of staff andfacilities will be encouraged in individual subprojects
Strategy dictates that these efforts begin as soonas possible and produce tangible results within three tofour years AIDs experience with relief andrehabilitation activities indicates that such work canbe organized and implemented in Chad at an expenditurerate of about $30 million per year It also indicatesindeed presupposes that American PVOs already operatingeffectively in Chad should be the primary vehicle fordesign operation and monitoring Neither AIDChad northe GOC has the capacity to work on a day-to-day basisat this level -- with outreach to farmers acquisitionand delivery of a variety of inputs and detailedspecification and follow-up PVOs do (See B3 below)
The Project will combine the requisites ofquick-startup and disbursement breadth of effectaccommodation of several effective PVOs andconcentration on a particular target population in aunitary framework via a special type of PVO umbrellaproject This follows agency guidance mandating greatercooperation with registered PVOs in AID programs andsimplification of procedures But for Chad it is notand cannot be a peripheral adjunct to a large matureassistance program the Project will be central to thecurrent effort making a new start on Chads agriculturaldevelopment By design and intent it should become thestepping stone to a mature agricultural program andproject portfolio
Thus one project will be authorized havingtranched obligations over three years underagreement with the GOC an
Guidance on the development andimplementation of subprojects by PVOs contained in thisproject paper (PP) will lead interested PVOs initiallyCARE AFRICARE and VITA to design and proposeinitiatives to serve the projects goal and purpose inthe prescribed manner Cooperative Agreements betweenAID and the PVOs will set the work afoot mutatismutandis The customary andindependent imaginationinitiative of PVOs are necessary ingredients in thisendeavor And recent experience lends confidence thatPVO integrity and the requisites of andAID thisparticular project will be compatible and mutuallysupportive The Project then will be evaluated as awhole by AID and its subprojects monitored andevaluated cooperatively by the PVOs and AID in asequence that provides timely indicators to the futuredevelopment of AIDs program in Chad
12
3 The Role and Use of PVOs
PVO umbrella or co-financing projects are relatively new in Africa though now conventional in Asia whereas AID assistance in Africa has a fairlywide though checkered history of support for individual PVO activities Two more or less pure umbrella projects in Africa are in Zaire and Kenya (and a second in the latter currently being developed) In these countries as in the Philippines and Indonesia the PVO co-financing endeavor is one AID project in a large and variegated portfolio where tapping the resources and vitality of PVOs (American and indigenous) is basically a valuable but peripheral outreach of the core AID program
As indicated above the project proposed here is different It is intended to be the centerpiece of AIDs agricultural development assistance for the next three years Its merits must be judged then (a)against those of alternative formulations of developmentassistance with which there is experience and (b) in terms of the efficacy in Chad of the kinds of subprojects it will support On matter (a) it can be said from current Chadian experience that rural-based production investments by AID cannot be inade more efficiently by any other means And the like ihood of economic payoff in Chad of larger-scaled longergestating more fundamental systemic agriculturaldevelopment projects of the typical AID type is highlyproblematical at this time In other wordsconventional AID experience in the Sahel does not givepromise in the present Chadian context In terms of implementation pay-off and foundation-laying the AID-PVO relief and rehabilitation and refugeeresettlement assistance experience of the past two yearsdoes -- as outlined below
There are seven American PVONGOs(Non-Governmental Organizations) 13 NGOsand non-US operating in Chad Some of the NGOs particularly the Protestant missions have been around for as long as thirty years Others such as CARE started work here in the 1970s but had to withdraw and then reinstall themselves because the civil warsof Most of the PVOs have seen an increase in expenditures and staff since the advent of the present Government of Chad followinginternational donor response to the devastation of war and drought
For the most part these organizations have been effective implementing agencies capitalizing on experience and procedures developed elsewhere and in Chad carrying comparatively low operating costs and retaining the respect and cooperation of government
They operate immediate emergency food distribution andhealth care services especially for displaced personsand resettlement and rehabilitation activities in KanemOuaddai Guera and Chari-Baguirmi prefectures (see Table 1)
PVOs financed directly by AID thus far in ChadCARE AFRICARE and VITA are
each of which is implementingimportant and urgently needed activities CARE presentin Che discontinuously since 1973 has ten expatriateand 110 Chadian staff members It distributed over $30million worth of emergency food in 1984 and has beensupervising the reconstruction of strategic roads waterstructures and public facilities with food-for-work resources and AID grants In the period 1982-1986 CAREwill have undertaken rehabilitation activities worth more than $38 million in AID funding in addition tothe value of the food distributed and CAREs owncontributions The June 1984 evaluation of its firstAID-financed rural infrastructure rehabilitation activity was favorable
AFRICARE began work in Chad in March 1983 and nowhas four expatriate staff two highly qualified Chadiantechnicians and 120 Chadian employees it wasinitially involved thein development of two irrigatedperimeters (120 ha total) close to NDjamena forvegetable gardening with mixed results More recentlyAFRICARE has undertaken a $285 million AID-fundedthree-year rehabilitationrural development project inOuaddai This project will have a major impact on therural population near Abeche who have been among thehardest hit by the war and drought by providing forseed distribution dike restoration reforestation andthe introduction of intermediate technologies Despitepoor rains in the past year this seems promising
VITA (Volunteers in Technical Assistance) beganoperations in Chad in 1984 and now has a staff of oneexpatriate (with an additional one on the way) fourChadian loan officers and five office workers Under a$15 million grant from AID it is providing animportant source of credit for small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs in and around NDjamena This privatesector activity aimed restoringat the activities ofdisplaced and other businessmen has already financedsuccessful melon poultry and food processingbusinesses in addition to more urban commercial ventures A reviewrecent indicates that this willprobably be a successful venture and VITA is nowlooking at the potential for expansion otherto market towns
The Project takes the explicit view that theexperience and in-place systems of the three major
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Table 1
MAJOR PVO ACTIVITIES IN CHAD
PVO Activity Title Valua ($O00) Period Description Heavy Tzucks-FoodCARE 1289 982-984 Delivery
Provides trucks 4WD vehicles Maintenance for food-for-vork (FFW) and other relief coimodities delivery to rural areas
CARE FM Road Repair 387 Repair 155 km Ndjamena-Cuelendeng road 850 workers CARE Ag Infrastructure 950 1283-485 FFW reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urbanRestoration I manitation CARE Ag Infrastructu-e 1200 1084-1086 Ff4 reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urban
Restoration 11 sanitation CARE Resettlement 217 185- Resettlement in Kane financed by FED and Dutch PVO AFRICARE Heavy Equip Repair 585 982-984 Provide master mechanic and rehabilitation to Public Works
NdjamenaAFRICARK Vegetable Gardening 380 683-986 FFW Establish 20 ha vegetable production nearNdjamena AFRICARE Abechi Rural Dev 2850 584-1186 Integrated rural development VITA Private Enterprise 1500 784-686 Provision of credit to entrepreneurs in and near Ndjamena for new
businesses SECADEV Displaced Personp
Rural Development Food aid distribution reconstruction ofrural infrastructure650 (annually) food relief
Ndjamena Social Aid to sick aged handicapped - a GOC-registered
Chadian Catholic PVO working with 10-12000 peopleNfdecins 6000 1983-85 Sans Medical Assistance
Epidemic prevention in displaced persons camps reestablishment11000 1985-88 Frontiaree of prefecture health clinics staff training hoterchtld health
monitoring preventive care European PVO CARED Rural Development - 1982- Pre-cooperative support Irrigated perimeters (5-10 ha each)
chicken and small rumLnant production village grain mills League of Emergency Relief 750 1983-4Red Cross Food and Blanket distribution to more than 50000 80 food7500 1985-8 distribution sites some resettlement programs
American PVOs in Chad can and should be utilized and built upon at this stage and through this project Alternative vehicles as suggested above are not promising in themselves and could not in any case be relied upon for rapid mobilization Nor in Sahelian experience are universities consulting firms or the technical offices of AID missions more suitable to the hands-on nature of this project They are less adaptable to (and experienced with) the rigors of work in Chad and more expensive as well
This does not mean however that the PVOs expected to implement this project will not need helpOn the model of current AID rehabtlitation efforts they can be relied upon to handle well the necessary procurement understandings with the government mobilization and delivery of inputs and monitoringTheir weaknesses understandable given contemporary Chad and the foreign assistance milieu but also correctable have lain in the design and technical supervision of rural activities (See VA below) Greater subproject financing of field specialists should assure that implementation is technically sound The PVOs will be encouraged to apply their own contributions to detailed design work at the proposal and later stages To augment this the Project will provide for the selected application of small grants to PVOs for specific desiqn assistance
C ELEMENTS
1 Subprojects
Analyses indicate that considerable potential for new food production and related private sector activityobtains dispersed through the Sahelian zone To capture this potential and test developmental approaches (including local organizational dynamics) economically and rapidly American PVOs with substantial in-country facilities and experience will be invited to propose four to five subprojects having durations of two to four years beginning in late FY 1985 These subprojects will be the substance of the Project
Following the focus and expectations described above and in later analyses there is a strong prospect that CARE AFRICARE and VITA will propose initial subprojects which treat settled populations in the geographical Kanem area around Abeche and in Chari-Baguirmi Each should be prepared and ready to commelice before the end of FY 1986 probably much earlier on the part of CARE They may either fullycomprehend a large scattered population -- possibly expanded to additional accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- or commence in a more limited fashion and for
16
shorter duraticn with the intention of a second phase within the life of the Project At the same time the Project allows for the introduction of at least one new American PVO into Chads food production sector
On the basis of this project papers guidance each PVO will develop a detailed proposal the equivalent substantively of an AID small-project PP (see also Implementation Plan III below) for review and approval by AID in the field These proposals must adhere to the Projects focus criteria and meet various standards of format and detail Most important among the latter treat beneficiaries (the deprived but able) technological feasibility inputs availability and utility (tools seeds food-for-work etc) social and organizational practicality (regarding inter alia adaptiveness and cooperativeness of populations land tenure and government role) economic justifiability (cost-benefit or least cost market relations etc) and intended demonstration and institutional especially local institutional effects The PVO must further demonstrate its managerial capacity and provide as a condition to proposal approval an agreement with the appropriate GOC ministry to undertake the subproject on its behalf That should indicate the role of specific GOC agencies in implementation and the institutional developmental feasiblity and goals of that
The inputs of the project will be largely grants through Cooperative Agreements to the PVOs and as necessary and possible AID or World Food Program food-for-work contributions and food aid sales proceeds The quantification of those will be done at the subproject design stage The inputs of subprojects financed by the AID grants will be technical asistance management implements and other inputs loan finance in the private sector efforts food or proceeds perhaps (financed outside the Project) monitoring and evaluation and provision for contingencies The outputs will be functioning food production schemes and food production or related businesses Output targets will be enumerated by scheme or area based on the PVOs detailed analyses
Total Project funds programmed for subproject grants are $12 million with expenditures to be incurred by September 30 1989 the Project Assistance Completion Date (PACD) and fully disbursed by December 31 1989 Included in the grant financing to PVOs may be design costs not normally to exceed $50000 per subproject
PVOs are expected to make a maximum effort to meet the requirement of a 25 pezcent contribution from their own resources to the total costs of their subproject(s) and especially to the development of subprojects
17
Provision of Project assistance to subprojectconceptualization and design will be justifiedespecially for new PVO entrants to Chad or more importantly where an intended subprojects objectivesexplicitly emphasize testing and monitoring oftechnologies development) application
or processes with promise
(including institutional for future systematic
2 Procedures
Participating PVOs are expected to be familiar with AID requirements to follow the proposal format set forth in the Implementation Plan below and to be acceptable to AID in terms of registrationnon-government source globalof revenue and auditability Given that AID will entertain proposals on a rolling admissions basis up to a magnitude of $40million each with activities to be completed by the PACD
As a central principle of the Project isminimization of direct AID design and implementationburden and maximization of impact a small but necessaryprovision is made for management by AID This $725000will finance a full-time project manager management support allowance for contingencies and an AID evaluation The project manager will coordinate AID-PVO relationships including assistance to subprojectdesign as necessary subproject proposal review dild approval (including adherence to FAA Sec 611(a)requirements) GOC approvals activation of cooperativeagreements reporting and evaluation (See II-IV below)
Thus subproject proposals will be treated in the same fashion as projects for field authorization and to the same standards This will require full review byAIDChad professional staff the Chad AID Directors approval with concurrence of the REDSOWCA Director From an approved proposal AIDChad will develop a PIOTto generate in turn the Cooperative Agreement to be executed by a REDSOWCA Grant Officer The GOC will be a signatory to the PIOT thereby exercising its rightto determine the use of funds granted to it by AID
3 Results
As should now be clear the end-of-project-statusof this effort has two strands and a corollarySignificant increases in food production and consumption among Chads currently destitute must occur and be managed at an uncommonly low cost to AID and the GOC In achieving this techniques of cultivation and organization including use of private capital and local cooperation should be tested reasonably
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systematically this should provide a part of the basis for later concerted attacks on Chads poverty by the GOC and its Atdonors the same time AID-PVO cooperationwill enhance the impact of the assistance of each in Chads difficult environment And strengthened PVOs and PVO-GOC collaboration is unquestionably a short- andmedium-term good given the straightened circumstances and poor prospects of Chads people and systems
Finally specification measurement and lessons of such results are particularly important to agriculturaldevelopment in Chad The era of the Project is onewhere a turning point may be reached thisfor countryThus monitoring and evaluation of the Project are especially important (See IV below) If the Projects assumptions are correct and this is designedto be verified in the Projects timeframe Chad has reasonable hope and AID will have fulfilled its current mandate and immediate strategic purpose
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS
A BUDGET
The Project will provide $12725 million in grantfunds from the Sahel (121) account to the Government of Chad to be obligated over the Fiscal Years 1985 through1987 Expenditures may be accrued up theto PACD (September 30 1989) and must be fully disbursed byDecember 31 1989 Obligation will be by GrantAgreement and its amendment with the GOC Funds will be handled directly by registered American PVOs and in the case of administration of the Project by USAIDChad
Of the total AID dollar contribution $120 million will be provided by AID to PVOs by CooperativeAgreements through letters of credit Generally a 25percent contribution to each subproject from non-AID sources will be required including cash input so far as possible from each PVO This can be waived by the Chad AID Representative if the interests of United States policy in Chad so warrant It is estimated that the non-AID contribution by PVOs to the overall costs of the Project will be about $30 million The Government of Chad will not be called upon to contribute to the overall Project as this is deemed impossible under current Chadian circumstances and in any case is not required in the Sahel program However in individual subprojects certain GOC contribution of staff time and facilities may well occur and bewill encouraged this will be set forth in the PVO-GOC exchange of letters
Additional contributions to the Project from other AID sources are also anticipated but cannot be projecteduntil subprojects are designed and approved and these
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resources availability in Chad for specified periods isdetermined They are food-for-work provided under PL
II480 Title and rice sales proceeds generated by TitleII Emergency Sales in FY 1985 and Title II Section 206 programs or continued Emergency Sales thereafter
The remaining portion of the grant ($725000) willbe devoted to administration by AID That is financeof a fulltime project manager by AID Personal ServicesContract (PSC) (estimated at $125000 per year for four years plus management support of $50000) finance of acomprehensive final evaluation theof project in itsfourth year ($100000) also to be directly contracted for by AID and a small provision for contingencies($75000) It is expected that additional subprojectreview monitoring and evaluation services as necessaryduring the life of the project will be provided byREDSOWCA at no cost to the Project
Table 2 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS ($mil)
AID Grants to PVOs 120
AID Administration 0725
PVO Contributions 30
Food-for-Work
AID Food Sales Proceeds
Table 3
OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FISCAL YEAR ($mil)
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Obligations 3725 40 50 - -Expenditures - 2225 45 40 20
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A thorough financial analysis and detailed budgetwill be required in each subproject proposal Thisshould include a realistic list of inputs and theirprobable sources of supply (in AID Geographic Code 941countries and the cooperating country) with base costs calculated in ctrrent prices for each and price andphysical cortingencies estimated conservatively
In cases where sulpiojects comprise ldrge sets ofsmall interventions it will be permissible to aggregateestimates by category rather than for each individualsmall activity as related to total physical volumes of
20
work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
21
Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
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inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
28
small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
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2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
AGEMCV FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPt ENY 1 TRANSACTION CODE DOCUMEN =A = Add AmndmmtNumber CODE
PROJECT DATA SHEET A MW-D = Delete 3 Z OUMNTRY[ENrTY 3 PROJECT NUMBER
CHAD [I-77-0051 ___
L BURAFkU1OYFICE 5PROJECT TITE (rnaxime40 cAhwtfen)
USAIDCHAD 67Z VPVO DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES
6 PROJECTr ASSISTANCE COMPLETION DATE (PACD) 7 ESTIMATED DArE OF OBUI GATION (rUder WEb elo w cmt er I Z 3a 4)
MM DD YY
8 ___COSTS000 OR EQUIVALENT $1 =
A- FUND NG SURCE FIRST FY LIFE OF PROJECT B_FX CLC D Total L FX - FLW GTotal
AID Appyoprie-d(Totalt) (3775- 3_shy(1Z25 (-[7 225 (Loan) ( ) ( ( ( _ ( )
e I PV S (estirmat ) 3000 3000 US 2
cth-r Dom( Is))
TOTALS 3725 J 725 15725 15725 9 SCHEDULE OF AMD FUN DINGIO0q)B C ppIV RY -E AMVOUNT APF RO VEDFLFOFROEq
APPOJPPJMARYp TrEC- CODE D OBLIGATIONS TO DATE F LIFE OF PROJECT PRDA iION LURPOSE r THIS AC7FION
CODE IGran 1an 2 Loan 2 Loan 2 Loan-Z 1 Gran I Grant I Grant
BI 13 010 _ _
OTALS _ 12725 112725 L _ PIarnNiu L (rirximum 6 codes of sposigiw each) i rs vNO )A f ruKrCSE CODE
022 J 120 940 440_I 213 14 SECIA- G0NCF RNS CODES (ynaxirun 7 codes of4 pojiiow cach)
ACode BS _ PVOU TECH [ 11Arrunt -T272TU0 9 0
13 PR)JET PURPOSE (airnum480 cvracturs)
in the Saheliarn zone to assist small-farmer food production and supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional develshyopment effects
14 SCHEDULED EVALUATIONS 15 SOURCEORIGIN OF GOODR AND SERVICES [Ii MM YY-
Tnttrim 1 1y 1 MM FinalW Q y I o ] 941 Locj (y] other(speci) 9 35 rY
ilLj 16 AM4FNrJMENrS[NATUREOF CHANGE PROPOSED (Thsu page) of a pcgePP Ame7dnenL)
various for individual subprojects
Ha r C us Cor oler Date US IDChad
~AI ILDAfE [KOCUMENT RECEIVED 17 APROVE~ -Jhn hWr Hcd IN AIDW OR FOR AIDW DOCUP
17 BPFOVED o hn B 4 - | MENTS DATE OF DISTRIBUTION BY Airle to Chad 7kE YY DD ereetaie f DD MM Y
aAJ_AD104(3-79)
CONTENTS
PAGE FACESHEET ACTION MEMORANDUM AUTHORIZATION APPROVALS CONTENTS MAP EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
I PROJECT RATIONALE AND DESCRIPTION A SETTING 1
1 Structural Change and-Impoverishment 1 2 Relief and Rehabilitation 4 3 Approaches to Development 6
B STRATEGY 8 1 AID Policy 8
2 Definition of the Project ii 3 Role and Use of PVOs 13
C ELEMENTS 16 1 Subprojects 16
2 Procedures 18
3 Results 18
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS 19
A BUDGET 19
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS 20
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE 21
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN 2222 A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW o 22 B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS 24
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID 26
IV MONITORING AND EVALUATION PLAN 27 A SUBPROJECT MONITORING 27
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS 27
C PROJECT EVALUATION 27
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES o28
A TECHNICAL 28 1 Agronomy o 28
2 Irrigation and Water Management 30 3 Private Sector 31
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC 33
1 Economic Rationale of the Project 33 2 Target Populations 36
3 Feasibility of Subprojects 37
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT- 39
ANNEXES A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK B PID APPROVAL CABLE AND IEE THRESHOLD DECISION C STATUTORY CHECKLIST AND SEC 121 (d) CERTIFICATION D LETTER OF REQUEST E ANALYSES
C H A D
0 100Scale200 300km
~~ bull
22 2
I N _
2
THAN EAa LACAi Abeche
ongoorneno
BA UI Am i
bull LUERA IV
00-ASALKAT]
i L OYNC LOCONE7i Mourou ah U Saharian zone
FCONE0- Sahelian-7- zone OCCIDENTAL Soudanian zone
Ni ER 00 ~ixjXKNational boundaries A E 00[CNE ORIENTALI Boundaries ofN OPrefectures
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Grantee The Government of Chad
Implementing Agencies American Private and Voluntary Organizations (PVOs) resident in Chad
Financial Plan Grant from Sahel Development Program funds of $12725 million to be obligated FY 1985-87 (FY 85 obligation $3725 million) PACD 93089 Approximate PVO contribution of $30 million no host country contribution estimated at this time
Purpose In the Sahelian zone to assist small-farmer food production and supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Background Chad has been wracked by recurrent war and drought for the past 15 years and is now a major recipient of disaster assistance and the worlds poorest country Increasing food production is its major need but the time is not right for long-term agricultural projects Nor is the Government (GOC) capable of out-reach to farmers in sufficient degree especially in the most impoverished area the Sahelian zone AID in the past two yearr has had very positive expel uilue wi Lh Anmerican PVOs in its relief and rehabilitation and refugee resettlement activities They have proved efficient vehicles for development assistance in the most difficult of circumstances and their rural rehabilitation and private sector interventions give promise for intensified food production interventions that are small-scale and from which essential lessons can be learned for application in later more profound development efforts
Description The Project will support four to five subprojects designed implemented and monitored by American PVOs having a major presence in Chad Settled populations will be assisted to achieve food self-sufficiency and small entrepreneurs will be assisted to start food production-related businesses The former will exploit potential for small-scale irrigation and receive PVO-organized technical assistance inputs nd food-for-work for construction as appropriate The latter will receive technical assistance and loan capital out of a revolving fund The PVO umbrella structure of the project will minimize the management burden of AID and the GOC The results will be not only increased food availaibility to populations on the verge at present of starvation but also techniques and approaches (including organizational) will have been tested which will inform
future larger-scaled agricultural development projects as and if conditions in Chad become favorable for them
Findings Detailed technical economic social environmental and financial analyses will be required in the PVO proposals which generate subprojects General analyses of conditions in the Sahelian zone indicate considerable water exploitation potential for food production availability of low-cost technologies sufficient PVO management expertise and suitable susceptible and organizable beneficiaries
Small Disadvantagd and Woman-owned Firms PVOs are not that however at least one minority PVO will be a major participant and all PVOs will be encouraged to avail themselves of technical advisory services from Historically Black American Universities and Colleges
Waivers A blanket vehicle waiver for procurement from Code 935 sources is attached as is a Delegation of Authority from AAAFR to the Chad Aid Representative to limit invitation for PVO application to a single source in thn case of each subproject which is deemed unique or mcst appropriate to undertake the effort (HBl3JB2e(3))
Major Conditions Precedent and Covenants None
Project Team Members James Osbcrn PDO Diana McLain agronomist Dan Jenkins engineer Douglas Barnett economist Lucien Strevinou PRE advisor Alex Newton RLA -- all of REDSOWCA
2
I PROJECT RATIONALE AND DESCRIPTION
A SETTING
Chad was one of the poorest countries in Africa before recurring drought and war in the 1970s and 1980s now it is perhaps the most wrecked Severe dislocations destruction and destitution in the northern two-thirds of the country and political instability coupled with drought in the usually lusher south face a government with pitifully few resources Humanitarian and political impulses have brought forth multilateral and western bilateral assistance and a major effort by private voluntary organizations -shydirected both to relief and limited rehabilitation on the one hand and stabilization and nuturing of national systems on the other
Even a ten to twenty year perspective on the develepment (or redevelopment) of Chad cannot be surelyoptimistic But the United States and other donors have a measured commitment to reestablishing Chads economic viability and giving impetus to growth There is some potential amidst the waste and tragedy A developmentproject must be adroit to seize and build upon it as part of a long-term effort in a harsh and uncertain environment
1 Structural Chanqe and Impoverishment
Chad shares the major physical and historical characteristics of large Sahelian countries stratification from north to south French colonial heritage Saharan impingement primitive subsistence agriculture and husbandry supporting the bulk of the population and periodic tenuous legitimacy of government Before the twin blows of war and droughthowever Chad had as reasonable an expectation of gradual growth and development as any country in the region By the end of the 1960s a small but articulated system of government trade financing and management entities was prepared on the post-colonial French model and with French assistance to exploit the export agricultural potential of the south -- in turn to finance modest evolution of public services and improvedsubsistence agriculture and husbandry throughout Chad
In the years 1965 througY 1971 as Chads population grew from approximately 332 to 372 million food (cereal grain) production increased from 460000 to 690000 metric tons per year exceeding basic self-sufficiency (150 kgperson) by 24 percent in 1971 Cotton production increased in the period 1964-65 to 1968-69 from 99106 metric tons per year to 148819
--
with a productivity increase of 46 percent The cattle and goat population in the same period increased byabout 36 percent At this point the stage was set for conventional development policy action Domestic income and foreign aid and investment supported comparativelysophisticated development of cotton production and trade and the commencement of land transport importsubstitution agricultural infrastructural and publicservices projects
Then civil strife and droughts cyclically from 1971 through the present turned Chad from a relativelyunderdeveloped counLry with hope into a disaster Willful organized violence ran sporadically through1979 peaking for the moment with the military coupdetat in 1975 and escallating again in 1980-82 when the then President Goukouni Oueddei (with Libyansupport) vied with Defense Minister Hissein Habre for control Habre established the current government in June 1982 and reestablished a modicum of governmentalservice Goukouni and Libyan forces have since fought a war of position and nerves with the Government of Chad From 1983 conflict has stabilized into skirmishes across a line in north-central Chad From varyingdegrees of trouble in the south has emerged recently a stronger government position
This debilitating violence and instability over 20 years gradually ruined the governments ability to attract inpst-mont to man~neand dtvplopmentsystematically institutions allof sorts crumbledtrained professionals de-camped or-erly assistance became impossible In 1983 Chad in interndtional development terms practically rasawas a tabula But on the picture of man-made destruction Was also superimposed in 1970s sincethe and maligndrought-induced structural change as bad or wocrse than anywhere in the region This encompasses failed harvests debilitated herds dramatically lowered river and lake levels migration of the worst hit subsistence agriculturalists and pastoralists radical change in traditional practices culturaland relations an unprecedented risk of mass starvation and human damage
with all beyond the abilities of the government and private sector to cope
More specifically the drought has hit hardest the center or Sahelian zone of Chad where about two million of the approximately 44 million Chadians now reside and the government and many extant modern sectors are centered in NDjamena For a zone whose traditional rainfall should range from 350 mmyear in the extreme north to more than 900 mmyear in the south the averageof seven station- reporting from 1966 through 1970 was
2
784 mmyear This declined to 597 in 1971-73 rose to 755 in 1975-76 fell to 567 in 1977-78 rose to 840 in 1980-81 and bottomed at 536 mmyear average in1982-84 Cereal production in the zone declined from 279257 metric tons in 1976 to 169419 in 1983
Data for 1984 indicate a worse drought than ever For example around NDjamena the August rainfall average for the past 25 years has been 201 mm in 1983it was 1389 mm in 1984 476 mn In the region north of NDjamena to the lake there was no production in the past winter seasc)n pastures were dry and cattle dyingby September and pumping to irrigated perimeters from the river was impossible in some areas The 1984 harvest in the Sahelian zone was weak to nul and significantly curtailed thein southern Sudanian and Sudanian-Guinan climatic zones Small market-gardenplots around NDjamena producing muchas as 2000metric tons of vegetables on 300 ha in 1979 were down to 64 ha in 198384 producing no more than 100 MT There was a total failure of the rice crop in 1984
The food deficit in 198384 averaged 45 percentfor the Sahelian zone as a whole with a maximum of 78 percent in the eastern prefecture of Biltine-Ouaddai (centered on Abeche) 71 percent in Kanem north of thelake and 58 percent in Chari-Baguirmi which contains NDjamena The four southern prefectures generallyreferred to as Sudanian recorded an average 20 percent deficit
Drought is a greater contributor even than towar present human distress in Chad Head counts (and these are conservative estimates by resident relief agenciesassrembled by USAIDNDjamena) indicate magnitudethe as of April 19 1985 Chadian displaced (and destitute) persons numLered at 167658 and the1past this was stricken 2ure of an estimated 640000 peons at risk The prefectures of greatest burden were Guera in the center (34600 displaced persons) Ouaddai in the east (31250) Batha (28000) and Chari-Baguirmi around NDjamena (22600)
Thus multiple misfortunes converging on Chads people make for the following best-case composite a country of Tbout 443 million whose population growthrate generally has been about 22 percent infant mortality about 1501000 and life expectancy 40 yearsSurveys find Aficas worst levels of malnutrition here Ernploiment is 85 percent in agriculture and 41 percent of the population is 15 years old or youngerChads GNP per capita in 1984 was estimated to be $80reflecting a recent growth rate of -28 percent
3
North-south stratification finds two million
primitive farmers and pastoralists in the severe drought
zone of the Sahel at present unable by far to produce enough grain to eat -- although in the past for the most part they did The slightly more populous south has not
had severe drought until this year conditions more
generally benign to agricultu-e and a diligent cotton
production effort backed by what services the government has ever been able to provide (eg extension) There
is decline but survival given rain
The capital NDjamena has about 400000 people
who apart from some participants in the southern sugar
beer and cotton production industries represent Chads
modern sector A large exodus of the highly skilled
comprehensive destruction of physical plant and the
collapse of the banking sector mean the little reviving commerce and industry are small in scale and largely
informal in character although economic chaos is
forestalled by Chadian discipline and Chads position in
the CFA zone
The national government is not collapsing on the
contrary it is functioning seriously and remarkably
honestly However it is almost insolvent On revenues
in 1984 of 1122 billion CFA (ca $24 million) the
government carried expenditures of CFA 16503 billion
Its deficit is currently oscillating around $10 million
pet year largely find by France The budgetary crunch is expected to be most severe from September 1985
through March 1987 including earmarked revenues
(untabulated above) and assuming deficits are financed
somehow the governments total outlays for the present
will be around $35 million a year
For a country of four million people this is
considered to be about the irreducible minimum necessary
to maintain a modicum cf governmental presence and
functions And that modicum is operated by a sparse
civil service mostly at half salary The National
Office of Rural Development (ONDR which is responsible
nationally for agricultural extension organization of
productive inputs improving -gricultural technologies
and collection of agricultural statistics) to take one
example had 1406 employees in 1978 and 1571 in 1983
However in that period staff for general direction and
for work in the Sahel fell by 16 and 38 percent
respectively -- to 45 central managers and 219 civil servants serving all of the Sahelian zone
2 Relief and Rehabilitation
The international community has recognized Chads
crisis and responded This will continue for some time
to concentrate on food donations and emergency health
4
care rehabilitation of some productive capacity in the Sahelian zone and subventions to the central government to support and rehabilitate basic functions combined with support for agricultural production largelycotton in the south These efforts which are considerable given the hostility of Chads environment are setting parameters and conditions for Chads future development
Emergency food and medical assistance provided bymultilateral and bilateral agencies and privateorganizations treat the severest cases of deprivation in Chad In 1985 a food deficit of 300000 MT is possibleshould the south again be severely hit by drought a displaced population of as many as 240000 and an at risk population of up to one million are probableForeign-operated food distribution systems within Chad are attempting to deliver supplies at the rate of about 15000 MT per month to rural distribution points A thin but wide-spread emergency medical service is financed by donors and operated by a PVO (PrivateVoluntary Organization)
Beyond stemmuing tragedy the effects of such efforts should have important consequences Firstmigrants away from famine and civil strife can be organized into settled agriculture (if and where there is potential) being displaced from traditik 1 contexts in theory they can be more amenable adopting improved production practices Second there is a demonstration and training effect involving largenumbers of Chadian workers local organizations and the few available government officials which despiteeverything could energize future institutional development at several levels Third physicalinfrastructure to support emergency operations is in limited degrees of necessity being put in placevehicle fleets communications a bridge to Cameroon etc
At the same time considerable donor assistancebuilding since the 1982 Geneva Conference has been planned and some delivered for basic reconstruction and rehabilitation Of $250 totalthe million aid requested then perhaps two-thirds is in the pipelineThis not only supports public administration capitalinfrastructure rehabilitation and revitalization of cotton exports but also small-holder agriculturalproduction in a few accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- a certain amount of it managed by PVOs From experience with the last it is possible to see a small basis and certain opportunities for longer-term development of traditional agriculture
5
In particular water is available for small-scale farming in the Lake Chad alluvial basin with modestapplication of andlabor capital along riverperimeters in wadis with catchment from shallow wellsand recessionally via poldering Technicalorganizational snags however
and are not fully worked
out Reliable seed of course is essential andimproved varieties when obtainable are successfullyadopted Village organizations can cooperatively applylabor accumulate inputs and market excess produce withorganizational assistance Likewise a vigorous smallbusiness community willing take canto risks benurtured and find profitable opportunities in rural development (See V and Annex E below)
Eighteen or more small projects concerningirrigated and rainfed agriculture in the Sahelian zone are underway or planned For the next several yearsthey will demonstrate the feasibilities of particularcropcultivation practice combinations inputpracticalities small business roles in food productionand the potentials of areas from Kanem in the north to Bongor in the south to Abeche in the east
3 AppK(oaches to Developmen t
That is a small beginning to a large task for theindefinite future putting Chad back on the track toself-reliance and growth The necessity for a primaryconcentration on agriculture is evident as is the needfor more assistance The most recent comprehensivestudy on the subject (Club du SahelCILSSCONACILSSBilan Pro9ramme des Productions Veqetaies PluvialsetIrri du Tchad Sector Analysis Rainfed andIrrigated Crop Production in Chad December 1984) citesthe following first order constraints on agriculturaldevelopment in addition generally to drought and inadequate foreign aid
-- insufficient availability of seed
insufficient attention (policyinvestment) to irrigation properly scaled and
absence of significant intervention onproducer prices and marketing of agricultural products and on the costs of production inputs
The study also notes the general absence of adaptive andsub-regional research rural credit and extensionsophisticated inputs and planning
6
The prescription of CILSS to which it is difficult to take exception intellectually or in principle conwprises orientations building for the longer term and more or less iniaediate actions These are the basis for a national development strategy And until further study (eg on costs) and experience (egwith adoption of technologies) or a radical change in conditions indicate otherwise they will probablyreceive general assent The eight orientations are undifferentiated and unordered but offer opportunities for all They are
-- give priority to food self-sufficiency
-- operationalize irrigation potential not least small scale
-- protect and develop cotton production through intensification
revitalize rural development in the Sahelian zone through regional planning
define and operate a producer price and marketing policy which stimulates increased production
-- promote small-farmer initiative and responsibility through training cooperativization etc
-- adequately support rural development institutions for programming research crop protection extension etc and
-- acquire massive concerted properly adapted foreign aid applying better donor-Chadian cocrdination
Immediate actions called for are
an appeal for food aid in 198485 an important part in the forms of food-for-work and that generating sales proceeds
-- an appeal for building up a cereal seed stock for 198485
-- intensification of irrigation investments via food-for-work and by launching already proposed schemes
-- provisional suspension of transfer to small farmers of the real costs of production inputs
7
--
-- significant assistance to theInterministerial Bureau for Studies andProgramming (BEP) under the Minister of State for Agricultural and Rural Development and
-- intervention by the Nationai CerealsOffice in the consumer price systemthrough the use of donated food
In other words Chadian agriculture needseverything and much of this at once However there aredefinite practical steps to take that are developmentaland not shotgun crisis-reactive The proolems whichwill confront donors and the Government of Chad areassessment of risk husbanding of scarce resourceschoice of targets and timing Whereas policy dialogueand formulation Cor example should be fruitful civenChads disarray and are inexpensive larqe-scaleirrigation schemes massiveor provision of proaoictiveinputs and rural services are not necessarily eithe atpresent The challenge of Chad is not simple
B STRATEGY 1 AID Polic
The United States has several interests in Chadserved by its foreign assistance program Theseinterlock and are pursued through multilateralcoordination The humanitarian concern and efforts torelieve immediate mass suffering todue famine areessential But they would be insufficient -shypotentially futile if systemic improvements were notassisted eventually which should prevent the recurrenceof disaster even if drought pevails Such developmentcannot proceed however in an insecure polity subjecthaphazardly to turmoil and governmental paralysisespecially that induced by a capricious enemy neighbor
rherefore American policy action has focused since1982 on the recstablishment of a stable and vigorousgovernment which deals with Chads imradiate problemseffectively establishing credibility wkth the Chadianpeople and good relations with its neighbors AID hasprovided some of the means food medicines transportbudget support finance for small-scale physicalrehabilitation and the services of PVOs for outreachAmerican food assistance approved from Junethrough April 1985 to
1982 sum 139680 MT of grain andvegoil at a cost of $6948 million including transportand management Of that 7500 MT riceof and sorghumhave been granted to Chad the sales proceeds of which
will be devoted to emergency rehabilitation
8
Non-food assistance to be obligated through FY1985 and serve the above purpose in a quick-disbursingfashion will total $1935 million That is devoted largely with considerable success to agriculturalrestoration (35 percent) health restoration (21percent) and budget support (16 percent) with lesser amounts for basic assistance in human resources privateenterprise administrative management and road repair
At the same time after almost three yearsexperience the Government of Chad (GOC) the donor community at andlarge AID have concluded that efforts can and should be made to plan and commence investment programs that attack Chads root problems As indicated in the above discussions reliable food supply is Chads paramount need And for the foreseeable future this need can be served only by local production or food aid purchase of food out of export earnings is not in the cards Development of food production capacity is an immediate and long-term necessity and the sine qua non of all else developmental
Although Chad is an extreme case this fact is congruent with broader observations that have informed current AID policy For Africa this makes agriculturethe central focus and AIDs goal to assist African governments reverse the declining per capita food production trend increaseand overall agriculturalproduction and productivity increase farm incomes and improve nutritional status particularly of the small holder (Strategic Plan Executive Summary 62883p 12) Sahel development strategy (Review STATE 287422 July 14 1984) cites the need for realistic goals over a 10-20 year time frame based on food availability rather foodthan production as the central objective of AID assistance in the Sahel And the first emphasis is on food security however attained Secondarily sustainable food production to reduce dependence on emergency relief should be an objective
AIDs Chad policy is therefore to devote the largest part of its development assistance over the next decade at least to food production Economic SupportFund resources will support in a new project the development of a road maintenance capacity and there may be further need for budget support from the same source Limited interventions in health care human resources and management development from bilateral and regional development assistance projects will be adjuncts The isquestion how to proceed in promotingsustained increasing food production and consumption
9
--
Three factors affect AIDs strategy First thechoice and sequence of interventions in the specificcontext of Chad must create -early pay-offs that buildand accelerate there is no time to waste and eventualcommitments to long-term massive structural orinstitutional developments must have solid grounding -shyin national stability proved approaches and Chadiancommitment Second AIDs development assistanceresources both financial and managerial will continueto be severely constrained Projected levels areobligations of $50 million per year through FY 1990out of a total economic assistance program of $15million annually Eight direct-hire staff will manageall AID activity country-wide Third the alreadyvariegated program of the international donor (includingPVO) community in Chad is expected to grow in volume andcomplexity as stability and responsiveness of Chadincrease
AIDs food production strategy in Chad as seen atthis point then envisages a program of overlappingphases slotted into the overall donor effort and makingthe most economical use of AIDs scarce resources asfollows
-- while current agricultural rehabilitation activities are continuing (through 1986)their technical and organizational lessonswill be absorbed and then operationalizedin
four to five new initiatives supported bythis project from 1985 to 1990 which support small-holder food productiondevelopment and contributing privatebusiness development These will testtechnical (especially water application)and organizational approaches and measuretheir benefits in the Sahelian zone wherethe food problem is theyAnd will beconceived in detail and carried out byPVOs whose expertise and economy ofoperation in this realm are r-nowned
-- as the PVO Development Initiatives Projectwill be fully obligated by FY 1987 thethird overlapping phase will be planned to commence in 1988 It will draw from theexperience of phase two and of otherdonors in similar efforts and insupporting systematic developmentslarger scales (irrigation
at systems seedprovision extension research and
planning price policy export croppromotion for example) Long-term major
10
interventions by AID at that point will probably be in order It is too soon to tell of what type but adaptive (farmingsystems) researchextension is a reasonable possiblity
2 Definition of the Project
Therefore the goal of the Project is to increaseChads production of food and its availability to thedeprived and lay groundwork for more profoundagricultural development Its purpose is in theSahelian zone to assist small farmer production andsupportive private sector activities havingdemonstration and institutional development (primarilylocal cooperation) effects The objective is toaccomplish this broadly and quickly enough to (a) make asignificant contribution to the welfare of Chadianshitherto subject to famine and the recipients of foodaid including settled displaced persons and (b)demonstrate approaches to developing small farmer andprivate sector food production systems which successorlonger-term projects can adopt or otherwise support
The magnitude and duration of the Project havebeen determined on the basis of three considerations availability of funds current and developableabsorptive capacity in Chad and the sequence ofagricultural development isAID following here Asindicated above the level of development assistance of$50 million or less per year in the next four years inthe AID bilateral programs obligations on the one handand the assignment of mission direct-hire staff on theother limit the program practically to newone startat present But the condition of Chads infrastructuregovernmental systems and societal fabric does not permitan immediate large-scale or long-term commitment inagriculture They also limit the organizational meansby which assistance to agriculture in Chad can be delivered and monitored
From this follows a deliberate focus andlimitation of the Project to the essential and to targets and means where current experience and analysesindicate feasibility as well as potential forfarther-future interventions That is new foodproduction employing water application small groundworks and self-help and loan finance for smallagricultural businesses -- in accessible areas of theSahelian zone (north and south of NDjamena and around Abeche) -- with a spread of small-scale efforts andtargets clustered in four (or possibly five)subprojects Certain activities may employ AIDfood-for-work or food sales proceeds to supplementproject finance that will support technical assistanceand management tools and other inputs and a loan fund
11
for entrepreneurs And GOC contribution of staff andfacilities will be encouraged in individual subprojects
Strategy dictates that these efforts begin as soonas possible and produce tangible results within three tofour years AIDs experience with relief andrehabilitation activities indicates that such work canbe organized and implemented in Chad at an expenditurerate of about $30 million per year It also indicatesindeed presupposes that American PVOs already operatingeffectively in Chad should be the primary vehicle fordesign operation and monitoring Neither AIDChad northe GOC has the capacity to work on a day-to-day basisat this level -- with outreach to farmers acquisitionand delivery of a variety of inputs and detailedspecification and follow-up PVOs do (See B3 below)
The Project will combine the requisites ofquick-startup and disbursement breadth of effectaccommodation of several effective PVOs andconcentration on a particular target population in aunitary framework via a special type of PVO umbrellaproject This follows agency guidance mandating greatercooperation with registered PVOs in AID programs andsimplification of procedures But for Chad it is notand cannot be a peripheral adjunct to a large matureassistance program the Project will be central to thecurrent effort making a new start on Chads agriculturaldevelopment By design and intent it should become thestepping stone to a mature agricultural program andproject portfolio
Thus one project will be authorized havingtranched obligations over three years underagreement with the GOC an
Guidance on the development andimplementation of subprojects by PVOs contained in thisproject paper (PP) will lead interested PVOs initiallyCARE AFRICARE and VITA to design and proposeinitiatives to serve the projects goal and purpose inthe prescribed manner Cooperative Agreements betweenAID and the PVOs will set the work afoot mutatismutandis The customary andindependent imaginationinitiative of PVOs are necessary ingredients in thisendeavor And recent experience lends confidence thatPVO integrity and the requisites of andAID thisparticular project will be compatible and mutuallysupportive The Project then will be evaluated as awhole by AID and its subprojects monitored andevaluated cooperatively by the PVOs and AID in asequence that provides timely indicators to the futuredevelopment of AIDs program in Chad
12
3 The Role and Use of PVOs
PVO umbrella or co-financing projects are relatively new in Africa though now conventional in Asia whereas AID assistance in Africa has a fairlywide though checkered history of support for individual PVO activities Two more or less pure umbrella projects in Africa are in Zaire and Kenya (and a second in the latter currently being developed) In these countries as in the Philippines and Indonesia the PVO co-financing endeavor is one AID project in a large and variegated portfolio where tapping the resources and vitality of PVOs (American and indigenous) is basically a valuable but peripheral outreach of the core AID program
As indicated above the project proposed here is different It is intended to be the centerpiece of AIDs agricultural development assistance for the next three years Its merits must be judged then (a)against those of alternative formulations of developmentassistance with which there is experience and (b) in terms of the efficacy in Chad of the kinds of subprojects it will support On matter (a) it can be said from current Chadian experience that rural-based production investments by AID cannot be inade more efficiently by any other means And the like ihood of economic payoff in Chad of larger-scaled longergestating more fundamental systemic agriculturaldevelopment projects of the typical AID type is highlyproblematical at this time In other wordsconventional AID experience in the Sahel does not givepromise in the present Chadian context In terms of implementation pay-off and foundation-laying the AID-PVO relief and rehabilitation and refugeeresettlement assistance experience of the past two yearsdoes -- as outlined below
There are seven American PVONGOs(Non-Governmental Organizations) 13 NGOsand non-US operating in Chad Some of the NGOs particularly the Protestant missions have been around for as long as thirty years Others such as CARE started work here in the 1970s but had to withdraw and then reinstall themselves because the civil warsof Most of the PVOs have seen an increase in expenditures and staff since the advent of the present Government of Chad followinginternational donor response to the devastation of war and drought
For the most part these organizations have been effective implementing agencies capitalizing on experience and procedures developed elsewhere and in Chad carrying comparatively low operating costs and retaining the respect and cooperation of government
They operate immediate emergency food distribution andhealth care services especially for displaced personsand resettlement and rehabilitation activities in KanemOuaddai Guera and Chari-Baguirmi prefectures (see Table 1)
PVOs financed directly by AID thus far in ChadCARE AFRICARE and VITA are
each of which is implementingimportant and urgently needed activities CARE presentin Che discontinuously since 1973 has ten expatriateand 110 Chadian staff members It distributed over $30million worth of emergency food in 1984 and has beensupervising the reconstruction of strategic roads waterstructures and public facilities with food-for-work resources and AID grants In the period 1982-1986 CAREwill have undertaken rehabilitation activities worth more than $38 million in AID funding in addition tothe value of the food distributed and CAREs owncontributions The June 1984 evaluation of its firstAID-financed rural infrastructure rehabilitation activity was favorable
AFRICARE began work in Chad in March 1983 and nowhas four expatriate staff two highly qualified Chadiantechnicians and 120 Chadian employees it wasinitially involved thein development of two irrigatedperimeters (120 ha total) close to NDjamena forvegetable gardening with mixed results More recentlyAFRICARE has undertaken a $285 million AID-fundedthree-year rehabilitationrural development project inOuaddai This project will have a major impact on therural population near Abeche who have been among thehardest hit by the war and drought by providing forseed distribution dike restoration reforestation andthe introduction of intermediate technologies Despitepoor rains in the past year this seems promising
VITA (Volunteers in Technical Assistance) beganoperations in Chad in 1984 and now has a staff of oneexpatriate (with an additional one on the way) fourChadian loan officers and five office workers Under a$15 million grant from AID it is providing animportant source of credit for small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs in and around NDjamena This privatesector activity aimed restoringat the activities ofdisplaced and other businessmen has already financedsuccessful melon poultry and food processingbusinesses in addition to more urban commercial ventures A reviewrecent indicates that this willprobably be a successful venture and VITA is nowlooking at the potential for expansion otherto market towns
The Project takes the explicit view that theexperience and in-place systems of the three major
14
Table 1
MAJOR PVO ACTIVITIES IN CHAD
PVO Activity Title Valua ($O00) Period Description Heavy Tzucks-FoodCARE 1289 982-984 Delivery
Provides trucks 4WD vehicles Maintenance for food-for-vork (FFW) and other relief coimodities delivery to rural areas
CARE FM Road Repair 387 Repair 155 km Ndjamena-Cuelendeng road 850 workers CARE Ag Infrastructure 950 1283-485 FFW reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urbanRestoration I manitation CARE Ag Infrastructu-e 1200 1084-1086 Ff4 reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urban
Restoration 11 sanitation CARE Resettlement 217 185- Resettlement in Kane financed by FED and Dutch PVO AFRICARE Heavy Equip Repair 585 982-984 Provide master mechanic and rehabilitation to Public Works
NdjamenaAFRICARK Vegetable Gardening 380 683-986 FFW Establish 20 ha vegetable production nearNdjamena AFRICARE Abechi Rural Dev 2850 584-1186 Integrated rural development VITA Private Enterprise 1500 784-686 Provision of credit to entrepreneurs in and near Ndjamena for new
businesses SECADEV Displaced Personp
Rural Development Food aid distribution reconstruction ofrural infrastructure650 (annually) food relief
Ndjamena Social Aid to sick aged handicapped - a GOC-registered
Chadian Catholic PVO working with 10-12000 peopleNfdecins 6000 1983-85 Sans Medical Assistance
Epidemic prevention in displaced persons camps reestablishment11000 1985-88 Frontiaree of prefecture health clinics staff training hoterchtld health
monitoring preventive care European PVO CARED Rural Development - 1982- Pre-cooperative support Irrigated perimeters (5-10 ha each)
chicken and small rumLnant production village grain mills League of Emergency Relief 750 1983-4Red Cross Food and Blanket distribution to more than 50000 80 food7500 1985-8 distribution sites some resettlement programs
American PVOs in Chad can and should be utilized and built upon at this stage and through this project Alternative vehicles as suggested above are not promising in themselves and could not in any case be relied upon for rapid mobilization Nor in Sahelian experience are universities consulting firms or the technical offices of AID missions more suitable to the hands-on nature of this project They are less adaptable to (and experienced with) the rigors of work in Chad and more expensive as well
This does not mean however that the PVOs expected to implement this project will not need helpOn the model of current AID rehabtlitation efforts they can be relied upon to handle well the necessary procurement understandings with the government mobilization and delivery of inputs and monitoringTheir weaknesses understandable given contemporary Chad and the foreign assistance milieu but also correctable have lain in the design and technical supervision of rural activities (See VA below) Greater subproject financing of field specialists should assure that implementation is technically sound The PVOs will be encouraged to apply their own contributions to detailed design work at the proposal and later stages To augment this the Project will provide for the selected application of small grants to PVOs for specific desiqn assistance
C ELEMENTS
1 Subprojects
Analyses indicate that considerable potential for new food production and related private sector activityobtains dispersed through the Sahelian zone To capture this potential and test developmental approaches (including local organizational dynamics) economically and rapidly American PVOs with substantial in-country facilities and experience will be invited to propose four to five subprojects having durations of two to four years beginning in late FY 1985 These subprojects will be the substance of the Project
Following the focus and expectations described above and in later analyses there is a strong prospect that CARE AFRICARE and VITA will propose initial subprojects which treat settled populations in the geographical Kanem area around Abeche and in Chari-Baguirmi Each should be prepared and ready to commelice before the end of FY 1986 probably much earlier on the part of CARE They may either fullycomprehend a large scattered population -- possibly expanded to additional accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- or commence in a more limited fashion and for
16
shorter duraticn with the intention of a second phase within the life of the Project At the same time the Project allows for the introduction of at least one new American PVO into Chads food production sector
On the basis of this project papers guidance each PVO will develop a detailed proposal the equivalent substantively of an AID small-project PP (see also Implementation Plan III below) for review and approval by AID in the field These proposals must adhere to the Projects focus criteria and meet various standards of format and detail Most important among the latter treat beneficiaries (the deprived but able) technological feasibility inputs availability and utility (tools seeds food-for-work etc) social and organizational practicality (regarding inter alia adaptiveness and cooperativeness of populations land tenure and government role) economic justifiability (cost-benefit or least cost market relations etc) and intended demonstration and institutional especially local institutional effects The PVO must further demonstrate its managerial capacity and provide as a condition to proposal approval an agreement with the appropriate GOC ministry to undertake the subproject on its behalf That should indicate the role of specific GOC agencies in implementation and the institutional developmental feasiblity and goals of that
The inputs of the project will be largely grants through Cooperative Agreements to the PVOs and as necessary and possible AID or World Food Program food-for-work contributions and food aid sales proceeds The quantification of those will be done at the subproject design stage The inputs of subprojects financed by the AID grants will be technical asistance management implements and other inputs loan finance in the private sector efforts food or proceeds perhaps (financed outside the Project) monitoring and evaluation and provision for contingencies The outputs will be functioning food production schemes and food production or related businesses Output targets will be enumerated by scheme or area based on the PVOs detailed analyses
Total Project funds programmed for subproject grants are $12 million with expenditures to be incurred by September 30 1989 the Project Assistance Completion Date (PACD) and fully disbursed by December 31 1989 Included in the grant financing to PVOs may be design costs not normally to exceed $50000 per subproject
PVOs are expected to make a maximum effort to meet the requirement of a 25 pezcent contribution from their own resources to the total costs of their subproject(s) and especially to the development of subprojects
17
Provision of Project assistance to subprojectconceptualization and design will be justifiedespecially for new PVO entrants to Chad or more importantly where an intended subprojects objectivesexplicitly emphasize testing and monitoring oftechnologies development) application
or processes with promise
(including institutional for future systematic
2 Procedures
Participating PVOs are expected to be familiar with AID requirements to follow the proposal format set forth in the Implementation Plan below and to be acceptable to AID in terms of registrationnon-government source globalof revenue and auditability Given that AID will entertain proposals on a rolling admissions basis up to a magnitude of $40million each with activities to be completed by the PACD
As a central principle of the Project isminimization of direct AID design and implementationburden and maximization of impact a small but necessaryprovision is made for management by AID This $725000will finance a full-time project manager management support allowance for contingencies and an AID evaluation The project manager will coordinate AID-PVO relationships including assistance to subprojectdesign as necessary subproject proposal review dild approval (including adherence to FAA Sec 611(a)requirements) GOC approvals activation of cooperativeagreements reporting and evaluation (See II-IV below)
Thus subproject proposals will be treated in the same fashion as projects for field authorization and to the same standards This will require full review byAIDChad professional staff the Chad AID Directors approval with concurrence of the REDSOWCA Director From an approved proposal AIDChad will develop a PIOTto generate in turn the Cooperative Agreement to be executed by a REDSOWCA Grant Officer The GOC will be a signatory to the PIOT thereby exercising its rightto determine the use of funds granted to it by AID
3 Results
As should now be clear the end-of-project-statusof this effort has two strands and a corollarySignificant increases in food production and consumption among Chads currently destitute must occur and be managed at an uncommonly low cost to AID and the GOC In achieving this techniques of cultivation and organization including use of private capital and local cooperation should be tested reasonably
18
systematically this should provide a part of the basis for later concerted attacks on Chads poverty by the GOC and its Atdonors the same time AID-PVO cooperationwill enhance the impact of the assistance of each in Chads difficult environment And strengthened PVOs and PVO-GOC collaboration is unquestionably a short- andmedium-term good given the straightened circumstances and poor prospects of Chads people and systems
Finally specification measurement and lessons of such results are particularly important to agriculturaldevelopment in Chad The era of the Project is onewhere a turning point may be reached thisfor countryThus monitoring and evaluation of the Project are especially important (See IV below) If the Projects assumptions are correct and this is designedto be verified in the Projects timeframe Chad has reasonable hope and AID will have fulfilled its current mandate and immediate strategic purpose
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS
A BUDGET
The Project will provide $12725 million in grantfunds from the Sahel (121) account to the Government of Chad to be obligated over the Fiscal Years 1985 through1987 Expenditures may be accrued up theto PACD (September 30 1989) and must be fully disbursed byDecember 31 1989 Obligation will be by GrantAgreement and its amendment with the GOC Funds will be handled directly by registered American PVOs and in the case of administration of the Project by USAIDChad
Of the total AID dollar contribution $120 million will be provided by AID to PVOs by CooperativeAgreements through letters of credit Generally a 25percent contribution to each subproject from non-AID sources will be required including cash input so far as possible from each PVO This can be waived by the Chad AID Representative if the interests of United States policy in Chad so warrant It is estimated that the non-AID contribution by PVOs to the overall costs of the Project will be about $30 million The Government of Chad will not be called upon to contribute to the overall Project as this is deemed impossible under current Chadian circumstances and in any case is not required in the Sahel program However in individual subprojects certain GOC contribution of staff time and facilities may well occur and bewill encouraged this will be set forth in the PVO-GOC exchange of letters
Additional contributions to the Project from other AID sources are also anticipated but cannot be projecteduntil subprojects are designed and approved and these
19
resources availability in Chad for specified periods isdetermined They are food-for-work provided under PL
II480 Title and rice sales proceeds generated by TitleII Emergency Sales in FY 1985 and Title II Section 206 programs or continued Emergency Sales thereafter
The remaining portion of the grant ($725000) willbe devoted to administration by AID That is financeof a fulltime project manager by AID Personal ServicesContract (PSC) (estimated at $125000 per year for four years plus management support of $50000) finance of acomprehensive final evaluation theof project in itsfourth year ($100000) also to be directly contracted for by AID and a small provision for contingencies($75000) It is expected that additional subprojectreview monitoring and evaluation services as necessaryduring the life of the project will be provided byREDSOWCA at no cost to the Project
Table 2 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS ($mil)
AID Grants to PVOs 120
AID Administration 0725
PVO Contributions 30
Food-for-Work
AID Food Sales Proceeds
Table 3
OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FISCAL YEAR ($mil)
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Obligations 3725 40 50 - -Expenditures - 2225 45 40 20
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A thorough financial analysis and detailed budgetwill be required in each subproject proposal Thisshould include a realistic list of inputs and theirprobable sources of supply (in AID Geographic Code 941countries and the cooperating country) with base costs calculated in ctrrent prices for each and price andphysical cortingencies estimated conservatively
In cases where sulpiojects comprise ldrge sets ofsmall interventions it will be permissible to aggregateestimates by category rather than for each individualsmall activity as related to total physical volumes of
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work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
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Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
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inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
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small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
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2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
CONTENTS
PAGE FACESHEET ACTION MEMORANDUM AUTHORIZATION APPROVALS CONTENTS MAP EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
I PROJECT RATIONALE AND DESCRIPTION A SETTING 1
1 Structural Change and-Impoverishment 1 2 Relief and Rehabilitation 4 3 Approaches to Development 6
B STRATEGY 8 1 AID Policy 8
2 Definition of the Project ii 3 Role and Use of PVOs 13
C ELEMENTS 16 1 Subprojects 16
2 Procedures 18
3 Results 18
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS 19
A BUDGET 19
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS 20
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE 21
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN 2222 A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW o 22 B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS 24
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID 26
IV MONITORING AND EVALUATION PLAN 27 A SUBPROJECT MONITORING 27
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS 27
C PROJECT EVALUATION 27
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES o28
A TECHNICAL 28 1 Agronomy o 28
2 Irrigation and Water Management 30 3 Private Sector 31
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC 33
1 Economic Rationale of the Project 33 2 Target Populations 36
3 Feasibility of Subprojects 37
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT- 39
ANNEXES A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK B PID APPROVAL CABLE AND IEE THRESHOLD DECISION C STATUTORY CHECKLIST AND SEC 121 (d) CERTIFICATION D LETTER OF REQUEST E ANALYSES
C H A D
0 100Scale200 300km
~~ bull
22 2
I N _
2
THAN EAa LACAi Abeche
ongoorneno
BA UI Am i
bull LUERA IV
00-ASALKAT]
i L OYNC LOCONE7i Mourou ah U Saharian zone
FCONE0- Sahelian-7- zone OCCIDENTAL Soudanian zone
Ni ER 00 ~ixjXKNational boundaries A E 00[CNE ORIENTALI Boundaries ofN OPrefectures
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Grantee The Government of Chad
Implementing Agencies American Private and Voluntary Organizations (PVOs) resident in Chad
Financial Plan Grant from Sahel Development Program funds of $12725 million to be obligated FY 1985-87 (FY 85 obligation $3725 million) PACD 93089 Approximate PVO contribution of $30 million no host country contribution estimated at this time
Purpose In the Sahelian zone to assist small-farmer food production and supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Background Chad has been wracked by recurrent war and drought for the past 15 years and is now a major recipient of disaster assistance and the worlds poorest country Increasing food production is its major need but the time is not right for long-term agricultural projects Nor is the Government (GOC) capable of out-reach to farmers in sufficient degree especially in the most impoverished area the Sahelian zone AID in the past two yearr has had very positive expel uilue wi Lh Anmerican PVOs in its relief and rehabilitation and refugee resettlement activities They have proved efficient vehicles for development assistance in the most difficult of circumstances and their rural rehabilitation and private sector interventions give promise for intensified food production interventions that are small-scale and from which essential lessons can be learned for application in later more profound development efforts
Description The Project will support four to five subprojects designed implemented and monitored by American PVOs having a major presence in Chad Settled populations will be assisted to achieve food self-sufficiency and small entrepreneurs will be assisted to start food production-related businesses The former will exploit potential for small-scale irrigation and receive PVO-organized technical assistance inputs nd food-for-work for construction as appropriate The latter will receive technical assistance and loan capital out of a revolving fund The PVO umbrella structure of the project will minimize the management burden of AID and the GOC The results will be not only increased food availaibility to populations on the verge at present of starvation but also techniques and approaches (including organizational) will have been tested which will inform
future larger-scaled agricultural development projects as and if conditions in Chad become favorable for them
Findings Detailed technical economic social environmental and financial analyses will be required in the PVO proposals which generate subprojects General analyses of conditions in the Sahelian zone indicate considerable water exploitation potential for food production availability of low-cost technologies sufficient PVO management expertise and suitable susceptible and organizable beneficiaries
Small Disadvantagd and Woman-owned Firms PVOs are not that however at least one minority PVO will be a major participant and all PVOs will be encouraged to avail themselves of technical advisory services from Historically Black American Universities and Colleges
Waivers A blanket vehicle waiver for procurement from Code 935 sources is attached as is a Delegation of Authority from AAAFR to the Chad Aid Representative to limit invitation for PVO application to a single source in thn case of each subproject which is deemed unique or mcst appropriate to undertake the effort (HBl3JB2e(3))
Major Conditions Precedent and Covenants None
Project Team Members James Osbcrn PDO Diana McLain agronomist Dan Jenkins engineer Douglas Barnett economist Lucien Strevinou PRE advisor Alex Newton RLA -- all of REDSOWCA
2
I PROJECT RATIONALE AND DESCRIPTION
A SETTING
Chad was one of the poorest countries in Africa before recurring drought and war in the 1970s and 1980s now it is perhaps the most wrecked Severe dislocations destruction and destitution in the northern two-thirds of the country and political instability coupled with drought in the usually lusher south face a government with pitifully few resources Humanitarian and political impulses have brought forth multilateral and western bilateral assistance and a major effort by private voluntary organizations -shydirected both to relief and limited rehabilitation on the one hand and stabilization and nuturing of national systems on the other
Even a ten to twenty year perspective on the develepment (or redevelopment) of Chad cannot be surelyoptimistic But the United States and other donors have a measured commitment to reestablishing Chads economic viability and giving impetus to growth There is some potential amidst the waste and tragedy A developmentproject must be adroit to seize and build upon it as part of a long-term effort in a harsh and uncertain environment
1 Structural Chanqe and Impoverishment
Chad shares the major physical and historical characteristics of large Sahelian countries stratification from north to south French colonial heritage Saharan impingement primitive subsistence agriculture and husbandry supporting the bulk of the population and periodic tenuous legitimacy of government Before the twin blows of war and droughthowever Chad had as reasonable an expectation of gradual growth and development as any country in the region By the end of the 1960s a small but articulated system of government trade financing and management entities was prepared on the post-colonial French model and with French assistance to exploit the export agricultural potential of the south -- in turn to finance modest evolution of public services and improvedsubsistence agriculture and husbandry throughout Chad
In the years 1965 througY 1971 as Chads population grew from approximately 332 to 372 million food (cereal grain) production increased from 460000 to 690000 metric tons per year exceeding basic self-sufficiency (150 kgperson) by 24 percent in 1971 Cotton production increased in the period 1964-65 to 1968-69 from 99106 metric tons per year to 148819
--
with a productivity increase of 46 percent The cattle and goat population in the same period increased byabout 36 percent At this point the stage was set for conventional development policy action Domestic income and foreign aid and investment supported comparativelysophisticated development of cotton production and trade and the commencement of land transport importsubstitution agricultural infrastructural and publicservices projects
Then civil strife and droughts cyclically from 1971 through the present turned Chad from a relativelyunderdeveloped counLry with hope into a disaster Willful organized violence ran sporadically through1979 peaking for the moment with the military coupdetat in 1975 and escallating again in 1980-82 when the then President Goukouni Oueddei (with Libyansupport) vied with Defense Minister Hissein Habre for control Habre established the current government in June 1982 and reestablished a modicum of governmentalservice Goukouni and Libyan forces have since fought a war of position and nerves with the Government of Chad From 1983 conflict has stabilized into skirmishes across a line in north-central Chad From varyingdegrees of trouble in the south has emerged recently a stronger government position
This debilitating violence and instability over 20 years gradually ruined the governments ability to attract inpst-mont to man~neand dtvplopmentsystematically institutions allof sorts crumbledtrained professionals de-camped or-erly assistance became impossible In 1983 Chad in interndtional development terms practically rasawas a tabula But on the picture of man-made destruction Was also superimposed in 1970s sincethe and maligndrought-induced structural change as bad or wocrse than anywhere in the region This encompasses failed harvests debilitated herds dramatically lowered river and lake levels migration of the worst hit subsistence agriculturalists and pastoralists radical change in traditional practices culturaland relations an unprecedented risk of mass starvation and human damage
with all beyond the abilities of the government and private sector to cope
More specifically the drought has hit hardest the center or Sahelian zone of Chad where about two million of the approximately 44 million Chadians now reside and the government and many extant modern sectors are centered in NDjamena For a zone whose traditional rainfall should range from 350 mmyear in the extreme north to more than 900 mmyear in the south the averageof seven station- reporting from 1966 through 1970 was
2
784 mmyear This declined to 597 in 1971-73 rose to 755 in 1975-76 fell to 567 in 1977-78 rose to 840 in 1980-81 and bottomed at 536 mmyear average in1982-84 Cereal production in the zone declined from 279257 metric tons in 1976 to 169419 in 1983
Data for 1984 indicate a worse drought than ever For example around NDjamena the August rainfall average for the past 25 years has been 201 mm in 1983it was 1389 mm in 1984 476 mn In the region north of NDjamena to the lake there was no production in the past winter seasc)n pastures were dry and cattle dyingby September and pumping to irrigated perimeters from the river was impossible in some areas The 1984 harvest in the Sahelian zone was weak to nul and significantly curtailed thein southern Sudanian and Sudanian-Guinan climatic zones Small market-gardenplots around NDjamena producing muchas as 2000metric tons of vegetables on 300 ha in 1979 were down to 64 ha in 198384 producing no more than 100 MT There was a total failure of the rice crop in 1984
The food deficit in 198384 averaged 45 percentfor the Sahelian zone as a whole with a maximum of 78 percent in the eastern prefecture of Biltine-Ouaddai (centered on Abeche) 71 percent in Kanem north of thelake and 58 percent in Chari-Baguirmi which contains NDjamena The four southern prefectures generallyreferred to as Sudanian recorded an average 20 percent deficit
Drought is a greater contributor even than towar present human distress in Chad Head counts (and these are conservative estimates by resident relief agenciesassrembled by USAIDNDjamena) indicate magnitudethe as of April 19 1985 Chadian displaced (and destitute) persons numLered at 167658 and the1past this was stricken 2ure of an estimated 640000 peons at risk The prefectures of greatest burden were Guera in the center (34600 displaced persons) Ouaddai in the east (31250) Batha (28000) and Chari-Baguirmi around NDjamena (22600)
Thus multiple misfortunes converging on Chads people make for the following best-case composite a country of Tbout 443 million whose population growthrate generally has been about 22 percent infant mortality about 1501000 and life expectancy 40 yearsSurveys find Aficas worst levels of malnutrition here Ernploiment is 85 percent in agriculture and 41 percent of the population is 15 years old or youngerChads GNP per capita in 1984 was estimated to be $80reflecting a recent growth rate of -28 percent
3
North-south stratification finds two million
primitive farmers and pastoralists in the severe drought
zone of the Sahel at present unable by far to produce enough grain to eat -- although in the past for the most part they did The slightly more populous south has not
had severe drought until this year conditions more
generally benign to agricultu-e and a diligent cotton
production effort backed by what services the government has ever been able to provide (eg extension) There
is decline but survival given rain
The capital NDjamena has about 400000 people
who apart from some participants in the southern sugar
beer and cotton production industries represent Chads
modern sector A large exodus of the highly skilled
comprehensive destruction of physical plant and the
collapse of the banking sector mean the little reviving commerce and industry are small in scale and largely
informal in character although economic chaos is
forestalled by Chadian discipline and Chads position in
the CFA zone
The national government is not collapsing on the
contrary it is functioning seriously and remarkably
honestly However it is almost insolvent On revenues
in 1984 of 1122 billion CFA (ca $24 million) the
government carried expenditures of CFA 16503 billion
Its deficit is currently oscillating around $10 million
pet year largely find by France The budgetary crunch is expected to be most severe from September 1985
through March 1987 including earmarked revenues
(untabulated above) and assuming deficits are financed
somehow the governments total outlays for the present
will be around $35 million a year
For a country of four million people this is
considered to be about the irreducible minimum necessary
to maintain a modicum cf governmental presence and
functions And that modicum is operated by a sparse
civil service mostly at half salary The National
Office of Rural Development (ONDR which is responsible
nationally for agricultural extension organization of
productive inputs improving -gricultural technologies
and collection of agricultural statistics) to take one
example had 1406 employees in 1978 and 1571 in 1983
However in that period staff for general direction and
for work in the Sahel fell by 16 and 38 percent
respectively -- to 45 central managers and 219 civil servants serving all of the Sahelian zone
2 Relief and Rehabilitation
The international community has recognized Chads
crisis and responded This will continue for some time
to concentrate on food donations and emergency health
4
care rehabilitation of some productive capacity in the Sahelian zone and subventions to the central government to support and rehabilitate basic functions combined with support for agricultural production largelycotton in the south These efforts which are considerable given the hostility of Chads environment are setting parameters and conditions for Chads future development
Emergency food and medical assistance provided bymultilateral and bilateral agencies and privateorganizations treat the severest cases of deprivation in Chad In 1985 a food deficit of 300000 MT is possibleshould the south again be severely hit by drought a displaced population of as many as 240000 and an at risk population of up to one million are probableForeign-operated food distribution systems within Chad are attempting to deliver supplies at the rate of about 15000 MT per month to rural distribution points A thin but wide-spread emergency medical service is financed by donors and operated by a PVO (PrivateVoluntary Organization)
Beyond stemmuing tragedy the effects of such efforts should have important consequences Firstmigrants away from famine and civil strife can be organized into settled agriculture (if and where there is potential) being displaced from traditik 1 contexts in theory they can be more amenable adopting improved production practices Second there is a demonstration and training effect involving largenumbers of Chadian workers local organizations and the few available government officials which despiteeverything could energize future institutional development at several levels Third physicalinfrastructure to support emergency operations is in limited degrees of necessity being put in placevehicle fleets communications a bridge to Cameroon etc
At the same time considerable donor assistancebuilding since the 1982 Geneva Conference has been planned and some delivered for basic reconstruction and rehabilitation Of $250 totalthe million aid requested then perhaps two-thirds is in the pipelineThis not only supports public administration capitalinfrastructure rehabilitation and revitalization of cotton exports but also small-holder agriculturalproduction in a few accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- a certain amount of it managed by PVOs From experience with the last it is possible to see a small basis and certain opportunities for longer-term development of traditional agriculture
5
In particular water is available for small-scale farming in the Lake Chad alluvial basin with modestapplication of andlabor capital along riverperimeters in wadis with catchment from shallow wellsand recessionally via poldering Technicalorganizational snags however
and are not fully worked
out Reliable seed of course is essential andimproved varieties when obtainable are successfullyadopted Village organizations can cooperatively applylabor accumulate inputs and market excess produce withorganizational assistance Likewise a vigorous smallbusiness community willing take canto risks benurtured and find profitable opportunities in rural development (See V and Annex E below)
Eighteen or more small projects concerningirrigated and rainfed agriculture in the Sahelian zone are underway or planned For the next several yearsthey will demonstrate the feasibilities of particularcropcultivation practice combinations inputpracticalities small business roles in food productionand the potentials of areas from Kanem in the north to Bongor in the south to Abeche in the east
3 AppK(oaches to Developmen t
That is a small beginning to a large task for theindefinite future putting Chad back on the track toself-reliance and growth The necessity for a primaryconcentration on agriculture is evident as is the needfor more assistance The most recent comprehensivestudy on the subject (Club du SahelCILSSCONACILSSBilan Pro9ramme des Productions Veqetaies PluvialsetIrri du Tchad Sector Analysis Rainfed andIrrigated Crop Production in Chad December 1984) citesthe following first order constraints on agriculturaldevelopment in addition generally to drought and inadequate foreign aid
-- insufficient availability of seed
insufficient attention (policyinvestment) to irrigation properly scaled and
absence of significant intervention onproducer prices and marketing of agricultural products and on the costs of production inputs
The study also notes the general absence of adaptive andsub-regional research rural credit and extensionsophisticated inputs and planning
6
The prescription of CILSS to which it is difficult to take exception intellectually or in principle conwprises orientations building for the longer term and more or less iniaediate actions These are the basis for a national development strategy And until further study (eg on costs) and experience (egwith adoption of technologies) or a radical change in conditions indicate otherwise they will probablyreceive general assent The eight orientations are undifferentiated and unordered but offer opportunities for all They are
-- give priority to food self-sufficiency
-- operationalize irrigation potential not least small scale
-- protect and develop cotton production through intensification
revitalize rural development in the Sahelian zone through regional planning
define and operate a producer price and marketing policy which stimulates increased production
-- promote small-farmer initiative and responsibility through training cooperativization etc
-- adequately support rural development institutions for programming research crop protection extension etc and
-- acquire massive concerted properly adapted foreign aid applying better donor-Chadian cocrdination
Immediate actions called for are
an appeal for food aid in 198485 an important part in the forms of food-for-work and that generating sales proceeds
-- an appeal for building up a cereal seed stock for 198485
-- intensification of irrigation investments via food-for-work and by launching already proposed schemes
-- provisional suspension of transfer to small farmers of the real costs of production inputs
7
--
-- significant assistance to theInterministerial Bureau for Studies andProgramming (BEP) under the Minister of State for Agricultural and Rural Development and
-- intervention by the Nationai CerealsOffice in the consumer price systemthrough the use of donated food
In other words Chadian agriculture needseverything and much of this at once However there aredefinite practical steps to take that are developmentaland not shotgun crisis-reactive The proolems whichwill confront donors and the Government of Chad areassessment of risk husbanding of scarce resourceschoice of targets and timing Whereas policy dialogueand formulation Cor example should be fruitful civenChads disarray and are inexpensive larqe-scaleirrigation schemes massiveor provision of proaoictiveinputs and rural services are not necessarily eithe atpresent The challenge of Chad is not simple
B STRATEGY 1 AID Polic
The United States has several interests in Chadserved by its foreign assistance program Theseinterlock and are pursued through multilateralcoordination The humanitarian concern and efforts torelieve immediate mass suffering todue famine areessential But they would be insufficient -shypotentially futile if systemic improvements were notassisted eventually which should prevent the recurrenceof disaster even if drought pevails Such developmentcannot proceed however in an insecure polity subjecthaphazardly to turmoil and governmental paralysisespecially that induced by a capricious enemy neighbor
rherefore American policy action has focused since1982 on the recstablishment of a stable and vigorousgovernment which deals with Chads imradiate problemseffectively establishing credibility wkth the Chadianpeople and good relations with its neighbors AID hasprovided some of the means food medicines transportbudget support finance for small-scale physicalrehabilitation and the services of PVOs for outreachAmerican food assistance approved from Junethrough April 1985 to
1982 sum 139680 MT of grain andvegoil at a cost of $6948 million including transportand management Of that 7500 MT riceof and sorghumhave been granted to Chad the sales proceeds of which
will be devoted to emergency rehabilitation
8
Non-food assistance to be obligated through FY1985 and serve the above purpose in a quick-disbursingfashion will total $1935 million That is devoted largely with considerable success to agriculturalrestoration (35 percent) health restoration (21percent) and budget support (16 percent) with lesser amounts for basic assistance in human resources privateenterprise administrative management and road repair
At the same time after almost three yearsexperience the Government of Chad (GOC) the donor community at andlarge AID have concluded that efforts can and should be made to plan and commence investment programs that attack Chads root problems As indicated in the above discussions reliable food supply is Chads paramount need And for the foreseeable future this need can be served only by local production or food aid purchase of food out of export earnings is not in the cards Development of food production capacity is an immediate and long-term necessity and the sine qua non of all else developmental
Although Chad is an extreme case this fact is congruent with broader observations that have informed current AID policy For Africa this makes agriculturethe central focus and AIDs goal to assist African governments reverse the declining per capita food production trend increaseand overall agriculturalproduction and productivity increase farm incomes and improve nutritional status particularly of the small holder (Strategic Plan Executive Summary 62883p 12) Sahel development strategy (Review STATE 287422 July 14 1984) cites the need for realistic goals over a 10-20 year time frame based on food availability rather foodthan production as the central objective of AID assistance in the Sahel And the first emphasis is on food security however attained Secondarily sustainable food production to reduce dependence on emergency relief should be an objective
AIDs Chad policy is therefore to devote the largest part of its development assistance over the next decade at least to food production Economic SupportFund resources will support in a new project the development of a road maintenance capacity and there may be further need for budget support from the same source Limited interventions in health care human resources and management development from bilateral and regional development assistance projects will be adjuncts The isquestion how to proceed in promotingsustained increasing food production and consumption
9
--
Three factors affect AIDs strategy First thechoice and sequence of interventions in the specificcontext of Chad must create -early pay-offs that buildand accelerate there is no time to waste and eventualcommitments to long-term massive structural orinstitutional developments must have solid grounding -shyin national stability proved approaches and Chadiancommitment Second AIDs development assistanceresources both financial and managerial will continueto be severely constrained Projected levels areobligations of $50 million per year through FY 1990out of a total economic assistance program of $15million annually Eight direct-hire staff will manageall AID activity country-wide Third the alreadyvariegated program of the international donor (includingPVO) community in Chad is expected to grow in volume andcomplexity as stability and responsiveness of Chadincrease
AIDs food production strategy in Chad as seen atthis point then envisages a program of overlappingphases slotted into the overall donor effort and makingthe most economical use of AIDs scarce resources asfollows
-- while current agricultural rehabilitation activities are continuing (through 1986)their technical and organizational lessonswill be absorbed and then operationalizedin
four to five new initiatives supported bythis project from 1985 to 1990 which support small-holder food productiondevelopment and contributing privatebusiness development These will testtechnical (especially water application)and organizational approaches and measuretheir benefits in the Sahelian zone wherethe food problem is theyAnd will beconceived in detail and carried out byPVOs whose expertise and economy ofoperation in this realm are r-nowned
-- as the PVO Development Initiatives Projectwill be fully obligated by FY 1987 thethird overlapping phase will be planned to commence in 1988 It will draw from theexperience of phase two and of otherdonors in similar efforts and insupporting systematic developmentslarger scales (irrigation
at systems seedprovision extension research and
planning price policy export croppromotion for example) Long-term major
10
interventions by AID at that point will probably be in order It is too soon to tell of what type but adaptive (farmingsystems) researchextension is a reasonable possiblity
2 Definition of the Project
Therefore the goal of the Project is to increaseChads production of food and its availability to thedeprived and lay groundwork for more profoundagricultural development Its purpose is in theSahelian zone to assist small farmer production andsupportive private sector activities havingdemonstration and institutional development (primarilylocal cooperation) effects The objective is toaccomplish this broadly and quickly enough to (a) make asignificant contribution to the welfare of Chadianshitherto subject to famine and the recipients of foodaid including settled displaced persons and (b)demonstrate approaches to developing small farmer andprivate sector food production systems which successorlonger-term projects can adopt or otherwise support
The magnitude and duration of the Project havebeen determined on the basis of three considerations availability of funds current and developableabsorptive capacity in Chad and the sequence ofagricultural development isAID following here Asindicated above the level of development assistance of$50 million or less per year in the next four years inthe AID bilateral programs obligations on the one handand the assignment of mission direct-hire staff on theother limit the program practically to newone startat present But the condition of Chads infrastructuregovernmental systems and societal fabric does not permitan immediate large-scale or long-term commitment inagriculture They also limit the organizational meansby which assistance to agriculture in Chad can be delivered and monitored
From this follows a deliberate focus andlimitation of the Project to the essential and to targets and means where current experience and analysesindicate feasibility as well as potential forfarther-future interventions That is new foodproduction employing water application small groundworks and self-help and loan finance for smallagricultural businesses -- in accessible areas of theSahelian zone (north and south of NDjamena and around Abeche) -- with a spread of small-scale efforts andtargets clustered in four (or possibly five)subprojects Certain activities may employ AIDfood-for-work or food sales proceeds to supplementproject finance that will support technical assistanceand management tools and other inputs and a loan fund
11
for entrepreneurs And GOC contribution of staff andfacilities will be encouraged in individual subprojects
Strategy dictates that these efforts begin as soonas possible and produce tangible results within three tofour years AIDs experience with relief andrehabilitation activities indicates that such work canbe organized and implemented in Chad at an expenditurerate of about $30 million per year It also indicatesindeed presupposes that American PVOs already operatingeffectively in Chad should be the primary vehicle fordesign operation and monitoring Neither AIDChad northe GOC has the capacity to work on a day-to-day basisat this level -- with outreach to farmers acquisitionand delivery of a variety of inputs and detailedspecification and follow-up PVOs do (See B3 below)
The Project will combine the requisites ofquick-startup and disbursement breadth of effectaccommodation of several effective PVOs andconcentration on a particular target population in aunitary framework via a special type of PVO umbrellaproject This follows agency guidance mandating greatercooperation with registered PVOs in AID programs andsimplification of procedures But for Chad it is notand cannot be a peripheral adjunct to a large matureassistance program the Project will be central to thecurrent effort making a new start on Chads agriculturaldevelopment By design and intent it should become thestepping stone to a mature agricultural program andproject portfolio
Thus one project will be authorized havingtranched obligations over three years underagreement with the GOC an
Guidance on the development andimplementation of subprojects by PVOs contained in thisproject paper (PP) will lead interested PVOs initiallyCARE AFRICARE and VITA to design and proposeinitiatives to serve the projects goal and purpose inthe prescribed manner Cooperative Agreements betweenAID and the PVOs will set the work afoot mutatismutandis The customary andindependent imaginationinitiative of PVOs are necessary ingredients in thisendeavor And recent experience lends confidence thatPVO integrity and the requisites of andAID thisparticular project will be compatible and mutuallysupportive The Project then will be evaluated as awhole by AID and its subprojects monitored andevaluated cooperatively by the PVOs and AID in asequence that provides timely indicators to the futuredevelopment of AIDs program in Chad
12
3 The Role and Use of PVOs
PVO umbrella or co-financing projects are relatively new in Africa though now conventional in Asia whereas AID assistance in Africa has a fairlywide though checkered history of support for individual PVO activities Two more or less pure umbrella projects in Africa are in Zaire and Kenya (and a second in the latter currently being developed) In these countries as in the Philippines and Indonesia the PVO co-financing endeavor is one AID project in a large and variegated portfolio where tapping the resources and vitality of PVOs (American and indigenous) is basically a valuable but peripheral outreach of the core AID program
As indicated above the project proposed here is different It is intended to be the centerpiece of AIDs agricultural development assistance for the next three years Its merits must be judged then (a)against those of alternative formulations of developmentassistance with which there is experience and (b) in terms of the efficacy in Chad of the kinds of subprojects it will support On matter (a) it can be said from current Chadian experience that rural-based production investments by AID cannot be inade more efficiently by any other means And the like ihood of economic payoff in Chad of larger-scaled longergestating more fundamental systemic agriculturaldevelopment projects of the typical AID type is highlyproblematical at this time In other wordsconventional AID experience in the Sahel does not givepromise in the present Chadian context In terms of implementation pay-off and foundation-laying the AID-PVO relief and rehabilitation and refugeeresettlement assistance experience of the past two yearsdoes -- as outlined below
There are seven American PVONGOs(Non-Governmental Organizations) 13 NGOsand non-US operating in Chad Some of the NGOs particularly the Protestant missions have been around for as long as thirty years Others such as CARE started work here in the 1970s but had to withdraw and then reinstall themselves because the civil warsof Most of the PVOs have seen an increase in expenditures and staff since the advent of the present Government of Chad followinginternational donor response to the devastation of war and drought
For the most part these organizations have been effective implementing agencies capitalizing on experience and procedures developed elsewhere and in Chad carrying comparatively low operating costs and retaining the respect and cooperation of government
They operate immediate emergency food distribution andhealth care services especially for displaced personsand resettlement and rehabilitation activities in KanemOuaddai Guera and Chari-Baguirmi prefectures (see Table 1)
PVOs financed directly by AID thus far in ChadCARE AFRICARE and VITA are
each of which is implementingimportant and urgently needed activities CARE presentin Che discontinuously since 1973 has ten expatriateand 110 Chadian staff members It distributed over $30million worth of emergency food in 1984 and has beensupervising the reconstruction of strategic roads waterstructures and public facilities with food-for-work resources and AID grants In the period 1982-1986 CAREwill have undertaken rehabilitation activities worth more than $38 million in AID funding in addition tothe value of the food distributed and CAREs owncontributions The June 1984 evaluation of its firstAID-financed rural infrastructure rehabilitation activity was favorable
AFRICARE began work in Chad in March 1983 and nowhas four expatriate staff two highly qualified Chadiantechnicians and 120 Chadian employees it wasinitially involved thein development of two irrigatedperimeters (120 ha total) close to NDjamena forvegetable gardening with mixed results More recentlyAFRICARE has undertaken a $285 million AID-fundedthree-year rehabilitationrural development project inOuaddai This project will have a major impact on therural population near Abeche who have been among thehardest hit by the war and drought by providing forseed distribution dike restoration reforestation andthe introduction of intermediate technologies Despitepoor rains in the past year this seems promising
VITA (Volunteers in Technical Assistance) beganoperations in Chad in 1984 and now has a staff of oneexpatriate (with an additional one on the way) fourChadian loan officers and five office workers Under a$15 million grant from AID it is providing animportant source of credit for small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs in and around NDjamena This privatesector activity aimed restoringat the activities ofdisplaced and other businessmen has already financedsuccessful melon poultry and food processingbusinesses in addition to more urban commercial ventures A reviewrecent indicates that this willprobably be a successful venture and VITA is nowlooking at the potential for expansion otherto market towns
The Project takes the explicit view that theexperience and in-place systems of the three major
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Table 1
MAJOR PVO ACTIVITIES IN CHAD
PVO Activity Title Valua ($O00) Period Description Heavy Tzucks-FoodCARE 1289 982-984 Delivery
Provides trucks 4WD vehicles Maintenance for food-for-vork (FFW) and other relief coimodities delivery to rural areas
CARE FM Road Repair 387 Repair 155 km Ndjamena-Cuelendeng road 850 workers CARE Ag Infrastructure 950 1283-485 FFW reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urbanRestoration I manitation CARE Ag Infrastructu-e 1200 1084-1086 Ff4 reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urban
Restoration 11 sanitation CARE Resettlement 217 185- Resettlement in Kane financed by FED and Dutch PVO AFRICARE Heavy Equip Repair 585 982-984 Provide master mechanic and rehabilitation to Public Works
NdjamenaAFRICARK Vegetable Gardening 380 683-986 FFW Establish 20 ha vegetable production nearNdjamena AFRICARE Abechi Rural Dev 2850 584-1186 Integrated rural development VITA Private Enterprise 1500 784-686 Provision of credit to entrepreneurs in and near Ndjamena for new
businesses SECADEV Displaced Personp
Rural Development Food aid distribution reconstruction ofrural infrastructure650 (annually) food relief
Ndjamena Social Aid to sick aged handicapped - a GOC-registered
Chadian Catholic PVO working with 10-12000 peopleNfdecins 6000 1983-85 Sans Medical Assistance
Epidemic prevention in displaced persons camps reestablishment11000 1985-88 Frontiaree of prefecture health clinics staff training hoterchtld health
monitoring preventive care European PVO CARED Rural Development - 1982- Pre-cooperative support Irrigated perimeters (5-10 ha each)
chicken and small rumLnant production village grain mills League of Emergency Relief 750 1983-4Red Cross Food and Blanket distribution to more than 50000 80 food7500 1985-8 distribution sites some resettlement programs
American PVOs in Chad can and should be utilized and built upon at this stage and through this project Alternative vehicles as suggested above are not promising in themselves and could not in any case be relied upon for rapid mobilization Nor in Sahelian experience are universities consulting firms or the technical offices of AID missions more suitable to the hands-on nature of this project They are less adaptable to (and experienced with) the rigors of work in Chad and more expensive as well
This does not mean however that the PVOs expected to implement this project will not need helpOn the model of current AID rehabtlitation efforts they can be relied upon to handle well the necessary procurement understandings with the government mobilization and delivery of inputs and monitoringTheir weaknesses understandable given contemporary Chad and the foreign assistance milieu but also correctable have lain in the design and technical supervision of rural activities (See VA below) Greater subproject financing of field specialists should assure that implementation is technically sound The PVOs will be encouraged to apply their own contributions to detailed design work at the proposal and later stages To augment this the Project will provide for the selected application of small grants to PVOs for specific desiqn assistance
C ELEMENTS
1 Subprojects
Analyses indicate that considerable potential for new food production and related private sector activityobtains dispersed through the Sahelian zone To capture this potential and test developmental approaches (including local organizational dynamics) economically and rapidly American PVOs with substantial in-country facilities and experience will be invited to propose four to five subprojects having durations of two to four years beginning in late FY 1985 These subprojects will be the substance of the Project
Following the focus and expectations described above and in later analyses there is a strong prospect that CARE AFRICARE and VITA will propose initial subprojects which treat settled populations in the geographical Kanem area around Abeche and in Chari-Baguirmi Each should be prepared and ready to commelice before the end of FY 1986 probably much earlier on the part of CARE They may either fullycomprehend a large scattered population -- possibly expanded to additional accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- or commence in a more limited fashion and for
16
shorter duraticn with the intention of a second phase within the life of the Project At the same time the Project allows for the introduction of at least one new American PVO into Chads food production sector
On the basis of this project papers guidance each PVO will develop a detailed proposal the equivalent substantively of an AID small-project PP (see also Implementation Plan III below) for review and approval by AID in the field These proposals must adhere to the Projects focus criteria and meet various standards of format and detail Most important among the latter treat beneficiaries (the deprived but able) technological feasibility inputs availability and utility (tools seeds food-for-work etc) social and organizational practicality (regarding inter alia adaptiveness and cooperativeness of populations land tenure and government role) economic justifiability (cost-benefit or least cost market relations etc) and intended demonstration and institutional especially local institutional effects The PVO must further demonstrate its managerial capacity and provide as a condition to proposal approval an agreement with the appropriate GOC ministry to undertake the subproject on its behalf That should indicate the role of specific GOC agencies in implementation and the institutional developmental feasiblity and goals of that
The inputs of the project will be largely grants through Cooperative Agreements to the PVOs and as necessary and possible AID or World Food Program food-for-work contributions and food aid sales proceeds The quantification of those will be done at the subproject design stage The inputs of subprojects financed by the AID grants will be technical asistance management implements and other inputs loan finance in the private sector efforts food or proceeds perhaps (financed outside the Project) monitoring and evaluation and provision for contingencies The outputs will be functioning food production schemes and food production or related businesses Output targets will be enumerated by scheme or area based on the PVOs detailed analyses
Total Project funds programmed for subproject grants are $12 million with expenditures to be incurred by September 30 1989 the Project Assistance Completion Date (PACD) and fully disbursed by December 31 1989 Included in the grant financing to PVOs may be design costs not normally to exceed $50000 per subproject
PVOs are expected to make a maximum effort to meet the requirement of a 25 pezcent contribution from their own resources to the total costs of their subproject(s) and especially to the development of subprojects
17
Provision of Project assistance to subprojectconceptualization and design will be justifiedespecially for new PVO entrants to Chad or more importantly where an intended subprojects objectivesexplicitly emphasize testing and monitoring oftechnologies development) application
or processes with promise
(including institutional for future systematic
2 Procedures
Participating PVOs are expected to be familiar with AID requirements to follow the proposal format set forth in the Implementation Plan below and to be acceptable to AID in terms of registrationnon-government source globalof revenue and auditability Given that AID will entertain proposals on a rolling admissions basis up to a magnitude of $40million each with activities to be completed by the PACD
As a central principle of the Project isminimization of direct AID design and implementationburden and maximization of impact a small but necessaryprovision is made for management by AID This $725000will finance a full-time project manager management support allowance for contingencies and an AID evaluation The project manager will coordinate AID-PVO relationships including assistance to subprojectdesign as necessary subproject proposal review dild approval (including adherence to FAA Sec 611(a)requirements) GOC approvals activation of cooperativeagreements reporting and evaluation (See II-IV below)
Thus subproject proposals will be treated in the same fashion as projects for field authorization and to the same standards This will require full review byAIDChad professional staff the Chad AID Directors approval with concurrence of the REDSOWCA Director From an approved proposal AIDChad will develop a PIOTto generate in turn the Cooperative Agreement to be executed by a REDSOWCA Grant Officer The GOC will be a signatory to the PIOT thereby exercising its rightto determine the use of funds granted to it by AID
3 Results
As should now be clear the end-of-project-statusof this effort has two strands and a corollarySignificant increases in food production and consumption among Chads currently destitute must occur and be managed at an uncommonly low cost to AID and the GOC In achieving this techniques of cultivation and organization including use of private capital and local cooperation should be tested reasonably
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systematically this should provide a part of the basis for later concerted attacks on Chads poverty by the GOC and its Atdonors the same time AID-PVO cooperationwill enhance the impact of the assistance of each in Chads difficult environment And strengthened PVOs and PVO-GOC collaboration is unquestionably a short- andmedium-term good given the straightened circumstances and poor prospects of Chads people and systems
Finally specification measurement and lessons of such results are particularly important to agriculturaldevelopment in Chad The era of the Project is onewhere a turning point may be reached thisfor countryThus monitoring and evaluation of the Project are especially important (See IV below) If the Projects assumptions are correct and this is designedto be verified in the Projects timeframe Chad has reasonable hope and AID will have fulfilled its current mandate and immediate strategic purpose
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS
A BUDGET
The Project will provide $12725 million in grantfunds from the Sahel (121) account to the Government of Chad to be obligated over the Fiscal Years 1985 through1987 Expenditures may be accrued up theto PACD (September 30 1989) and must be fully disbursed byDecember 31 1989 Obligation will be by GrantAgreement and its amendment with the GOC Funds will be handled directly by registered American PVOs and in the case of administration of the Project by USAIDChad
Of the total AID dollar contribution $120 million will be provided by AID to PVOs by CooperativeAgreements through letters of credit Generally a 25percent contribution to each subproject from non-AID sources will be required including cash input so far as possible from each PVO This can be waived by the Chad AID Representative if the interests of United States policy in Chad so warrant It is estimated that the non-AID contribution by PVOs to the overall costs of the Project will be about $30 million The Government of Chad will not be called upon to contribute to the overall Project as this is deemed impossible under current Chadian circumstances and in any case is not required in the Sahel program However in individual subprojects certain GOC contribution of staff time and facilities may well occur and bewill encouraged this will be set forth in the PVO-GOC exchange of letters
Additional contributions to the Project from other AID sources are also anticipated but cannot be projecteduntil subprojects are designed and approved and these
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resources availability in Chad for specified periods isdetermined They are food-for-work provided under PL
II480 Title and rice sales proceeds generated by TitleII Emergency Sales in FY 1985 and Title II Section 206 programs or continued Emergency Sales thereafter
The remaining portion of the grant ($725000) willbe devoted to administration by AID That is financeof a fulltime project manager by AID Personal ServicesContract (PSC) (estimated at $125000 per year for four years plus management support of $50000) finance of acomprehensive final evaluation theof project in itsfourth year ($100000) also to be directly contracted for by AID and a small provision for contingencies($75000) It is expected that additional subprojectreview monitoring and evaluation services as necessaryduring the life of the project will be provided byREDSOWCA at no cost to the Project
Table 2 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS ($mil)
AID Grants to PVOs 120
AID Administration 0725
PVO Contributions 30
Food-for-Work
AID Food Sales Proceeds
Table 3
OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FISCAL YEAR ($mil)
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Obligations 3725 40 50 - -Expenditures - 2225 45 40 20
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A thorough financial analysis and detailed budgetwill be required in each subproject proposal Thisshould include a realistic list of inputs and theirprobable sources of supply (in AID Geographic Code 941countries and the cooperating country) with base costs calculated in ctrrent prices for each and price andphysical cortingencies estimated conservatively
In cases where sulpiojects comprise ldrge sets ofsmall interventions it will be permissible to aggregateestimates by category rather than for each individualsmall activity as related to total physical volumes of
20
work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
21
Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
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inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
28
small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
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2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
C H A D
0 100Scale200 300km
~~ bull
22 2
I N _
2
THAN EAa LACAi Abeche
ongoorneno
BA UI Am i
bull LUERA IV
00-ASALKAT]
i L OYNC LOCONE7i Mourou ah U Saharian zone
FCONE0- Sahelian-7- zone OCCIDENTAL Soudanian zone
Ni ER 00 ~ixjXKNational boundaries A E 00[CNE ORIENTALI Boundaries ofN OPrefectures
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Grantee The Government of Chad
Implementing Agencies American Private and Voluntary Organizations (PVOs) resident in Chad
Financial Plan Grant from Sahel Development Program funds of $12725 million to be obligated FY 1985-87 (FY 85 obligation $3725 million) PACD 93089 Approximate PVO contribution of $30 million no host country contribution estimated at this time
Purpose In the Sahelian zone to assist small-farmer food production and supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Background Chad has been wracked by recurrent war and drought for the past 15 years and is now a major recipient of disaster assistance and the worlds poorest country Increasing food production is its major need but the time is not right for long-term agricultural projects Nor is the Government (GOC) capable of out-reach to farmers in sufficient degree especially in the most impoverished area the Sahelian zone AID in the past two yearr has had very positive expel uilue wi Lh Anmerican PVOs in its relief and rehabilitation and refugee resettlement activities They have proved efficient vehicles for development assistance in the most difficult of circumstances and their rural rehabilitation and private sector interventions give promise for intensified food production interventions that are small-scale and from which essential lessons can be learned for application in later more profound development efforts
Description The Project will support four to five subprojects designed implemented and monitored by American PVOs having a major presence in Chad Settled populations will be assisted to achieve food self-sufficiency and small entrepreneurs will be assisted to start food production-related businesses The former will exploit potential for small-scale irrigation and receive PVO-organized technical assistance inputs nd food-for-work for construction as appropriate The latter will receive technical assistance and loan capital out of a revolving fund The PVO umbrella structure of the project will minimize the management burden of AID and the GOC The results will be not only increased food availaibility to populations on the verge at present of starvation but also techniques and approaches (including organizational) will have been tested which will inform
future larger-scaled agricultural development projects as and if conditions in Chad become favorable for them
Findings Detailed technical economic social environmental and financial analyses will be required in the PVO proposals which generate subprojects General analyses of conditions in the Sahelian zone indicate considerable water exploitation potential for food production availability of low-cost technologies sufficient PVO management expertise and suitable susceptible and organizable beneficiaries
Small Disadvantagd and Woman-owned Firms PVOs are not that however at least one minority PVO will be a major participant and all PVOs will be encouraged to avail themselves of technical advisory services from Historically Black American Universities and Colleges
Waivers A blanket vehicle waiver for procurement from Code 935 sources is attached as is a Delegation of Authority from AAAFR to the Chad Aid Representative to limit invitation for PVO application to a single source in thn case of each subproject which is deemed unique or mcst appropriate to undertake the effort (HBl3JB2e(3))
Major Conditions Precedent and Covenants None
Project Team Members James Osbcrn PDO Diana McLain agronomist Dan Jenkins engineer Douglas Barnett economist Lucien Strevinou PRE advisor Alex Newton RLA -- all of REDSOWCA
2
I PROJECT RATIONALE AND DESCRIPTION
A SETTING
Chad was one of the poorest countries in Africa before recurring drought and war in the 1970s and 1980s now it is perhaps the most wrecked Severe dislocations destruction and destitution in the northern two-thirds of the country and political instability coupled with drought in the usually lusher south face a government with pitifully few resources Humanitarian and political impulses have brought forth multilateral and western bilateral assistance and a major effort by private voluntary organizations -shydirected both to relief and limited rehabilitation on the one hand and stabilization and nuturing of national systems on the other
Even a ten to twenty year perspective on the develepment (or redevelopment) of Chad cannot be surelyoptimistic But the United States and other donors have a measured commitment to reestablishing Chads economic viability and giving impetus to growth There is some potential amidst the waste and tragedy A developmentproject must be adroit to seize and build upon it as part of a long-term effort in a harsh and uncertain environment
1 Structural Chanqe and Impoverishment
Chad shares the major physical and historical characteristics of large Sahelian countries stratification from north to south French colonial heritage Saharan impingement primitive subsistence agriculture and husbandry supporting the bulk of the population and periodic tenuous legitimacy of government Before the twin blows of war and droughthowever Chad had as reasonable an expectation of gradual growth and development as any country in the region By the end of the 1960s a small but articulated system of government trade financing and management entities was prepared on the post-colonial French model and with French assistance to exploit the export agricultural potential of the south -- in turn to finance modest evolution of public services and improvedsubsistence agriculture and husbandry throughout Chad
In the years 1965 througY 1971 as Chads population grew from approximately 332 to 372 million food (cereal grain) production increased from 460000 to 690000 metric tons per year exceeding basic self-sufficiency (150 kgperson) by 24 percent in 1971 Cotton production increased in the period 1964-65 to 1968-69 from 99106 metric tons per year to 148819
--
with a productivity increase of 46 percent The cattle and goat population in the same period increased byabout 36 percent At this point the stage was set for conventional development policy action Domestic income and foreign aid and investment supported comparativelysophisticated development of cotton production and trade and the commencement of land transport importsubstitution agricultural infrastructural and publicservices projects
Then civil strife and droughts cyclically from 1971 through the present turned Chad from a relativelyunderdeveloped counLry with hope into a disaster Willful organized violence ran sporadically through1979 peaking for the moment with the military coupdetat in 1975 and escallating again in 1980-82 when the then President Goukouni Oueddei (with Libyansupport) vied with Defense Minister Hissein Habre for control Habre established the current government in June 1982 and reestablished a modicum of governmentalservice Goukouni and Libyan forces have since fought a war of position and nerves with the Government of Chad From 1983 conflict has stabilized into skirmishes across a line in north-central Chad From varyingdegrees of trouble in the south has emerged recently a stronger government position
This debilitating violence and instability over 20 years gradually ruined the governments ability to attract inpst-mont to man~neand dtvplopmentsystematically institutions allof sorts crumbledtrained professionals de-camped or-erly assistance became impossible In 1983 Chad in interndtional development terms practically rasawas a tabula But on the picture of man-made destruction Was also superimposed in 1970s sincethe and maligndrought-induced structural change as bad or wocrse than anywhere in the region This encompasses failed harvests debilitated herds dramatically lowered river and lake levels migration of the worst hit subsistence agriculturalists and pastoralists radical change in traditional practices culturaland relations an unprecedented risk of mass starvation and human damage
with all beyond the abilities of the government and private sector to cope
More specifically the drought has hit hardest the center or Sahelian zone of Chad where about two million of the approximately 44 million Chadians now reside and the government and many extant modern sectors are centered in NDjamena For a zone whose traditional rainfall should range from 350 mmyear in the extreme north to more than 900 mmyear in the south the averageof seven station- reporting from 1966 through 1970 was
2
784 mmyear This declined to 597 in 1971-73 rose to 755 in 1975-76 fell to 567 in 1977-78 rose to 840 in 1980-81 and bottomed at 536 mmyear average in1982-84 Cereal production in the zone declined from 279257 metric tons in 1976 to 169419 in 1983
Data for 1984 indicate a worse drought than ever For example around NDjamena the August rainfall average for the past 25 years has been 201 mm in 1983it was 1389 mm in 1984 476 mn In the region north of NDjamena to the lake there was no production in the past winter seasc)n pastures were dry and cattle dyingby September and pumping to irrigated perimeters from the river was impossible in some areas The 1984 harvest in the Sahelian zone was weak to nul and significantly curtailed thein southern Sudanian and Sudanian-Guinan climatic zones Small market-gardenplots around NDjamena producing muchas as 2000metric tons of vegetables on 300 ha in 1979 were down to 64 ha in 198384 producing no more than 100 MT There was a total failure of the rice crop in 1984
The food deficit in 198384 averaged 45 percentfor the Sahelian zone as a whole with a maximum of 78 percent in the eastern prefecture of Biltine-Ouaddai (centered on Abeche) 71 percent in Kanem north of thelake and 58 percent in Chari-Baguirmi which contains NDjamena The four southern prefectures generallyreferred to as Sudanian recorded an average 20 percent deficit
Drought is a greater contributor even than towar present human distress in Chad Head counts (and these are conservative estimates by resident relief agenciesassrembled by USAIDNDjamena) indicate magnitudethe as of April 19 1985 Chadian displaced (and destitute) persons numLered at 167658 and the1past this was stricken 2ure of an estimated 640000 peons at risk The prefectures of greatest burden were Guera in the center (34600 displaced persons) Ouaddai in the east (31250) Batha (28000) and Chari-Baguirmi around NDjamena (22600)
Thus multiple misfortunes converging on Chads people make for the following best-case composite a country of Tbout 443 million whose population growthrate generally has been about 22 percent infant mortality about 1501000 and life expectancy 40 yearsSurveys find Aficas worst levels of malnutrition here Ernploiment is 85 percent in agriculture and 41 percent of the population is 15 years old or youngerChads GNP per capita in 1984 was estimated to be $80reflecting a recent growth rate of -28 percent
3
North-south stratification finds two million
primitive farmers and pastoralists in the severe drought
zone of the Sahel at present unable by far to produce enough grain to eat -- although in the past for the most part they did The slightly more populous south has not
had severe drought until this year conditions more
generally benign to agricultu-e and a diligent cotton
production effort backed by what services the government has ever been able to provide (eg extension) There
is decline but survival given rain
The capital NDjamena has about 400000 people
who apart from some participants in the southern sugar
beer and cotton production industries represent Chads
modern sector A large exodus of the highly skilled
comprehensive destruction of physical plant and the
collapse of the banking sector mean the little reviving commerce and industry are small in scale and largely
informal in character although economic chaos is
forestalled by Chadian discipline and Chads position in
the CFA zone
The national government is not collapsing on the
contrary it is functioning seriously and remarkably
honestly However it is almost insolvent On revenues
in 1984 of 1122 billion CFA (ca $24 million) the
government carried expenditures of CFA 16503 billion
Its deficit is currently oscillating around $10 million
pet year largely find by France The budgetary crunch is expected to be most severe from September 1985
through March 1987 including earmarked revenues
(untabulated above) and assuming deficits are financed
somehow the governments total outlays for the present
will be around $35 million a year
For a country of four million people this is
considered to be about the irreducible minimum necessary
to maintain a modicum cf governmental presence and
functions And that modicum is operated by a sparse
civil service mostly at half salary The National
Office of Rural Development (ONDR which is responsible
nationally for agricultural extension organization of
productive inputs improving -gricultural technologies
and collection of agricultural statistics) to take one
example had 1406 employees in 1978 and 1571 in 1983
However in that period staff for general direction and
for work in the Sahel fell by 16 and 38 percent
respectively -- to 45 central managers and 219 civil servants serving all of the Sahelian zone
2 Relief and Rehabilitation
The international community has recognized Chads
crisis and responded This will continue for some time
to concentrate on food donations and emergency health
4
care rehabilitation of some productive capacity in the Sahelian zone and subventions to the central government to support and rehabilitate basic functions combined with support for agricultural production largelycotton in the south These efforts which are considerable given the hostility of Chads environment are setting parameters and conditions for Chads future development
Emergency food and medical assistance provided bymultilateral and bilateral agencies and privateorganizations treat the severest cases of deprivation in Chad In 1985 a food deficit of 300000 MT is possibleshould the south again be severely hit by drought a displaced population of as many as 240000 and an at risk population of up to one million are probableForeign-operated food distribution systems within Chad are attempting to deliver supplies at the rate of about 15000 MT per month to rural distribution points A thin but wide-spread emergency medical service is financed by donors and operated by a PVO (PrivateVoluntary Organization)
Beyond stemmuing tragedy the effects of such efforts should have important consequences Firstmigrants away from famine and civil strife can be organized into settled agriculture (if and where there is potential) being displaced from traditik 1 contexts in theory they can be more amenable adopting improved production practices Second there is a demonstration and training effect involving largenumbers of Chadian workers local organizations and the few available government officials which despiteeverything could energize future institutional development at several levels Third physicalinfrastructure to support emergency operations is in limited degrees of necessity being put in placevehicle fleets communications a bridge to Cameroon etc
At the same time considerable donor assistancebuilding since the 1982 Geneva Conference has been planned and some delivered for basic reconstruction and rehabilitation Of $250 totalthe million aid requested then perhaps two-thirds is in the pipelineThis not only supports public administration capitalinfrastructure rehabilitation and revitalization of cotton exports but also small-holder agriculturalproduction in a few accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- a certain amount of it managed by PVOs From experience with the last it is possible to see a small basis and certain opportunities for longer-term development of traditional agriculture
5
In particular water is available for small-scale farming in the Lake Chad alluvial basin with modestapplication of andlabor capital along riverperimeters in wadis with catchment from shallow wellsand recessionally via poldering Technicalorganizational snags however
and are not fully worked
out Reliable seed of course is essential andimproved varieties when obtainable are successfullyadopted Village organizations can cooperatively applylabor accumulate inputs and market excess produce withorganizational assistance Likewise a vigorous smallbusiness community willing take canto risks benurtured and find profitable opportunities in rural development (See V and Annex E below)
Eighteen or more small projects concerningirrigated and rainfed agriculture in the Sahelian zone are underway or planned For the next several yearsthey will demonstrate the feasibilities of particularcropcultivation practice combinations inputpracticalities small business roles in food productionand the potentials of areas from Kanem in the north to Bongor in the south to Abeche in the east
3 AppK(oaches to Developmen t
That is a small beginning to a large task for theindefinite future putting Chad back on the track toself-reliance and growth The necessity for a primaryconcentration on agriculture is evident as is the needfor more assistance The most recent comprehensivestudy on the subject (Club du SahelCILSSCONACILSSBilan Pro9ramme des Productions Veqetaies PluvialsetIrri du Tchad Sector Analysis Rainfed andIrrigated Crop Production in Chad December 1984) citesthe following first order constraints on agriculturaldevelopment in addition generally to drought and inadequate foreign aid
-- insufficient availability of seed
insufficient attention (policyinvestment) to irrigation properly scaled and
absence of significant intervention onproducer prices and marketing of agricultural products and on the costs of production inputs
The study also notes the general absence of adaptive andsub-regional research rural credit and extensionsophisticated inputs and planning
6
The prescription of CILSS to which it is difficult to take exception intellectually or in principle conwprises orientations building for the longer term and more or less iniaediate actions These are the basis for a national development strategy And until further study (eg on costs) and experience (egwith adoption of technologies) or a radical change in conditions indicate otherwise they will probablyreceive general assent The eight orientations are undifferentiated and unordered but offer opportunities for all They are
-- give priority to food self-sufficiency
-- operationalize irrigation potential not least small scale
-- protect and develop cotton production through intensification
revitalize rural development in the Sahelian zone through regional planning
define and operate a producer price and marketing policy which stimulates increased production
-- promote small-farmer initiative and responsibility through training cooperativization etc
-- adequately support rural development institutions for programming research crop protection extension etc and
-- acquire massive concerted properly adapted foreign aid applying better donor-Chadian cocrdination
Immediate actions called for are
an appeal for food aid in 198485 an important part in the forms of food-for-work and that generating sales proceeds
-- an appeal for building up a cereal seed stock for 198485
-- intensification of irrigation investments via food-for-work and by launching already proposed schemes
-- provisional suspension of transfer to small farmers of the real costs of production inputs
7
--
-- significant assistance to theInterministerial Bureau for Studies andProgramming (BEP) under the Minister of State for Agricultural and Rural Development and
-- intervention by the Nationai CerealsOffice in the consumer price systemthrough the use of donated food
In other words Chadian agriculture needseverything and much of this at once However there aredefinite practical steps to take that are developmentaland not shotgun crisis-reactive The proolems whichwill confront donors and the Government of Chad areassessment of risk husbanding of scarce resourceschoice of targets and timing Whereas policy dialogueand formulation Cor example should be fruitful civenChads disarray and are inexpensive larqe-scaleirrigation schemes massiveor provision of proaoictiveinputs and rural services are not necessarily eithe atpresent The challenge of Chad is not simple
B STRATEGY 1 AID Polic
The United States has several interests in Chadserved by its foreign assistance program Theseinterlock and are pursued through multilateralcoordination The humanitarian concern and efforts torelieve immediate mass suffering todue famine areessential But they would be insufficient -shypotentially futile if systemic improvements were notassisted eventually which should prevent the recurrenceof disaster even if drought pevails Such developmentcannot proceed however in an insecure polity subjecthaphazardly to turmoil and governmental paralysisespecially that induced by a capricious enemy neighbor
rherefore American policy action has focused since1982 on the recstablishment of a stable and vigorousgovernment which deals with Chads imradiate problemseffectively establishing credibility wkth the Chadianpeople and good relations with its neighbors AID hasprovided some of the means food medicines transportbudget support finance for small-scale physicalrehabilitation and the services of PVOs for outreachAmerican food assistance approved from Junethrough April 1985 to
1982 sum 139680 MT of grain andvegoil at a cost of $6948 million including transportand management Of that 7500 MT riceof and sorghumhave been granted to Chad the sales proceeds of which
will be devoted to emergency rehabilitation
8
Non-food assistance to be obligated through FY1985 and serve the above purpose in a quick-disbursingfashion will total $1935 million That is devoted largely with considerable success to agriculturalrestoration (35 percent) health restoration (21percent) and budget support (16 percent) with lesser amounts for basic assistance in human resources privateenterprise administrative management and road repair
At the same time after almost three yearsexperience the Government of Chad (GOC) the donor community at andlarge AID have concluded that efforts can and should be made to plan and commence investment programs that attack Chads root problems As indicated in the above discussions reliable food supply is Chads paramount need And for the foreseeable future this need can be served only by local production or food aid purchase of food out of export earnings is not in the cards Development of food production capacity is an immediate and long-term necessity and the sine qua non of all else developmental
Although Chad is an extreme case this fact is congruent with broader observations that have informed current AID policy For Africa this makes agriculturethe central focus and AIDs goal to assist African governments reverse the declining per capita food production trend increaseand overall agriculturalproduction and productivity increase farm incomes and improve nutritional status particularly of the small holder (Strategic Plan Executive Summary 62883p 12) Sahel development strategy (Review STATE 287422 July 14 1984) cites the need for realistic goals over a 10-20 year time frame based on food availability rather foodthan production as the central objective of AID assistance in the Sahel And the first emphasis is on food security however attained Secondarily sustainable food production to reduce dependence on emergency relief should be an objective
AIDs Chad policy is therefore to devote the largest part of its development assistance over the next decade at least to food production Economic SupportFund resources will support in a new project the development of a road maintenance capacity and there may be further need for budget support from the same source Limited interventions in health care human resources and management development from bilateral and regional development assistance projects will be adjuncts The isquestion how to proceed in promotingsustained increasing food production and consumption
9
--
Three factors affect AIDs strategy First thechoice and sequence of interventions in the specificcontext of Chad must create -early pay-offs that buildand accelerate there is no time to waste and eventualcommitments to long-term massive structural orinstitutional developments must have solid grounding -shyin national stability proved approaches and Chadiancommitment Second AIDs development assistanceresources both financial and managerial will continueto be severely constrained Projected levels areobligations of $50 million per year through FY 1990out of a total economic assistance program of $15million annually Eight direct-hire staff will manageall AID activity country-wide Third the alreadyvariegated program of the international donor (includingPVO) community in Chad is expected to grow in volume andcomplexity as stability and responsiveness of Chadincrease
AIDs food production strategy in Chad as seen atthis point then envisages a program of overlappingphases slotted into the overall donor effort and makingthe most economical use of AIDs scarce resources asfollows
-- while current agricultural rehabilitation activities are continuing (through 1986)their technical and organizational lessonswill be absorbed and then operationalizedin
four to five new initiatives supported bythis project from 1985 to 1990 which support small-holder food productiondevelopment and contributing privatebusiness development These will testtechnical (especially water application)and organizational approaches and measuretheir benefits in the Sahelian zone wherethe food problem is theyAnd will beconceived in detail and carried out byPVOs whose expertise and economy ofoperation in this realm are r-nowned
-- as the PVO Development Initiatives Projectwill be fully obligated by FY 1987 thethird overlapping phase will be planned to commence in 1988 It will draw from theexperience of phase two and of otherdonors in similar efforts and insupporting systematic developmentslarger scales (irrigation
at systems seedprovision extension research and
planning price policy export croppromotion for example) Long-term major
10
interventions by AID at that point will probably be in order It is too soon to tell of what type but adaptive (farmingsystems) researchextension is a reasonable possiblity
2 Definition of the Project
Therefore the goal of the Project is to increaseChads production of food and its availability to thedeprived and lay groundwork for more profoundagricultural development Its purpose is in theSahelian zone to assist small farmer production andsupportive private sector activities havingdemonstration and institutional development (primarilylocal cooperation) effects The objective is toaccomplish this broadly and quickly enough to (a) make asignificant contribution to the welfare of Chadianshitherto subject to famine and the recipients of foodaid including settled displaced persons and (b)demonstrate approaches to developing small farmer andprivate sector food production systems which successorlonger-term projects can adopt or otherwise support
The magnitude and duration of the Project havebeen determined on the basis of three considerations availability of funds current and developableabsorptive capacity in Chad and the sequence ofagricultural development isAID following here Asindicated above the level of development assistance of$50 million or less per year in the next four years inthe AID bilateral programs obligations on the one handand the assignment of mission direct-hire staff on theother limit the program practically to newone startat present But the condition of Chads infrastructuregovernmental systems and societal fabric does not permitan immediate large-scale or long-term commitment inagriculture They also limit the organizational meansby which assistance to agriculture in Chad can be delivered and monitored
From this follows a deliberate focus andlimitation of the Project to the essential and to targets and means where current experience and analysesindicate feasibility as well as potential forfarther-future interventions That is new foodproduction employing water application small groundworks and self-help and loan finance for smallagricultural businesses -- in accessible areas of theSahelian zone (north and south of NDjamena and around Abeche) -- with a spread of small-scale efforts andtargets clustered in four (or possibly five)subprojects Certain activities may employ AIDfood-for-work or food sales proceeds to supplementproject finance that will support technical assistanceand management tools and other inputs and a loan fund
11
for entrepreneurs And GOC contribution of staff andfacilities will be encouraged in individual subprojects
Strategy dictates that these efforts begin as soonas possible and produce tangible results within three tofour years AIDs experience with relief andrehabilitation activities indicates that such work canbe organized and implemented in Chad at an expenditurerate of about $30 million per year It also indicatesindeed presupposes that American PVOs already operatingeffectively in Chad should be the primary vehicle fordesign operation and monitoring Neither AIDChad northe GOC has the capacity to work on a day-to-day basisat this level -- with outreach to farmers acquisitionand delivery of a variety of inputs and detailedspecification and follow-up PVOs do (See B3 below)
The Project will combine the requisites ofquick-startup and disbursement breadth of effectaccommodation of several effective PVOs andconcentration on a particular target population in aunitary framework via a special type of PVO umbrellaproject This follows agency guidance mandating greatercooperation with registered PVOs in AID programs andsimplification of procedures But for Chad it is notand cannot be a peripheral adjunct to a large matureassistance program the Project will be central to thecurrent effort making a new start on Chads agriculturaldevelopment By design and intent it should become thestepping stone to a mature agricultural program andproject portfolio
Thus one project will be authorized havingtranched obligations over three years underagreement with the GOC an
Guidance on the development andimplementation of subprojects by PVOs contained in thisproject paper (PP) will lead interested PVOs initiallyCARE AFRICARE and VITA to design and proposeinitiatives to serve the projects goal and purpose inthe prescribed manner Cooperative Agreements betweenAID and the PVOs will set the work afoot mutatismutandis The customary andindependent imaginationinitiative of PVOs are necessary ingredients in thisendeavor And recent experience lends confidence thatPVO integrity and the requisites of andAID thisparticular project will be compatible and mutuallysupportive The Project then will be evaluated as awhole by AID and its subprojects monitored andevaluated cooperatively by the PVOs and AID in asequence that provides timely indicators to the futuredevelopment of AIDs program in Chad
12
3 The Role and Use of PVOs
PVO umbrella or co-financing projects are relatively new in Africa though now conventional in Asia whereas AID assistance in Africa has a fairlywide though checkered history of support for individual PVO activities Two more or less pure umbrella projects in Africa are in Zaire and Kenya (and a second in the latter currently being developed) In these countries as in the Philippines and Indonesia the PVO co-financing endeavor is one AID project in a large and variegated portfolio where tapping the resources and vitality of PVOs (American and indigenous) is basically a valuable but peripheral outreach of the core AID program
As indicated above the project proposed here is different It is intended to be the centerpiece of AIDs agricultural development assistance for the next three years Its merits must be judged then (a)against those of alternative formulations of developmentassistance with which there is experience and (b) in terms of the efficacy in Chad of the kinds of subprojects it will support On matter (a) it can be said from current Chadian experience that rural-based production investments by AID cannot be inade more efficiently by any other means And the like ihood of economic payoff in Chad of larger-scaled longergestating more fundamental systemic agriculturaldevelopment projects of the typical AID type is highlyproblematical at this time In other wordsconventional AID experience in the Sahel does not givepromise in the present Chadian context In terms of implementation pay-off and foundation-laying the AID-PVO relief and rehabilitation and refugeeresettlement assistance experience of the past two yearsdoes -- as outlined below
There are seven American PVONGOs(Non-Governmental Organizations) 13 NGOsand non-US operating in Chad Some of the NGOs particularly the Protestant missions have been around for as long as thirty years Others such as CARE started work here in the 1970s but had to withdraw and then reinstall themselves because the civil warsof Most of the PVOs have seen an increase in expenditures and staff since the advent of the present Government of Chad followinginternational donor response to the devastation of war and drought
For the most part these organizations have been effective implementing agencies capitalizing on experience and procedures developed elsewhere and in Chad carrying comparatively low operating costs and retaining the respect and cooperation of government
They operate immediate emergency food distribution andhealth care services especially for displaced personsand resettlement and rehabilitation activities in KanemOuaddai Guera and Chari-Baguirmi prefectures (see Table 1)
PVOs financed directly by AID thus far in ChadCARE AFRICARE and VITA are
each of which is implementingimportant and urgently needed activities CARE presentin Che discontinuously since 1973 has ten expatriateand 110 Chadian staff members It distributed over $30million worth of emergency food in 1984 and has beensupervising the reconstruction of strategic roads waterstructures and public facilities with food-for-work resources and AID grants In the period 1982-1986 CAREwill have undertaken rehabilitation activities worth more than $38 million in AID funding in addition tothe value of the food distributed and CAREs owncontributions The June 1984 evaluation of its firstAID-financed rural infrastructure rehabilitation activity was favorable
AFRICARE began work in Chad in March 1983 and nowhas four expatriate staff two highly qualified Chadiantechnicians and 120 Chadian employees it wasinitially involved thein development of two irrigatedperimeters (120 ha total) close to NDjamena forvegetable gardening with mixed results More recentlyAFRICARE has undertaken a $285 million AID-fundedthree-year rehabilitationrural development project inOuaddai This project will have a major impact on therural population near Abeche who have been among thehardest hit by the war and drought by providing forseed distribution dike restoration reforestation andthe introduction of intermediate technologies Despitepoor rains in the past year this seems promising
VITA (Volunteers in Technical Assistance) beganoperations in Chad in 1984 and now has a staff of oneexpatriate (with an additional one on the way) fourChadian loan officers and five office workers Under a$15 million grant from AID it is providing animportant source of credit for small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs in and around NDjamena This privatesector activity aimed restoringat the activities ofdisplaced and other businessmen has already financedsuccessful melon poultry and food processingbusinesses in addition to more urban commercial ventures A reviewrecent indicates that this willprobably be a successful venture and VITA is nowlooking at the potential for expansion otherto market towns
The Project takes the explicit view that theexperience and in-place systems of the three major
14
Table 1
MAJOR PVO ACTIVITIES IN CHAD
PVO Activity Title Valua ($O00) Period Description Heavy Tzucks-FoodCARE 1289 982-984 Delivery
Provides trucks 4WD vehicles Maintenance for food-for-vork (FFW) and other relief coimodities delivery to rural areas
CARE FM Road Repair 387 Repair 155 km Ndjamena-Cuelendeng road 850 workers CARE Ag Infrastructure 950 1283-485 FFW reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urbanRestoration I manitation CARE Ag Infrastructu-e 1200 1084-1086 Ff4 reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urban
Restoration 11 sanitation CARE Resettlement 217 185- Resettlement in Kane financed by FED and Dutch PVO AFRICARE Heavy Equip Repair 585 982-984 Provide master mechanic and rehabilitation to Public Works
NdjamenaAFRICARK Vegetable Gardening 380 683-986 FFW Establish 20 ha vegetable production nearNdjamena AFRICARE Abechi Rural Dev 2850 584-1186 Integrated rural development VITA Private Enterprise 1500 784-686 Provision of credit to entrepreneurs in and near Ndjamena for new
businesses SECADEV Displaced Personp
Rural Development Food aid distribution reconstruction ofrural infrastructure650 (annually) food relief
Ndjamena Social Aid to sick aged handicapped - a GOC-registered
Chadian Catholic PVO working with 10-12000 peopleNfdecins 6000 1983-85 Sans Medical Assistance
Epidemic prevention in displaced persons camps reestablishment11000 1985-88 Frontiaree of prefecture health clinics staff training hoterchtld health
monitoring preventive care European PVO CARED Rural Development - 1982- Pre-cooperative support Irrigated perimeters (5-10 ha each)
chicken and small rumLnant production village grain mills League of Emergency Relief 750 1983-4Red Cross Food and Blanket distribution to more than 50000 80 food7500 1985-8 distribution sites some resettlement programs
American PVOs in Chad can and should be utilized and built upon at this stage and through this project Alternative vehicles as suggested above are not promising in themselves and could not in any case be relied upon for rapid mobilization Nor in Sahelian experience are universities consulting firms or the technical offices of AID missions more suitable to the hands-on nature of this project They are less adaptable to (and experienced with) the rigors of work in Chad and more expensive as well
This does not mean however that the PVOs expected to implement this project will not need helpOn the model of current AID rehabtlitation efforts they can be relied upon to handle well the necessary procurement understandings with the government mobilization and delivery of inputs and monitoringTheir weaknesses understandable given contemporary Chad and the foreign assistance milieu but also correctable have lain in the design and technical supervision of rural activities (See VA below) Greater subproject financing of field specialists should assure that implementation is technically sound The PVOs will be encouraged to apply their own contributions to detailed design work at the proposal and later stages To augment this the Project will provide for the selected application of small grants to PVOs for specific desiqn assistance
C ELEMENTS
1 Subprojects
Analyses indicate that considerable potential for new food production and related private sector activityobtains dispersed through the Sahelian zone To capture this potential and test developmental approaches (including local organizational dynamics) economically and rapidly American PVOs with substantial in-country facilities and experience will be invited to propose four to five subprojects having durations of two to four years beginning in late FY 1985 These subprojects will be the substance of the Project
Following the focus and expectations described above and in later analyses there is a strong prospect that CARE AFRICARE and VITA will propose initial subprojects which treat settled populations in the geographical Kanem area around Abeche and in Chari-Baguirmi Each should be prepared and ready to commelice before the end of FY 1986 probably much earlier on the part of CARE They may either fullycomprehend a large scattered population -- possibly expanded to additional accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- or commence in a more limited fashion and for
16
shorter duraticn with the intention of a second phase within the life of the Project At the same time the Project allows for the introduction of at least one new American PVO into Chads food production sector
On the basis of this project papers guidance each PVO will develop a detailed proposal the equivalent substantively of an AID small-project PP (see also Implementation Plan III below) for review and approval by AID in the field These proposals must adhere to the Projects focus criteria and meet various standards of format and detail Most important among the latter treat beneficiaries (the deprived but able) technological feasibility inputs availability and utility (tools seeds food-for-work etc) social and organizational practicality (regarding inter alia adaptiveness and cooperativeness of populations land tenure and government role) economic justifiability (cost-benefit or least cost market relations etc) and intended demonstration and institutional especially local institutional effects The PVO must further demonstrate its managerial capacity and provide as a condition to proposal approval an agreement with the appropriate GOC ministry to undertake the subproject on its behalf That should indicate the role of specific GOC agencies in implementation and the institutional developmental feasiblity and goals of that
The inputs of the project will be largely grants through Cooperative Agreements to the PVOs and as necessary and possible AID or World Food Program food-for-work contributions and food aid sales proceeds The quantification of those will be done at the subproject design stage The inputs of subprojects financed by the AID grants will be technical asistance management implements and other inputs loan finance in the private sector efforts food or proceeds perhaps (financed outside the Project) monitoring and evaluation and provision for contingencies The outputs will be functioning food production schemes and food production or related businesses Output targets will be enumerated by scheme or area based on the PVOs detailed analyses
Total Project funds programmed for subproject grants are $12 million with expenditures to be incurred by September 30 1989 the Project Assistance Completion Date (PACD) and fully disbursed by December 31 1989 Included in the grant financing to PVOs may be design costs not normally to exceed $50000 per subproject
PVOs are expected to make a maximum effort to meet the requirement of a 25 pezcent contribution from their own resources to the total costs of their subproject(s) and especially to the development of subprojects
17
Provision of Project assistance to subprojectconceptualization and design will be justifiedespecially for new PVO entrants to Chad or more importantly where an intended subprojects objectivesexplicitly emphasize testing and monitoring oftechnologies development) application
or processes with promise
(including institutional for future systematic
2 Procedures
Participating PVOs are expected to be familiar with AID requirements to follow the proposal format set forth in the Implementation Plan below and to be acceptable to AID in terms of registrationnon-government source globalof revenue and auditability Given that AID will entertain proposals on a rolling admissions basis up to a magnitude of $40million each with activities to be completed by the PACD
As a central principle of the Project isminimization of direct AID design and implementationburden and maximization of impact a small but necessaryprovision is made for management by AID This $725000will finance a full-time project manager management support allowance for contingencies and an AID evaluation The project manager will coordinate AID-PVO relationships including assistance to subprojectdesign as necessary subproject proposal review dild approval (including adherence to FAA Sec 611(a)requirements) GOC approvals activation of cooperativeagreements reporting and evaluation (See II-IV below)
Thus subproject proposals will be treated in the same fashion as projects for field authorization and to the same standards This will require full review byAIDChad professional staff the Chad AID Directors approval with concurrence of the REDSOWCA Director From an approved proposal AIDChad will develop a PIOTto generate in turn the Cooperative Agreement to be executed by a REDSOWCA Grant Officer The GOC will be a signatory to the PIOT thereby exercising its rightto determine the use of funds granted to it by AID
3 Results
As should now be clear the end-of-project-statusof this effort has two strands and a corollarySignificant increases in food production and consumption among Chads currently destitute must occur and be managed at an uncommonly low cost to AID and the GOC In achieving this techniques of cultivation and organization including use of private capital and local cooperation should be tested reasonably
18
systematically this should provide a part of the basis for later concerted attacks on Chads poverty by the GOC and its Atdonors the same time AID-PVO cooperationwill enhance the impact of the assistance of each in Chads difficult environment And strengthened PVOs and PVO-GOC collaboration is unquestionably a short- andmedium-term good given the straightened circumstances and poor prospects of Chads people and systems
Finally specification measurement and lessons of such results are particularly important to agriculturaldevelopment in Chad The era of the Project is onewhere a turning point may be reached thisfor countryThus monitoring and evaluation of the Project are especially important (See IV below) If the Projects assumptions are correct and this is designedto be verified in the Projects timeframe Chad has reasonable hope and AID will have fulfilled its current mandate and immediate strategic purpose
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS
A BUDGET
The Project will provide $12725 million in grantfunds from the Sahel (121) account to the Government of Chad to be obligated over the Fiscal Years 1985 through1987 Expenditures may be accrued up theto PACD (September 30 1989) and must be fully disbursed byDecember 31 1989 Obligation will be by GrantAgreement and its amendment with the GOC Funds will be handled directly by registered American PVOs and in the case of administration of the Project by USAIDChad
Of the total AID dollar contribution $120 million will be provided by AID to PVOs by CooperativeAgreements through letters of credit Generally a 25percent contribution to each subproject from non-AID sources will be required including cash input so far as possible from each PVO This can be waived by the Chad AID Representative if the interests of United States policy in Chad so warrant It is estimated that the non-AID contribution by PVOs to the overall costs of the Project will be about $30 million The Government of Chad will not be called upon to contribute to the overall Project as this is deemed impossible under current Chadian circumstances and in any case is not required in the Sahel program However in individual subprojects certain GOC contribution of staff time and facilities may well occur and bewill encouraged this will be set forth in the PVO-GOC exchange of letters
Additional contributions to the Project from other AID sources are also anticipated but cannot be projecteduntil subprojects are designed and approved and these
19
resources availability in Chad for specified periods isdetermined They are food-for-work provided under PL
II480 Title and rice sales proceeds generated by TitleII Emergency Sales in FY 1985 and Title II Section 206 programs or continued Emergency Sales thereafter
The remaining portion of the grant ($725000) willbe devoted to administration by AID That is financeof a fulltime project manager by AID Personal ServicesContract (PSC) (estimated at $125000 per year for four years plus management support of $50000) finance of acomprehensive final evaluation theof project in itsfourth year ($100000) also to be directly contracted for by AID and a small provision for contingencies($75000) It is expected that additional subprojectreview monitoring and evaluation services as necessaryduring the life of the project will be provided byREDSOWCA at no cost to the Project
Table 2 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS ($mil)
AID Grants to PVOs 120
AID Administration 0725
PVO Contributions 30
Food-for-Work
AID Food Sales Proceeds
Table 3
OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FISCAL YEAR ($mil)
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Obligations 3725 40 50 - -Expenditures - 2225 45 40 20
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A thorough financial analysis and detailed budgetwill be required in each subproject proposal Thisshould include a realistic list of inputs and theirprobable sources of supply (in AID Geographic Code 941countries and the cooperating country) with base costs calculated in ctrrent prices for each and price andphysical cortingencies estimated conservatively
In cases where sulpiojects comprise ldrge sets ofsmall interventions it will be permissible to aggregateestimates by category rather than for each individualsmall activity as related to total physical volumes of
20
work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
21
Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
22
inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
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drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
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small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
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2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
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it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Grantee The Government of Chad
Implementing Agencies American Private and Voluntary Organizations (PVOs) resident in Chad
Financial Plan Grant from Sahel Development Program funds of $12725 million to be obligated FY 1985-87 (FY 85 obligation $3725 million) PACD 93089 Approximate PVO contribution of $30 million no host country contribution estimated at this time
Purpose In the Sahelian zone to assist small-farmer food production and supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Background Chad has been wracked by recurrent war and drought for the past 15 years and is now a major recipient of disaster assistance and the worlds poorest country Increasing food production is its major need but the time is not right for long-term agricultural projects Nor is the Government (GOC) capable of out-reach to farmers in sufficient degree especially in the most impoverished area the Sahelian zone AID in the past two yearr has had very positive expel uilue wi Lh Anmerican PVOs in its relief and rehabilitation and refugee resettlement activities They have proved efficient vehicles for development assistance in the most difficult of circumstances and their rural rehabilitation and private sector interventions give promise for intensified food production interventions that are small-scale and from which essential lessons can be learned for application in later more profound development efforts
Description The Project will support four to five subprojects designed implemented and monitored by American PVOs having a major presence in Chad Settled populations will be assisted to achieve food self-sufficiency and small entrepreneurs will be assisted to start food production-related businesses The former will exploit potential for small-scale irrigation and receive PVO-organized technical assistance inputs nd food-for-work for construction as appropriate The latter will receive technical assistance and loan capital out of a revolving fund The PVO umbrella structure of the project will minimize the management burden of AID and the GOC The results will be not only increased food availaibility to populations on the verge at present of starvation but also techniques and approaches (including organizational) will have been tested which will inform
future larger-scaled agricultural development projects as and if conditions in Chad become favorable for them
Findings Detailed technical economic social environmental and financial analyses will be required in the PVO proposals which generate subprojects General analyses of conditions in the Sahelian zone indicate considerable water exploitation potential for food production availability of low-cost technologies sufficient PVO management expertise and suitable susceptible and organizable beneficiaries
Small Disadvantagd and Woman-owned Firms PVOs are not that however at least one minority PVO will be a major participant and all PVOs will be encouraged to avail themselves of technical advisory services from Historically Black American Universities and Colleges
Waivers A blanket vehicle waiver for procurement from Code 935 sources is attached as is a Delegation of Authority from AAAFR to the Chad Aid Representative to limit invitation for PVO application to a single source in thn case of each subproject which is deemed unique or mcst appropriate to undertake the effort (HBl3JB2e(3))
Major Conditions Precedent and Covenants None
Project Team Members James Osbcrn PDO Diana McLain agronomist Dan Jenkins engineer Douglas Barnett economist Lucien Strevinou PRE advisor Alex Newton RLA -- all of REDSOWCA
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I PROJECT RATIONALE AND DESCRIPTION
A SETTING
Chad was one of the poorest countries in Africa before recurring drought and war in the 1970s and 1980s now it is perhaps the most wrecked Severe dislocations destruction and destitution in the northern two-thirds of the country and political instability coupled with drought in the usually lusher south face a government with pitifully few resources Humanitarian and political impulses have brought forth multilateral and western bilateral assistance and a major effort by private voluntary organizations -shydirected both to relief and limited rehabilitation on the one hand and stabilization and nuturing of national systems on the other
Even a ten to twenty year perspective on the develepment (or redevelopment) of Chad cannot be surelyoptimistic But the United States and other donors have a measured commitment to reestablishing Chads economic viability and giving impetus to growth There is some potential amidst the waste and tragedy A developmentproject must be adroit to seize and build upon it as part of a long-term effort in a harsh and uncertain environment
1 Structural Chanqe and Impoverishment
Chad shares the major physical and historical characteristics of large Sahelian countries stratification from north to south French colonial heritage Saharan impingement primitive subsistence agriculture and husbandry supporting the bulk of the population and periodic tenuous legitimacy of government Before the twin blows of war and droughthowever Chad had as reasonable an expectation of gradual growth and development as any country in the region By the end of the 1960s a small but articulated system of government trade financing and management entities was prepared on the post-colonial French model and with French assistance to exploit the export agricultural potential of the south -- in turn to finance modest evolution of public services and improvedsubsistence agriculture and husbandry throughout Chad
In the years 1965 througY 1971 as Chads population grew from approximately 332 to 372 million food (cereal grain) production increased from 460000 to 690000 metric tons per year exceeding basic self-sufficiency (150 kgperson) by 24 percent in 1971 Cotton production increased in the period 1964-65 to 1968-69 from 99106 metric tons per year to 148819
--
with a productivity increase of 46 percent The cattle and goat population in the same period increased byabout 36 percent At this point the stage was set for conventional development policy action Domestic income and foreign aid and investment supported comparativelysophisticated development of cotton production and trade and the commencement of land transport importsubstitution agricultural infrastructural and publicservices projects
Then civil strife and droughts cyclically from 1971 through the present turned Chad from a relativelyunderdeveloped counLry with hope into a disaster Willful organized violence ran sporadically through1979 peaking for the moment with the military coupdetat in 1975 and escallating again in 1980-82 when the then President Goukouni Oueddei (with Libyansupport) vied with Defense Minister Hissein Habre for control Habre established the current government in June 1982 and reestablished a modicum of governmentalservice Goukouni and Libyan forces have since fought a war of position and nerves with the Government of Chad From 1983 conflict has stabilized into skirmishes across a line in north-central Chad From varyingdegrees of trouble in the south has emerged recently a stronger government position
This debilitating violence and instability over 20 years gradually ruined the governments ability to attract inpst-mont to man~neand dtvplopmentsystematically institutions allof sorts crumbledtrained professionals de-camped or-erly assistance became impossible In 1983 Chad in interndtional development terms practically rasawas a tabula But on the picture of man-made destruction Was also superimposed in 1970s sincethe and maligndrought-induced structural change as bad or wocrse than anywhere in the region This encompasses failed harvests debilitated herds dramatically lowered river and lake levels migration of the worst hit subsistence agriculturalists and pastoralists radical change in traditional practices culturaland relations an unprecedented risk of mass starvation and human damage
with all beyond the abilities of the government and private sector to cope
More specifically the drought has hit hardest the center or Sahelian zone of Chad where about two million of the approximately 44 million Chadians now reside and the government and many extant modern sectors are centered in NDjamena For a zone whose traditional rainfall should range from 350 mmyear in the extreme north to more than 900 mmyear in the south the averageof seven station- reporting from 1966 through 1970 was
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784 mmyear This declined to 597 in 1971-73 rose to 755 in 1975-76 fell to 567 in 1977-78 rose to 840 in 1980-81 and bottomed at 536 mmyear average in1982-84 Cereal production in the zone declined from 279257 metric tons in 1976 to 169419 in 1983
Data for 1984 indicate a worse drought than ever For example around NDjamena the August rainfall average for the past 25 years has been 201 mm in 1983it was 1389 mm in 1984 476 mn In the region north of NDjamena to the lake there was no production in the past winter seasc)n pastures were dry and cattle dyingby September and pumping to irrigated perimeters from the river was impossible in some areas The 1984 harvest in the Sahelian zone was weak to nul and significantly curtailed thein southern Sudanian and Sudanian-Guinan climatic zones Small market-gardenplots around NDjamena producing muchas as 2000metric tons of vegetables on 300 ha in 1979 were down to 64 ha in 198384 producing no more than 100 MT There was a total failure of the rice crop in 1984
The food deficit in 198384 averaged 45 percentfor the Sahelian zone as a whole with a maximum of 78 percent in the eastern prefecture of Biltine-Ouaddai (centered on Abeche) 71 percent in Kanem north of thelake and 58 percent in Chari-Baguirmi which contains NDjamena The four southern prefectures generallyreferred to as Sudanian recorded an average 20 percent deficit
Drought is a greater contributor even than towar present human distress in Chad Head counts (and these are conservative estimates by resident relief agenciesassrembled by USAIDNDjamena) indicate magnitudethe as of April 19 1985 Chadian displaced (and destitute) persons numLered at 167658 and the1past this was stricken 2ure of an estimated 640000 peons at risk The prefectures of greatest burden were Guera in the center (34600 displaced persons) Ouaddai in the east (31250) Batha (28000) and Chari-Baguirmi around NDjamena (22600)
Thus multiple misfortunes converging on Chads people make for the following best-case composite a country of Tbout 443 million whose population growthrate generally has been about 22 percent infant mortality about 1501000 and life expectancy 40 yearsSurveys find Aficas worst levels of malnutrition here Ernploiment is 85 percent in agriculture and 41 percent of the population is 15 years old or youngerChads GNP per capita in 1984 was estimated to be $80reflecting a recent growth rate of -28 percent
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North-south stratification finds two million
primitive farmers and pastoralists in the severe drought
zone of the Sahel at present unable by far to produce enough grain to eat -- although in the past for the most part they did The slightly more populous south has not
had severe drought until this year conditions more
generally benign to agricultu-e and a diligent cotton
production effort backed by what services the government has ever been able to provide (eg extension) There
is decline but survival given rain
The capital NDjamena has about 400000 people
who apart from some participants in the southern sugar
beer and cotton production industries represent Chads
modern sector A large exodus of the highly skilled
comprehensive destruction of physical plant and the
collapse of the banking sector mean the little reviving commerce and industry are small in scale and largely
informal in character although economic chaos is
forestalled by Chadian discipline and Chads position in
the CFA zone
The national government is not collapsing on the
contrary it is functioning seriously and remarkably
honestly However it is almost insolvent On revenues
in 1984 of 1122 billion CFA (ca $24 million) the
government carried expenditures of CFA 16503 billion
Its deficit is currently oscillating around $10 million
pet year largely find by France The budgetary crunch is expected to be most severe from September 1985
through March 1987 including earmarked revenues
(untabulated above) and assuming deficits are financed
somehow the governments total outlays for the present
will be around $35 million a year
For a country of four million people this is
considered to be about the irreducible minimum necessary
to maintain a modicum cf governmental presence and
functions And that modicum is operated by a sparse
civil service mostly at half salary The National
Office of Rural Development (ONDR which is responsible
nationally for agricultural extension organization of
productive inputs improving -gricultural technologies
and collection of agricultural statistics) to take one
example had 1406 employees in 1978 and 1571 in 1983
However in that period staff for general direction and
for work in the Sahel fell by 16 and 38 percent
respectively -- to 45 central managers and 219 civil servants serving all of the Sahelian zone
2 Relief and Rehabilitation
The international community has recognized Chads
crisis and responded This will continue for some time
to concentrate on food donations and emergency health
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care rehabilitation of some productive capacity in the Sahelian zone and subventions to the central government to support and rehabilitate basic functions combined with support for agricultural production largelycotton in the south These efforts which are considerable given the hostility of Chads environment are setting parameters and conditions for Chads future development
Emergency food and medical assistance provided bymultilateral and bilateral agencies and privateorganizations treat the severest cases of deprivation in Chad In 1985 a food deficit of 300000 MT is possibleshould the south again be severely hit by drought a displaced population of as many as 240000 and an at risk population of up to one million are probableForeign-operated food distribution systems within Chad are attempting to deliver supplies at the rate of about 15000 MT per month to rural distribution points A thin but wide-spread emergency medical service is financed by donors and operated by a PVO (PrivateVoluntary Organization)
Beyond stemmuing tragedy the effects of such efforts should have important consequences Firstmigrants away from famine and civil strife can be organized into settled agriculture (if and where there is potential) being displaced from traditik 1 contexts in theory they can be more amenable adopting improved production practices Second there is a demonstration and training effect involving largenumbers of Chadian workers local organizations and the few available government officials which despiteeverything could energize future institutional development at several levels Third physicalinfrastructure to support emergency operations is in limited degrees of necessity being put in placevehicle fleets communications a bridge to Cameroon etc
At the same time considerable donor assistancebuilding since the 1982 Geneva Conference has been planned and some delivered for basic reconstruction and rehabilitation Of $250 totalthe million aid requested then perhaps two-thirds is in the pipelineThis not only supports public administration capitalinfrastructure rehabilitation and revitalization of cotton exports but also small-holder agriculturalproduction in a few accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- a certain amount of it managed by PVOs From experience with the last it is possible to see a small basis and certain opportunities for longer-term development of traditional agriculture
5
In particular water is available for small-scale farming in the Lake Chad alluvial basin with modestapplication of andlabor capital along riverperimeters in wadis with catchment from shallow wellsand recessionally via poldering Technicalorganizational snags however
and are not fully worked
out Reliable seed of course is essential andimproved varieties when obtainable are successfullyadopted Village organizations can cooperatively applylabor accumulate inputs and market excess produce withorganizational assistance Likewise a vigorous smallbusiness community willing take canto risks benurtured and find profitable opportunities in rural development (See V and Annex E below)
Eighteen or more small projects concerningirrigated and rainfed agriculture in the Sahelian zone are underway or planned For the next several yearsthey will demonstrate the feasibilities of particularcropcultivation practice combinations inputpracticalities small business roles in food productionand the potentials of areas from Kanem in the north to Bongor in the south to Abeche in the east
3 AppK(oaches to Developmen t
That is a small beginning to a large task for theindefinite future putting Chad back on the track toself-reliance and growth The necessity for a primaryconcentration on agriculture is evident as is the needfor more assistance The most recent comprehensivestudy on the subject (Club du SahelCILSSCONACILSSBilan Pro9ramme des Productions Veqetaies PluvialsetIrri du Tchad Sector Analysis Rainfed andIrrigated Crop Production in Chad December 1984) citesthe following first order constraints on agriculturaldevelopment in addition generally to drought and inadequate foreign aid
-- insufficient availability of seed
insufficient attention (policyinvestment) to irrigation properly scaled and
absence of significant intervention onproducer prices and marketing of agricultural products and on the costs of production inputs
The study also notes the general absence of adaptive andsub-regional research rural credit and extensionsophisticated inputs and planning
6
The prescription of CILSS to which it is difficult to take exception intellectually or in principle conwprises orientations building for the longer term and more or less iniaediate actions These are the basis for a national development strategy And until further study (eg on costs) and experience (egwith adoption of technologies) or a radical change in conditions indicate otherwise they will probablyreceive general assent The eight orientations are undifferentiated and unordered but offer opportunities for all They are
-- give priority to food self-sufficiency
-- operationalize irrigation potential not least small scale
-- protect and develop cotton production through intensification
revitalize rural development in the Sahelian zone through regional planning
define and operate a producer price and marketing policy which stimulates increased production
-- promote small-farmer initiative and responsibility through training cooperativization etc
-- adequately support rural development institutions for programming research crop protection extension etc and
-- acquire massive concerted properly adapted foreign aid applying better donor-Chadian cocrdination
Immediate actions called for are
an appeal for food aid in 198485 an important part in the forms of food-for-work and that generating sales proceeds
-- an appeal for building up a cereal seed stock for 198485
-- intensification of irrigation investments via food-for-work and by launching already proposed schemes
-- provisional suspension of transfer to small farmers of the real costs of production inputs
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--
-- significant assistance to theInterministerial Bureau for Studies andProgramming (BEP) under the Minister of State for Agricultural and Rural Development and
-- intervention by the Nationai CerealsOffice in the consumer price systemthrough the use of donated food
In other words Chadian agriculture needseverything and much of this at once However there aredefinite practical steps to take that are developmentaland not shotgun crisis-reactive The proolems whichwill confront donors and the Government of Chad areassessment of risk husbanding of scarce resourceschoice of targets and timing Whereas policy dialogueand formulation Cor example should be fruitful civenChads disarray and are inexpensive larqe-scaleirrigation schemes massiveor provision of proaoictiveinputs and rural services are not necessarily eithe atpresent The challenge of Chad is not simple
B STRATEGY 1 AID Polic
The United States has several interests in Chadserved by its foreign assistance program Theseinterlock and are pursued through multilateralcoordination The humanitarian concern and efforts torelieve immediate mass suffering todue famine areessential But they would be insufficient -shypotentially futile if systemic improvements were notassisted eventually which should prevent the recurrenceof disaster even if drought pevails Such developmentcannot proceed however in an insecure polity subjecthaphazardly to turmoil and governmental paralysisespecially that induced by a capricious enemy neighbor
rherefore American policy action has focused since1982 on the recstablishment of a stable and vigorousgovernment which deals with Chads imradiate problemseffectively establishing credibility wkth the Chadianpeople and good relations with its neighbors AID hasprovided some of the means food medicines transportbudget support finance for small-scale physicalrehabilitation and the services of PVOs for outreachAmerican food assistance approved from Junethrough April 1985 to
1982 sum 139680 MT of grain andvegoil at a cost of $6948 million including transportand management Of that 7500 MT riceof and sorghumhave been granted to Chad the sales proceeds of which
will be devoted to emergency rehabilitation
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Non-food assistance to be obligated through FY1985 and serve the above purpose in a quick-disbursingfashion will total $1935 million That is devoted largely with considerable success to agriculturalrestoration (35 percent) health restoration (21percent) and budget support (16 percent) with lesser amounts for basic assistance in human resources privateenterprise administrative management and road repair
At the same time after almost three yearsexperience the Government of Chad (GOC) the donor community at andlarge AID have concluded that efforts can and should be made to plan and commence investment programs that attack Chads root problems As indicated in the above discussions reliable food supply is Chads paramount need And for the foreseeable future this need can be served only by local production or food aid purchase of food out of export earnings is not in the cards Development of food production capacity is an immediate and long-term necessity and the sine qua non of all else developmental
Although Chad is an extreme case this fact is congruent with broader observations that have informed current AID policy For Africa this makes agriculturethe central focus and AIDs goal to assist African governments reverse the declining per capita food production trend increaseand overall agriculturalproduction and productivity increase farm incomes and improve nutritional status particularly of the small holder (Strategic Plan Executive Summary 62883p 12) Sahel development strategy (Review STATE 287422 July 14 1984) cites the need for realistic goals over a 10-20 year time frame based on food availability rather foodthan production as the central objective of AID assistance in the Sahel And the first emphasis is on food security however attained Secondarily sustainable food production to reduce dependence on emergency relief should be an objective
AIDs Chad policy is therefore to devote the largest part of its development assistance over the next decade at least to food production Economic SupportFund resources will support in a new project the development of a road maintenance capacity and there may be further need for budget support from the same source Limited interventions in health care human resources and management development from bilateral and regional development assistance projects will be adjuncts The isquestion how to proceed in promotingsustained increasing food production and consumption
9
--
Three factors affect AIDs strategy First thechoice and sequence of interventions in the specificcontext of Chad must create -early pay-offs that buildand accelerate there is no time to waste and eventualcommitments to long-term massive structural orinstitutional developments must have solid grounding -shyin national stability proved approaches and Chadiancommitment Second AIDs development assistanceresources both financial and managerial will continueto be severely constrained Projected levels areobligations of $50 million per year through FY 1990out of a total economic assistance program of $15million annually Eight direct-hire staff will manageall AID activity country-wide Third the alreadyvariegated program of the international donor (includingPVO) community in Chad is expected to grow in volume andcomplexity as stability and responsiveness of Chadincrease
AIDs food production strategy in Chad as seen atthis point then envisages a program of overlappingphases slotted into the overall donor effort and makingthe most economical use of AIDs scarce resources asfollows
-- while current agricultural rehabilitation activities are continuing (through 1986)their technical and organizational lessonswill be absorbed and then operationalizedin
four to five new initiatives supported bythis project from 1985 to 1990 which support small-holder food productiondevelopment and contributing privatebusiness development These will testtechnical (especially water application)and organizational approaches and measuretheir benefits in the Sahelian zone wherethe food problem is theyAnd will beconceived in detail and carried out byPVOs whose expertise and economy ofoperation in this realm are r-nowned
-- as the PVO Development Initiatives Projectwill be fully obligated by FY 1987 thethird overlapping phase will be planned to commence in 1988 It will draw from theexperience of phase two and of otherdonors in similar efforts and insupporting systematic developmentslarger scales (irrigation
at systems seedprovision extension research and
planning price policy export croppromotion for example) Long-term major
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interventions by AID at that point will probably be in order It is too soon to tell of what type but adaptive (farmingsystems) researchextension is a reasonable possiblity
2 Definition of the Project
Therefore the goal of the Project is to increaseChads production of food and its availability to thedeprived and lay groundwork for more profoundagricultural development Its purpose is in theSahelian zone to assist small farmer production andsupportive private sector activities havingdemonstration and institutional development (primarilylocal cooperation) effects The objective is toaccomplish this broadly and quickly enough to (a) make asignificant contribution to the welfare of Chadianshitherto subject to famine and the recipients of foodaid including settled displaced persons and (b)demonstrate approaches to developing small farmer andprivate sector food production systems which successorlonger-term projects can adopt or otherwise support
The magnitude and duration of the Project havebeen determined on the basis of three considerations availability of funds current and developableabsorptive capacity in Chad and the sequence ofagricultural development isAID following here Asindicated above the level of development assistance of$50 million or less per year in the next four years inthe AID bilateral programs obligations on the one handand the assignment of mission direct-hire staff on theother limit the program practically to newone startat present But the condition of Chads infrastructuregovernmental systems and societal fabric does not permitan immediate large-scale or long-term commitment inagriculture They also limit the organizational meansby which assistance to agriculture in Chad can be delivered and monitored
From this follows a deliberate focus andlimitation of the Project to the essential and to targets and means where current experience and analysesindicate feasibility as well as potential forfarther-future interventions That is new foodproduction employing water application small groundworks and self-help and loan finance for smallagricultural businesses -- in accessible areas of theSahelian zone (north and south of NDjamena and around Abeche) -- with a spread of small-scale efforts andtargets clustered in four (or possibly five)subprojects Certain activities may employ AIDfood-for-work or food sales proceeds to supplementproject finance that will support technical assistanceand management tools and other inputs and a loan fund
11
for entrepreneurs And GOC contribution of staff andfacilities will be encouraged in individual subprojects
Strategy dictates that these efforts begin as soonas possible and produce tangible results within three tofour years AIDs experience with relief andrehabilitation activities indicates that such work canbe organized and implemented in Chad at an expenditurerate of about $30 million per year It also indicatesindeed presupposes that American PVOs already operatingeffectively in Chad should be the primary vehicle fordesign operation and monitoring Neither AIDChad northe GOC has the capacity to work on a day-to-day basisat this level -- with outreach to farmers acquisitionand delivery of a variety of inputs and detailedspecification and follow-up PVOs do (See B3 below)
The Project will combine the requisites ofquick-startup and disbursement breadth of effectaccommodation of several effective PVOs andconcentration on a particular target population in aunitary framework via a special type of PVO umbrellaproject This follows agency guidance mandating greatercooperation with registered PVOs in AID programs andsimplification of procedures But for Chad it is notand cannot be a peripheral adjunct to a large matureassistance program the Project will be central to thecurrent effort making a new start on Chads agriculturaldevelopment By design and intent it should become thestepping stone to a mature agricultural program andproject portfolio
Thus one project will be authorized havingtranched obligations over three years underagreement with the GOC an
Guidance on the development andimplementation of subprojects by PVOs contained in thisproject paper (PP) will lead interested PVOs initiallyCARE AFRICARE and VITA to design and proposeinitiatives to serve the projects goal and purpose inthe prescribed manner Cooperative Agreements betweenAID and the PVOs will set the work afoot mutatismutandis The customary andindependent imaginationinitiative of PVOs are necessary ingredients in thisendeavor And recent experience lends confidence thatPVO integrity and the requisites of andAID thisparticular project will be compatible and mutuallysupportive The Project then will be evaluated as awhole by AID and its subprojects monitored andevaluated cooperatively by the PVOs and AID in asequence that provides timely indicators to the futuredevelopment of AIDs program in Chad
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3 The Role and Use of PVOs
PVO umbrella or co-financing projects are relatively new in Africa though now conventional in Asia whereas AID assistance in Africa has a fairlywide though checkered history of support for individual PVO activities Two more or less pure umbrella projects in Africa are in Zaire and Kenya (and a second in the latter currently being developed) In these countries as in the Philippines and Indonesia the PVO co-financing endeavor is one AID project in a large and variegated portfolio where tapping the resources and vitality of PVOs (American and indigenous) is basically a valuable but peripheral outreach of the core AID program
As indicated above the project proposed here is different It is intended to be the centerpiece of AIDs agricultural development assistance for the next three years Its merits must be judged then (a)against those of alternative formulations of developmentassistance with which there is experience and (b) in terms of the efficacy in Chad of the kinds of subprojects it will support On matter (a) it can be said from current Chadian experience that rural-based production investments by AID cannot be inade more efficiently by any other means And the like ihood of economic payoff in Chad of larger-scaled longergestating more fundamental systemic agriculturaldevelopment projects of the typical AID type is highlyproblematical at this time In other wordsconventional AID experience in the Sahel does not givepromise in the present Chadian context In terms of implementation pay-off and foundation-laying the AID-PVO relief and rehabilitation and refugeeresettlement assistance experience of the past two yearsdoes -- as outlined below
There are seven American PVONGOs(Non-Governmental Organizations) 13 NGOsand non-US operating in Chad Some of the NGOs particularly the Protestant missions have been around for as long as thirty years Others such as CARE started work here in the 1970s but had to withdraw and then reinstall themselves because the civil warsof Most of the PVOs have seen an increase in expenditures and staff since the advent of the present Government of Chad followinginternational donor response to the devastation of war and drought
For the most part these organizations have been effective implementing agencies capitalizing on experience and procedures developed elsewhere and in Chad carrying comparatively low operating costs and retaining the respect and cooperation of government
They operate immediate emergency food distribution andhealth care services especially for displaced personsand resettlement and rehabilitation activities in KanemOuaddai Guera and Chari-Baguirmi prefectures (see Table 1)
PVOs financed directly by AID thus far in ChadCARE AFRICARE and VITA are
each of which is implementingimportant and urgently needed activities CARE presentin Che discontinuously since 1973 has ten expatriateand 110 Chadian staff members It distributed over $30million worth of emergency food in 1984 and has beensupervising the reconstruction of strategic roads waterstructures and public facilities with food-for-work resources and AID grants In the period 1982-1986 CAREwill have undertaken rehabilitation activities worth more than $38 million in AID funding in addition tothe value of the food distributed and CAREs owncontributions The June 1984 evaluation of its firstAID-financed rural infrastructure rehabilitation activity was favorable
AFRICARE began work in Chad in March 1983 and nowhas four expatriate staff two highly qualified Chadiantechnicians and 120 Chadian employees it wasinitially involved thein development of two irrigatedperimeters (120 ha total) close to NDjamena forvegetable gardening with mixed results More recentlyAFRICARE has undertaken a $285 million AID-fundedthree-year rehabilitationrural development project inOuaddai This project will have a major impact on therural population near Abeche who have been among thehardest hit by the war and drought by providing forseed distribution dike restoration reforestation andthe introduction of intermediate technologies Despitepoor rains in the past year this seems promising
VITA (Volunteers in Technical Assistance) beganoperations in Chad in 1984 and now has a staff of oneexpatriate (with an additional one on the way) fourChadian loan officers and five office workers Under a$15 million grant from AID it is providing animportant source of credit for small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs in and around NDjamena This privatesector activity aimed restoringat the activities ofdisplaced and other businessmen has already financedsuccessful melon poultry and food processingbusinesses in addition to more urban commercial ventures A reviewrecent indicates that this willprobably be a successful venture and VITA is nowlooking at the potential for expansion otherto market towns
The Project takes the explicit view that theexperience and in-place systems of the three major
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Table 1
MAJOR PVO ACTIVITIES IN CHAD
PVO Activity Title Valua ($O00) Period Description Heavy Tzucks-FoodCARE 1289 982-984 Delivery
Provides trucks 4WD vehicles Maintenance for food-for-vork (FFW) and other relief coimodities delivery to rural areas
CARE FM Road Repair 387 Repair 155 km Ndjamena-Cuelendeng road 850 workers CARE Ag Infrastructure 950 1283-485 FFW reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urbanRestoration I manitation CARE Ag Infrastructu-e 1200 1084-1086 Ff4 reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urban
Restoration 11 sanitation CARE Resettlement 217 185- Resettlement in Kane financed by FED and Dutch PVO AFRICARE Heavy Equip Repair 585 982-984 Provide master mechanic and rehabilitation to Public Works
NdjamenaAFRICARK Vegetable Gardening 380 683-986 FFW Establish 20 ha vegetable production nearNdjamena AFRICARE Abechi Rural Dev 2850 584-1186 Integrated rural development VITA Private Enterprise 1500 784-686 Provision of credit to entrepreneurs in and near Ndjamena for new
businesses SECADEV Displaced Personp
Rural Development Food aid distribution reconstruction ofrural infrastructure650 (annually) food relief
Ndjamena Social Aid to sick aged handicapped - a GOC-registered
Chadian Catholic PVO working with 10-12000 peopleNfdecins 6000 1983-85 Sans Medical Assistance
Epidemic prevention in displaced persons camps reestablishment11000 1985-88 Frontiaree of prefecture health clinics staff training hoterchtld health
monitoring preventive care European PVO CARED Rural Development - 1982- Pre-cooperative support Irrigated perimeters (5-10 ha each)
chicken and small rumLnant production village grain mills League of Emergency Relief 750 1983-4Red Cross Food and Blanket distribution to more than 50000 80 food7500 1985-8 distribution sites some resettlement programs
American PVOs in Chad can and should be utilized and built upon at this stage and through this project Alternative vehicles as suggested above are not promising in themselves and could not in any case be relied upon for rapid mobilization Nor in Sahelian experience are universities consulting firms or the technical offices of AID missions more suitable to the hands-on nature of this project They are less adaptable to (and experienced with) the rigors of work in Chad and more expensive as well
This does not mean however that the PVOs expected to implement this project will not need helpOn the model of current AID rehabtlitation efforts they can be relied upon to handle well the necessary procurement understandings with the government mobilization and delivery of inputs and monitoringTheir weaknesses understandable given contemporary Chad and the foreign assistance milieu but also correctable have lain in the design and technical supervision of rural activities (See VA below) Greater subproject financing of field specialists should assure that implementation is technically sound The PVOs will be encouraged to apply their own contributions to detailed design work at the proposal and later stages To augment this the Project will provide for the selected application of small grants to PVOs for specific desiqn assistance
C ELEMENTS
1 Subprojects
Analyses indicate that considerable potential for new food production and related private sector activityobtains dispersed through the Sahelian zone To capture this potential and test developmental approaches (including local organizational dynamics) economically and rapidly American PVOs with substantial in-country facilities and experience will be invited to propose four to five subprojects having durations of two to four years beginning in late FY 1985 These subprojects will be the substance of the Project
Following the focus and expectations described above and in later analyses there is a strong prospect that CARE AFRICARE and VITA will propose initial subprojects which treat settled populations in the geographical Kanem area around Abeche and in Chari-Baguirmi Each should be prepared and ready to commelice before the end of FY 1986 probably much earlier on the part of CARE They may either fullycomprehend a large scattered population -- possibly expanded to additional accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- or commence in a more limited fashion and for
16
shorter duraticn with the intention of a second phase within the life of the Project At the same time the Project allows for the introduction of at least one new American PVO into Chads food production sector
On the basis of this project papers guidance each PVO will develop a detailed proposal the equivalent substantively of an AID small-project PP (see also Implementation Plan III below) for review and approval by AID in the field These proposals must adhere to the Projects focus criteria and meet various standards of format and detail Most important among the latter treat beneficiaries (the deprived but able) technological feasibility inputs availability and utility (tools seeds food-for-work etc) social and organizational practicality (regarding inter alia adaptiveness and cooperativeness of populations land tenure and government role) economic justifiability (cost-benefit or least cost market relations etc) and intended demonstration and institutional especially local institutional effects The PVO must further demonstrate its managerial capacity and provide as a condition to proposal approval an agreement with the appropriate GOC ministry to undertake the subproject on its behalf That should indicate the role of specific GOC agencies in implementation and the institutional developmental feasiblity and goals of that
The inputs of the project will be largely grants through Cooperative Agreements to the PVOs and as necessary and possible AID or World Food Program food-for-work contributions and food aid sales proceeds The quantification of those will be done at the subproject design stage The inputs of subprojects financed by the AID grants will be technical asistance management implements and other inputs loan finance in the private sector efforts food or proceeds perhaps (financed outside the Project) monitoring and evaluation and provision for contingencies The outputs will be functioning food production schemes and food production or related businesses Output targets will be enumerated by scheme or area based on the PVOs detailed analyses
Total Project funds programmed for subproject grants are $12 million with expenditures to be incurred by September 30 1989 the Project Assistance Completion Date (PACD) and fully disbursed by December 31 1989 Included in the grant financing to PVOs may be design costs not normally to exceed $50000 per subproject
PVOs are expected to make a maximum effort to meet the requirement of a 25 pezcent contribution from their own resources to the total costs of their subproject(s) and especially to the development of subprojects
17
Provision of Project assistance to subprojectconceptualization and design will be justifiedespecially for new PVO entrants to Chad or more importantly where an intended subprojects objectivesexplicitly emphasize testing and monitoring oftechnologies development) application
or processes with promise
(including institutional for future systematic
2 Procedures
Participating PVOs are expected to be familiar with AID requirements to follow the proposal format set forth in the Implementation Plan below and to be acceptable to AID in terms of registrationnon-government source globalof revenue and auditability Given that AID will entertain proposals on a rolling admissions basis up to a magnitude of $40million each with activities to be completed by the PACD
As a central principle of the Project isminimization of direct AID design and implementationburden and maximization of impact a small but necessaryprovision is made for management by AID This $725000will finance a full-time project manager management support allowance for contingencies and an AID evaluation The project manager will coordinate AID-PVO relationships including assistance to subprojectdesign as necessary subproject proposal review dild approval (including adherence to FAA Sec 611(a)requirements) GOC approvals activation of cooperativeagreements reporting and evaluation (See II-IV below)
Thus subproject proposals will be treated in the same fashion as projects for field authorization and to the same standards This will require full review byAIDChad professional staff the Chad AID Directors approval with concurrence of the REDSOWCA Director From an approved proposal AIDChad will develop a PIOTto generate in turn the Cooperative Agreement to be executed by a REDSOWCA Grant Officer The GOC will be a signatory to the PIOT thereby exercising its rightto determine the use of funds granted to it by AID
3 Results
As should now be clear the end-of-project-statusof this effort has two strands and a corollarySignificant increases in food production and consumption among Chads currently destitute must occur and be managed at an uncommonly low cost to AID and the GOC In achieving this techniques of cultivation and organization including use of private capital and local cooperation should be tested reasonably
18
systematically this should provide a part of the basis for later concerted attacks on Chads poverty by the GOC and its Atdonors the same time AID-PVO cooperationwill enhance the impact of the assistance of each in Chads difficult environment And strengthened PVOs and PVO-GOC collaboration is unquestionably a short- andmedium-term good given the straightened circumstances and poor prospects of Chads people and systems
Finally specification measurement and lessons of such results are particularly important to agriculturaldevelopment in Chad The era of the Project is onewhere a turning point may be reached thisfor countryThus monitoring and evaluation of the Project are especially important (See IV below) If the Projects assumptions are correct and this is designedto be verified in the Projects timeframe Chad has reasonable hope and AID will have fulfilled its current mandate and immediate strategic purpose
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS
A BUDGET
The Project will provide $12725 million in grantfunds from the Sahel (121) account to the Government of Chad to be obligated over the Fiscal Years 1985 through1987 Expenditures may be accrued up theto PACD (September 30 1989) and must be fully disbursed byDecember 31 1989 Obligation will be by GrantAgreement and its amendment with the GOC Funds will be handled directly by registered American PVOs and in the case of administration of the Project by USAIDChad
Of the total AID dollar contribution $120 million will be provided by AID to PVOs by CooperativeAgreements through letters of credit Generally a 25percent contribution to each subproject from non-AID sources will be required including cash input so far as possible from each PVO This can be waived by the Chad AID Representative if the interests of United States policy in Chad so warrant It is estimated that the non-AID contribution by PVOs to the overall costs of the Project will be about $30 million The Government of Chad will not be called upon to contribute to the overall Project as this is deemed impossible under current Chadian circumstances and in any case is not required in the Sahel program However in individual subprojects certain GOC contribution of staff time and facilities may well occur and bewill encouraged this will be set forth in the PVO-GOC exchange of letters
Additional contributions to the Project from other AID sources are also anticipated but cannot be projecteduntil subprojects are designed and approved and these
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resources availability in Chad for specified periods isdetermined They are food-for-work provided under PL
II480 Title and rice sales proceeds generated by TitleII Emergency Sales in FY 1985 and Title II Section 206 programs or continued Emergency Sales thereafter
The remaining portion of the grant ($725000) willbe devoted to administration by AID That is financeof a fulltime project manager by AID Personal ServicesContract (PSC) (estimated at $125000 per year for four years plus management support of $50000) finance of acomprehensive final evaluation theof project in itsfourth year ($100000) also to be directly contracted for by AID and a small provision for contingencies($75000) It is expected that additional subprojectreview monitoring and evaluation services as necessaryduring the life of the project will be provided byREDSOWCA at no cost to the Project
Table 2 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS ($mil)
AID Grants to PVOs 120
AID Administration 0725
PVO Contributions 30
Food-for-Work
AID Food Sales Proceeds
Table 3
OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FISCAL YEAR ($mil)
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Obligations 3725 40 50 - -Expenditures - 2225 45 40 20
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A thorough financial analysis and detailed budgetwill be required in each subproject proposal Thisshould include a realistic list of inputs and theirprobable sources of supply (in AID Geographic Code 941countries and the cooperating country) with base costs calculated in ctrrent prices for each and price andphysical cortingencies estimated conservatively
In cases where sulpiojects comprise ldrge sets ofsmall interventions it will be permissible to aggregateestimates by category rather than for each individualsmall activity as related to total physical volumes of
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work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
21
Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
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inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
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small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
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2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
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real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
future larger-scaled agricultural development projects as and if conditions in Chad become favorable for them
Findings Detailed technical economic social environmental and financial analyses will be required in the PVO proposals which generate subprojects General analyses of conditions in the Sahelian zone indicate considerable water exploitation potential for food production availability of low-cost technologies sufficient PVO management expertise and suitable susceptible and organizable beneficiaries
Small Disadvantagd and Woman-owned Firms PVOs are not that however at least one minority PVO will be a major participant and all PVOs will be encouraged to avail themselves of technical advisory services from Historically Black American Universities and Colleges
Waivers A blanket vehicle waiver for procurement from Code 935 sources is attached as is a Delegation of Authority from AAAFR to the Chad Aid Representative to limit invitation for PVO application to a single source in thn case of each subproject which is deemed unique or mcst appropriate to undertake the effort (HBl3JB2e(3))
Major Conditions Precedent and Covenants None
Project Team Members James Osbcrn PDO Diana McLain agronomist Dan Jenkins engineer Douglas Barnett economist Lucien Strevinou PRE advisor Alex Newton RLA -- all of REDSOWCA
2
I PROJECT RATIONALE AND DESCRIPTION
A SETTING
Chad was one of the poorest countries in Africa before recurring drought and war in the 1970s and 1980s now it is perhaps the most wrecked Severe dislocations destruction and destitution in the northern two-thirds of the country and political instability coupled with drought in the usually lusher south face a government with pitifully few resources Humanitarian and political impulses have brought forth multilateral and western bilateral assistance and a major effort by private voluntary organizations -shydirected both to relief and limited rehabilitation on the one hand and stabilization and nuturing of national systems on the other
Even a ten to twenty year perspective on the develepment (or redevelopment) of Chad cannot be surelyoptimistic But the United States and other donors have a measured commitment to reestablishing Chads economic viability and giving impetus to growth There is some potential amidst the waste and tragedy A developmentproject must be adroit to seize and build upon it as part of a long-term effort in a harsh and uncertain environment
1 Structural Chanqe and Impoverishment
Chad shares the major physical and historical characteristics of large Sahelian countries stratification from north to south French colonial heritage Saharan impingement primitive subsistence agriculture and husbandry supporting the bulk of the population and periodic tenuous legitimacy of government Before the twin blows of war and droughthowever Chad had as reasonable an expectation of gradual growth and development as any country in the region By the end of the 1960s a small but articulated system of government trade financing and management entities was prepared on the post-colonial French model and with French assistance to exploit the export agricultural potential of the south -- in turn to finance modest evolution of public services and improvedsubsistence agriculture and husbandry throughout Chad
In the years 1965 througY 1971 as Chads population grew from approximately 332 to 372 million food (cereal grain) production increased from 460000 to 690000 metric tons per year exceeding basic self-sufficiency (150 kgperson) by 24 percent in 1971 Cotton production increased in the period 1964-65 to 1968-69 from 99106 metric tons per year to 148819
--
with a productivity increase of 46 percent The cattle and goat population in the same period increased byabout 36 percent At this point the stage was set for conventional development policy action Domestic income and foreign aid and investment supported comparativelysophisticated development of cotton production and trade and the commencement of land transport importsubstitution agricultural infrastructural and publicservices projects
Then civil strife and droughts cyclically from 1971 through the present turned Chad from a relativelyunderdeveloped counLry with hope into a disaster Willful organized violence ran sporadically through1979 peaking for the moment with the military coupdetat in 1975 and escallating again in 1980-82 when the then President Goukouni Oueddei (with Libyansupport) vied with Defense Minister Hissein Habre for control Habre established the current government in June 1982 and reestablished a modicum of governmentalservice Goukouni and Libyan forces have since fought a war of position and nerves with the Government of Chad From 1983 conflict has stabilized into skirmishes across a line in north-central Chad From varyingdegrees of trouble in the south has emerged recently a stronger government position
This debilitating violence and instability over 20 years gradually ruined the governments ability to attract inpst-mont to man~neand dtvplopmentsystematically institutions allof sorts crumbledtrained professionals de-camped or-erly assistance became impossible In 1983 Chad in interndtional development terms practically rasawas a tabula But on the picture of man-made destruction Was also superimposed in 1970s sincethe and maligndrought-induced structural change as bad or wocrse than anywhere in the region This encompasses failed harvests debilitated herds dramatically lowered river and lake levels migration of the worst hit subsistence agriculturalists and pastoralists radical change in traditional practices culturaland relations an unprecedented risk of mass starvation and human damage
with all beyond the abilities of the government and private sector to cope
More specifically the drought has hit hardest the center or Sahelian zone of Chad where about two million of the approximately 44 million Chadians now reside and the government and many extant modern sectors are centered in NDjamena For a zone whose traditional rainfall should range from 350 mmyear in the extreme north to more than 900 mmyear in the south the averageof seven station- reporting from 1966 through 1970 was
2
784 mmyear This declined to 597 in 1971-73 rose to 755 in 1975-76 fell to 567 in 1977-78 rose to 840 in 1980-81 and bottomed at 536 mmyear average in1982-84 Cereal production in the zone declined from 279257 metric tons in 1976 to 169419 in 1983
Data for 1984 indicate a worse drought than ever For example around NDjamena the August rainfall average for the past 25 years has been 201 mm in 1983it was 1389 mm in 1984 476 mn In the region north of NDjamena to the lake there was no production in the past winter seasc)n pastures were dry and cattle dyingby September and pumping to irrigated perimeters from the river was impossible in some areas The 1984 harvest in the Sahelian zone was weak to nul and significantly curtailed thein southern Sudanian and Sudanian-Guinan climatic zones Small market-gardenplots around NDjamena producing muchas as 2000metric tons of vegetables on 300 ha in 1979 were down to 64 ha in 198384 producing no more than 100 MT There was a total failure of the rice crop in 1984
The food deficit in 198384 averaged 45 percentfor the Sahelian zone as a whole with a maximum of 78 percent in the eastern prefecture of Biltine-Ouaddai (centered on Abeche) 71 percent in Kanem north of thelake and 58 percent in Chari-Baguirmi which contains NDjamena The four southern prefectures generallyreferred to as Sudanian recorded an average 20 percent deficit
Drought is a greater contributor even than towar present human distress in Chad Head counts (and these are conservative estimates by resident relief agenciesassrembled by USAIDNDjamena) indicate magnitudethe as of April 19 1985 Chadian displaced (and destitute) persons numLered at 167658 and the1past this was stricken 2ure of an estimated 640000 peons at risk The prefectures of greatest burden were Guera in the center (34600 displaced persons) Ouaddai in the east (31250) Batha (28000) and Chari-Baguirmi around NDjamena (22600)
Thus multiple misfortunes converging on Chads people make for the following best-case composite a country of Tbout 443 million whose population growthrate generally has been about 22 percent infant mortality about 1501000 and life expectancy 40 yearsSurveys find Aficas worst levels of malnutrition here Ernploiment is 85 percent in agriculture and 41 percent of the population is 15 years old or youngerChads GNP per capita in 1984 was estimated to be $80reflecting a recent growth rate of -28 percent
3
North-south stratification finds two million
primitive farmers and pastoralists in the severe drought
zone of the Sahel at present unable by far to produce enough grain to eat -- although in the past for the most part they did The slightly more populous south has not
had severe drought until this year conditions more
generally benign to agricultu-e and a diligent cotton
production effort backed by what services the government has ever been able to provide (eg extension) There
is decline but survival given rain
The capital NDjamena has about 400000 people
who apart from some participants in the southern sugar
beer and cotton production industries represent Chads
modern sector A large exodus of the highly skilled
comprehensive destruction of physical plant and the
collapse of the banking sector mean the little reviving commerce and industry are small in scale and largely
informal in character although economic chaos is
forestalled by Chadian discipline and Chads position in
the CFA zone
The national government is not collapsing on the
contrary it is functioning seriously and remarkably
honestly However it is almost insolvent On revenues
in 1984 of 1122 billion CFA (ca $24 million) the
government carried expenditures of CFA 16503 billion
Its deficit is currently oscillating around $10 million
pet year largely find by France The budgetary crunch is expected to be most severe from September 1985
through March 1987 including earmarked revenues
(untabulated above) and assuming deficits are financed
somehow the governments total outlays for the present
will be around $35 million a year
For a country of four million people this is
considered to be about the irreducible minimum necessary
to maintain a modicum cf governmental presence and
functions And that modicum is operated by a sparse
civil service mostly at half salary The National
Office of Rural Development (ONDR which is responsible
nationally for agricultural extension organization of
productive inputs improving -gricultural technologies
and collection of agricultural statistics) to take one
example had 1406 employees in 1978 and 1571 in 1983
However in that period staff for general direction and
for work in the Sahel fell by 16 and 38 percent
respectively -- to 45 central managers and 219 civil servants serving all of the Sahelian zone
2 Relief and Rehabilitation
The international community has recognized Chads
crisis and responded This will continue for some time
to concentrate on food donations and emergency health
4
care rehabilitation of some productive capacity in the Sahelian zone and subventions to the central government to support and rehabilitate basic functions combined with support for agricultural production largelycotton in the south These efforts which are considerable given the hostility of Chads environment are setting parameters and conditions for Chads future development
Emergency food and medical assistance provided bymultilateral and bilateral agencies and privateorganizations treat the severest cases of deprivation in Chad In 1985 a food deficit of 300000 MT is possibleshould the south again be severely hit by drought a displaced population of as many as 240000 and an at risk population of up to one million are probableForeign-operated food distribution systems within Chad are attempting to deliver supplies at the rate of about 15000 MT per month to rural distribution points A thin but wide-spread emergency medical service is financed by donors and operated by a PVO (PrivateVoluntary Organization)
Beyond stemmuing tragedy the effects of such efforts should have important consequences Firstmigrants away from famine and civil strife can be organized into settled agriculture (if and where there is potential) being displaced from traditik 1 contexts in theory they can be more amenable adopting improved production practices Second there is a demonstration and training effect involving largenumbers of Chadian workers local organizations and the few available government officials which despiteeverything could energize future institutional development at several levels Third physicalinfrastructure to support emergency operations is in limited degrees of necessity being put in placevehicle fleets communications a bridge to Cameroon etc
At the same time considerable donor assistancebuilding since the 1982 Geneva Conference has been planned and some delivered for basic reconstruction and rehabilitation Of $250 totalthe million aid requested then perhaps two-thirds is in the pipelineThis not only supports public administration capitalinfrastructure rehabilitation and revitalization of cotton exports but also small-holder agriculturalproduction in a few accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- a certain amount of it managed by PVOs From experience with the last it is possible to see a small basis and certain opportunities for longer-term development of traditional agriculture
5
In particular water is available for small-scale farming in the Lake Chad alluvial basin with modestapplication of andlabor capital along riverperimeters in wadis with catchment from shallow wellsand recessionally via poldering Technicalorganizational snags however
and are not fully worked
out Reliable seed of course is essential andimproved varieties when obtainable are successfullyadopted Village organizations can cooperatively applylabor accumulate inputs and market excess produce withorganizational assistance Likewise a vigorous smallbusiness community willing take canto risks benurtured and find profitable opportunities in rural development (See V and Annex E below)
Eighteen or more small projects concerningirrigated and rainfed agriculture in the Sahelian zone are underway or planned For the next several yearsthey will demonstrate the feasibilities of particularcropcultivation practice combinations inputpracticalities small business roles in food productionand the potentials of areas from Kanem in the north to Bongor in the south to Abeche in the east
3 AppK(oaches to Developmen t
That is a small beginning to a large task for theindefinite future putting Chad back on the track toself-reliance and growth The necessity for a primaryconcentration on agriculture is evident as is the needfor more assistance The most recent comprehensivestudy on the subject (Club du SahelCILSSCONACILSSBilan Pro9ramme des Productions Veqetaies PluvialsetIrri du Tchad Sector Analysis Rainfed andIrrigated Crop Production in Chad December 1984) citesthe following first order constraints on agriculturaldevelopment in addition generally to drought and inadequate foreign aid
-- insufficient availability of seed
insufficient attention (policyinvestment) to irrigation properly scaled and
absence of significant intervention onproducer prices and marketing of agricultural products and on the costs of production inputs
The study also notes the general absence of adaptive andsub-regional research rural credit and extensionsophisticated inputs and planning
6
The prescription of CILSS to which it is difficult to take exception intellectually or in principle conwprises orientations building for the longer term and more or less iniaediate actions These are the basis for a national development strategy And until further study (eg on costs) and experience (egwith adoption of technologies) or a radical change in conditions indicate otherwise they will probablyreceive general assent The eight orientations are undifferentiated and unordered but offer opportunities for all They are
-- give priority to food self-sufficiency
-- operationalize irrigation potential not least small scale
-- protect and develop cotton production through intensification
revitalize rural development in the Sahelian zone through regional planning
define and operate a producer price and marketing policy which stimulates increased production
-- promote small-farmer initiative and responsibility through training cooperativization etc
-- adequately support rural development institutions for programming research crop protection extension etc and
-- acquire massive concerted properly adapted foreign aid applying better donor-Chadian cocrdination
Immediate actions called for are
an appeal for food aid in 198485 an important part in the forms of food-for-work and that generating sales proceeds
-- an appeal for building up a cereal seed stock for 198485
-- intensification of irrigation investments via food-for-work and by launching already proposed schemes
-- provisional suspension of transfer to small farmers of the real costs of production inputs
7
--
-- significant assistance to theInterministerial Bureau for Studies andProgramming (BEP) under the Minister of State for Agricultural and Rural Development and
-- intervention by the Nationai CerealsOffice in the consumer price systemthrough the use of donated food
In other words Chadian agriculture needseverything and much of this at once However there aredefinite practical steps to take that are developmentaland not shotgun crisis-reactive The proolems whichwill confront donors and the Government of Chad areassessment of risk husbanding of scarce resourceschoice of targets and timing Whereas policy dialogueand formulation Cor example should be fruitful civenChads disarray and are inexpensive larqe-scaleirrigation schemes massiveor provision of proaoictiveinputs and rural services are not necessarily eithe atpresent The challenge of Chad is not simple
B STRATEGY 1 AID Polic
The United States has several interests in Chadserved by its foreign assistance program Theseinterlock and are pursued through multilateralcoordination The humanitarian concern and efforts torelieve immediate mass suffering todue famine areessential But they would be insufficient -shypotentially futile if systemic improvements were notassisted eventually which should prevent the recurrenceof disaster even if drought pevails Such developmentcannot proceed however in an insecure polity subjecthaphazardly to turmoil and governmental paralysisespecially that induced by a capricious enemy neighbor
rherefore American policy action has focused since1982 on the recstablishment of a stable and vigorousgovernment which deals with Chads imradiate problemseffectively establishing credibility wkth the Chadianpeople and good relations with its neighbors AID hasprovided some of the means food medicines transportbudget support finance for small-scale physicalrehabilitation and the services of PVOs for outreachAmerican food assistance approved from Junethrough April 1985 to
1982 sum 139680 MT of grain andvegoil at a cost of $6948 million including transportand management Of that 7500 MT riceof and sorghumhave been granted to Chad the sales proceeds of which
will be devoted to emergency rehabilitation
8
Non-food assistance to be obligated through FY1985 and serve the above purpose in a quick-disbursingfashion will total $1935 million That is devoted largely with considerable success to agriculturalrestoration (35 percent) health restoration (21percent) and budget support (16 percent) with lesser amounts for basic assistance in human resources privateenterprise administrative management and road repair
At the same time after almost three yearsexperience the Government of Chad (GOC) the donor community at andlarge AID have concluded that efforts can and should be made to plan and commence investment programs that attack Chads root problems As indicated in the above discussions reliable food supply is Chads paramount need And for the foreseeable future this need can be served only by local production or food aid purchase of food out of export earnings is not in the cards Development of food production capacity is an immediate and long-term necessity and the sine qua non of all else developmental
Although Chad is an extreme case this fact is congruent with broader observations that have informed current AID policy For Africa this makes agriculturethe central focus and AIDs goal to assist African governments reverse the declining per capita food production trend increaseand overall agriculturalproduction and productivity increase farm incomes and improve nutritional status particularly of the small holder (Strategic Plan Executive Summary 62883p 12) Sahel development strategy (Review STATE 287422 July 14 1984) cites the need for realistic goals over a 10-20 year time frame based on food availability rather foodthan production as the central objective of AID assistance in the Sahel And the first emphasis is on food security however attained Secondarily sustainable food production to reduce dependence on emergency relief should be an objective
AIDs Chad policy is therefore to devote the largest part of its development assistance over the next decade at least to food production Economic SupportFund resources will support in a new project the development of a road maintenance capacity and there may be further need for budget support from the same source Limited interventions in health care human resources and management development from bilateral and regional development assistance projects will be adjuncts The isquestion how to proceed in promotingsustained increasing food production and consumption
9
--
Three factors affect AIDs strategy First thechoice and sequence of interventions in the specificcontext of Chad must create -early pay-offs that buildand accelerate there is no time to waste and eventualcommitments to long-term massive structural orinstitutional developments must have solid grounding -shyin national stability proved approaches and Chadiancommitment Second AIDs development assistanceresources both financial and managerial will continueto be severely constrained Projected levels areobligations of $50 million per year through FY 1990out of a total economic assistance program of $15million annually Eight direct-hire staff will manageall AID activity country-wide Third the alreadyvariegated program of the international donor (includingPVO) community in Chad is expected to grow in volume andcomplexity as stability and responsiveness of Chadincrease
AIDs food production strategy in Chad as seen atthis point then envisages a program of overlappingphases slotted into the overall donor effort and makingthe most economical use of AIDs scarce resources asfollows
-- while current agricultural rehabilitation activities are continuing (through 1986)their technical and organizational lessonswill be absorbed and then operationalizedin
four to five new initiatives supported bythis project from 1985 to 1990 which support small-holder food productiondevelopment and contributing privatebusiness development These will testtechnical (especially water application)and organizational approaches and measuretheir benefits in the Sahelian zone wherethe food problem is theyAnd will beconceived in detail and carried out byPVOs whose expertise and economy ofoperation in this realm are r-nowned
-- as the PVO Development Initiatives Projectwill be fully obligated by FY 1987 thethird overlapping phase will be planned to commence in 1988 It will draw from theexperience of phase two and of otherdonors in similar efforts and insupporting systematic developmentslarger scales (irrigation
at systems seedprovision extension research and
planning price policy export croppromotion for example) Long-term major
10
interventions by AID at that point will probably be in order It is too soon to tell of what type but adaptive (farmingsystems) researchextension is a reasonable possiblity
2 Definition of the Project
Therefore the goal of the Project is to increaseChads production of food and its availability to thedeprived and lay groundwork for more profoundagricultural development Its purpose is in theSahelian zone to assist small farmer production andsupportive private sector activities havingdemonstration and institutional development (primarilylocal cooperation) effects The objective is toaccomplish this broadly and quickly enough to (a) make asignificant contribution to the welfare of Chadianshitherto subject to famine and the recipients of foodaid including settled displaced persons and (b)demonstrate approaches to developing small farmer andprivate sector food production systems which successorlonger-term projects can adopt or otherwise support
The magnitude and duration of the Project havebeen determined on the basis of three considerations availability of funds current and developableabsorptive capacity in Chad and the sequence ofagricultural development isAID following here Asindicated above the level of development assistance of$50 million or less per year in the next four years inthe AID bilateral programs obligations on the one handand the assignment of mission direct-hire staff on theother limit the program practically to newone startat present But the condition of Chads infrastructuregovernmental systems and societal fabric does not permitan immediate large-scale or long-term commitment inagriculture They also limit the organizational meansby which assistance to agriculture in Chad can be delivered and monitored
From this follows a deliberate focus andlimitation of the Project to the essential and to targets and means where current experience and analysesindicate feasibility as well as potential forfarther-future interventions That is new foodproduction employing water application small groundworks and self-help and loan finance for smallagricultural businesses -- in accessible areas of theSahelian zone (north and south of NDjamena and around Abeche) -- with a spread of small-scale efforts andtargets clustered in four (or possibly five)subprojects Certain activities may employ AIDfood-for-work or food sales proceeds to supplementproject finance that will support technical assistanceand management tools and other inputs and a loan fund
11
for entrepreneurs And GOC contribution of staff andfacilities will be encouraged in individual subprojects
Strategy dictates that these efforts begin as soonas possible and produce tangible results within three tofour years AIDs experience with relief andrehabilitation activities indicates that such work canbe organized and implemented in Chad at an expenditurerate of about $30 million per year It also indicatesindeed presupposes that American PVOs already operatingeffectively in Chad should be the primary vehicle fordesign operation and monitoring Neither AIDChad northe GOC has the capacity to work on a day-to-day basisat this level -- with outreach to farmers acquisitionand delivery of a variety of inputs and detailedspecification and follow-up PVOs do (See B3 below)
The Project will combine the requisites ofquick-startup and disbursement breadth of effectaccommodation of several effective PVOs andconcentration on a particular target population in aunitary framework via a special type of PVO umbrellaproject This follows agency guidance mandating greatercooperation with registered PVOs in AID programs andsimplification of procedures But for Chad it is notand cannot be a peripheral adjunct to a large matureassistance program the Project will be central to thecurrent effort making a new start on Chads agriculturaldevelopment By design and intent it should become thestepping stone to a mature agricultural program andproject portfolio
Thus one project will be authorized havingtranched obligations over three years underagreement with the GOC an
Guidance on the development andimplementation of subprojects by PVOs contained in thisproject paper (PP) will lead interested PVOs initiallyCARE AFRICARE and VITA to design and proposeinitiatives to serve the projects goal and purpose inthe prescribed manner Cooperative Agreements betweenAID and the PVOs will set the work afoot mutatismutandis The customary andindependent imaginationinitiative of PVOs are necessary ingredients in thisendeavor And recent experience lends confidence thatPVO integrity and the requisites of andAID thisparticular project will be compatible and mutuallysupportive The Project then will be evaluated as awhole by AID and its subprojects monitored andevaluated cooperatively by the PVOs and AID in asequence that provides timely indicators to the futuredevelopment of AIDs program in Chad
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3 The Role and Use of PVOs
PVO umbrella or co-financing projects are relatively new in Africa though now conventional in Asia whereas AID assistance in Africa has a fairlywide though checkered history of support for individual PVO activities Two more or less pure umbrella projects in Africa are in Zaire and Kenya (and a second in the latter currently being developed) In these countries as in the Philippines and Indonesia the PVO co-financing endeavor is one AID project in a large and variegated portfolio where tapping the resources and vitality of PVOs (American and indigenous) is basically a valuable but peripheral outreach of the core AID program
As indicated above the project proposed here is different It is intended to be the centerpiece of AIDs agricultural development assistance for the next three years Its merits must be judged then (a)against those of alternative formulations of developmentassistance with which there is experience and (b) in terms of the efficacy in Chad of the kinds of subprojects it will support On matter (a) it can be said from current Chadian experience that rural-based production investments by AID cannot be inade more efficiently by any other means And the like ihood of economic payoff in Chad of larger-scaled longergestating more fundamental systemic agriculturaldevelopment projects of the typical AID type is highlyproblematical at this time In other wordsconventional AID experience in the Sahel does not givepromise in the present Chadian context In terms of implementation pay-off and foundation-laying the AID-PVO relief and rehabilitation and refugeeresettlement assistance experience of the past two yearsdoes -- as outlined below
There are seven American PVONGOs(Non-Governmental Organizations) 13 NGOsand non-US operating in Chad Some of the NGOs particularly the Protestant missions have been around for as long as thirty years Others such as CARE started work here in the 1970s but had to withdraw and then reinstall themselves because the civil warsof Most of the PVOs have seen an increase in expenditures and staff since the advent of the present Government of Chad followinginternational donor response to the devastation of war and drought
For the most part these organizations have been effective implementing agencies capitalizing on experience and procedures developed elsewhere and in Chad carrying comparatively low operating costs and retaining the respect and cooperation of government
They operate immediate emergency food distribution andhealth care services especially for displaced personsand resettlement and rehabilitation activities in KanemOuaddai Guera and Chari-Baguirmi prefectures (see Table 1)
PVOs financed directly by AID thus far in ChadCARE AFRICARE and VITA are
each of which is implementingimportant and urgently needed activities CARE presentin Che discontinuously since 1973 has ten expatriateand 110 Chadian staff members It distributed over $30million worth of emergency food in 1984 and has beensupervising the reconstruction of strategic roads waterstructures and public facilities with food-for-work resources and AID grants In the period 1982-1986 CAREwill have undertaken rehabilitation activities worth more than $38 million in AID funding in addition tothe value of the food distributed and CAREs owncontributions The June 1984 evaluation of its firstAID-financed rural infrastructure rehabilitation activity was favorable
AFRICARE began work in Chad in March 1983 and nowhas four expatriate staff two highly qualified Chadiantechnicians and 120 Chadian employees it wasinitially involved thein development of two irrigatedperimeters (120 ha total) close to NDjamena forvegetable gardening with mixed results More recentlyAFRICARE has undertaken a $285 million AID-fundedthree-year rehabilitationrural development project inOuaddai This project will have a major impact on therural population near Abeche who have been among thehardest hit by the war and drought by providing forseed distribution dike restoration reforestation andthe introduction of intermediate technologies Despitepoor rains in the past year this seems promising
VITA (Volunteers in Technical Assistance) beganoperations in Chad in 1984 and now has a staff of oneexpatriate (with an additional one on the way) fourChadian loan officers and five office workers Under a$15 million grant from AID it is providing animportant source of credit for small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs in and around NDjamena This privatesector activity aimed restoringat the activities ofdisplaced and other businessmen has already financedsuccessful melon poultry and food processingbusinesses in addition to more urban commercial ventures A reviewrecent indicates that this willprobably be a successful venture and VITA is nowlooking at the potential for expansion otherto market towns
The Project takes the explicit view that theexperience and in-place systems of the three major
14
Table 1
MAJOR PVO ACTIVITIES IN CHAD
PVO Activity Title Valua ($O00) Period Description Heavy Tzucks-FoodCARE 1289 982-984 Delivery
Provides trucks 4WD vehicles Maintenance for food-for-vork (FFW) and other relief coimodities delivery to rural areas
CARE FM Road Repair 387 Repair 155 km Ndjamena-Cuelendeng road 850 workers CARE Ag Infrastructure 950 1283-485 FFW reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urbanRestoration I manitation CARE Ag Infrastructu-e 1200 1084-1086 Ff4 reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urban
Restoration 11 sanitation CARE Resettlement 217 185- Resettlement in Kane financed by FED and Dutch PVO AFRICARE Heavy Equip Repair 585 982-984 Provide master mechanic and rehabilitation to Public Works
NdjamenaAFRICARK Vegetable Gardening 380 683-986 FFW Establish 20 ha vegetable production nearNdjamena AFRICARE Abechi Rural Dev 2850 584-1186 Integrated rural development VITA Private Enterprise 1500 784-686 Provision of credit to entrepreneurs in and near Ndjamena for new
businesses SECADEV Displaced Personp
Rural Development Food aid distribution reconstruction ofrural infrastructure650 (annually) food relief
Ndjamena Social Aid to sick aged handicapped - a GOC-registered
Chadian Catholic PVO working with 10-12000 peopleNfdecins 6000 1983-85 Sans Medical Assistance
Epidemic prevention in displaced persons camps reestablishment11000 1985-88 Frontiaree of prefecture health clinics staff training hoterchtld health
monitoring preventive care European PVO CARED Rural Development - 1982- Pre-cooperative support Irrigated perimeters (5-10 ha each)
chicken and small rumLnant production village grain mills League of Emergency Relief 750 1983-4Red Cross Food and Blanket distribution to more than 50000 80 food7500 1985-8 distribution sites some resettlement programs
American PVOs in Chad can and should be utilized and built upon at this stage and through this project Alternative vehicles as suggested above are not promising in themselves and could not in any case be relied upon for rapid mobilization Nor in Sahelian experience are universities consulting firms or the technical offices of AID missions more suitable to the hands-on nature of this project They are less adaptable to (and experienced with) the rigors of work in Chad and more expensive as well
This does not mean however that the PVOs expected to implement this project will not need helpOn the model of current AID rehabtlitation efforts they can be relied upon to handle well the necessary procurement understandings with the government mobilization and delivery of inputs and monitoringTheir weaknesses understandable given contemporary Chad and the foreign assistance milieu but also correctable have lain in the design and technical supervision of rural activities (See VA below) Greater subproject financing of field specialists should assure that implementation is technically sound The PVOs will be encouraged to apply their own contributions to detailed design work at the proposal and later stages To augment this the Project will provide for the selected application of small grants to PVOs for specific desiqn assistance
C ELEMENTS
1 Subprojects
Analyses indicate that considerable potential for new food production and related private sector activityobtains dispersed through the Sahelian zone To capture this potential and test developmental approaches (including local organizational dynamics) economically and rapidly American PVOs with substantial in-country facilities and experience will be invited to propose four to five subprojects having durations of two to four years beginning in late FY 1985 These subprojects will be the substance of the Project
Following the focus and expectations described above and in later analyses there is a strong prospect that CARE AFRICARE and VITA will propose initial subprojects which treat settled populations in the geographical Kanem area around Abeche and in Chari-Baguirmi Each should be prepared and ready to commelice before the end of FY 1986 probably much earlier on the part of CARE They may either fullycomprehend a large scattered population -- possibly expanded to additional accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- or commence in a more limited fashion and for
16
shorter duraticn with the intention of a second phase within the life of the Project At the same time the Project allows for the introduction of at least one new American PVO into Chads food production sector
On the basis of this project papers guidance each PVO will develop a detailed proposal the equivalent substantively of an AID small-project PP (see also Implementation Plan III below) for review and approval by AID in the field These proposals must adhere to the Projects focus criteria and meet various standards of format and detail Most important among the latter treat beneficiaries (the deprived but able) technological feasibility inputs availability and utility (tools seeds food-for-work etc) social and organizational practicality (regarding inter alia adaptiveness and cooperativeness of populations land tenure and government role) economic justifiability (cost-benefit or least cost market relations etc) and intended demonstration and institutional especially local institutional effects The PVO must further demonstrate its managerial capacity and provide as a condition to proposal approval an agreement with the appropriate GOC ministry to undertake the subproject on its behalf That should indicate the role of specific GOC agencies in implementation and the institutional developmental feasiblity and goals of that
The inputs of the project will be largely grants through Cooperative Agreements to the PVOs and as necessary and possible AID or World Food Program food-for-work contributions and food aid sales proceeds The quantification of those will be done at the subproject design stage The inputs of subprojects financed by the AID grants will be technical asistance management implements and other inputs loan finance in the private sector efforts food or proceeds perhaps (financed outside the Project) monitoring and evaluation and provision for contingencies The outputs will be functioning food production schemes and food production or related businesses Output targets will be enumerated by scheme or area based on the PVOs detailed analyses
Total Project funds programmed for subproject grants are $12 million with expenditures to be incurred by September 30 1989 the Project Assistance Completion Date (PACD) and fully disbursed by December 31 1989 Included in the grant financing to PVOs may be design costs not normally to exceed $50000 per subproject
PVOs are expected to make a maximum effort to meet the requirement of a 25 pezcent contribution from their own resources to the total costs of their subproject(s) and especially to the development of subprojects
17
Provision of Project assistance to subprojectconceptualization and design will be justifiedespecially for new PVO entrants to Chad or more importantly where an intended subprojects objectivesexplicitly emphasize testing and monitoring oftechnologies development) application
or processes with promise
(including institutional for future systematic
2 Procedures
Participating PVOs are expected to be familiar with AID requirements to follow the proposal format set forth in the Implementation Plan below and to be acceptable to AID in terms of registrationnon-government source globalof revenue and auditability Given that AID will entertain proposals on a rolling admissions basis up to a magnitude of $40million each with activities to be completed by the PACD
As a central principle of the Project isminimization of direct AID design and implementationburden and maximization of impact a small but necessaryprovision is made for management by AID This $725000will finance a full-time project manager management support allowance for contingencies and an AID evaluation The project manager will coordinate AID-PVO relationships including assistance to subprojectdesign as necessary subproject proposal review dild approval (including adherence to FAA Sec 611(a)requirements) GOC approvals activation of cooperativeagreements reporting and evaluation (See II-IV below)
Thus subproject proposals will be treated in the same fashion as projects for field authorization and to the same standards This will require full review byAIDChad professional staff the Chad AID Directors approval with concurrence of the REDSOWCA Director From an approved proposal AIDChad will develop a PIOTto generate in turn the Cooperative Agreement to be executed by a REDSOWCA Grant Officer The GOC will be a signatory to the PIOT thereby exercising its rightto determine the use of funds granted to it by AID
3 Results
As should now be clear the end-of-project-statusof this effort has two strands and a corollarySignificant increases in food production and consumption among Chads currently destitute must occur and be managed at an uncommonly low cost to AID and the GOC In achieving this techniques of cultivation and organization including use of private capital and local cooperation should be tested reasonably
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systematically this should provide a part of the basis for later concerted attacks on Chads poverty by the GOC and its Atdonors the same time AID-PVO cooperationwill enhance the impact of the assistance of each in Chads difficult environment And strengthened PVOs and PVO-GOC collaboration is unquestionably a short- andmedium-term good given the straightened circumstances and poor prospects of Chads people and systems
Finally specification measurement and lessons of such results are particularly important to agriculturaldevelopment in Chad The era of the Project is onewhere a turning point may be reached thisfor countryThus monitoring and evaluation of the Project are especially important (See IV below) If the Projects assumptions are correct and this is designedto be verified in the Projects timeframe Chad has reasonable hope and AID will have fulfilled its current mandate and immediate strategic purpose
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS
A BUDGET
The Project will provide $12725 million in grantfunds from the Sahel (121) account to the Government of Chad to be obligated over the Fiscal Years 1985 through1987 Expenditures may be accrued up theto PACD (September 30 1989) and must be fully disbursed byDecember 31 1989 Obligation will be by GrantAgreement and its amendment with the GOC Funds will be handled directly by registered American PVOs and in the case of administration of the Project by USAIDChad
Of the total AID dollar contribution $120 million will be provided by AID to PVOs by CooperativeAgreements through letters of credit Generally a 25percent contribution to each subproject from non-AID sources will be required including cash input so far as possible from each PVO This can be waived by the Chad AID Representative if the interests of United States policy in Chad so warrant It is estimated that the non-AID contribution by PVOs to the overall costs of the Project will be about $30 million The Government of Chad will not be called upon to contribute to the overall Project as this is deemed impossible under current Chadian circumstances and in any case is not required in the Sahel program However in individual subprojects certain GOC contribution of staff time and facilities may well occur and bewill encouraged this will be set forth in the PVO-GOC exchange of letters
Additional contributions to the Project from other AID sources are also anticipated but cannot be projecteduntil subprojects are designed and approved and these
19
resources availability in Chad for specified periods isdetermined They are food-for-work provided under PL
II480 Title and rice sales proceeds generated by TitleII Emergency Sales in FY 1985 and Title II Section 206 programs or continued Emergency Sales thereafter
The remaining portion of the grant ($725000) willbe devoted to administration by AID That is financeof a fulltime project manager by AID Personal ServicesContract (PSC) (estimated at $125000 per year for four years plus management support of $50000) finance of acomprehensive final evaluation theof project in itsfourth year ($100000) also to be directly contracted for by AID and a small provision for contingencies($75000) It is expected that additional subprojectreview monitoring and evaluation services as necessaryduring the life of the project will be provided byREDSOWCA at no cost to the Project
Table 2 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS ($mil)
AID Grants to PVOs 120
AID Administration 0725
PVO Contributions 30
Food-for-Work
AID Food Sales Proceeds
Table 3
OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FISCAL YEAR ($mil)
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Obligations 3725 40 50 - -Expenditures - 2225 45 40 20
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A thorough financial analysis and detailed budgetwill be required in each subproject proposal Thisshould include a realistic list of inputs and theirprobable sources of supply (in AID Geographic Code 941countries and the cooperating country) with base costs calculated in ctrrent prices for each and price andphysical cortingencies estimated conservatively
In cases where sulpiojects comprise ldrge sets ofsmall interventions it will be permissible to aggregateestimates by category rather than for each individualsmall activity as related to total physical volumes of
20
work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
21
Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
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inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
28
small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
29
2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
I PROJECT RATIONALE AND DESCRIPTION
A SETTING
Chad was one of the poorest countries in Africa before recurring drought and war in the 1970s and 1980s now it is perhaps the most wrecked Severe dislocations destruction and destitution in the northern two-thirds of the country and political instability coupled with drought in the usually lusher south face a government with pitifully few resources Humanitarian and political impulses have brought forth multilateral and western bilateral assistance and a major effort by private voluntary organizations -shydirected both to relief and limited rehabilitation on the one hand and stabilization and nuturing of national systems on the other
Even a ten to twenty year perspective on the develepment (or redevelopment) of Chad cannot be surelyoptimistic But the United States and other donors have a measured commitment to reestablishing Chads economic viability and giving impetus to growth There is some potential amidst the waste and tragedy A developmentproject must be adroit to seize and build upon it as part of a long-term effort in a harsh and uncertain environment
1 Structural Chanqe and Impoverishment
Chad shares the major physical and historical characteristics of large Sahelian countries stratification from north to south French colonial heritage Saharan impingement primitive subsistence agriculture and husbandry supporting the bulk of the population and periodic tenuous legitimacy of government Before the twin blows of war and droughthowever Chad had as reasonable an expectation of gradual growth and development as any country in the region By the end of the 1960s a small but articulated system of government trade financing and management entities was prepared on the post-colonial French model and with French assistance to exploit the export agricultural potential of the south -- in turn to finance modest evolution of public services and improvedsubsistence agriculture and husbandry throughout Chad
In the years 1965 througY 1971 as Chads population grew from approximately 332 to 372 million food (cereal grain) production increased from 460000 to 690000 metric tons per year exceeding basic self-sufficiency (150 kgperson) by 24 percent in 1971 Cotton production increased in the period 1964-65 to 1968-69 from 99106 metric tons per year to 148819
--
with a productivity increase of 46 percent The cattle and goat population in the same period increased byabout 36 percent At this point the stage was set for conventional development policy action Domestic income and foreign aid and investment supported comparativelysophisticated development of cotton production and trade and the commencement of land transport importsubstitution agricultural infrastructural and publicservices projects
Then civil strife and droughts cyclically from 1971 through the present turned Chad from a relativelyunderdeveloped counLry with hope into a disaster Willful organized violence ran sporadically through1979 peaking for the moment with the military coupdetat in 1975 and escallating again in 1980-82 when the then President Goukouni Oueddei (with Libyansupport) vied with Defense Minister Hissein Habre for control Habre established the current government in June 1982 and reestablished a modicum of governmentalservice Goukouni and Libyan forces have since fought a war of position and nerves with the Government of Chad From 1983 conflict has stabilized into skirmishes across a line in north-central Chad From varyingdegrees of trouble in the south has emerged recently a stronger government position
This debilitating violence and instability over 20 years gradually ruined the governments ability to attract inpst-mont to man~neand dtvplopmentsystematically institutions allof sorts crumbledtrained professionals de-camped or-erly assistance became impossible In 1983 Chad in interndtional development terms practically rasawas a tabula But on the picture of man-made destruction Was also superimposed in 1970s sincethe and maligndrought-induced structural change as bad or wocrse than anywhere in the region This encompasses failed harvests debilitated herds dramatically lowered river and lake levels migration of the worst hit subsistence agriculturalists and pastoralists radical change in traditional practices culturaland relations an unprecedented risk of mass starvation and human damage
with all beyond the abilities of the government and private sector to cope
More specifically the drought has hit hardest the center or Sahelian zone of Chad where about two million of the approximately 44 million Chadians now reside and the government and many extant modern sectors are centered in NDjamena For a zone whose traditional rainfall should range from 350 mmyear in the extreme north to more than 900 mmyear in the south the averageof seven station- reporting from 1966 through 1970 was
2
784 mmyear This declined to 597 in 1971-73 rose to 755 in 1975-76 fell to 567 in 1977-78 rose to 840 in 1980-81 and bottomed at 536 mmyear average in1982-84 Cereal production in the zone declined from 279257 metric tons in 1976 to 169419 in 1983
Data for 1984 indicate a worse drought than ever For example around NDjamena the August rainfall average for the past 25 years has been 201 mm in 1983it was 1389 mm in 1984 476 mn In the region north of NDjamena to the lake there was no production in the past winter seasc)n pastures were dry and cattle dyingby September and pumping to irrigated perimeters from the river was impossible in some areas The 1984 harvest in the Sahelian zone was weak to nul and significantly curtailed thein southern Sudanian and Sudanian-Guinan climatic zones Small market-gardenplots around NDjamena producing muchas as 2000metric tons of vegetables on 300 ha in 1979 were down to 64 ha in 198384 producing no more than 100 MT There was a total failure of the rice crop in 1984
The food deficit in 198384 averaged 45 percentfor the Sahelian zone as a whole with a maximum of 78 percent in the eastern prefecture of Biltine-Ouaddai (centered on Abeche) 71 percent in Kanem north of thelake and 58 percent in Chari-Baguirmi which contains NDjamena The four southern prefectures generallyreferred to as Sudanian recorded an average 20 percent deficit
Drought is a greater contributor even than towar present human distress in Chad Head counts (and these are conservative estimates by resident relief agenciesassrembled by USAIDNDjamena) indicate magnitudethe as of April 19 1985 Chadian displaced (and destitute) persons numLered at 167658 and the1past this was stricken 2ure of an estimated 640000 peons at risk The prefectures of greatest burden were Guera in the center (34600 displaced persons) Ouaddai in the east (31250) Batha (28000) and Chari-Baguirmi around NDjamena (22600)
Thus multiple misfortunes converging on Chads people make for the following best-case composite a country of Tbout 443 million whose population growthrate generally has been about 22 percent infant mortality about 1501000 and life expectancy 40 yearsSurveys find Aficas worst levels of malnutrition here Ernploiment is 85 percent in agriculture and 41 percent of the population is 15 years old or youngerChads GNP per capita in 1984 was estimated to be $80reflecting a recent growth rate of -28 percent
3
North-south stratification finds two million
primitive farmers and pastoralists in the severe drought
zone of the Sahel at present unable by far to produce enough grain to eat -- although in the past for the most part they did The slightly more populous south has not
had severe drought until this year conditions more
generally benign to agricultu-e and a diligent cotton
production effort backed by what services the government has ever been able to provide (eg extension) There
is decline but survival given rain
The capital NDjamena has about 400000 people
who apart from some participants in the southern sugar
beer and cotton production industries represent Chads
modern sector A large exodus of the highly skilled
comprehensive destruction of physical plant and the
collapse of the banking sector mean the little reviving commerce and industry are small in scale and largely
informal in character although economic chaos is
forestalled by Chadian discipline and Chads position in
the CFA zone
The national government is not collapsing on the
contrary it is functioning seriously and remarkably
honestly However it is almost insolvent On revenues
in 1984 of 1122 billion CFA (ca $24 million) the
government carried expenditures of CFA 16503 billion
Its deficit is currently oscillating around $10 million
pet year largely find by France The budgetary crunch is expected to be most severe from September 1985
through March 1987 including earmarked revenues
(untabulated above) and assuming deficits are financed
somehow the governments total outlays for the present
will be around $35 million a year
For a country of four million people this is
considered to be about the irreducible minimum necessary
to maintain a modicum cf governmental presence and
functions And that modicum is operated by a sparse
civil service mostly at half salary The National
Office of Rural Development (ONDR which is responsible
nationally for agricultural extension organization of
productive inputs improving -gricultural technologies
and collection of agricultural statistics) to take one
example had 1406 employees in 1978 and 1571 in 1983
However in that period staff for general direction and
for work in the Sahel fell by 16 and 38 percent
respectively -- to 45 central managers and 219 civil servants serving all of the Sahelian zone
2 Relief and Rehabilitation
The international community has recognized Chads
crisis and responded This will continue for some time
to concentrate on food donations and emergency health
4
care rehabilitation of some productive capacity in the Sahelian zone and subventions to the central government to support and rehabilitate basic functions combined with support for agricultural production largelycotton in the south These efforts which are considerable given the hostility of Chads environment are setting parameters and conditions for Chads future development
Emergency food and medical assistance provided bymultilateral and bilateral agencies and privateorganizations treat the severest cases of deprivation in Chad In 1985 a food deficit of 300000 MT is possibleshould the south again be severely hit by drought a displaced population of as many as 240000 and an at risk population of up to one million are probableForeign-operated food distribution systems within Chad are attempting to deliver supplies at the rate of about 15000 MT per month to rural distribution points A thin but wide-spread emergency medical service is financed by donors and operated by a PVO (PrivateVoluntary Organization)
Beyond stemmuing tragedy the effects of such efforts should have important consequences Firstmigrants away from famine and civil strife can be organized into settled agriculture (if and where there is potential) being displaced from traditik 1 contexts in theory they can be more amenable adopting improved production practices Second there is a demonstration and training effect involving largenumbers of Chadian workers local organizations and the few available government officials which despiteeverything could energize future institutional development at several levels Third physicalinfrastructure to support emergency operations is in limited degrees of necessity being put in placevehicle fleets communications a bridge to Cameroon etc
At the same time considerable donor assistancebuilding since the 1982 Geneva Conference has been planned and some delivered for basic reconstruction and rehabilitation Of $250 totalthe million aid requested then perhaps two-thirds is in the pipelineThis not only supports public administration capitalinfrastructure rehabilitation and revitalization of cotton exports but also small-holder agriculturalproduction in a few accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- a certain amount of it managed by PVOs From experience with the last it is possible to see a small basis and certain opportunities for longer-term development of traditional agriculture
5
In particular water is available for small-scale farming in the Lake Chad alluvial basin with modestapplication of andlabor capital along riverperimeters in wadis with catchment from shallow wellsand recessionally via poldering Technicalorganizational snags however
and are not fully worked
out Reliable seed of course is essential andimproved varieties when obtainable are successfullyadopted Village organizations can cooperatively applylabor accumulate inputs and market excess produce withorganizational assistance Likewise a vigorous smallbusiness community willing take canto risks benurtured and find profitable opportunities in rural development (See V and Annex E below)
Eighteen or more small projects concerningirrigated and rainfed agriculture in the Sahelian zone are underway or planned For the next several yearsthey will demonstrate the feasibilities of particularcropcultivation practice combinations inputpracticalities small business roles in food productionand the potentials of areas from Kanem in the north to Bongor in the south to Abeche in the east
3 AppK(oaches to Developmen t
That is a small beginning to a large task for theindefinite future putting Chad back on the track toself-reliance and growth The necessity for a primaryconcentration on agriculture is evident as is the needfor more assistance The most recent comprehensivestudy on the subject (Club du SahelCILSSCONACILSSBilan Pro9ramme des Productions Veqetaies PluvialsetIrri du Tchad Sector Analysis Rainfed andIrrigated Crop Production in Chad December 1984) citesthe following first order constraints on agriculturaldevelopment in addition generally to drought and inadequate foreign aid
-- insufficient availability of seed
insufficient attention (policyinvestment) to irrigation properly scaled and
absence of significant intervention onproducer prices and marketing of agricultural products and on the costs of production inputs
The study also notes the general absence of adaptive andsub-regional research rural credit and extensionsophisticated inputs and planning
6
The prescription of CILSS to which it is difficult to take exception intellectually or in principle conwprises orientations building for the longer term and more or less iniaediate actions These are the basis for a national development strategy And until further study (eg on costs) and experience (egwith adoption of technologies) or a radical change in conditions indicate otherwise they will probablyreceive general assent The eight orientations are undifferentiated and unordered but offer opportunities for all They are
-- give priority to food self-sufficiency
-- operationalize irrigation potential not least small scale
-- protect and develop cotton production through intensification
revitalize rural development in the Sahelian zone through regional planning
define and operate a producer price and marketing policy which stimulates increased production
-- promote small-farmer initiative and responsibility through training cooperativization etc
-- adequately support rural development institutions for programming research crop protection extension etc and
-- acquire massive concerted properly adapted foreign aid applying better donor-Chadian cocrdination
Immediate actions called for are
an appeal for food aid in 198485 an important part in the forms of food-for-work and that generating sales proceeds
-- an appeal for building up a cereal seed stock for 198485
-- intensification of irrigation investments via food-for-work and by launching already proposed schemes
-- provisional suspension of transfer to small farmers of the real costs of production inputs
7
--
-- significant assistance to theInterministerial Bureau for Studies andProgramming (BEP) under the Minister of State for Agricultural and Rural Development and
-- intervention by the Nationai CerealsOffice in the consumer price systemthrough the use of donated food
In other words Chadian agriculture needseverything and much of this at once However there aredefinite practical steps to take that are developmentaland not shotgun crisis-reactive The proolems whichwill confront donors and the Government of Chad areassessment of risk husbanding of scarce resourceschoice of targets and timing Whereas policy dialogueand formulation Cor example should be fruitful civenChads disarray and are inexpensive larqe-scaleirrigation schemes massiveor provision of proaoictiveinputs and rural services are not necessarily eithe atpresent The challenge of Chad is not simple
B STRATEGY 1 AID Polic
The United States has several interests in Chadserved by its foreign assistance program Theseinterlock and are pursued through multilateralcoordination The humanitarian concern and efforts torelieve immediate mass suffering todue famine areessential But they would be insufficient -shypotentially futile if systemic improvements were notassisted eventually which should prevent the recurrenceof disaster even if drought pevails Such developmentcannot proceed however in an insecure polity subjecthaphazardly to turmoil and governmental paralysisespecially that induced by a capricious enemy neighbor
rherefore American policy action has focused since1982 on the recstablishment of a stable and vigorousgovernment which deals with Chads imradiate problemseffectively establishing credibility wkth the Chadianpeople and good relations with its neighbors AID hasprovided some of the means food medicines transportbudget support finance for small-scale physicalrehabilitation and the services of PVOs for outreachAmerican food assistance approved from Junethrough April 1985 to
1982 sum 139680 MT of grain andvegoil at a cost of $6948 million including transportand management Of that 7500 MT riceof and sorghumhave been granted to Chad the sales proceeds of which
will be devoted to emergency rehabilitation
8
Non-food assistance to be obligated through FY1985 and serve the above purpose in a quick-disbursingfashion will total $1935 million That is devoted largely with considerable success to agriculturalrestoration (35 percent) health restoration (21percent) and budget support (16 percent) with lesser amounts for basic assistance in human resources privateenterprise administrative management and road repair
At the same time after almost three yearsexperience the Government of Chad (GOC) the donor community at andlarge AID have concluded that efforts can and should be made to plan and commence investment programs that attack Chads root problems As indicated in the above discussions reliable food supply is Chads paramount need And for the foreseeable future this need can be served only by local production or food aid purchase of food out of export earnings is not in the cards Development of food production capacity is an immediate and long-term necessity and the sine qua non of all else developmental
Although Chad is an extreme case this fact is congruent with broader observations that have informed current AID policy For Africa this makes agriculturethe central focus and AIDs goal to assist African governments reverse the declining per capita food production trend increaseand overall agriculturalproduction and productivity increase farm incomes and improve nutritional status particularly of the small holder (Strategic Plan Executive Summary 62883p 12) Sahel development strategy (Review STATE 287422 July 14 1984) cites the need for realistic goals over a 10-20 year time frame based on food availability rather foodthan production as the central objective of AID assistance in the Sahel And the first emphasis is on food security however attained Secondarily sustainable food production to reduce dependence on emergency relief should be an objective
AIDs Chad policy is therefore to devote the largest part of its development assistance over the next decade at least to food production Economic SupportFund resources will support in a new project the development of a road maintenance capacity and there may be further need for budget support from the same source Limited interventions in health care human resources and management development from bilateral and regional development assistance projects will be adjuncts The isquestion how to proceed in promotingsustained increasing food production and consumption
9
--
Three factors affect AIDs strategy First thechoice and sequence of interventions in the specificcontext of Chad must create -early pay-offs that buildand accelerate there is no time to waste and eventualcommitments to long-term massive structural orinstitutional developments must have solid grounding -shyin national stability proved approaches and Chadiancommitment Second AIDs development assistanceresources both financial and managerial will continueto be severely constrained Projected levels areobligations of $50 million per year through FY 1990out of a total economic assistance program of $15million annually Eight direct-hire staff will manageall AID activity country-wide Third the alreadyvariegated program of the international donor (includingPVO) community in Chad is expected to grow in volume andcomplexity as stability and responsiveness of Chadincrease
AIDs food production strategy in Chad as seen atthis point then envisages a program of overlappingphases slotted into the overall donor effort and makingthe most economical use of AIDs scarce resources asfollows
-- while current agricultural rehabilitation activities are continuing (through 1986)their technical and organizational lessonswill be absorbed and then operationalizedin
four to five new initiatives supported bythis project from 1985 to 1990 which support small-holder food productiondevelopment and contributing privatebusiness development These will testtechnical (especially water application)and organizational approaches and measuretheir benefits in the Sahelian zone wherethe food problem is theyAnd will beconceived in detail and carried out byPVOs whose expertise and economy ofoperation in this realm are r-nowned
-- as the PVO Development Initiatives Projectwill be fully obligated by FY 1987 thethird overlapping phase will be planned to commence in 1988 It will draw from theexperience of phase two and of otherdonors in similar efforts and insupporting systematic developmentslarger scales (irrigation
at systems seedprovision extension research and
planning price policy export croppromotion for example) Long-term major
10
interventions by AID at that point will probably be in order It is too soon to tell of what type but adaptive (farmingsystems) researchextension is a reasonable possiblity
2 Definition of the Project
Therefore the goal of the Project is to increaseChads production of food and its availability to thedeprived and lay groundwork for more profoundagricultural development Its purpose is in theSahelian zone to assist small farmer production andsupportive private sector activities havingdemonstration and institutional development (primarilylocal cooperation) effects The objective is toaccomplish this broadly and quickly enough to (a) make asignificant contribution to the welfare of Chadianshitherto subject to famine and the recipients of foodaid including settled displaced persons and (b)demonstrate approaches to developing small farmer andprivate sector food production systems which successorlonger-term projects can adopt or otherwise support
The magnitude and duration of the Project havebeen determined on the basis of three considerations availability of funds current and developableabsorptive capacity in Chad and the sequence ofagricultural development isAID following here Asindicated above the level of development assistance of$50 million or less per year in the next four years inthe AID bilateral programs obligations on the one handand the assignment of mission direct-hire staff on theother limit the program practically to newone startat present But the condition of Chads infrastructuregovernmental systems and societal fabric does not permitan immediate large-scale or long-term commitment inagriculture They also limit the organizational meansby which assistance to agriculture in Chad can be delivered and monitored
From this follows a deliberate focus andlimitation of the Project to the essential and to targets and means where current experience and analysesindicate feasibility as well as potential forfarther-future interventions That is new foodproduction employing water application small groundworks and self-help and loan finance for smallagricultural businesses -- in accessible areas of theSahelian zone (north and south of NDjamena and around Abeche) -- with a spread of small-scale efforts andtargets clustered in four (or possibly five)subprojects Certain activities may employ AIDfood-for-work or food sales proceeds to supplementproject finance that will support technical assistanceand management tools and other inputs and a loan fund
11
for entrepreneurs And GOC contribution of staff andfacilities will be encouraged in individual subprojects
Strategy dictates that these efforts begin as soonas possible and produce tangible results within three tofour years AIDs experience with relief andrehabilitation activities indicates that such work canbe organized and implemented in Chad at an expenditurerate of about $30 million per year It also indicatesindeed presupposes that American PVOs already operatingeffectively in Chad should be the primary vehicle fordesign operation and monitoring Neither AIDChad northe GOC has the capacity to work on a day-to-day basisat this level -- with outreach to farmers acquisitionand delivery of a variety of inputs and detailedspecification and follow-up PVOs do (See B3 below)
The Project will combine the requisites ofquick-startup and disbursement breadth of effectaccommodation of several effective PVOs andconcentration on a particular target population in aunitary framework via a special type of PVO umbrellaproject This follows agency guidance mandating greatercooperation with registered PVOs in AID programs andsimplification of procedures But for Chad it is notand cannot be a peripheral adjunct to a large matureassistance program the Project will be central to thecurrent effort making a new start on Chads agriculturaldevelopment By design and intent it should become thestepping stone to a mature agricultural program andproject portfolio
Thus one project will be authorized havingtranched obligations over three years underagreement with the GOC an
Guidance on the development andimplementation of subprojects by PVOs contained in thisproject paper (PP) will lead interested PVOs initiallyCARE AFRICARE and VITA to design and proposeinitiatives to serve the projects goal and purpose inthe prescribed manner Cooperative Agreements betweenAID and the PVOs will set the work afoot mutatismutandis The customary andindependent imaginationinitiative of PVOs are necessary ingredients in thisendeavor And recent experience lends confidence thatPVO integrity and the requisites of andAID thisparticular project will be compatible and mutuallysupportive The Project then will be evaluated as awhole by AID and its subprojects monitored andevaluated cooperatively by the PVOs and AID in asequence that provides timely indicators to the futuredevelopment of AIDs program in Chad
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3 The Role and Use of PVOs
PVO umbrella or co-financing projects are relatively new in Africa though now conventional in Asia whereas AID assistance in Africa has a fairlywide though checkered history of support for individual PVO activities Two more or less pure umbrella projects in Africa are in Zaire and Kenya (and a second in the latter currently being developed) In these countries as in the Philippines and Indonesia the PVO co-financing endeavor is one AID project in a large and variegated portfolio where tapping the resources and vitality of PVOs (American and indigenous) is basically a valuable but peripheral outreach of the core AID program
As indicated above the project proposed here is different It is intended to be the centerpiece of AIDs agricultural development assistance for the next three years Its merits must be judged then (a)against those of alternative formulations of developmentassistance with which there is experience and (b) in terms of the efficacy in Chad of the kinds of subprojects it will support On matter (a) it can be said from current Chadian experience that rural-based production investments by AID cannot be inade more efficiently by any other means And the like ihood of economic payoff in Chad of larger-scaled longergestating more fundamental systemic agriculturaldevelopment projects of the typical AID type is highlyproblematical at this time In other wordsconventional AID experience in the Sahel does not givepromise in the present Chadian context In terms of implementation pay-off and foundation-laying the AID-PVO relief and rehabilitation and refugeeresettlement assistance experience of the past two yearsdoes -- as outlined below
There are seven American PVONGOs(Non-Governmental Organizations) 13 NGOsand non-US operating in Chad Some of the NGOs particularly the Protestant missions have been around for as long as thirty years Others such as CARE started work here in the 1970s but had to withdraw and then reinstall themselves because the civil warsof Most of the PVOs have seen an increase in expenditures and staff since the advent of the present Government of Chad followinginternational donor response to the devastation of war and drought
For the most part these organizations have been effective implementing agencies capitalizing on experience and procedures developed elsewhere and in Chad carrying comparatively low operating costs and retaining the respect and cooperation of government
They operate immediate emergency food distribution andhealth care services especially for displaced personsand resettlement and rehabilitation activities in KanemOuaddai Guera and Chari-Baguirmi prefectures (see Table 1)
PVOs financed directly by AID thus far in ChadCARE AFRICARE and VITA are
each of which is implementingimportant and urgently needed activities CARE presentin Che discontinuously since 1973 has ten expatriateand 110 Chadian staff members It distributed over $30million worth of emergency food in 1984 and has beensupervising the reconstruction of strategic roads waterstructures and public facilities with food-for-work resources and AID grants In the period 1982-1986 CAREwill have undertaken rehabilitation activities worth more than $38 million in AID funding in addition tothe value of the food distributed and CAREs owncontributions The June 1984 evaluation of its firstAID-financed rural infrastructure rehabilitation activity was favorable
AFRICARE began work in Chad in March 1983 and nowhas four expatriate staff two highly qualified Chadiantechnicians and 120 Chadian employees it wasinitially involved thein development of two irrigatedperimeters (120 ha total) close to NDjamena forvegetable gardening with mixed results More recentlyAFRICARE has undertaken a $285 million AID-fundedthree-year rehabilitationrural development project inOuaddai This project will have a major impact on therural population near Abeche who have been among thehardest hit by the war and drought by providing forseed distribution dike restoration reforestation andthe introduction of intermediate technologies Despitepoor rains in the past year this seems promising
VITA (Volunteers in Technical Assistance) beganoperations in Chad in 1984 and now has a staff of oneexpatriate (with an additional one on the way) fourChadian loan officers and five office workers Under a$15 million grant from AID it is providing animportant source of credit for small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs in and around NDjamena This privatesector activity aimed restoringat the activities ofdisplaced and other businessmen has already financedsuccessful melon poultry and food processingbusinesses in addition to more urban commercial ventures A reviewrecent indicates that this willprobably be a successful venture and VITA is nowlooking at the potential for expansion otherto market towns
The Project takes the explicit view that theexperience and in-place systems of the three major
14
Table 1
MAJOR PVO ACTIVITIES IN CHAD
PVO Activity Title Valua ($O00) Period Description Heavy Tzucks-FoodCARE 1289 982-984 Delivery
Provides trucks 4WD vehicles Maintenance for food-for-vork (FFW) and other relief coimodities delivery to rural areas
CARE FM Road Repair 387 Repair 155 km Ndjamena-Cuelendeng road 850 workers CARE Ag Infrastructure 950 1283-485 FFW reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urbanRestoration I manitation CARE Ag Infrastructu-e 1200 1084-1086 Ff4 reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urban
Restoration 11 sanitation CARE Resettlement 217 185- Resettlement in Kane financed by FED and Dutch PVO AFRICARE Heavy Equip Repair 585 982-984 Provide master mechanic and rehabilitation to Public Works
NdjamenaAFRICARK Vegetable Gardening 380 683-986 FFW Establish 20 ha vegetable production nearNdjamena AFRICARE Abechi Rural Dev 2850 584-1186 Integrated rural development VITA Private Enterprise 1500 784-686 Provision of credit to entrepreneurs in and near Ndjamena for new
businesses SECADEV Displaced Personp
Rural Development Food aid distribution reconstruction ofrural infrastructure650 (annually) food relief
Ndjamena Social Aid to sick aged handicapped - a GOC-registered
Chadian Catholic PVO working with 10-12000 peopleNfdecins 6000 1983-85 Sans Medical Assistance
Epidemic prevention in displaced persons camps reestablishment11000 1985-88 Frontiaree of prefecture health clinics staff training hoterchtld health
monitoring preventive care European PVO CARED Rural Development - 1982- Pre-cooperative support Irrigated perimeters (5-10 ha each)
chicken and small rumLnant production village grain mills League of Emergency Relief 750 1983-4Red Cross Food and Blanket distribution to more than 50000 80 food7500 1985-8 distribution sites some resettlement programs
American PVOs in Chad can and should be utilized and built upon at this stage and through this project Alternative vehicles as suggested above are not promising in themselves and could not in any case be relied upon for rapid mobilization Nor in Sahelian experience are universities consulting firms or the technical offices of AID missions more suitable to the hands-on nature of this project They are less adaptable to (and experienced with) the rigors of work in Chad and more expensive as well
This does not mean however that the PVOs expected to implement this project will not need helpOn the model of current AID rehabtlitation efforts they can be relied upon to handle well the necessary procurement understandings with the government mobilization and delivery of inputs and monitoringTheir weaknesses understandable given contemporary Chad and the foreign assistance milieu but also correctable have lain in the design and technical supervision of rural activities (See VA below) Greater subproject financing of field specialists should assure that implementation is technically sound The PVOs will be encouraged to apply their own contributions to detailed design work at the proposal and later stages To augment this the Project will provide for the selected application of small grants to PVOs for specific desiqn assistance
C ELEMENTS
1 Subprojects
Analyses indicate that considerable potential for new food production and related private sector activityobtains dispersed through the Sahelian zone To capture this potential and test developmental approaches (including local organizational dynamics) economically and rapidly American PVOs with substantial in-country facilities and experience will be invited to propose four to five subprojects having durations of two to four years beginning in late FY 1985 These subprojects will be the substance of the Project
Following the focus and expectations described above and in later analyses there is a strong prospect that CARE AFRICARE and VITA will propose initial subprojects which treat settled populations in the geographical Kanem area around Abeche and in Chari-Baguirmi Each should be prepared and ready to commelice before the end of FY 1986 probably much earlier on the part of CARE They may either fullycomprehend a large scattered population -- possibly expanded to additional accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- or commence in a more limited fashion and for
16
shorter duraticn with the intention of a second phase within the life of the Project At the same time the Project allows for the introduction of at least one new American PVO into Chads food production sector
On the basis of this project papers guidance each PVO will develop a detailed proposal the equivalent substantively of an AID small-project PP (see also Implementation Plan III below) for review and approval by AID in the field These proposals must adhere to the Projects focus criteria and meet various standards of format and detail Most important among the latter treat beneficiaries (the deprived but able) technological feasibility inputs availability and utility (tools seeds food-for-work etc) social and organizational practicality (regarding inter alia adaptiveness and cooperativeness of populations land tenure and government role) economic justifiability (cost-benefit or least cost market relations etc) and intended demonstration and institutional especially local institutional effects The PVO must further demonstrate its managerial capacity and provide as a condition to proposal approval an agreement with the appropriate GOC ministry to undertake the subproject on its behalf That should indicate the role of specific GOC agencies in implementation and the institutional developmental feasiblity and goals of that
The inputs of the project will be largely grants through Cooperative Agreements to the PVOs and as necessary and possible AID or World Food Program food-for-work contributions and food aid sales proceeds The quantification of those will be done at the subproject design stage The inputs of subprojects financed by the AID grants will be technical asistance management implements and other inputs loan finance in the private sector efforts food or proceeds perhaps (financed outside the Project) monitoring and evaluation and provision for contingencies The outputs will be functioning food production schemes and food production or related businesses Output targets will be enumerated by scheme or area based on the PVOs detailed analyses
Total Project funds programmed for subproject grants are $12 million with expenditures to be incurred by September 30 1989 the Project Assistance Completion Date (PACD) and fully disbursed by December 31 1989 Included in the grant financing to PVOs may be design costs not normally to exceed $50000 per subproject
PVOs are expected to make a maximum effort to meet the requirement of a 25 pezcent contribution from their own resources to the total costs of their subproject(s) and especially to the development of subprojects
17
Provision of Project assistance to subprojectconceptualization and design will be justifiedespecially for new PVO entrants to Chad or more importantly where an intended subprojects objectivesexplicitly emphasize testing and monitoring oftechnologies development) application
or processes with promise
(including institutional for future systematic
2 Procedures
Participating PVOs are expected to be familiar with AID requirements to follow the proposal format set forth in the Implementation Plan below and to be acceptable to AID in terms of registrationnon-government source globalof revenue and auditability Given that AID will entertain proposals on a rolling admissions basis up to a magnitude of $40million each with activities to be completed by the PACD
As a central principle of the Project isminimization of direct AID design and implementationburden and maximization of impact a small but necessaryprovision is made for management by AID This $725000will finance a full-time project manager management support allowance for contingencies and an AID evaluation The project manager will coordinate AID-PVO relationships including assistance to subprojectdesign as necessary subproject proposal review dild approval (including adherence to FAA Sec 611(a)requirements) GOC approvals activation of cooperativeagreements reporting and evaluation (See II-IV below)
Thus subproject proposals will be treated in the same fashion as projects for field authorization and to the same standards This will require full review byAIDChad professional staff the Chad AID Directors approval with concurrence of the REDSOWCA Director From an approved proposal AIDChad will develop a PIOTto generate in turn the Cooperative Agreement to be executed by a REDSOWCA Grant Officer The GOC will be a signatory to the PIOT thereby exercising its rightto determine the use of funds granted to it by AID
3 Results
As should now be clear the end-of-project-statusof this effort has two strands and a corollarySignificant increases in food production and consumption among Chads currently destitute must occur and be managed at an uncommonly low cost to AID and the GOC In achieving this techniques of cultivation and organization including use of private capital and local cooperation should be tested reasonably
18
systematically this should provide a part of the basis for later concerted attacks on Chads poverty by the GOC and its Atdonors the same time AID-PVO cooperationwill enhance the impact of the assistance of each in Chads difficult environment And strengthened PVOs and PVO-GOC collaboration is unquestionably a short- andmedium-term good given the straightened circumstances and poor prospects of Chads people and systems
Finally specification measurement and lessons of such results are particularly important to agriculturaldevelopment in Chad The era of the Project is onewhere a turning point may be reached thisfor countryThus monitoring and evaluation of the Project are especially important (See IV below) If the Projects assumptions are correct and this is designedto be verified in the Projects timeframe Chad has reasonable hope and AID will have fulfilled its current mandate and immediate strategic purpose
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS
A BUDGET
The Project will provide $12725 million in grantfunds from the Sahel (121) account to the Government of Chad to be obligated over the Fiscal Years 1985 through1987 Expenditures may be accrued up theto PACD (September 30 1989) and must be fully disbursed byDecember 31 1989 Obligation will be by GrantAgreement and its amendment with the GOC Funds will be handled directly by registered American PVOs and in the case of administration of the Project by USAIDChad
Of the total AID dollar contribution $120 million will be provided by AID to PVOs by CooperativeAgreements through letters of credit Generally a 25percent contribution to each subproject from non-AID sources will be required including cash input so far as possible from each PVO This can be waived by the Chad AID Representative if the interests of United States policy in Chad so warrant It is estimated that the non-AID contribution by PVOs to the overall costs of the Project will be about $30 million The Government of Chad will not be called upon to contribute to the overall Project as this is deemed impossible under current Chadian circumstances and in any case is not required in the Sahel program However in individual subprojects certain GOC contribution of staff time and facilities may well occur and bewill encouraged this will be set forth in the PVO-GOC exchange of letters
Additional contributions to the Project from other AID sources are also anticipated but cannot be projecteduntil subprojects are designed and approved and these
19
resources availability in Chad for specified periods isdetermined They are food-for-work provided under PL
II480 Title and rice sales proceeds generated by TitleII Emergency Sales in FY 1985 and Title II Section 206 programs or continued Emergency Sales thereafter
The remaining portion of the grant ($725000) willbe devoted to administration by AID That is financeof a fulltime project manager by AID Personal ServicesContract (PSC) (estimated at $125000 per year for four years plus management support of $50000) finance of acomprehensive final evaluation theof project in itsfourth year ($100000) also to be directly contracted for by AID and a small provision for contingencies($75000) It is expected that additional subprojectreview monitoring and evaluation services as necessaryduring the life of the project will be provided byREDSOWCA at no cost to the Project
Table 2 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS ($mil)
AID Grants to PVOs 120
AID Administration 0725
PVO Contributions 30
Food-for-Work
AID Food Sales Proceeds
Table 3
OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FISCAL YEAR ($mil)
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Obligations 3725 40 50 - -Expenditures - 2225 45 40 20
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A thorough financial analysis and detailed budgetwill be required in each subproject proposal Thisshould include a realistic list of inputs and theirprobable sources of supply (in AID Geographic Code 941countries and the cooperating country) with base costs calculated in ctrrent prices for each and price andphysical cortingencies estimated conservatively
In cases where sulpiojects comprise ldrge sets ofsmall interventions it will be permissible to aggregateestimates by category rather than for each individualsmall activity as related to total physical volumes of
20
work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
21
Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
22
inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
28
small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
29
2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
--
with a productivity increase of 46 percent The cattle and goat population in the same period increased byabout 36 percent At this point the stage was set for conventional development policy action Domestic income and foreign aid and investment supported comparativelysophisticated development of cotton production and trade and the commencement of land transport importsubstitution agricultural infrastructural and publicservices projects
Then civil strife and droughts cyclically from 1971 through the present turned Chad from a relativelyunderdeveloped counLry with hope into a disaster Willful organized violence ran sporadically through1979 peaking for the moment with the military coupdetat in 1975 and escallating again in 1980-82 when the then President Goukouni Oueddei (with Libyansupport) vied with Defense Minister Hissein Habre for control Habre established the current government in June 1982 and reestablished a modicum of governmentalservice Goukouni and Libyan forces have since fought a war of position and nerves with the Government of Chad From 1983 conflict has stabilized into skirmishes across a line in north-central Chad From varyingdegrees of trouble in the south has emerged recently a stronger government position
This debilitating violence and instability over 20 years gradually ruined the governments ability to attract inpst-mont to man~neand dtvplopmentsystematically institutions allof sorts crumbledtrained professionals de-camped or-erly assistance became impossible In 1983 Chad in interndtional development terms practically rasawas a tabula But on the picture of man-made destruction Was also superimposed in 1970s sincethe and maligndrought-induced structural change as bad or wocrse than anywhere in the region This encompasses failed harvests debilitated herds dramatically lowered river and lake levels migration of the worst hit subsistence agriculturalists and pastoralists radical change in traditional practices culturaland relations an unprecedented risk of mass starvation and human damage
with all beyond the abilities of the government and private sector to cope
More specifically the drought has hit hardest the center or Sahelian zone of Chad where about two million of the approximately 44 million Chadians now reside and the government and many extant modern sectors are centered in NDjamena For a zone whose traditional rainfall should range from 350 mmyear in the extreme north to more than 900 mmyear in the south the averageof seven station- reporting from 1966 through 1970 was
2
784 mmyear This declined to 597 in 1971-73 rose to 755 in 1975-76 fell to 567 in 1977-78 rose to 840 in 1980-81 and bottomed at 536 mmyear average in1982-84 Cereal production in the zone declined from 279257 metric tons in 1976 to 169419 in 1983
Data for 1984 indicate a worse drought than ever For example around NDjamena the August rainfall average for the past 25 years has been 201 mm in 1983it was 1389 mm in 1984 476 mn In the region north of NDjamena to the lake there was no production in the past winter seasc)n pastures were dry and cattle dyingby September and pumping to irrigated perimeters from the river was impossible in some areas The 1984 harvest in the Sahelian zone was weak to nul and significantly curtailed thein southern Sudanian and Sudanian-Guinan climatic zones Small market-gardenplots around NDjamena producing muchas as 2000metric tons of vegetables on 300 ha in 1979 were down to 64 ha in 198384 producing no more than 100 MT There was a total failure of the rice crop in 1984
The food deficit in 198384 averaged 45 percentfor the Sahelian zone as a whole with a maximum of 78 percent in the eastern prefecture of Biltine-Ouaddai (centered on Abeche) 71 percent in Kanem north of thelake and 58 percent in Chari-Baguirmi which contains NDjamena The four southern prefectures generallyreferred to as Sudanian recorded an average 20 percent deficit
Drought is a greater contributor even than towar present human distress in Chad Head counts (and these are conservative estimates by resident relief agenciesassrembled by USAIDNDjamena) indicate magnitudethe as of April 19 1985 Chadian displaced (and destitute) persons numLered at 167658 and the1past this was stricken 2ure of an estimated 640000 peons at risk The prefectures of greatest burden were Guera in the center (34600 displaced persons) Ouaddai in the east (31250) Batha (28000) and Chari-Baguirmi around NDjamena (22600)
Thus multiple misfortunes converging on Chads people make for the following best-case composite a country of Tbout 443 million whose population growthrate generally has been about 22 percent infant mortality about 1501000 and life expectancy 40 yearsSurveys find Aficas worst levels of malnutrition here Ernploiment is 85 percent in agriculture and 41 percent of the population is 15 years old or youngerChads GNP per capita in 1984 was estimated to be $80reflecting a recent growth rate of -28 percent
3
North-south stratification finds two million
primitive farmers and pastoralists in the severe drought
zone of the Sahel at present unable by far to produce enough grain to eat -- although in the past for the most part they did The slightly more populous south has not
had severe drought until this year conditions more
generally benign to agricultu-e and a diligent cotton
production effort backed by what services the government has ever been able to provide (eg extension) There
is decline but survival given rain
The capital NDjamena has about 400000 people
who apart from some participants in the southern sugar
beer and cotton production industries represent Chads
modern sector A large exodus of the highly skilled
comprehensive destruction of physical plant and the
collapse of the banking sector mean the little reviving commerce and industry are small in scale and largely
informal in character although economic chaos is
forestalled by Chadian discipline and Chads position in
the CFA zone
The national government is not collapsing on the
contrary it is functioning seriously and remarkably
honestly However it is almost insolvent On revenues
in 1984 of 1122 billion CFA (ca $24 million) the
government carried expenditures of CFA 16503 billion
Its deficit is currently oscillating around $10 million
pet year largely find by France The budgetary crunch is expected to be most severe from September 1985
through March 1987 including earmarked revenues
(untabulated above) and assuming deficits are financed
somehow the governments total outlays for the present
will be around $35 million a year
For a country of four million people this is
considered to be about the irreducible minimum necessary
to maintain a modicum cf governmental presence and
functions And that modicum is operated by a sparse
civil service mostly at half salary The National
Office of Rural Development (ONDR which is responsible
nationally for agricultural extension organization of
productive inputs improving -gricultural technologies
and collection of agricultural statistics) to take one
example had 1406 employees in 1978 and 1571 in 1983
However in that period staff for general direction and
for work in the Sahel fell by 16 and 38 percent
respectively -- to 45 central managers and 219 civil servants serving all of the Sahelian zone
2 Relief and Rehabilitation
The international community has recognized Chads
crisis and responded This will continue for some time
to concentrate on food donations and emergency health
4
care rehabilitation of some productive capacity in the Sahelian zone and subventions to the central government to support and rehabilitate basic functions combined with support for agricultural production largelycotton in the south These efforts which are considerable given the hostility of Chads environment are setting parameters and conditions for Chads future development
Emergency food and medical assistance provided bymultilateral and bilateral agencies and privateorganizations treat the severest cases of deprivation in Chad In 1985 a food deficit of 300000 MT is possibleshould the south again be severely hit by drought a displaced population of as many as 240000 and an at risk population of up to one million are probableForeign-operated food distribution systems within Chad are attempting to deliver supplies at the rate of about 15000 MT per month to rural distribution points A thin but wide-spread emergency medical service is financed by donors and operated by a PVO (PrivateVoluntary Organization)
Beyond stemmuing tragedy the effects of such efforts should have important consequences Firstmigrants away from famine and civil strife can be organized into settled agriculture (if and where there is potential) being displaced from traditik 1 contexts in theory they can be more amenable adopting improved production practices Second there is a demonstration and training effect involving largenumbers of Chadian workers local organizations and the few available government officials which despiteeverything could energize future institutional development at several levels Third physicalinfrastructure to support emergency operations is in limited degrees of necessity being put in placevehicle fleets communications a bridge to Cameroon etc
At the same time considerable donor assistancebuilding since the 1982 Geneva Conference has been planned and some delivered for basic reconstruction and rehabilitation Of $250 totalthe million aid requested then perhaps two-thirds is in the pipelineThis not only supports public administration capitalinfrastructure rehabilitation and revitalization of cotton exports but also small-holder agriculturalproduction in a few accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- a certain amount of it managed by PVOs From experience with the last it is possible to see a small basis and certain opportunities for longer-term development of traditional agriculture
5
In particular water is available for small-scale farming in the Lake Chad alluvial basin with modestapplication of andlabor capital along riverperimeters in wadis with catchment from shallow wellsand recessionally via poldering Technicalorganizational snags however
and are not fully worked
out Reliable seed of course is essential andimproved varieties when obtainable are successfullyadopted Village organizations can cooperatively applylabor accumulate inputs and market excess produce withorganizational assistance Likewise a vigorous smallbusiness community willing take canto risks benurtured and find profitable opportunities in rural development (See V and Annex E below)
Eighteen or more small projects concerningirrigated and rainfed agriculture in the Sahelian zone are underway or planned For the next several yearsthey will demonstrate the feasibilities of particularcropcultivation practice combinations inputpracticalities small business roles in food productionand the potentials of areas from Kanem in the north to Bongor in the south to Abeche in the east
3 AppK(oaches to Developmen t
That is a small beginning to a large task for theindefinite future putting Chad back on the track toself-reliance and growth The necessity for a primaryconcentration on agriculture is evident as is the needfor more assistance The most recent comprehensivestudy on the subject (Club du SahelCILSSCONACILSSBilan Pro9ramme des Productions Veqetaies PluvialsetIrri du Tchad Sector Analysis Rainfed andIrrigated Crop Production in Chad December 1984) citesthe following first order constraints on agriculturaldevelopment in addition generally to drought and inadequate foreign aid
-- insufficient availability of seed
insufficient attention (policyinvestment) to irrigation properly scaled and
absence of significant intervention onproducer prices and marketing of agricultural products and on the costs of production inputs
The study also notes the general absence of adaptive andsub-regional research rural credit and extensionsophisticated inputs and planning
6
The prescription of CILSS to which it is difficult to take exception intellectually or in principle conwprises orientations building for the longer term and more or less iniaediate actions These are the basis for a national development strategy And until further study (eg on costs) and experience (egwith adoption of technologies) or a radical change in conditions indicate otherwise they will probablyreceive general assent The eight orientations are undifferentiated and unordered but offer opportunities for all They are
-- give priority to food self-sufficiency
-- operationalize irrigation potential not least small scale
-- protect and develop cotton production through intensification
revitalize rural development in the Sahelian zone through regional planning
define and operate a producer price and marketing policy which stimulates increased production
-- promote small-farmer initiative and responsibility through training cooperativization etc
-- adequately support rural development institutions for programming research crop protection extension etc and
-- acquire massive concerted properly adapted foreign aid applying better donor-Chadian cocrdination
Immediate actions called for are
an appeal for food aid in 198485 an important part in the forms of food-for-work and that generating sales proceeds
-- an appeal for building up a cereal seed stock for 198485
-- intensification of irrigation investments via food-for-work and by launching already proposed schemes
-- provisional suspension of transfer to small farmers of the real costs of production inputs
7
--
-- significant assistance to theInterministerial Bureau for Studies andProgramming (BEP) under the Minister of State for Agricultural and Rural Development and
-- intervention by the Nationai CerealsOffice in the consumer price systemthrough the use of donated food
In other words Chadian agriculture needseverything and much of this at once However there aredefinite practical steps to take that are developmentaland not shotgun crisis-reactive The proolems whichwill confront donors and the Government of Chad areassessment of risk husbanding of scarce resourceschoice of targets and timing Whereas policy dialogueand formulation Cor example should be fruitful civenChads disarray and are inexpensive larqe-scaleirrigation schemes massiveor provision of proaoictiveinputs and rural services are not necessarily eithe atpresent The challenge of Chad is not simple
B STRATEGY 1 AID Polic
The United States has several interests in Chadserved by its foreign assistance program Theseinterlock and are pursued through multilateralcoordination The humanitarian concern and efforts torelieve immediate mass suffering todue famine areessential But they would be insufficient -shypotentially futile if systemic improvements were notassisted eventually which should prevent the recurrenceof disaster even if drought pevails Such developmentcannot proceed however in an insecure polity subjecthaphazardly to turmoil and governmental paralysisespecially that induced by a capricious enemy neighbor
rherefore American policy action has focused since1982 on the recstablishment of a stable and vigorousgovernment which deals with Chads imradiate problemseffectively establishing credibility wkth the Chadianpeople and good relations with its neighbors AID hasprovided some of the means food medicines transportbudget support finance for small-scale physicalrehabilitation and the services of PVOs for outreachAmerican food assistance approved from Junethrough April 1985 to
1982 sum 139680 MT of grain andvegoil at a cost of $6948 million including transportand management Of that 7500 MT riceof and sorghumhave been granted to Chad the sales proceeds of which
will be devoted to emergency rehabilitation
8
Non-food assistance to be obligated through FY1985 and serve the above purpose in a quick-disbursingfashion will total $1935 million That is devoted largely with considerable success to agriculturalrestoration (35 percent) health restoration (21percent) and budget support (16 percent) with lesser amounts for basic assistance in human resources privateenterprise administrative management and road repair
At the same time after almost three yearsexperience the Government of Chad (GOC) the donor community at andlarge AID have concluded that efforts can and should be made to plan and commence investment programs that attack Chads root problems As indicated in the above discussions reliable food supply is Chads paramount need And for the foreseeable future this need can be served only by local production or food aid purchase of food out of export earnings is not in the cards Development of food production capacity is an immediate and long-term necessity and the sine qua non of all else developmental
Although Chad is an extreme case this fact is congruent with broader observations that have informed current AID policy For Africa this makes agriculturethe central focus and AIDs goal to assist African governments reverse the declining per capita food production trend increaseand overall agriculturalproduction and productivity increase farm incomes and improve nutritional status particularly of the small holder (Strategic Plan Executive Summary 62883p 12) Sahel development strategy (Review STATE 287422 July 14 1984) cites the need for realistic goals over a 10-20 year time frame based on food availability rather foodthan production as the central objective of AID assistance in the Sahel And the first emphasis is on food security however attained Secondarily sustainable food production to reduce dependence on emergency relief should be an objective
AIDs Chad policy is therefore to devote the largest part of its development assistance over the next decade at least to food production Economic SupportFund resources will support in a new project the development of a road maintenance capacity and there may be further need for budget support from the same source Limited interventions in health care human resources and management development from bilateral and regional development assistance projects will be adjuncts The isquestion how to proceed in promotingsustained increasing food production and consumption
9
--
Three factors affect AIDs strategy First thechoice and sequence of interventions in the specificcontext of Chad must create -early pay-offs that buildand accelerate there is no time to waste and eventualcommitments to long-term massive structural orinstitutional developments must have solid grounding -shyin national stability proved approaches and Chadiancommitment Second AIDs development assistanceresources both financial and managerial will continueto be severely constrained Projected levels areobligations of $50 million per year through FY 1990out of a total economic assistance program of $15million annually Eight direct-hire staff will manageall AID activity country-wide Third the alreadyvariegated program of the international donor (includingPVO) community in Chad is expected to grow in volume andcomplexity as stability and responsiveness of Chadincrease
AIDs food production strategy in Chad as seen atthis point then envisages a program of overlappingphases slotted into the overall donor effort and makingthe most economical use of AIDs scarce resources asfollows
-- while current agricultural rehabilitation activities are continuing (through 1986)their technical and organizational lessonswill be absorbed and then operationalizedin
four to five new initiatives supported bythis project from 1985 to 1990 which support small-holder food productiondevelopment and contributing privatebusiness development These will testtechnical (especially water application)and organizational approaches and measuretheir benefits in the Sahelian zone wherethe food problem is theyAnd will beconceived in detail and carried out byPVOs whose expertise and economy ofoperation in this realm are r-nowned
-- as the PVO Development Initiatives Projectwill be fully obligated by FY 1987 thethird overlapping phase will be planned to commence in 1988 It will draw from theexperience of phase two and of otherdonors in similar efforts and insupporting systematic developmentslarger scales (irrigation
at systems seedprovision extension research and
planning price policy export croppromotion for example) Long-term major
10
interventions by AID at that point will probably be in order It is too soon to tell of what type but adaptive (farmingsystems) researchextension is a reasonable possiblity
2 Definition of the Project
Therefore the goal of the Project is to increaseChads production of food and its availability to thedeprived and lay groundwork for more profoundagricultural development Its purpose is in theSahelian zone to assist small farmer production andsupportive private sector activities havingdemonstration and institutional development (primarilylocal cooperation) effects The objective is toaccomplish this broadly and quickly enough to (a) make asignificant contribution to the welfare of Chadianshitherto subject to famine and the recipients of foodaid including settled displaced persons and (b)demonstrate approaches to developing small farmer andprivate sector food production systems which successorlonger-term projects can adopt or otherwise support
The magnitude and duration of the Project havebeen determined on the basis of three considerations availability of funds current and developableabsorptive capacity in Chad and the sequence ofagricultural development isAID following here Asindicated above the level of development assistance of$50 million or less per year in the next four years inthe AID bilateral programs obligations on the one handand the assignment of mission direct-hire staff on theother limit the program practically to newone startat present But the condition of Chads infrastructuregovernmental systems and societal fabric does not permitan immediate large-scale or long-term commitment inagriculture They also limit the organizational meansby which assistance to agriculture in Chad can be delivered and monitored
From this follows a deliberate focus andlimitation of the Project to the essential and to targets and means where current experience and analysesindicate feasibility as well as potential forfarther-future interventions That is new foodproduction employing water application small groundworks and self-help and loan finance for smallagricultural businesses -- in accessible areas of theSahelian zone (north and south of NDjamena and around Abeche) -- with a spread of small-scale efforts andtargets clustered in four (or possibly five)subprojects Certain activities may employ AIDfood-for-work or food sales proceeds to supplementproject finance that will support technical assistanceand management tools and other inputs and a loan fund
11
for entrepreneurs And GOC contribution of staff andfacilities will be encouraged in individual subprojects
Strategy dictates that these efforts begin as soonas possible and produce tangible results within three tofour years AIDs experience with relief andrehabilitation activities indicates that such work canbe organized and implemented in Chad at an expenditurerate of about $30 million per year It also indicatesindeed presupposes that American PVOs already operatingeffectively in Chad should be the primary vehicle fordesign operation and monitoring Neither AIDChad northe GOC has the capacity to work on a day-to-day basisat this level -- with outreach to farmers acquisitionand delivery of a variety of inputs and detailedspecification and follow-up PVOs do (See B3 below)
The Project will combine the requisites ofquick-startup and disbursement breadth of effectaccommodation of several effective PVOs andconcentration on a particular target population in aunitary framework via a special type of PVO umbrellaproject This follows agency guidance mandating greatercooperation with registered PVOs in AID programs andsimplification of procedures But for Chad it is notand cannot be a peripheral adjunct to a large matureassistance program the Project will be central to thecurrent effort making a new start on Chads agriculturaldevelopment By design and intent it should become thestepping stone to a mature agricultural program andproject portfolio
Thus one project will be authorized havingtranched obligations over three years underagreement with the GOC an
Guidance on the development andimplementation of subprojects by PVOs contained in thisproject paper (PP) will lead interested PVOs initiallyCARE AFRICARE and VITA to design and proposeinitiatives to serve the projects goal and purpose inthe prescribed manner Cooperative Agreements betweenAID and the PVOs will set the work afoot mutatismutandis The customary andindependent imaginationinitiative of PVOs are necessary ingredients in thisendeavor And recent experience lends confidence thatPVO integrity and the requisites of andAID thisparticular project will be compatible and mutuallysupportive The Project then will be evaluated as awhole by AID and its subprojects monitored andevaluated cooperatively by the PVOs and AID in asequence that provides timely indicators to the futuredevelopment of AIDs program in Chad
12
3 The Role and Use of PVOs
PVO umbrella or co-financing projects are relatively new in Africa though now conventional in Asia whereas AID assistance in Africa has a fairlywide though checkered history of support for individual PVO activities Two more or less pure umbrella projects in Africa are in Zaire and Kenya (and a second in the latter currently being developed) In these countries as in the Philippines and Indonesia the PVO co-financing endeavor is one AID project in a large and variegated portfolio where tapping the resources and vitality of PVOs (American and indigenous) is basically a valuable but peripheral outreach of the core AID program
As indicated above the project proposed here is different It is intended to be the centerpiece of AIDs agricultural development assistance for the next three years Its merits must be judged then (a)against those of alternative formulations of developmentassistance with which there is experience and (b) in terms of the efficacy in Chad of the kinds of subprojects it will support On matter (a) it can be said from current Chadian experience that rural-based production investments by AID cannot be inade more efficiently by any other means And the like ihood of economic payoff in Chad of larger-scaled longergestating more fundamental systemic agriculturaldevelopment projects of the typical AID type is highlyproblematical at this time In other wordsconventional AID experience in the Sahel does not givepromise in the present Chadian context In terms of implementation pay-off and foundation-laying the AID-PVO relief and rehabilitation and refugeeresettlement assistance experience of the past two yearsdoes -- as outlined below
There are seven American PVONGOs(Non-Governmental Organizations) 13 NGOsand non-US operating in Chad Some of the NGOs particularly the Protestant missions have been around for as long as thirty years Others such as CARE started work here in the 1970s but had to withdraw and then reinstall themselves because the civil warsof Most of the PVOs have seen an increase in expenditures and staff since the advent of the present Government of Chad followinginternational donor response to the devastation of war and drought
For the most part these organizations have been effective implementing agencies capitalizing on experience and procedures developed elsewhere and in Chad carrying comparatively low operating costs and retaining the respect and cooperation of government
They operate immediate emergency food distribution andhealth care services especially for displaced personsand resettlement and rehabilitation activities in KanemOuaddai Guera and Chari-Baguirmi prefectures (see Table 1)
PVOs financed directly by AID thus far in ChadCARE AFRICARE and VITA are
each of which is implementingimportant and urgently needed activities CARE presentin Che discontinuously since 1973 has ten expatriateand 110 Chadian staff members It distributed over $30million worth of emergency food in 1984 and has beensupervising the reconstruction of strategic roads waterstructures and public facilities with food-for-work resources and AID grants In the period 1982-1986 CAREwill have undertaken rehabilitation activities worth more than $38 million in AID funding in addition tothe value of the food distributed and CAREs owncontributions The June 1984 evaluation of its firstAID-financed rural infrastructure rehabilitation activity was favorable
AFRICARE began work in Chad in March 1983 and nowhas four expatriate staff two highly qualified Chadiantechnicians and 120 Chadian employees it wasinitially involved thein development of two irrigatedperimeters (120 ha total) close to NDjamena forvegetable gardening with mixed results More recentlyAFRICARE has undertaken a $285 million AID-fundedthree-year rehabilitationrural development project inOuaddai This project will have a major impact on therural population near Abeche who have been among thehardest hit by the war and drought by providing forseed distribution dike restoration reforestation andthe introduction of intermediate technologies Despitepoor rains in the past year this seems promising
VITA (Volunteers in Technical Assistance) beganoperations in Chad in 1984 and now has a staff of oneexpatriate (with an additional one on the way) fourChadian loan officers and five office workers Under a$15 million grant from AID it is providing animportant source of credit for small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs in and around NDjamena This privatesector activity aimed restoringat the activities ofdisplaced and other businessmen has already financedsuccessful melon poultry and food processingbusinesses in addition to more urban commercial ventures A reviewrecent indicates that this willprobably be a successful venture and VITA is nowlooking at the potential for expansion otherto market towns
The Project takes the explicit view that theexperience and in-place systems of the three major
14
Table 1
MAJOR PVO ACTIVITIES IN CHAD
PVO Activity Title Valua ($O00) Period Description Heavy Tzucks-FoodCARE 1289 982-984 Delivery
Provides trucks 4WD vehicles Maintenance for food-for-vork (FFW) and other relief coimodities delivery to rural areas
CARE FM Road Repair 387 Repair 155 km Ndjamena-Cuelendeng road 850 workers CARE Ag Infrastructure 950 1283-485 FFW reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urbanRestoration I manitation CARE Ag Infrastructu-e 1200 1084-1086 Ff4 reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urban
Restoration 11 sanitation CARE Resettlement 217 185- Resettlement in Kane financed by FED and Dutch PVO AFRICARE Heavy Equip Repair 585 982-984 Provide master mechanic and rehabilitation to Public Works
NdjamenaAFRICARK Vegetable Gardening 380 683-986 FFW Establish 20 ha vegetable production nearNdjamena AFRICARE Abechi Rural Dev 2850 584-1186 Integrated rural development VITA Private Enterprise 1500 784-686 Provision of credit to entrepreneurs in and near Ndjamena for new
businesses SECADEV Displaced Personp
Rural Development Food aid distribution reconstruction ofrural infrastructure650 (annually) food relief
Ndjamena Social Aid to sick aged handicapped - a GOC-registered
Chadian Catholic PVO working with 10-12000 peopleNfdecins 6000 1983-85 Sans Medical Assistance
Epidemic prevention in displaced persons camps reestablishment11000 1985-88 Frontiaree of prefecture health clinics staff training hoterchtld health
monitoring preventive care European PVO CARED Rural Development - 1982- Pre-cooperative support Irrigated perimeters (5-10 ha each)
chicken and small rumLnant production village grain mills League of Emergency Relief 750 1983-4Red Cross Food and Blanket distribution to more than 50000 80 food7500 1985-8 distribution sites some resettlement programs
American PVOs in Chad can and should be utilized and built upon at this stage and through this project Alternative vehicles as suggested above are not promising in themselves and could not in any case be relied upon for rapid mobilization Nor in Sahelian experience are universities consulting firms or the technical offices of AID missions more suitable to the hands-on nature of this project They are less adaptable to (and experienced with) the rigors of work in Chad and more expensive as well
This does not mean however that the PVOs expected to implement this project will not need helpOn the model of current AID rehabtlitation efforts they can be relied upon to handle well the necessary procurement understandings with the government mobilization and delivery of inputs and monitoringTheir weaknesses understandable given contemporary Chad and the foreign assistance milieu but also correctable have lain in the design and technical supervision of rural activities (See VA below) Greater subproject financing of field specialists should assure that implementation is technically sound The PVOs will be encouraged to apply their own contributions to detailed design work at the proposal and later stages To augment this the Project will provide for the selected application of small grants to PVOs for specific desiqn assistance
C ELEMENTS
1 Subprojects
Analyses indicate that considerable potential for new food production and related private sector activityobtains dispersed through the Sahelian zone To capture this potential and test developmental approaches (including local organizational dynamics) economically and rapidly American PVOs with substantial in-country facilities and experience will be invited to propose four to five subprojects having durations of two to four years beginning in late FY 1985 These subprojects will be the substance of the Project
Following the focus and expectations described above and in later analyses there is a strong prospect that CARE AFRICARE and VITA will propose initial subprojects which treat settled populations in the geographical Kanem area around Abeche and in Chari-Baguirmi Each should be prepared and ready to commelice before the end of FY 1986 probably much earlier on the part of CARE They may either fullycomprehend a large scattered population -- possibly expanded to additional accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- or commence in a more limited fashion and for
16
shorter duraticn with the intention of a second phase within the life of the Project At the same time the Project allows for the introduction of at least one new American PVO into Chads food production sector
On the basis of this project papers guidance each PVO will develop a detailed proposal the equivalent substantively of an AID small-project PP (see also Implementation Plan III below) for review and approval by AID in the field These proposals must adhere to the Projects focus criteria and meet various standards of format and detail Most important among the latter treat beneficiaries (the deprived but able) technological feasibility inputs availability and utility (tools seeds food-for-work etc) social and organizational practicality (regarding inter alia adaptiveness and cooperativeness of populations land tenure and government role) economic justifiability (cost-benefit or least cost market relations etc) and intended demonstration and institutional especially local institutional effects The PVO must further demonstrate its managerial capacity and provide as a condition to proposal approval an agreement with the appropriate GOC ministry to undertake the subproject on its behalf That should indicate the role of specific GOC agencies in implementation and the institutional developmental feasiblity and goals of that
The inputs of the project will be largely grants through Cooperative Agreements to the PVOs and as necessary and possible AID or World Food Program food-for-work contributions and food aid sales proceeds The quantification of those will be done at the subproject design stage The inputs of subprojects financed by the AID grants will be technical asistance management implements and other inputs loan finance in the private sector efforts food or proceeds perhaps (financed outside the Project) monitoring and evaluation and provision for contingencies The outputs will be functioning food production schemes and food production or related businesses Output targets will be enumerated by scheme or area based on the PVOs detailed analyses
Total Project funds programmed for subproject grants are $12 million with expenditures to be incurred by September 30 1989 the Project Assistance Completion Date (PACD) and fully disbursed by December 31 1989 Included in the grant financing to PVOs may be design costs not normally to exceed $50000 per subproject
PVOs are expected to make a maximum effort to meet the requirement of a 25 pezcent contribution from their own resources to the total costs of their subproject(s) and especially to the development of subprojects
17
Provision of Project assistance to subprojectconceptualization and design will be justifiedespecially for new PVO entrants to Chad or more importantly where an intended subprojects objectivesexplicitly emphasize testing and monitoring oftechnologies development) application
or processes with promise
(including institutional for future systematic
2 Procedures
Participating PVOs are expected to be familiar with AID requirements to follow the proposal format set forth in the Implementation Plan below and to be acceptable to AID in terms of registrationnon-government source globalof revenue and auditability Given that AID will entertain proposals on a rolling admissions basis up to a magnitude of $40million each with activities to be completed by the PACD
As a central principle of the Project isminimization of direct AID design and implementationburden and maximization of impact a small but necessaryprovision is made for management by AID This $725000will finance a full-time project manager management support allowance for contingencies and an AID evaluation The project manager will coordinate AID-PVO relationships including assistance to subprojectdesign as necessary subproject proposal review dild approval (including adherence to FAA Sec 611(a)requirements) GOC approvals activation of cooperativeagreements reporting and evaluation (See II-IV below)
Thus subproject proposals will be treated in the same fashion as projects for field authorization and to the same standards This will require full review byAIDChad professional staff the Chad AID Directors approval with concurrence of the REDSOWCA Director From an approved proposal AIDChad will develop a PIOTto generate in turn the Cooperative Agreement to be executed by a REDSOWCA Grant Officer The GOC will be a signatory to the PIOT thereby exercising its rightto determine the use of funds granted to it by AID
3 Results
As should now be clear the end-of-project-statusof this effort has two strands and a corollarySignificant increases in food production and consumption among Chads currently destitute must occur and be managed at an uncommonly low cost to AID and the GOC In achieving this techniques of cultivation and organization including use of private capital and local cooperation should be tested reasonably
18
systematically this should provide a part of the basis for later concerted attacks on Chads poverty by the GOC and its Atdonors the same time AID-PVO cooperationwill enhance the impact of the assistance of each in Chads difficult environment And strengthened PVOs and PVO-GOC collaboration is unquestionably a short- andmedium-term good given the straightened circumstances and poor prospects of Chads people and systems
Finally specification measurement and lessons of such results are particularly important to agriculturaldevelopment in Chad The era of the Project is onewhere a turning point may be reached thisfor countryThus monitoring and evaluation of the Project are especially important (See IV below) If the Projects assumptions are correct and this is designedto be verified in the Projects timeframe Chad has reasonable hope and AID will have fulfilled its current mandate and immediate strategic purpose
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS
A BUDGET
The Project will provide $12725 million in grantfunds from the Sahel (121) account to the Government of Chad to be obligated over the Fiscal Years 1985 through1987 Expenditures may be accrued up theto PACD (September 30 1989) and must be fully disbursed byDecember 31 1989 Obligation will be by GrantAgreement and its amendment with the GOC Funds will be handled directly by registered American PVOs and in the case of administration of the Project by USAIDChad
Of the total AID dollar contribution $120 million will be provided by AID to PVOs by CooperativeAgreements through letters of credit Generally a 25percent contribution to each subproject from non-AID sources will be required including cash input so far as possible from each PVO This can be waived by the Chad AID Representative if the interests of United States policy in Chad so warrant It is estimated that the non-AID contribution by PVOs to the overall costs of the Project will be about $30 million The Government of Chad will not be called upon to contribute to the overall Project as this is deemed impossible under current Chadian circumstances and in any case is not required in the Sahel program However in individual subprojects certain GOC contribution of staff time and facilities may well occur and bewill encouraged this will be set forth in the PVO-GOC exchange of letters
Additional contributions to the Project from other AID sources are also anticipated but cannot be projecteduntil subprojects are designed and approved and these
19
resources availability in Chad for specified periods isdetermined They are food-for-work provided under PL
II480 Title and rice sales proceeds generated by TitleII Emergency Sales in FY 1985 and Title II Section 206 programs or continued Emergency Sales thereafter
The remaining portion of the grant ($725000) willbe devoted to administration by AID That is financeof a fulltime project manager by AID Personal ServicesContract (PSC) (estimated at $125000 per year for four years plus management support of $50000) finance of acomprehensive final evaluation theof project in itsfourth year ($100000) also to be directly contracted for by AID and a small provision for contingencies($75000) It is expected that additional subprojectreview monitoring and evaluation services as necessaryduring the life of the project will be provided byREDSOWCA at no cost to the Project
Table 2 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS ($mil)
AID Grants to PVOs 120
AID Administration 0725
PVO Contributions 30
Food-for-Work
AID Food Sales Proceeds
Table 3
OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FISCAL YEAR ($mil)
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Obligations 3725 40 50 - -Expenditures - 2225 45 40 20
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A thorough financial analysis and detailed budgetwill be required in each subproject proposal Thisshould include a realistic list of inputs and theirprobable sources of supply (in AID Geographic Code 941countries and the cooperating country) with base costs calculated in ctrrent prices for each and price andphysical cortingencies estimated conservatively
In cases where sulpiojects comprise ldrge sets ofsmall interventions it will be permissible to aggregateestimates by category rather than for each individualsmall activity as related to total physical volumes of
20
work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
21
Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
22
inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
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execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
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small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
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2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
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ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
784 mmyear This declined to 597 in 1971-73 rose to 755 in 1975-76 fell to 567 in 1977-78 rose to 840 in 1980-81 and bottomed at 536 mmyear average in1982-84 Cereal production in the zone declined from 279257 metric tons in 1976 to 169419 in 1983
Data for 1984 indicate a worse drought than ever For example around NDjamena the August rainfall average for the past 25 years has been 201 mm in 1983it was 1389 mm in 1984 476 mn In the region north of NDjamena to the lake there was no production in the past winter seasc)n pastures were dry and cattle dyingby September and pumping to irrigated perimeters from the river was impossible in some areas The 1984 harvest in the Sahelian zone was weak to nul and significantly curtailed thein southern Sudanian and Sudanian-Guinan climatic zones Small market-gardenplots around NDjamena producing muchas as 2000metric tons of vegetables on 300 ha in 1979 were down to 64 ha in 198384 producing no more than 100 MT There was a total failure of the rice crop in 1984
The food deficit in 198384 averaged 45 percentfor the Sahelian zone as a whole with a maximum of 78 percent in the eastern prefecture of Biltine-Ouaddai (centered on Abeche) 71 percent in Kanem north of thelake and 58 percent in Chari-Baguirmi which contains NDjamena The four southern prefectures generallyreferred to as Sudanian recorded an average 20 percent deficit
Drought is a greater contributor even than towar present human distress in Chad Head counts (and these are conservative estimates by resident relief agenciesassrembled by USAIDNDjamena) indicate magnitudethe as of April 19 1985 Chadian displaced (and destitute) persons numLered at 167658 and the1past this was stricken 2ure of an estimated 640000 peons at risk The prefectures of greatest burden were Guera in the center (34600 displaced persons) Ouaddai in the east (31250) Batha (28000) and Chari-Baguirmi around NDjamena (22600)
Thus multiple misfortunes converging on Chads people make for the following best-case composite a country of Tbout 443 million whose population growthrate generally has been about 22 percent infant mortality about 1501000 and life expectancy 40 yearsSurveys find Aficas worst levels of malnutrition here Ernploiment is 85 percent in agriculture and 41 percent of the population is 15 years old or youngerChads GNP per capita in 1984 was estimated to be $80reflecting a recent growth rate of -28 percent
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North-south stratification finds two million
primitive farmers and pastoralists in the severe drought
zone of the Sahel at present unable by far to produce enough grain to eat -- although in the past for the most part they did The slightly more populous south has not
had severe drought until this year conditions more
generally benign to agricultu-e and a diligent cotton
production effort backed by what services the government has ever been able to provide (eg extension) There
is decline but survival given rain
The capital NDjamena has about 400000 people
who apart from some participants in the southern sugar
beer and cotton production industries represent Chads
modern sector A large exodus of the highly skilled
comprehensive destruction of physical plant and the
collapse of the banking sector mean the little reviving commerce and industry are small in scale and largely
informal in character although economic chaos is
forestalled by Chadian discipline and Chads position in
the CFA zone
The national government is not collapsing on the
contrary it is functioning seriously and remarkably
honestly However it is almost insolvent On revenues
in 1984 of 1122 billion CFA (ca $24 million) the
government carried expenditures of CFA 16503 billion
Its deficit is currently oscillating around $10 million
pet year largely find by France The budgetary crunch is expected to be most severe from September 1985
through March 1987 including earmarked revenues
(untabulated above) and assuming deficits are financed
somehow the governments total outlays for the present
will be around $35 million a year
For a country of four million people this is
considered to be about the irreducible minimum necessary
to maintain a modicum cf governmental presence and
functions And that modicum is operated by a sparse
civil service mostly at half salary The National
Office of Rural Development (ONDR which is responsible
nationally for agricultural extension organization of
productive inputs improving -gricultural technologies
and collection of agricultural statistics) to take one
example had 1406 employees in 1978 and 1571 in 1983
However in that period staff for general direction and
for work in the Sahel fell by 16 and 38 percent
respectively -- to 45 central managers and 219 civil servants serving all of the Sahelian zone
2 Relief and Rehabilitation
The international community has recognized Chads
crisis and responded This will continue for some time
to concentrate on food donations and emergency health
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care rehabilitation of some productive capacity in the Sahelian zone and subventions to the central government to support and rehabilitate basic functions combined with support for agricultural production largelycotton in the south These efforts which are considerable given the hostility of Chads environment are setting parameters and conditions for Chads future development
Emergency food and medical assistance provided bymultilateral and bilateral agencies and privateorganizations treat the severest cases of deprivation in Chad In 1985 a food deficit of 300000 MT is possibleshould the south again be severely hit by drought a displaced population of as many as 240000 and an at risk population of up to one million are probableForeign-operated food distribution systems within Chad are attempting to deliver supplies at the rate of about 15000 MT per month to rural distribution points A thin but wide-spread emergency medical service is financed by donors and operated by a PVO (PrivateVoluntary Organization)
Beyond stemmuing tragedy the effects of such efforts should have important consequences Firstmigrants away from famine and civil strife can be organized into settled agriculture (if and where there is potential) being displaced from traditik 1 contexts in theory they can be more amenable adopting improved production practices Second there is a demonstration and training effect involving largenumbers of Chadian workers local organizations and the few available government officials which despiteeverything could energize future institutional development at several levels Third physicalinfrastructure to support emergency operations is in limited degrees of necessity being put in placevehicle fleets communications a bridge to Cameroon etc
At the same time considerable donor assistancebuilding since the 1982 Geneva Conference has been planned and some delivered for basic reconstruction and rehabilitation Of $250 totalthe million aid requested then perhaps two-thirds is in the pipelineThis not only supports public administration capitalinfrastructure rehabilitation and revitalization of cotton exports but also small-holder agriculturalproduction in a few accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- a certain amount of it managed by PVOs From experience with the last it is possible to see a small basis and certain opportunities for longer-term development of traditional agriculture
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In particular water is available for small-scale farming in the Lake Chad alluvial basin with modestapplication of andlabor capital along riverperimeters in wadis with catchment from shallow wellsand recessionally via poldering Technicalorganizational snags however
and are not fully worked
out Reliable seed of course is essential andimproved varieties when obtainable are successfullyadopted Village organizations can cooperatively applylabor accumulate inputs and market excess produce withorganizational assistance Likewise a vigorous smallbusiness community willing take canto risks benurtured and find profitable opportunities in rural development (See V and Annex E below)
Eighteen or more small projects concerningirrigated and rainfed agriculture in the Sahelian zone are underway or planned For the next several yearsthey will demonstrate the feasibilities of particularcropcultivation practice combinations inputpracticalities small business roles in food productionand the potentials of areas from Kanem in the north to Bongor in the south to Abeche in the east
3 AppK(oaches to Developmen t
That is a small beginning to a large task for theindefinite future putting Chad back on the track toself-reliance and growth The necessity for a primaryconcentration on agriculture is evident as is the needfor more assistance The most recent comprehensivestudy on the subject (Club du SahelCILSSCONACILSSBilan Pro9ramme des Productions Veqetaies PluvialsetIrri du Tchad Sector Analysis Rainfed andIrrigated Crop Production in Chad December 1984) citesthe following first order constraints on agriculturaldevelopment in addition generally to drought and inadequate foreign aid
-- insufficient availability of seed
insufficient attention (policyinvestment) to irrigation properly scaled and
absence of significant intervention onproducer prices and marketing of agricultural products and on the costs of production inputs
The study also notes the general absence of adaptive andsub-regional research rural credit and extensionsophisticated inputs and planning
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The prescription of CILSS to which it is difficult to take exception intellectually or in principle conwprises orientations building for the longer term and more or less iniaediate actions These are the basis for a national development strategy And until further study (eg on costs) and experience (egwith adoption of technologies) or a radical change in conditions indicate otherwise they will probablyreceive general assent The eight orientations are undifferentiated and unordered but offer opportunities for all They are
-- give priority to food self-sufficiency
-- operationalize irrigation potential not least small scale
-- protect and develop cotton production through intensification
revitalize rural development in the Sahelian zone through regional planning
define and operate a producer price and marketing policy which stimulates increased production
-- promote small-farmer initiative and responsibility through training cooperativization etc
-- adequately support rural development institutions for programming research crop protection extension etc and
-- acquire massive concerted properly adapted foreign aid applying better donor-Chadian cocrdination
Immediate actions called for are
an appeal for food aid in 198485 an important part in the forms of food-for-work and that generating sales proceeds
-- an appeal for building up a cereal seed stock for 198485
-- intensification of irrigation investments via food-for-work and by launching already proposed schemes
-- provisional suspension of transfer to small farmers of the real costs of production inputs
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--
-- significant assistance to theInterministerial Bureau for Studies andProgramming (BEP) under the Minister of State for Agricultural and Rural Development and
-- intervention by the Nationai CerealsOffice in the consumer price systemthrough the use of donated food
In other words Chadian agriculture needseverything and much of this at once However there aredefinite practical steps to take that are developmentaland not shotgun crisis-reactive The proolems whichwill confront donors and the Government of Chad areassessment of risk husbanding of scarce resourceschoice of targets and timing Whereas policy dialogueand formulation Cor example should be fruitful civenChads disarray and are inexpensive larqe-scaleirrigation schemes massiveor provision of proaoictiveinputs and rural services are not necessarily eithe atpresent The challenge of Chad is not simple
B STRATEGY 1 AID Polic
The United States has several interests in Chadserved by its foreign assistance program Theseinterlock and are pursued through multilateralcoordination The humanitarian concern and efforts torelieve immediate mass suffering todue famine areessential But they would be insufficient -shypotentially futile if systemic improvements were notassisted eventually which should prevent the recurrenceof disaster even if drought pevails Such developmentcannot proceed however in an insecure polity subjecthaphazardly to turmoil and governmental paralysisespecially that induced by a capricious enemy neighbor
rherefore American policy action has focused since1982 on the recstablishment of a stable and vigorousgovernment which deals with Chads imradiate problemseffectively establishing credibility wkth the Chadianpeople and good relations with its neighbors AID hasprovided some of the means food medicines transportbudget support finance for small-scale physicalrehabilitation and the services of PVOs for outreachAmerican food assistance approved from Junethrough April 1985 to
1982 sum 139680 MT of grain andvegoil at a cost of $6948 million including transportand management Of that 7500 MT riceof and sorghumhave been granted to Chad the sales proceeds of which
will be devoted to emergency rehabilitation
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Non-food assistance to be obligated through FY1985 and serve the above purpose in a quick-disbursingfashion will total $1935 million That is devoted largely with considerable success to agriculturalrestoration (35 percent) health restoration (21percent) and budget support (16 percent) with lesser amounts for basic assistance in human resources privateenterprise administrative management and road repair
At the same time after almost three yearsexperience the Government of Chad (GOC) the donor community at andlarge AID have concluded that efforts can and should be made to plan and commence investment programs that attack Chads root problems As indicated in the above discussions reliable food supply is Chads paramount need And for the foreseeable future this need can be served only by local production or food aid purchase of food out of export earnings is not in the cards Development of food production capacity is an immediate and long-term necessity and the sine qua non of all else developmental
Although Chad is an extreme case this fact is congruent with broader observations that have informed current AID policy For Africa this makes agriculturethe central focus and AIDs goal to assist African governments reverse the declining per capita food production trend increaseand overall agriculturalproduction and productivity increase farm incomes and improve nutritional status particularly of the small holder (Strategic Plan Executive Summary 62883p 12) Sahel development strategy (Review STATE 287422 July 14 1984) cites the need for realistic goals over a 10-20 year time frame based on food availability rather foodthan production as the central objective of AID assistance in the Sahel And the first emphasis is on food security however attained Secondarily sustainable food production to reduce dependence on emergency relief should be an objective
AIDs Chad policy is therefore to devote the largest part of its development assistance over the next decade at least to food production Economic SupportFund resources will support in a new project the development of a road maintenance capacity and there may be further need for budget support from the same source Limited interventions in health care human resources and management development from bilateral and regional development assistance projects will be adjuncts The isquestion how to proceed in promotingsustained increasing food production and consumption
9
--
Three factors affect AIDs strategy First thechoice and sequence of interventions in the specificcontext of Chad must create -early pay-offs that buildand accelerate there is no time to waste and eventualcommitments to long-term massive structural orinstitutional developments must have solid grounding -shyin national stability proved approaches and Chadiancommitment Second AIDs development assistanceresources both financial and managerial will continueto be severely constrained Projected levels areobligations of $50 million per year through FY 1990out of a total economic assistance program of $15million annually Eight direct-hire staff will manageall AID activity country-wide Third the alreadyvariegated program of the international donor (includingPVO) community in Chad is expected to grow in volume andcomplexity as stability and responsiveness of Chadincrease
AIDs food production strategy in Chad as seen atthis point then envisages a program of overlappingphases slotted into the overall donor effort and makingthe most economical use of AIDs scarce resources asfollows
-- while current agricultural rehabilitation activities are continuing (through 1986)their technical and organizational lessonswill be absorbed and then operationalizedin
four to five new initiatives supported bythis project from 1985 to 1990 which support small-holder food productiondevelopment and contributing privatebusiness development These will testtechnical (especially water application)and organizational approaches and measuretheir benefits in the Sahelian zone wherethe food problem is theyAnd will beconceived in detail and carried out byPVOs whose expertise and economy ofoperation in this realm are r-nowned
-- as the PVO Development Initiatives Projectwill be fully obligated by FY 1987 thethird overlapping phase will be planned to commence in 1988 It will draw from theexperience of phase two and of otherdonors in similar efforts and insupporting systematic developmentslarger scales (irrigation
at systems seedprovision extension research and
planning price policy export croppromotion for example) Long-term major
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interventions by AID at that point will probably be in order It is too soon to tell of what type but adaptive (farmingsystems) researchextension is a reasonable possiblity
2 Definition of the Project
Therefore the goal of the Project is to increaseChads production of food and its availability to thedeprived and lay groundwork for more profoundagricultural development Its purpose is in theSahelian zone to assist small farmer production andsupportive private sector activities havingdemonstration and institutional development (primarilylocal cooperation) effects The objective is toaccomplish this broadly and quickly enough to (a) make asignificant contribution to the welfare of Chadianshitherto subject to famine and the recipients of foodaid including settled displaced persons and (b)demonstrate approaches to developing small farmer andprivate sector food production systems which successorlonger-term projects can adopt or otherwise support
The magnitude and duration of the Project havebeen determined on the basis of three considerations availability of funds current and developableabsorptive capacity in Chad and the sequence ofagricultural development isAID following here Asindicated above the level of development assistance of$50 million or less per year in the next four years inthe AID bilateral programs obligations on the one handand the assignment of mission direct-hire staff on theother limit the program practically to newone startat present But the condition of Chads infrastructuregovernmental systems and societal fabric does not permitan immediate large-scale or long-term commitment inagriculture They also limit the organizational meansby which assistance to agriculture in Chad can be delivered and monitored
From this follows a deliberate focus andlimitation of the Project to the essential and to targets and means where current experience and analysesindicate feasibility as well as potential forfarther-future interventions That is new foodproduction employing water application small groundworks and self-help and loan finance for smallagricultural businesses -- in accessible areas of theSahelian zone (north and south of NDjamena and around Abeche) -- with a spread of small-scale efforts andtargets clustered in four (or possibly five)subprojects Certain activities may employ AIDfood-for-work or food sales proceeds to supplementproject finance that will support technical assistanceand management tools and other inputs and a loan fund
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for entrepreneurs And GOC contribution of staff andfacilities will be encouraged in individual subprojects
Strategy dictates that these efforts begin as soonas possible and produce tangible results within three tofour years AIDs experience with relief andrehabilitation activities indicates that such work canbe organized and implemented in Chad at an expenditurerate of about $30 million per year It also indicatesindeed presupposes that American PVOs already operatingeffectively in Chad should be the primary vehicle fordesign operation and monitoring Neither AIDChad northe GOC has the capacity to work on a day-to-day basisat this level -- with outreach to farmers acquisitionand delivery of a variety of inputs and detailedspecification and follow-up PVOs do (See B3 below)
The Project will combine the requisites ofquick-startup and disbursement breadth of effectaccommodation of several effective PVOs andconcentration on a particular target population in aunitary framework via a special type of PVO umbrellaproject This follows agency guidance mandating greatercooperation with registered PVOs in AID programs andsimplification of procedures But for Chad it is notand cannot be a peripheral adjunct to a large matureassistance program the Project will be central to thecurrent effort making a new start on Chads agriculturaldevelopment By design and intent it should become thestepping stone to a mature agricultural program andproject portfolio
Thus one project will be authorized havingtranched obligations over three years underagreement with the GOC an
Guidance on the development andimplementation of subprojects by PVOs contained in thisproject paper (PP) will lead interested PVOs initiallyCARE AFRICARE and VITA to design and proposeinitiatives to serve the projects goal and purpose inthe prescribed manner Cooperative Agreements betweenAID and the PVOs will set the work afoot mutatismutandis The customary andindependent imaginationinitiative of PVOs are necessary ingredients in thisendeavor And recent experience lends confidence thatPVO integrity and the requisites of andAID thisparticular project will be compatible and mutuallysupportive The Project then will be evaluated as awhole by AID and its subprojects monitored andevaluated cooperatively by the PVOs and AID in asequence that provides timely indicators to the futuredevelopment of AIDs program in Chad
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3 The Role and Use of PVOs
PVO umbrella or co-financing projects are relatively new in Africa though now conventional in Asia whereas AID assistance in Africa has a fairlywide though checkered history of support for individual PVO activities Two more or less pure umbrella projects in Africa are in Zaire and Kenya (and a second in the latter currently being developed) In these countries as in the Philippines and Indonesia the PVO co-financing endeavor is one AID project in a large and variegated portfolio where tapping the resources and vitality of PVOs (American and indigenous) is basically a valuable but peripheral outreach of the core AID program
As indicated above the project proposed here is different It is intended to be the centerpiece of AIDs agricultural development assistance for the next three years Its merits must be judged then (a)against those of alternative formulations of developmentassistance with which there is experience and (b) in terms of the efficacy in Chad of the kinds of subprojects it will support On matter (a) it can be said from current Chadian experience that rural-based production investments by AID cannot be inade more efficiently by any other means And the like ihood of economic payoff in Chad of larger-scaled longergestating more fundamental systemic agriculturaldevelopment projects of the typical AID type is highlyproblematical at this time In other wordsconventional AID experience in the Sahel does not givepromise in the present Chadian context In terms of implementation pay-off and foundation-laying the AID-PVO relief and rehabilitation and refugeeresettlement assistance experience of the past two yearsdoes -- as outlined below
There are seven American PVONGOs(Non-Governmental Organizations) 13 NGOsand non-US operating in Chad Some of the NGOs particularly the Protestant missions have been around for as long as thirty years Others such as CARE started work here in the 1970s but had to withdraw and then reinstall themselves because the civil warsof Most of the PVOs have seen an increase in expenditures and staff since the advent of the present Government of Chad followinginternational donor response to the devastation of war and drought
For the most part these organizations have been effective implementing agencies capitalizing on experience and procedures developed elsewhere and in Chad carrying comparatively low operating costs and retaining the respect and cooperation of government
They operate immediate emergency food distribution andhealth care services especially for displaced personsand resettlement and rehabilitation activities in KanemOuaddai Guera and Chari-Baguirmi prefectures (see Table 1)
PVOs financed directly by AID thus far in ChadCARE AFRICARE and VITA are
each of which is implementingimportant and urgently needed activities CARE presentin Che discontinuously since 1973 has ten expatriateand 110 Chadian staff members It distributed over $30million worth of emergency food in 1984 and has beensupervising the reconstruction of strategic roads waterstructures and public facilities with food-for-work resources and AID grants In the period 1982-1986 CAREwill have undertaken rehabilitation activities worth more than $38 million in AID funding in addition tothe value of the food distributed and CAREs owncontributions The June 1984 evaluation of its firstAID-financed rural infrastructure rehabilitation activity was favorable
AFRICARE began work in Chad in March 1983 and nowhas four expatriate staff two highly qualified Chadiantechnicians and 120 Chadian employees it wasinitially involved thein development of two irrigatedperimeters (120 ha total) close to NDjamena forvegetable gardening with mixed results More recentlyAFRICARE has undertaken a $285 million AID-fundedthree-year rehabilitationrural development project inOuaddai This project will have a major impact on therural population near Abeche who have been among thehardest hit by the war and drought by providing forseed distribution dike restoration reforestation andthe introduction of intermediate technologies Despitepoor rains in the past year this seems promising
VITA (Volunteers in Technical Assistance) beganoperations in Chad in 1984 and now has a staff of oneexpatriate (with an additional one on the way) fourChadian loan officers and five office workers Under a$15 million grant from AID it is providing animportant source of credit for small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs in and around NDjamena This privatesector activity aimed restoringat the activities ofdisplaced and other businessmen has already financedsuccessful melon poultry and food processingbusinesses in addition to more urban commercial ventures A reviewrecent indicates that this willprobably be a successful venture and VITA is nowlooking at the potential for expansion otherto market towns
The Project takes the explicit view that theexperience and in-place systems of the three major
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Table 1
MAJOR PVO ACTIVITIES IN CHAD
PVO Activity Title Valua ($O00) Period Description Heavy Tzucks-FoodCARE 1289 982-984 Delivery
Provides trucks 4WD vehicles Maintenance for food-for-vork (FFW) and other relief coimodities delivery to rural areas
CARE FM Road Repair 387 Repair 155 km Ndjamena-Cuelendeng road 850 workers CARE Ag Infrastructure 950 1283-485 FFW reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urbanRestoration I manitation CARE Ag Infrastructu-e 1200 1084-1086 Ff4 reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urban
Restoration 11 sanitation CARE Resettlement 217 185- Resettlement in Kane financed by FED and Dutch PVO AFRICARE Heavy Equip Repair 585 982-984 Provide master mechanic and rehabilitation to Public Works
NdjamenaAFRICARK Vegetable Gardening 380 683-986 FFW Establish 20 ha vegetable production nearNdjamena AFRICARE Abechi Rural Dev 2850 584-1186 Integrated rural development VITA Private Enterprise 1500 784-686 Provision of credit to entrepreneurs in and near Ndjamena for new
businesses SECADEV Displaced Personp
Rural Development Food aid distribution reconstruction ofrural infrastructure650 (annually) food relief
Ndjamena Social Aid to sick aged handicapped - a GOC-registered
Chadian Catholic PVO working with 10-12000 peopleNfdecins 6000 1983-85 Sans Medical Assistance
Epidemic prevention in displaced persons camps reestablishment11000 1985-88 Frontiaree of prefecture health clinics staff training hoterchtld health
monitoring preventive care European PVO CARED Rural Development - 1982- Pre-cooperative support Irrigated perimeters (5-10 ha each)
chicken and small rumLnant production village grain mills League of Emergency Relief 750 1983-4Red Cross Food and Blanket distribution to more than 50000 80 food7500 1985-8 distribution sites some resettlement programs
American PVOs in Chad can and should be utilized and built upon at this stage and through this project Alternative vehicles as suggested above are not promising in themselves and could not in any case be relied upon for rapid mobilization Nor in Sahelian experience are universities consulting firms or the technical offices of AID missions more suitable to the hands-on nature of this project They are less adaptable to (and experienced with) the rigors of work in Chad and more expensive as well
This does not mean however that the PVOs expected to implement this project will not need helpOn the model of current AID rehabtlitation efforts they can be relied upon to handle well the necessary procurement understandings with the government mobilization and delivery of inputs and monitoringTheir weaknesses understandable given contemporary Chad and the foreign assistance milieu but also correctable have lain in the design and technical supervision of rural activities (See VA below) Greater subproject financing of field specialists should assure that implementation is technically sound The PVOs will be encouraged to apply their own contributions to detailed design work at the proposal and later stages To augment this the Project will provide for the selected application of small grants to PVOs for specific desiqn assistance
C ELEMENTS
1 Subprojects
Analyses indicate that considerable potential for new food production and related private sector activityobtains dispersed through the Sahelian zone To capture this potential and test developmental approaches (including local organizational dynamics) economically and rapidly American PVOs with substantial in-country facilities and experience will be invited to propose four to five subprojects having durations of two to four years beginning in late FY 1985 These subprojects will be the substance of the Project
Following the focus and expectations described above and in later analyses there is a strong prospect that CARE AFRICARE and VITA will propose initial subprojects which treat settled populations in the geographical Kanem area around Abeche and in Chari-Baguirmi Each should be prepared and ready to commelice before the end of FY 1986 probably much earlier on the part of CARE They may either fullycomprehend a large scattered population -- possibly expanded to additional accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- or commence in a more limited fashion and for
16
shorter duraticn with the intention of a second phase within the life of the Project At the same time the Project allows for the introduction of at least one new American PVO into Chads food production sector
On the basis of this project papers guidance each PVO will develop a detailed proposal the equivalent substantively of an AID small-project PP (see also Implementation Plan III below) for review and approval by AID in the field These proposals must adhere to the Projects focus criteria and meet various standards of format and detail Most important among the latter treat beneficiaries (the deprived but able) technological feasibility inputs availability and utility (tools seeds food-for-work etc) social and organizational practicality (regarding inter alia adaptiveness and cooperativeness of populations land tenure and government role) economic justifiability (cost-benefit or least cost market relations etc) and intended demonstration and institutional especially local institutional effects The PVO must further demonstrate its managerial capacity and provide as a condition to proposal approval an agreement with the appropriate GOC ministry to undertake the subproject on its behalf That should indicate the role of specific GOC agencies in implementation and the institutional developmental feasiblity and goals of that
The inputs of the project will be largely grants through Cooperative Agreements to the PVOs and as necessary and possible AID or World Food Program food-for-work contributions and food aid sales proceeds The quantification of those will be done at the subproject design stage The inputs of subprojects financed by the AID grants will be technical asistance management implements and other inputs loan finance in the private sector efforts food or proceeds perhaps (financed outside the Project) monitoring and evaluation and provision for contingencies The outputs will be functioning food production schemes and food production or related businesses Output targets will be enumerated by scheme or area based on the PVOs detailed analyses
Total Project funds programmed for subproject grants are $12 million with expenditures to be incurred by September 30 1989 the Project Assistance Completion Date (PACD) and fully disbursed by December 31 1989 Included in the grant financing to PVOs may be design costs not normally to exceed $50000 per subproject
PVOs are expected to make a maximum effort to meet the requirement of a 25 pezcent contribution from their own resources to the total costs of their subproject(s) and especially to the development of subprojects
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Provision of Project assistance to subprojectconceptualization and design will be justifiedespecially for new PVO entrants to Chad or more importantly where an intended subprojects objectivesexplicitly emphasize testing and monitoring oftechnologies development) application
or processes with promise
(including institutional for future systematic
2 Procedures
Participating PVOs are expected to be familiar with AID requirements to follow the proposal format set forth in the Implementation Plan below and to be acceptable to AID in terms of registrationnon-government source globalof revenue and auditability Given that AID will entertain proposals on a rolling admissions basis up to a magnitude of $40million each with activities to be completed by the PACD
As a central principle of the Project isminimization of direct AID design and implementationburden and maximization of impact a small but necessaryprovision is made for management by AID This $725000will finance a full-time project manager management support allowance for contingencies and an AID evaluation The project manager will coordinate AID-PVO relationships including assistance to subprojectdesign as necessary subproject proposal review dild approval (including adherence to FAA Sec 611(a)requirements) GOC approvals activation of cooperativeagreements reporting and evaluation (See II-IV below)
Thus subproject proposals will be treated in the same fashion as projects for field authorization and to the same standards This will require full review byAIDChad professional staff the Chad AID Directors approval with concurrence of the REDSOWCA Director From an approved proposal AIDChad will develop a PIOTto generate in turn the Cooperative Agreement to be executed by a REDSOWCA Grant Officer The GOC will be a signatory to the PIOT thereby exercising its rightto determine the use of funds granted to it by AID
3 Results
As should now be clear the end-of-project-statusof this effort has two strands and a corollarySignificant increases in food production and consumption among Chads currently destitute must occur and be managed at an uncommonly low cost to AID and the GOC In achieving this techniques of cultivation and organization including use of private capital and local cooperation should be tested reasonably
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systematically this should provide a part of the basis for later concerted attacks on Chads poverty by the GOC and its Atdonors the same time AID-PVO cooperationwill enhance the impact of the assistance of each in Chads difficult environment And strengthened PVOs and PVO-GOC collaboration is unquestionably a short- andmedium-term good given the straightened circumstances and poor prospects of Chads people and systems
Finally specification measurement and lessons of such results are particularly important to agriculturaldevelopment in Chad The era of the Project is onewhere a turning point may be reached thisfor countryThus monitoring and evaluation of the Project are especially important (See IV below) If the Projects assumptions are correct and this is designedto be verified in the Projects timeframe Chad has reasonable hope and AID will have fulfilled its current mandate and immediate strategic purpose
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS
A BUDGET
The Project will provide $12725 million in grantfunds from the Sahel (121) account to the Government of Chad to be obligated over the Fiscal Years 1985 through1987 Expenditures may be accrued up theto PACD (September 30 1989) and must be fully disbursed byDecember 31 1989 Obligation will be by GrantAgreement and its amendment with the GOC Funds will be handled directly by registered American PVOs and in the case of administration of the Project by USAIDChad
Of the total AID dollar contribution $120 million will be provided by AID to PVOs by CooperativeAgreements through letters of credit Generally a 25percent contribution to each subproject from non-AID sources will be required including cash input so far as possible from each PVO This can be waived by the Chad AID Representative if the interests of United States policy in Chad so warrant It is estimated that the non-AID contribution by PVOs to the overall costs of the Project will be about $30 million The Government of Chad will not be called upon to contribute to the overall Project as this is deemed impossible under current Chadian circumstances and in any case is not required in the Sahel program However in individual subprojects certain GOC contribution of staff time and facilities may well occur and bewill encouraged this will be set forth in the PVO-GOC exchange of letters
Additional contributions to the Project from other AID sources are also anticipated but cannot be projecteduntil subprojects are designed and approved and these
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resources availability in Chad for specified periods isdetermined They are food-for-work provided under PL
II480 Title and rice sales proceeds generated by TitleII Emergency Sales in FY 1985 and Title II Section 206 programs or continued Emergency Sales thereafter
The remaining portion of the grant ($725000) willbe devoted to administration by AID That is financeof a fulltime project manager by AID Personal ServicesContract (PSC) (estimated at $125000 per year for four years plus management support of $50000) finance of acomprehensive final evaluation theof project in itsfourth year ($100000) also to be directly contracted for by AID and a small provision for contingencies($75000) It is expected that additional subprojectreview monitoring and evaluation services as necessaryduring the life of the project will be provided byREDSOWCA at no cost to the Project
Table 2 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS ($mil)
AID Grants to PVOs 120
AID Administration 0725
PVO Contributions 30
Food-for-Work
AID Food Sales Proceeds
Table 3
OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FISCAL YEAR ($mil)
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Obligations 3725 40 50 - -Expenditures - 2225 45 40 20
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A thorough financial analysis and detailed budgetwill be required in each subproject proposal Thisshould include a realistic list of inputs and theirprobable sources of supply (in AID Geographic Code 941countries and the cooperating country) with base costs calculated in ctrrent prices for each and price andphysical cortingencies estimated conservatively
In cases where sulpiojects comprise ldrge sets ofsmall interventions it will be permissible to aggregateestimates by category rather than for each individualsmall activity as related to total physical volumes of
20
work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
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Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
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inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
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small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
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2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
North-south stratification finds two million
primitive farmers and pastoralists in the severe drought
zone of the Sahel at present unable by far to produce enough grain to eat -- although in the past for the most part they did The slightly more populous south has not
had severe drought until this year conditions more
generally benign to agricultu-e and a diligent cotton
production effort backed by what services the government has ever been able to provide (eg extension) There
is decline but survival given rain
The capital NDjamena has about 400000 people
who apart from some participants in the southern sugar
beer and cotton production industries represent Chads
modern sector A large exodus of the highly skilled
comprehensive destruction of physical plant and the
collapse of the banking sector mean the little reviving commerce and industry are small in scale and largely
informal in character although economic chaos is
forestalled by Chadian discipline and Chads position in
the CFA zone
The national government is not collapsing on the
contrary it is functioning seriously and remarkably
honestly However it is almost insolvent On revenues
in 1984 of 1122 billion CFA (ca $24 million) the
government carried expenditures of CFA 16503 billion
Its deficit is currently oscillating around $10 million
pet year largely find by France The budgetary crunch is expected to be most severe from September 1985
through March 1987 including earmarked revenues
(untabulated above) and assuming deficits are financed
somehow the governments total outlays for the present
will be around $35 million a year
For a country of four million people this is
considered to be about the irreducible minimum necessary
to maintain a modicum cf governmental presence and
functions And that modicum is operated by a sparse
civil service mostly at half salary The National
Office of Rural Development (ONDR which is responsible
nationally for agricultural extension organization of
productive inputs improving -gricultural technologies
and collection of agricultural statistics) to take one
example had 1406 employees in 1978 and 1571 in 1983
However in that period staff for general direction and
for work in the Sahel fell by 16 and 38 percent
respectively -- to 45 central managers and 219 civil servants serving all of the Sahelian zone
2 Relief and Rehabilitation
The international community has recognized Chads
crisis and responded This will continue for some time
to concentrate on food donations and emergency health
4
care rehabilitation of some productive capacity in the Sahelian zone and subventions to the central government to support and rehabilitate basic functions combined with support for agricultural production largelycotton in the south These efforts which are considerable given the hostility of Chads environment are setting parameters and conditions for Chads future development
Emergency food and medical assistance provided bymultilateral and bilateral agencies and privateorganizations treat the severest cases of deprivation in Chad In 1985 a food deficit of 300000 MT is possibleshould the south again be severely hit by drought a displaced population of as many as 240000 and an at risk population of up to one million are probableForeign-operated food distribution systems within Chad are attempting to deliver supplies at the rate of about 15000 MT per month to rural distribution points A thin but wide-spread emergency medical service is financed by donors and operated by a PVO (PrivateVoluntary Organization)
Beyond stemmuing tragedy the effects of such efforts should have important consequences Firstmigrants away from famine and civil strife can be organized into settled agriculture (if and where there is potential) being displaced from traditik 1 contexts in theory they can be more amenable adopting improved production practices Second there is a demonstration and training effect involving largenumbers of Chadian workers local organizations and the few available government officials which despiteeverything could energize future institutional development at several levels Third physicalinfrastructure to support emergency operations is in limited degrees of necessity being put in placevehicle fleets communications a bridge to Cameroon etc
At the same time considerable donor assistancebuilding since the 1982 Geneva Conference has been planned and some delivered for basic reconstruction and rehabilitation Of $250 totalthe million aid requested then perhaps two-thirds is in the pipelineThis not only supports public administration capitalinfrastructure rehabilitation and revitalization of cotton exports but also small-holder agriculturalproduction in a few accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- a certain amount of it managed by PVOs From experience with the last it is possible to see a small basis and certain opportunities for longer-term development of traditional agriculture
5
In particular water is available for small-scale farming in the Lake Chad alluvial basin with modestapplication of andlabor capital along riverperimeters in wadis with catchment from shallow wellsand recessionally via poldering Technicalorganizational snags however
and are not fully worked
out Reliable seed of course is essential andimproved varieties when obtainable are successfullyadopted Village organizations can cooperatively applylabor accumulate inputs and market excess produce withorganizational assistance Likewise a vigorous smallbusiness community willing take canto risks benurtured and find profitable opportunities in rural development (See V and Annex E below)
Eighteen or more small projects concerningirrigated and rainfed agriculture in the Sahelian zone are underway or planned For the next several yearsthey will demonstrate the feasibilities of particularcropcultivation practice combinations inputpracticalities small business roles in food productionand the potentials of areas from Kanem in the north to Bongor in the south to Abeche in the east
3 AppK(oaches to Developmen t
That is a small beginning to a large task for theindefinite future putting Chad back on the track toself-reliance and growth The necessity for a primaryconcentration on agriculture is evident as is the needfor more assistance The most recent comprehensivestudy on the subject (Club du SahelCILSSCONACILSSBilan Pro9ramme des Productions Veqetaies PluvialsetIrri du Tchad Sector Analysis Rainfed andIrrigated Crop Production in Chad December 1984) citesthe following first order constraints on agriculturaldevelopment in addition generally to drought and inadequate foreign aid
-- insufficient availability of seed
insufficient attention (policyinvestment) to irrigation properly scaled and
absence of significant intervention onproducer prices and marketing of agricultural products and on the costs of production inputs
The study also notes the general absence of adaptive andsub-regional research rural credit and extensionsophisticated inputs and planning
6
The prescription of CILSS to which it is difficult to take exception intellectually or in principle conwprises orientations building for the longer term and more or less iniaediate actions These are the basis for a national development strategy And until further study (eg on costs) and experience (egwith adoption of technologies) or a radical change in conditions indicate otherwise they will probablyreceive general assent The eight orientations are undifferentiated and unordered but offer opportunities for all They are
-- give priority to food self-sufficiency
-- operationalize irrigation potential not least small scale
-- protect and develop cotton production through intensification
revitalize rural development in the Sahelian zone through regional planning
define and operate a producer price and marketing policy which stimulates increased production
-- promote small-farmer initiative and responsibility through training cooperativization etc
-- adequately support rural development institutions for programming research crop protection extension etc and
-- acquire massive concerted properly adapted foreign aid applying better donor-Chadian cocrdination
Immediate actions called for are
an appeal for food aid in 198485 an important part in the forms of food-for-work and that generating sales proceeds
-- an appeal for building up a cereal seed stock for 198485
-- intensification of irrigation investments via food-for-work and by launching already proposed schemes
-- provisional suspension of transfer to small farmers of the real costs of production inputs
7
--
-- significant assistance to theInterministerial Bureau for Studies andProgramming (BEP) under the Minister of State for Agricultural and Rural Development and
-- intervention by the Nationai CerealsOffice in the consumer price systemthrough the use of donated food
In other words Chadian agriculture needseverything and much of this at once However there aredefinite practical steps to take that are developmentaland not shotgun crisis-reactive The proolems whichwill confront donors and the Government of Chad areassessment of risk husbanding of scarce resourceschoice of targets and timing Whereas policy dialogueand formulation Cor example should be fruitful civenChads disarray and are inexpensive larqe-scaleirrigation schemes massiveor provision of proaoictiveinputs and rural services are not necessarily eithe atpresent The challenge of Chad is not simple
B STRATEGY 1 AID Polic
The United States has several interests in Chadserved by its foreign assistance program Theseinterlock and are pursued through multilateralcoordination The humanitarian concern and efforts torelieve immediate mass suffering todue famine areessential But they would be insufficient -shypotentially futile if systemic improvements were notassisted eventually which should prevent the recurrenceof disaster even if drought pevails Such developmentcannot proceed however in an insecure polity subjecthaphazardly to turmoil and governmental paralysisespecially that induced by a capricious enemy neighbor
rherefore American policy action has focused since1982 on the recstablishment of a stable and vigorousgovernment which deals with Chads imradiate problemseffectively establishing credibility wkth the Chadianpeople and good relations with its neighbors AID hasprovided some of the means food medicines transportbudget support finance for small-scale physicalrehabilitation and the services of PVOs for outreachAmerican food assistance approved from Junethrough April 1985 to
1982 sum 139680 MT of grain andvegoil at a cost of $6948 million including transportand management Of that 7500 MT riceof and sorghumhave been granted to Chad the sales proceeds of which
will be devoted to emergency rehabilitation
8
Non-food assistance to be obligated through FY1985 and serve the above purpose in a quick-disbursingfashion will total $1935 million That is devoted largely with considerable success to agriculturalrestoration (35 percent) health restoration (21percent) and budget support (16 percent) with lesser amounts for basic assistance in human resources privateenterprise administrative management and road repair
At the same time after almost three yearsexperience the Government of Chad (GOC) the donor community at andlarge AID have concluded that efforts can and should be made to plan and commence investment programs that attack Chads root problems As indicated in the above discussions reliable food supply is Chads paramount need And for the foreseeable future this need can be served only by local production or food aid purchase of food out of export earnings is not in the cards Development of food production capacity is an immediate and long-term necessity and the sine qua non of all else developmental
Although Chad is an extreme case this fact is congruent with broader observations that have informed current AID policy For Africa this makes agriculturethe central focus and AIDs goal to assist African governments reverse the declining per capita food production trend increaseand overall agriculturalproduction and productivity increase farm incomes and improve nutritional status particularly of the small holder (Strategic Plan Executive Summary 62883p 12) Sahel development strategy (Review STATE 287422 July 14 1984) cites the need for realistic goals over a 10-20 year time frame based on food availability rather foodthan production as the central objective of AID assistance in the Sahel And the first emphasis is on food security however attained Secondarily sustainable food production to reduce dependence on emergency relief should be an objective
AIDs Chad policy is therefore to devote the largest part of its development assistance over the next decade at least to food production Economic SupportFund resources will support in a new project the development of a road maintenance capacity and there may be further need for budget support from the same source Limited interventions in health care human resources and management development from bilateral and regional development assistance projects will be adjuncts The isquestion how to proceed in promotingsustained increasing food production and consumption
9
--
Three factors affect AIDs strategy First thechoice and sequence of interventions in the specificcontext of Chad must create -early pay-offs that buildand accelerate there is no time to waste and eventualcommitments to long-term massive structural orinstitutional developments must have solid grounding -shyin national stability proved approaches and Chadiancommitment Second AIDs development assistanceresources both financial and managerial will continueto be severely constrained Projected levels areobligations of $50 million per year through FY 1990out of a total economic assistance program of $15million annually Eight direct-hire staff will manageall AID activity country-wide Third the alreadyvariegated program of the international donor (includingPVO) community in Chad is expected to grow in volume andcomplexity as stability and responsiveness of Chadincrease
AIDs food production strategy in Chad as seen atthis point then envisages a program of overlappingphases slotted into the overall donor effort and makingthe most economical use of AIDs scarce resources asfollows
-- while current agricultural rehabilitation activities are continuing (through 1986)their technical and organizational lessonswill be absorbed and then operationalizedin
four to five new initiatives supported bythis project from 1985 to 1990 which support small-holder food productiondevelopment and contributing privatebusiness development These will testtechnical (especially water application)and organizational approaches and measuretheir benefits in the Sahelian zone wherethe food problem is theyAnd will beconceived in detail and carried out byPVOs whose expertise and economy ofoperation in this realm are r-nowned
-- as the PVO Development Initiatives Projectwill be fully obligated by FY 1987 thethird overlapping phase will be planned to commence in 1988 It will draw from theexperience of phase two and of otherdonors in similar efforts and insupporting systematic developmentslarger scales (irrigation
at systems seedprovision extension research and
planning price policy export croppromotion for example) Long-term major
10
interventions by AID at that point will probably be in order It is too soon to tell of what type but adaptive (farmingsystems) researchextension is a reasonable possiblity
2 Definition of the Project
Therefore the goal of the Project is to increaseChads production of food and its availability to thedeprived and lay groundwork for more profoundagricultural development Its purpose is in theSahelian zone to assist small farmer production andsupportive private sector activities havingdemonstration and institutional development (primarilylocal cooperation) effects The objective is toaccomplish this broadly and quickly enough to (a) make asignificant contribution to the welfare of Chadianshitherto subject to famine and the recipients of foodaid including settled displaced persons and (b)demonstrate approaches to developing small farmer andprivate sector food production systems which successorlonger-term projects can adopt or otherwise support
The magnitude and duration of the Project havebeen determined on the basis of three considerations availability of funds current and developableabsorptive capacity in Chad and the sequence ofagricultural development isAID following here Asindicated above the level of development assistance of$50 million or less per year in the next four years inthe AID bilateral programs obligations on the one handand the assignment of mission direct-hire staff on theother limit the program practically to newone startat present But the condition of Chads infrastructuregovernmental systems and societal fabric does not permitan immediate large-scale or long-term commitment inagriculture They also limit the organizational meansby which assistance to agriculture in Chad can be delivered and monitored
From this follows a deliberate focus andlimitation of the Project to the essential and to targets and means where current experience and analysesindicate feasibility as well as potential forfarther-future interventions That is new foodproduction employing water application small groundworks and self-help and loan finance for smallagricultural businesses -- in accessible areas of theSahelian zone (north and south of NDjamena and around Abeche) -- with a spread of small-scale efforts andtargets clustered in four (or possibly five)subprojects Certain activities may employ AIDfood-for-work or food sales proceeds to supplementproject finance that will support technical assistanceand management tools and other inputs and a loan fund
11
for entrepreneurs And GOC contribution of staff andfacilities will be encouraged in individual subprojects
Strategy dictates that these efforts begin as soonas possible and produce tangible results within three tofour years AIDs experience with relief andrehabilitation activities indicates that such work canbe organized and implemented in Chad at an expenditurerate of about $30 million per year It also indicatesindeed presupposes that American PVOs already operatingeffectively in Chad should be the primary vehicle fordesign operation and monitoring Neither AIDChad northe GOC has the capacity to work on a day-to-day basisat this level -- with outreach to farmers acquisitionand delivery of a variety of inputs and detailedspecification and follow-up PVOs do (See B3 below)
The Project will combine the requisites ofquick-startup and disbursement breadth of effectaccommodation of several effective PVOs andconcentration on a particular target population in aunitary framework via a special type of PVO umbrellaproject This follows agency guidance mandating greatercooperation with registered PVOs in AID programs andsimplification of procedures But for Chad it is notand cannot be a peripheral adjunct to a large matureassistance program the Project will be central to thecurrent effort making a new start on Chads agriculturaldevelopment By design and intent it should become thestepping stone to a mature agricultural program andproject portfolio
Thus one project will be authorized havingtranched obligations over three years underagreement with the GOC an
Guidance on the development andimplementation of subprojects by PVOs contained in thisproject paper (PP) will lead interested PVOs initiallyCARE AFRICARE and VITA to design and proposeinitiatives to serve the projects goal and purpose inthe prescribed manner Cooperative Agreements betweenAID and the PVOs will set the work afoot mutatismutandis The customary andindependent imaginationinitiative of PVOs are necessary ingredients in thisendeavor And recent experience lends confidence thatPVO integrity and the requisites of andAID thisparticular project will be compatible and mutuallysupportive The Project then will be evaluated as awhole by AID and its subprojects monitored andevaluated cooperatively by the PVOs and AID in asequence that provides timely indicators to the futuredevelopment of AIDs program in Chad
12
3 The Role and Use of PVOs
PVO umbrella or co-financing projects are relatively new in Africa though now conventional in Asia whereas AID assistance in Africa has a fairlywide though checkered history of support for individual PVO activities Two more or less pure umbrella projects in Africa are in Zaire and Kenya (and a second in the latter currently being developed) In these countries as in the Philippines and Indonesia the PVO co-financing endeavor is one AID project in a large and variegated portfolio where tapping the resources and vitality of PVOs (American and indigenous) is basically a valuable but peripheral outreach of the core AID program
As indicated above the project proposed here is different It is intended to be the centerpiece of AIDs agricultural development assistance for the next three years Its merits must be judged then (a)against those of alternative formulations of developmentassistance with which there is experience and (b) in terms of the efficacy in Chad of the kinds of subprojects it will support On matter (a) it can be said from current Chadian experience that rural-based production investments by AID cannot be inade more efficiently by any other means And the like ihood of economic payoff in Chad of larger-scaled longergestating more fundamental systemic agriculturaldevelopment projects of the typical AID type is highlyproblematical at this time In other wordsconventional AID experience in the Sahel does not givepromise in the present Chadian context In terms of implementation pay-off and foundation-laying the AID-PVO relief and rehabilitation and refugeeresettlement assistance experience of the past two yearsdoes -- as outlined below
There are seven American PVONGOs(Non-Governmental Organizations) 13 NGOsand non-US operating in Chad Some of the NGOs particularly the Protestant missions have been around for as long as thirty years Others such as CARE started work here in the 1970s but had to withdraw and then reinstall themselves because the civil warsof Most of the PVOs have seen an increase in expenditures and staff since the advent of the present Government of Chad followinginternational donor response to the devastation of war and drought
For the most part these organizations have been effective implementing agencies capitalizing on experience and procedures developed elsewhere and in Chad carrying comparatively low operating costs and retaining the respect and cooperation of government
They operate immediate emergency food distribution andhealth care services especially for displaced personsand resettlement and rehabilitation activities in KanemOuaddai Guera and Chari-Baguirmi prefectures (see Table 1)
PVOs financed directly by AID thus far in ChadCARE AFRICARE and VITA are
each of which is implementingimportant and urgently needed activities CARE presentin Che discontinuously since 1973 has ten expatriateand 110 Chadian staff members It distributed over $30million worth of emergency food in 1984 and has beensupervising the reconstruction of strategic roads waterstructures and public facilities with food-for-work resources and AID grants In the period 1982-1986 CAREwill have undertaken rehabilitation activities worth more than $38 million in AID funding in addition tothe value of the food distributed and CAREs owncontributions The June 1984 evaluation of its firstAID-financed rural infrastructure rehabilitation activity was favorable
AFRICARE began work in Chad in March 1983 and nowhas four expatriate staff two highly qualified Chadiantechnicians and 120 Chadian employees it wasinitially involved thein development of two irrigatedperimeters (120 ha total) close to NDjamena forvegetable gardening with mixed results More recentlyAFRICARE has undertaken a $285 million AID-fundedthree-year rehabilitationrural development project inOuaddai This project will have a major impact on therural population near Abeche who have been among thehardest hit by the war and drought by providing forseed distribution dike restoration reforestation andthe introduction of intermediate technologies Despitepoor rains in the past year this seems promising
VITA (Volunteers in Technical Assistance) beganoperations in Chad in 1984 and now has a staff of oneexpatriate (with an additional one on the way) fourChadian loan officers and five office workers Under a$15 million grant from AID it is providing animportant source of credit for small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs in and around NDjamena This privatesector activity aimed restoringat the activities ofdisplaced and other businessmen has already financedsuccessful melon poultry and food processingbusinesses in addition to more urban commercial ventures A reviewrecent indicates that this willprobably be a successful venture and VITA is nowlooking at the potential for expansion otherto market towns
The Project takes the explicit view that theexperience and in-place systems of the three major
14
Table 1
MAJOR PVO ACTIVITIES IN CHAD
PVO Activity Title Valua ($O00) Period Description Heavy Tzucks-FoodCARE 1289 982-984 Delivery
Provides trucks 4WD vehicles Maintenance for food-for-vork (FFW) and other relief coimodities delivery to rural areas
CARE FM Road Repair 387 Repair 155 km Ndjamena-Cuelendeng road 850 workers CARE Ag Infrastructure 950 1283-485 FFW reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urbanRestoration I manitation CARE Ag Infrastructu-e 1200 1084-1086 Ff4 reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urban
Restoration 11 sanitation CARE Resettlement 217 185- Resettlement in Kane financed by FED and Dutch PVO AFRICARE Heavy Equip Repair 585 982-984 Provide master mechanic and rehabilitation to Public Works
NdjamenaAFRICARK Vegetable Gardening 380 683-986 FFW Establish 20 ha vegetable production nearNdjamena AFRICARE Abechi Rural Dev 2850 584-1186 Integrated rural development VITA Private Enterprise 1500 784-686 Provision of credit to entrepreneurs in and near Ndjamena for new
businesses SECADEV Displaced Personp
Rural Development Food aid distribution reconstruction ofrural infrastructure650 (annually) food relief
Ndjamena Social Aid to sick aged handicapped - a GOC-registered
Chadian Catholic PVO working with 10-12000 peopleNfdecins 6000 1983-85 Sans Medical Assistance
Epidemic prevention in displaced persons camps reestablishment11000 1985-88 Frontiaree of prefecture health clinics staff training hoterchtld health
monitoring preventive care European PVO CARED Rural Development - 1982- Pre-cooperative support Irrigated perimeters (5-10 ha each)
chicken and small rumLnant production village grain mills League of Emergency Relief 750 1983-4Red Cross Food and Blanket distribution to more than 50000 80 food7500 1985-8 distribution sites some resettlement programs
American PVOs in Chad can and should be utilized and built upon at this stage and through this project Alternative vehicles as suggested above are not promising in themselves and could not in any case be relied upon for rapid mobilization Nor in Sahelian experience are universities consulting firms or the technical offices of AID missions more suitable to the hands-on nature of this project They are less adaptable to (and experienced with) the rigors of work in Chad and more expensive as well
This does not mean however that the PVOs expected to implement this project will not need helpOn the model of current AID rehabtlitation efforts they can be relied upon to handle well the necessary procurement understandings with the government mobilization and delivery of inputs and monitoringTheir weaknesses understandable given contemporary Chad and the foreign assistance milieu but also correctable have lain in the design and technical supervision of rural activities (See VA below) Greater subproject financing of field specialists should assure that implementation is technically sound The PVOs will be encouraged to apply their own contributions to detailed design work at the proposal and later stages To augment this the Project will provide for the selected application of small grants to PVOs for specific desiqn assistance
C ELEMENTS
1 Subprojects
Analyses indicate that considerable potential for new food production and related private sector activityobtains dispersed through the Sahelian zone To capture this potential and test developmental approaches (including local organizational dynamics) economically and rapidly American PVOs with substantial in-country facilities and experience will be invited to propose four to five subprojects having durations of two to four years beginning in late FY 1985 These subprojects will be the substance of the Project
Following the focus and expectations described above and in later analyses there is a strong prospect that CARE AFRICARE and VITA will propose initial subprojects which treat settled populations in the geographical Kanem area around Abeche and in Chari-Baguirmi Each should be prepared and ready to commelice before the end of FY 1986 probably much earlier on the part of CARE They may either fullycomprehend a large scattered population -- possibly expanded to additional accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- or commence in a more limited fashion and for
16
shorter duraticn with the intention of a second phase within the life of the Project At the same time the Project allows for the introduction of at least one new American PVO into Chads food production sector
On the basis of this project papers guidance each PVO will develop a detailed proposal the equivalent substantively of an AID small-project PP (see also Implementation Plan III below) for review and approval by AID in the field These proposals must adhere to the Projects focus criteria and meet various standards of format and detail Most important among the latter treat beneficiaries (the deprived but able) technological feasibility inputs availability and utility (tools seeds food-for-work etc) social and organizational practicality (regarding inter alia adaptiveness and cooperativeness of populations land tenure and government role) economic justifiability (cost-benefit or least cost market relations etc) and intended demonstration and institutional especially local institutional effects The PVO must further demonstrate its managerial capacity and provide as a condition to proposal approval an agreement with the appropriate GOC ministry to undertake the subproject on its behalf That should indicate the role of specific GOC agencies in implementation and the institutional developmental feasiblity and goals of that
The inputs of the project will be largely grants through Cooperative Agreements to the PVOs and as necessary and possible AID or World Food Program food-for-work contributions and food aid sales proceeds The quantification of those will be done at the subproject design stage The inputs of subprojects financed by the AID grants will be technical asistance management implements and other inputs loan finance in the private sector efforts food or proceeds perhaps (financed outside the Project) monitoring and evaluation and provision for contingencies The outputs will be functioning food production schemes and food production or related businesses Output targets will be enumerated by scheme or area based on the PVOs detailed analyses
Total Project funds programmed for subproject grants are $12 million with expenditures to be incurred by September 30 1989 the Project Assistance Completion Date (PACD) and fully disbursed by December 31 1989 Included in the grant financing to PVOs may be design costs not normally to exceed $50000 per subproject
PVOs are expected to make a maximum effort to meet the requirement of a 25 pezcent contribution from their own resources to the total costs of their subproject(s) and especially to the development of subprojects
17
Provision of Project assistance to subprojectconceptualization and design will be justifiedespecially for new PVO entrants to Chad or more importantly where an intended subprojects objectivesexplicitly emphasize testing and monitoring oftechnologies development) application
or processes with promise
(including institutional for future systematic
2 Procedures
Participating PVOs are expected to be familiar with AID requirements to follow the proposal format set forth in the Implementation Plan below and to be acceptable to AID in terms of registrationnon-government source globalof revenue and auditability Given that AID will entertain proposals on a rolling admissions basis up to a magnitude of $40million each with activities to be completed by the PACD
As a central principle of the Project isminimization of direct AID design and implementationburden and maximization of impact a small but necessaryprovision is made for management by AID This $725000will finance a full-time project manager management support allowance for contingencies and an AID evaluation The project manager will coordinate AID-PVO relationships including assistance to subprojectdesign as necessary subproject proposal review dild approval (including adherence to FAA Sec 611(a)requirements) GOC approvals activation of cooperativeagreements reporting and evaluation (See II-IV below)
Thus subproject proposals will be treated in the same fashion as projects for field authorization and to the same standards This will require full review byAIDChad professional staff the Chad AID Directors approval with concurrence of the REDSOWCA Director From an approved proposal AIDChad will develop a PIOTto generate in turn the Cooperative Agreement to be executed by a REDSOWCA Grant Officer The GOC will be a signatory to the PIOT thereby exercising its rightto determine the use of funds granted to it by AID
3 Results
As should now be clear the end-of-project-statusof this effort has two strands and a corollarySignificant increases in food production and consumption among Chads currently destitute must occur and be managed at an uncommonly low cost to AID and the GOC In achieving this techniques of cultivation and organization including use of private capital and local cooperation should be tested reasonably
18
systematically this should provide a part of the basis for later concerted attacks on Chads poverty by the GOC and its Atdonors the same time AID-PVO cooperationwill enhance the impact of the assistance of each in Chads difficult environment And strengthened PVOs and PVO-GOC collaboration is unquestionably a short- andmedium-term good given the straightened circumstances and poor prospects of Chads people and systems
Finally specification measurement and lessons of such results are particularly important to agriculturaldevelopment in Chad The era of the Project is onewhere a turning point may be reached thisfor countryThus monitoring and evaluation of the Project are especially important (See IV below) If the Projects assumptions are correct and this is designedto be verified in the Projects timeframe Chad has reasonable hope and AID will have fulfilled its current mandate and immediate strategic purpose
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS
A BUDGET
The Project will provide $12725 million in grantfunds from the Sahel (121) account to the Government of Chad to be obligated over the Fiscal Years 1985 through1987 Expenditures may be accrued up theto PACD (September 30 1989) and must be fully disbursed byDecember 31 1989 Obligation will be by GrantAgreement and its amendment with the GOC Funds will be handled directly by registered American PVOs and in the case of administration of the Project by USAIDChad
Of the total AID dollar contribution $120 million will be provided by AID to PVOs by CooperativeAgreements through letters of credit Generally a 25percent contribution to each subproject from non-AID sources will be required including cash input so far as possible from each PVO This can be waived by the Chad AID Representative if the interests of United States policy in Chad so warrant It is estimated that the non-AID contribution by PVOs to the overall costs of the Project will be about $30 million The Government of Chad will not be called upon to contribute to the overall Project as this is deemed impossible under current Chadian circumstances and in any case is not required in the Sahel program However in individual subprojects certain GOC contribution of staff time and facilities may well occur and bewill encouraged this will be set forth in the PVO-GOC exchange of letters
Additional contributions to the Project from other AID sources are also anticipated but cannot be projecteduntil subprojects are designed and approved and these
19
resources availability in Chad for specified periods isdetermined They are food-for-work provided under PL
II480 Title and rice sales proceeds generated by TitleII Emergency Sales in FY 1985 and Title II Section 206 programs or continued Emergency Sales thereafter
The remaining portion of the grant ($725000) willbe devoted to administration by AID That is financeof a fulltime project manager by AID Personal ServicesContract (PSC) (estimated at $125000 per year for four years plus management support of $50000) finance of acomprehensive final evaluation theof project in itsfourth year ($100000) also to be directly contracted for by AID and a small provision for contingencies($75000) It is expected that additional subprojectreview monitoring and evaluation services as necessaryduring the life of the project will be provided byREDSOWCA at no cost to the Project
Table 2 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS ($mil)
AID Grants to PVOs 120
AID Administration 0725
PVO Contributions 30
Food-for-Work
AID Food Sales Proceeds
Table 3
OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FISCAL YEAR ($mil)
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Obligations 3725 40 50 - -Expenditures - 2225 45 40 20
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A thorough financial analysis and detailed budgetwill be required in each subproject proposal Thisshould include a realistic list of inputs and theirprobable sources of supply (in AID Geographic Code 941countries and the cooperating country) with base costs calculated in ctrrent prices for each and price andphysical cortingencies estimated conservatively
In cases where sulpiojects comprise ldrge sets ofsmall interventions it will be permissible to aggregateestimates by category rather than for each individualsmall activity as related to total physical volumes of
20
work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
21
Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
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inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
28
small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
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2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
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real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
care rehabilitation of some productive capacity in the Sahelian zone and subventions to the central government to support and rehabilitate basic functions combined with support for agricultural production largelycotton in the south These efforts which are considerable given the hostility of Chads environment are setting parameters and conditions for Chads future development
Emergency food and medical assistance provided bymultilateral and bilateral agencies and privateorganizations treat the severest cases of deprivation in Chad In 1985 a food deficit of 300000 MT is possibleshould the south again be severely hit by drought a displaced population of as many as 240000 and an at risk population of up to one million are probableForeign-operated food distribution systems within Chad are attempting to deliver supplies at the rate of about 15000 MT per month to rural distribution points A thin but wide-spread emergency medical service is financed by donors and operated by a PVO (PrivateVoluntary Organization)
Beyond stemmuing tragedy the effects of such efforts should have important consequences Firstmigrants away from famine and civil strife can be organized into settled agriculture (if and where there is potential) being displaced from traditik 1 contexts in theory they can be more amenable adopting improved production practices Second there is a demonstration and training effect involving largenumbers of Chadian workers local organizations and the few available government officials which despiteeverything could energize future institutional development at several levels Third physicalinfrastructure to support emergency operations is in limited degrees of necessity being put in placevehicle fleets communications a bridge to Cameroon etc
At the same time considerable donor assistancebuilding since the 1982 Geneva Conference has been planned and some delivered for basic reconstruction and rehabilitation Of $250 totalthe million aid requested then perhaps two-thirds is in the pipelineThis not only supports public administration capitalinfrastructure rehabilitation and revitalization of cotton exports but also small-holder agriculturalproduction in a few accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- a certain amount of it managed by PVOs From experience with the last it is possible to see a small basis and certain opportunities for longer-term development of traditional agriculture
5
In particular water is available for small-scale farming in the Lake Chad alluvial basin with modestapplication of andlabor capital along riverperimeters in wadis with catchment from shallow wellsand recessionally via poldering Technicalorganizational snags however
and are not fully worked
out Reliable seed of course is essential andimproved varieties when obtainable are successfullyadopted Village organizations can cooperatively applylabor accumulate inputs and market excess produce withorganizational assistance Likewise a vigorous smallbusiness community willing take canto risks benurtured and find profitable opportunities in rural development (See V and Annex E below)
Eighteen or more small projects concerningirrigated and rainfed agriculture in the Sahelian zone are underway or planned For the next several yearsthey will demonstrate the feasibilities of particularcropcultivation practice combinations inputpracticalities small business roles in food productionand the potentials of areas from Kanem in the north to Bongor in the south to Abeche in the east
3 AppK(oaches to Developmen t
That is a small beginning to a large task for theindefinite future putting Chad back on the track toself-reliance and growth The necessity for a primaryconcentration on agriculture is evident as is the needfor more assistance The most recent comprehensivestudy on the subject (Club du SahelCILSSCONACILSSBilan Pro9ramme des Productions Veqetaies PluvialsetIrri du Tchad Sector Analysis Rainfed andIrrigated Crop Production in Chad December 1984) citesthe following first order constraints on agriculturaldevelopment in addition generally to drought and inadequate foreign aid
-- insufficient availability of seed
insufficient attention (policyinvestment) to irrigation properly scaled and
absence of significant intervention onproducer prices and marketing of agricultural products and on the costs of production inputs
The study also notes the general absence of adaptive andsub-regional research rural credit and extensionsophisticated inputs and planning
6
The prescription of CILSS to which it is difficult to take exception intellectually or in principle conwprises orientations building for the longer term and more or less iniaediate actions These are the basis for a national development strategy And until further study (eg on costs) and experience (egwith adoption of technologies) or a radical change in conditions indicate otherwise they will probablyreceive general assent The eight orientations are undifferentiated and unordered but offer opportunities for all They are
-- give priority to food self-sufficiency
-- operationalize irrigation potential not least small scale
-- protect and develop cotton production through intensification
revitalize rural development in the Sahelian zone through regional planning
define and operate a producer price and marketing policy which stimulates increased production
-- promote small-farmer initiative and responsibility through training cooperativization etc
-- adequately support rural development institutions for programming research crop protection extension etc and
-- acquire massive concerted properly adapted foreign aid applying better donor-Chadian cocrdination
Immediate actions called for are
an appeal for food aid in 198485 an important part in the forms of food-for-work and that generating sales proceeds
-- an appeal for building up a cereal seed stock for 198485
-- intensification of irrigation investments via food-for-work and by launching already proposed schemes
-- provisional suspension of transfer to small farmers of the real costs of production inputs
7
--
-- significant assistance to theInterministerial Bureau for Studies andProgramming (BEP) under the Minister of State for Agricultural and Rural Development and
-- intervention by the Nationai CerealsOffice in the consumer price systemthrough the use of donated food
In other words Chadian agriculture needseverything and much of this at once However there aredefinite practical steps to take that are developmentaland not shotgun crisis-reactive The proolems whichwill confront donors and the Government of Chad areassessment of risk husbanding of scarce resourceschoice of targets and timing Whereas policy dialogueand formulation Cor example should be fruitful civenChads disarray and are inexpensive larqe-scaleirrigation schemes massiveor provision of proaoictiveinputs and rural services are not necessarily eithe atpresent The challenge of Chad is not simple
B STRATEGY 1 AID Polic
The United States has several interests in Chadserved by its foreign assistance program Theseinterlock and are pursued through multilateralcoordination The humanitarian concern and efforts torelieve immediate mass suffering todue famine areessential But they would be insufficient -shypotentially futile if systemic improvements were notassisted eventually which should prevent the recurrenceof disaster even if drought pevails Such developmentcannot proceed however in an insecure polity subjecthaphazardly to turmoil and governmental paralysisespecially that induced by a capricious enemy neighbor
rherefore American policy action has focused since1982 on the recstablishment of a stable and vigorousgovernment which deals with Chads imradiate problemseffectively establishing credibility wkth the Chadianpeople and good relations with its neighbors AID hasprovided some of the means food medicines transportbudget support finance for small-scale physicalrehabilitation and the services of PVOs for outreachAmerican food assistance approved from Junethrough April 1985 to
1982 sum 139680 MT of grain andvegoil at a cost of $6948 million including transportand management Of that 7500 MT riceof and sorghumhave been granted to Chad the sales proceeds of which
will be devoted to emergency rehabilitation
8
Non-food assistance to be obligated through FY1985 and serve the above purpose in a quick-disbursingfashion will total $1935 million That is devoted largely with considerable success to agriculturalrestoration (35 percent) health restoration (21percent) and budget support (16 percent) with lesser amounts for basic assistance in human resources privateenterprise administrative management and road repair
At the same time after almost three yearsexperience the Government of Chad (GOC) the donor community at andlarge AID have concluded that efforts can and should be made to plan and commence investment programs that attack Chads root problems As indicated in the above discussions reliable food supply is Chads paramount need And for the foreseeable future this need can be served only by local production or food aid purchase of food out of export earnings is not in the cards Development of food production capacity is an immediate and long-term necessity and the sine qua non of all else developmental
Although Chad is an extreme case this fact is congruent with broader observations that have informed current AID policy For Africa this makes agriculturethe central focus and AIDs goal to assist African governments reverse the declining per capita food production trend increaseand overall agriculturalproduction and productivity increase farm incomes and improve nutritional status particularly of the small holder (Strategic Plan Executive Summary 62883p 12) Sahel development strategy (Review STATE 287422 July 14 1984) cites the need for realistic goals over a 10-20 year time frame based on food availability rather foodthan production as the central objective of AID assistance in the Sahel And the first emphasis is on food security however attained Secondarily sustainable food production to reduce dependence on emergency relief should be an objective
AIDs Chad policy is therefore to devote the largest part of its development assistance over the next decade at least to food production Economic SupportFund resources will support in a new project the development of a road maintenance capacity and there may be further need for budget support from the same source Limited interventions in health care human resources and management development from bilateral and regional development assistance projects will be adjuncts The isquestion how to proceed in promotingsustained increasing food production and consumption
9
--
Three factors affect AIDs strategy First thechoice and sequence of interventions in the specificcontext of Chad must create -early pay-offs that buildand accelerate there is no time to waste and eventualcommitments to long-term massive structural orinstitutional developments must have solid grounding -shyin national stability proved approaches and Chadiancommitment Second AIDs development assistanceresources both financial and managerial will continueto be severely constrained Projected levels areobligations of $50 million per year through FY 1990out of a total economic assistance program of $15million annually Eight direct-hire staff will manageall AID activity country-wide Third the alreadyvariegated program of the international donor (includingPVO) community in Chad is expected to grow in volume andcomplexity as stability and responsiveness of Chadincrease
AIDs food production strategy in Chad as seen atthis point then envisages a program of overlappingphases slotted into the overall donor effort and makingthe most economical use of AIDs scarce resources asfollows
-- while current agricultural rehabilitation activities are continuing (through 1986)their technical and organizational lessonswill be absorbed and then operationalizedin
four to five new initiatives supported bythis project from 1985 to 1990 which support small-holder food productiondevelopment and contributing privatebusiness development These will testtechnical (especially water application)and organizational approaches and measuretheir benefits in the Sahelian zone wherethe food problem is theyAnd will beconceived in detail and carried out byPVOs whose expertise and economy ofoperation in this realm are r-nowned
-- as the PVO Development Initiatives Projectwill be fully obligated by FY 1987 thethird overlapping phase will be planned to commence in 1988 It will draw from theexperience of phase two and of otherdonors in similar efforts and insupporting systematic developmentslarger scales (irrigation
at systems seedprovision extension research and
planning price policy export croppromotion for example) Long-term major
10
interventions by AID at that point will probably be in order It is too soon to tell of what type but adaptive (farmingsystems) researchextension is a reasonable possiblity
2 Definition of the Project
Therefore the goal of the Project is to increaseChads production of food and its availability to thedeprived and lay groundwork for more profoundagricultural development Its purpose is in theSahelian zone to assist small farmer production andsupportive private sector activities havingdemonstration and institutional development (primarilylocal cooperation) effects The objective is toaccomplish this broadly and quickly enough to (a) make asignificant contribution to the welfare of Chadianshitherto subject to famine and the recipients of foodaid including settled displaced persons and (b)demonstrate approaches to developing small farmer andprivate sector food production systems which successorlonger-term projects can adopt or otherwise support
The magnitude and duration of the Project havebeen determined on the basis of three considerations availability of funds current and developableabsorptive capacity in Chad and the sequence ofagricultural development isAID following here Asindicated above the level of development assistance of$50 million or less per year in the next four years inthe AID bilateral programs obligations on the one handand the assignment of mission direct-hire staff on theother limit the program practically to newone startat present But the condition of Chads infrastructuregovernmental systems and societal fabric does not permitan immediate large-scale or long-term commitment inagriculture They also limit the organizational meansby which assistance to agriculture in Chad can be delivered and monitored
From this follows a deliberate focus andlimitation of the Project to the essential and to targets and means where current experience and analysesindicate feasibility as well as potential forfarther-future interventions That is new foodproduction employing water application small groundworks and self-help and loan finance for smallagricultural businesses -- in accessible areas of theSahelian zone (north and south of NDjamena and around Abeche) -- with a spread of small-scale efforts andtargets clustered in four (or possibly five)subprojects Certain activities may employ AIDfood-for-work or food sales proceeds to supplementproject finance that will support technical assistanceand management tools and other inputs and a loan fund
11
for entrepreneurs And GOC contribution of staff andfacilities will be encouraged in individual subprojects
Strategy dictates that these efforts begin as soonas possible and produce tangible results within three tofour years AIDs experience with relief andrehabilitation activities indicates that such work canbe organized and implemented in Chad at an expenditurerate of about $30 million per year It also indicatesindeed presupposes that American PVOs already operatingeffectively in Chad should be the primary vehicle fordesign operation and monitoring Neither AIDChad northe GOC has the capacity to work on a day-to-day basisat this level -- with outreach to farmers acquisitionand delivery of a variety of inputs and detailedspecification and follow-up PVOs do (See B3 below)
The Project will combine the requisites ofquick-startup and disbursement breadth of effectaccommodation of several effective PVOs andconcentration on a particular target population in aunitary framework via a special type of PVO umbrellaproject This follows agency guidance mandating greatercooperation with registered PVOs in AID programs andsimplification of procedures But for Chad it is notand cannot be a peripheral adjunct to a large matureassistance program the Project will be central to thecurrent effort making a new start on Chads agriculturaldevelopment By design and intent it should become thestepping stone to a mature agricultural program andproject portfolio
Thus one project will be authorized havingtranched obligations over three years underagreement with the GOC an
Guidance on the development andimplementation of subprojects by PVOs contained in thisproject paper (PP) will lead interested PVOs initiallyCARE AFRICARE and VITA to design and proposeinitiatives to serve the projects goal and purpose inthe prescribed manner Cooperative Agreements betweenAID and the PVOs will set the work afoot mutatismutandis The customary andindependent imaginationinitiative of PVOs are necessary ingredients in thisendeavor And recent experience lends confidence thatPVO integrity and the requisites of andAID thisparticular project will be compatible and mutuallysupportive The Project then will be evaluated as awhole by AID and its subprojects monitored andevaluated cooperatively by the PVOs and AID in asequence that provides timely indicators to the futuredevelopment of AIDs program in Chad
12
3 The Role and Use of PVOs
PVO umbrella or co-financing projects are relatively new in Africa though now conventional in Asia whereas AID assistance in Africa has a fairlywide though checkered history of support for individual PVO activities Two more or less pure umbrella projects in Africa are in Zaire and Kenya (and a second in the latter currently being developed) In these countries as in the Philippines and Indonesia the PVO co-financing endeavor is one AID project in a large and variegated portfolio where tapping the resources and vitality of PVOs (American and indigenous) is basically a valuable but peripheral outreach of the core AID program
As indicated above the project proposed here is different It is intended to be the centerpiece of AIDs agricultural development assistance for the next three years Its merits must be judged then (a)against those of alternative formulations of developmentassistance with which there is experience and (b) in terms of the efficacy in Chad of the kinds of subprojects it will support On matter (a) it can be said from current Chadian experience that rural-based production investments by AID cannot be inade more efficiently by any other means And the like ihood of economic payoff in Chad of larger-scaled longergestating more fundamental systemic agriculturaldevelopment projects of the typical AID type is highlyproblematical at this time In other wordsconventional AID experience in the Sahel does not givepromise in the present Chadian context In terms of implementation pay-off and foundation-laying the AID-PVO relief and rehabilitation and refugeeresettlement assistance experience of the past two yearsdoes -- as outlined below
There are seven American PVONGOs(Non-Governmental Organizations) 13 NGOsand non-US operating in Chad Some of the NGOs particularly the Protestant missions have been around for as long as thirty years Others such as CARE started work here in the 1970s but had to withdraw and then reinstall themselves because the civil warsof Most of the PVOs have seen an increase in expenditures and staff since the advent of the present Government of Chad followinginternational donor response to the devastation of war and drought
For the most part these organizations have been effective implementing agencies capitalizing on experience and procedures developed elsewhere and in Chad carrying comparatively low operating costs and retaining the respect and cooperation of government
They operate immediate emergency food distribution andhealth care services especially for displaced personsand resettlement and rehabilitation activities in KanemOuaddai Guera and Chari-Baguirmi prefectures (see Table 1)
PVOs financed directly by AID thus far in ChadCARE AFRICARE and VITA are
each of which is implementingimportant and urgently needed activities CARE presentin Che discontinuously since 1973 has ten expatriateand 110 Chadian staff members It distributed over $30million worth of emergency food in 1984 and has beensupervising the reconstruction of strategic roads waterstructures and public facilities with food-for-work resources and AID grants In the period 1982-1986 CAREwill have undertaken rehabilitation activities worth more than $38 million in AID funding in addition tothe value of the food distributed and CAREs owncontributions The June 1984 evaluation of its firstAID-financed rural infrastructure rehabilitation activity was favorable
AFRICARE began work in Chad in March 1983 and nowhas four expatriate staff two highly qualified Chadiantechnicians and 120 Chadian employees it wasinitially involved thein development of two irrigatedperimeters (120 ha total) close to NDjamena forvegetable gardening with mixed results More recentlyAFRICARE has undertaken a $285 million AID-fundedthree-year rehabilitationrural development project inOuaddai This project will have a major impact on therural population near Abeche who have been among thehardest hit by the war and drought by providing forseed distribution dike restoration reforestation andthe introduction of intermediate technologies Despitepoor rains in the past year this seems promising
VITA (Volunteers in Technical Assistance) beganoperations in Chad in 1984 and now has a staff of oneexpatriate (with an additional one on the way) fourChadian loan officers and five office workers Under a$15 million grant from AID it is providing animportant source of credit for small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs in and around NDjamena This privatesector activity aimed restoringat the activities ofdisplaced and other businessmen has already financedsuccessful melon poultry and food processingbusinesses in addition to more urban commercial ventures A reviewrecent indicates that this willprobably be a successful venture and VITA is nowlooking at the potential for expansion otherto market towns
The Project takes the explicit view that theexperience and in-place systems of the three major
14
Table 1
MAJOR PVO ACTIVITIES IN CHAD
PVO Activity Title Valua ($O00) Period Description Heavy Tzucks-FoodCARE 1289 982-984 Delivery
Provides trucks 4WD vehicles Maintenance for food-for-vork (FFW) and other relief coimodities delivery to rural areas
CARE FM Road Repair 387 Repair 155 km Ndjamena-Cuelendeng road 850 workers CARE Ag Infrastructure 950 1283-485 FFW reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urbanRestoration I manitation CARE Ag Infrastructu-e 1200 1084-1086 Ff4 reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urban
Restoration 11 sanitation CARE Resettlement 217 185- Resettlement in Kane financed by FED and Dutch PVO AFRICARE Heavy Equip Repair 585 982-984 Provide master mechanic and rehabilitation to Public Works
NdjamenaAFRICARK Vegetable Gardening 380 683-986 FFW Establish 20 ha vegetable production nearNdjamena AFRICARE Abechi Rural Dev 2850 584-1186 Integrated rural development VITA Private Enterprise 1500 784-686 Provision of credit to entrepreneurs in and near Ndjamena for new
businesses SECADEV Displaced Personp
Rural Development Food aid distribution reconstruction ofrural infrastructure650 (annually) food relief
Ndjamena Social Aid to sick aged handicapped - a GOC-registered
Chadian Catholic PVO working with 10-12000 peopleNfdecins 6000 1983-85 Sans Medical Assistance
Epidemic prevention in displaced persons camps reestablishment11000 1985-88 Frontiaree of prefecture health clinics staff training hoterchtld health
monitoring preventive care European PVO CARED Rural Development - 1982- Pre-cooperative support Irrigated perimeters (5-10 ha each)
chicken and small rumLnant production village grain mills League of Emergency Relief 750 1983-4Red Cross Food and Blanket distribution to more than 50000 80 food7500 1985-8 distribution sites some resettlement programs
American PVOs in Chad can and should be utilized and built upon at this stage and through this project Alternative vehicles as suggested above are not promising in themselves and could not in any case be relied upon for rapid mobilization Nor in Sahelian experience are universities consulting firms or the technical offices of AID missions more suitable to the hands-on nature of this project They are less adaptable to (and experienced with) the rigors of work in Chad and more expensive as well
This does not mean however that the PVOs expected to implement this project will not need helpOn the model of current AID rehabtlitation efforts they can be relied upon to handle well the necessary procurement understandings with the government mobilization and delivery of inputs and monitoringTheir weaknesses understandable given contemporary Chad and the foreign assistance milieu but also correctable have lain in the design and technical supervision of rural activities (See VA below) Greater subproject financing of field specialists should assure that implementation is technically sound The PVOs will be encouraged to apply their own contributions to detailed design work at the proposal and later stages To augment this the Project will provide for the selected application of small grants to PVOs for specific desiqn assistance
C ELEMENTS
1 Subprojects
Analyses indicate that considerable potential for new food production and related private sector activityobtains dispersed through the Sahelian zone To capture this potential and test developmental approaches (including local organizational dynamics) economically and rapidly American PVOs with substantial in-country facilities and experience will be invited to propose four to five subprojects having durations of two to four years beginning in late FY 1985 These subprojects will be the substance of the Project
Following the focus and expectations described above and in later analyses there is a strong prospect that CARE AFRICARE and VITA will propose initial subprojects which treat settled populations in the geographical Kanem area around Abeche and in Chari-Baguirmi Each should be prepared and ready to commelice before the end of FY 1986 probably much earlier on the part of CARE They may either fullycomprehend a large scattered population -- possibly expanded to additional accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- or commence in a more limited fashion and for
16
shorter duraticn with the intention of a second phase within the life of the Project At the same time the Project allows for the introduction of at least one new American PVO into Chads food production sector
On the basis of this project papers guidance each PVO will develop a detailed proposal the equivalent substantively of an AID small-project PP (see also Implementation Plan III below) for review and approval by AID in the field These proposals must adhere to the Projects focus criteria and meet various standards of format and detail Most important among the latter treat beneficiaries (the deprived but able) technological feasibility inputs availability and utility (tools seeds food-for-work etc) social and organizational practicality (regarding inter alia adaptiveness and cooperativeness of populations land tenure and government role) economic justifiability (cost-benefit or least cost market relations etc) and intended demonstration and institutional especially local institutional effects The PVO must further demonstrate its managerial capacity and provide as a condition to proposal approval an agreement with the appropriate GOC ministry to undertake the subproject on its behalf That should indicate the role of specific GOC agencies in implementation and the institutional developmental feasiblity and goals of that
The inputs of the project will be largely grants through Cooperative Agreements to the PVOs and as necessary and possible AID or World Food Program food-for-work contributions and food aid sales proceeds The quantification of those will be done at the subproject design stage The inputs of subprojects financed by the AID grants will be technical asistance management implements and other inputs loan finance in the private sector efforts food or proceeds perhaps (financed outside the Project) monitoring and evaluation and provision for contingencies The outputs will be functioning food production schemes and food production or related businesses Output targets will be enumerated by scheme or area based on the PVOs detailed analyses
Total Project funds programmed for subproject grants are $12 million with expenditures to be incurred by September 30 1989 the Project Assistance Completion Date (PACD) and fully disbursed by December 31 1989 Included in the grant financing to PVOs may be design costs not normally to exceed $50000 per subproject
PVOs are expected to make a maximum effort to meet the requirement of a 25 pezcent contribution from their own resources to the total costs of their subproject(s) and especially to the development of subprojects
17
Provision of Project assistance to subprojectconceptualization and design will be justifiedespecially for new PVO entrants to Chad or more importantly where an intended subprojects objectivesexplicitly emphasize testing and monitoring oftechnologies development) application
or processes with promise
(including institutional for future systematic
2 Procedures
Participating PVOs are expected to be familiar with AID requirements to follow the proposal format set forth in the Implementation Plan below and to be acceptable to AID in terms of registrationnon-government source globalof revenue and auditability Given that AID will entertain proposals on a rolling admissions basis up to a magnitude of $40million each with activities to be completed by the PACD
As a central principle of the Project isminimization of direct AID design and implementationburden and maximization of impact a small but necessaryprovision is made for management by AID This $725000will finance a full-time project manager management support allowance for contingencies and an AID evaluation The project manager will coordinate AID-PVO relationships including assistance to subprojectdesign as necessary subproject proposal review dild approval (including adherence to FAA Sec 611(a)requirements) GOC approvals activation of cooperativeagreements reporting and evaluation (See II-IV below)
Thus subproject proposals will be treated in the same fashion as projects for field authorization and to the same standards This will require full review byAIDChad professional staff the Chad AID Directors approval with concurrence of the REDSOWCA Director From an approved proposal AIDChad will develop a PIOTto generate in turn the Cooperative Agreement to be executed by a REDSOWCA Grant Officer The GOC will be a signatory to the PIOT thereby exercising its rightto determine the use of funds granted to it by AID
3 Results
As should now be clear the end-of-project-statusof this effort has two strands and a corollarySignificant increases in food production and consumption among Chads currently destitute must occur and be managed at an uncommonly low cost to AID and the GOC In achieving this techniques of cultivation and organization including use of private capital and local cooperation should be tested reasonably
18
systematically this should provide a part of the basis for later concerted attacks on Chads poverty by the GOC and its Atdonors the same time AID-PVO cooperationwill enhance the impact of the assistance of each in Chads difficult environment And strengthened PVOs and PVO-GOC collaboration is unquestionably a short- andmedium-term good given the straightened circumstances and poor prospects of Chads people and systems
Finally specification measurement and lessons of such results are particularly important to agriculturaldevelopment in Chad The era of the Project is onewhere a turning point may be reached thisfor countryThus monitoring and evaluation of the Project are especially important (See IV below) If the Projects assumptions are correct and this is designedto be verified in the Projects timeframe Chad has reasonable hope and AID will have fulfilled its current mandate and immediate strategic purpose
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS
A BUDGET
The Project will provide $12725 million in grantfunds from the Sahel (121) account to the Government of Chad to be obligated over the Fiscal Years 1985 through1987 Expenditures may be accrued up theto PACD (September 30 1989) and must be fully disbursed byDecember 31 1989 Obligation will be by GrantAgreement and its amendment with the GOC Funds will be handled directly by registered American PVOs and in the case of administration of the Project by USAIDChad
Of the total AID dollar contribution $120 million will be provided by AID to PVOs by CooperativeAgreements through letters of credit Generally a 25percent contribution to each subproject from non-AID sources will be required including cash input so far as possible from each PVO This can be waived by the Chad AID Representative if the interests of United States policy in Chad so warrant It is estimated that the non-AID contribution by PVOs to the overall costs of the Project will be about $30 million The Government of Chad will not be called upon to contribute to the overall Project as this is deemed impossible under current Chadian circumstances and in any case is not required in the Sahel program However in individual subprojects certain GOC contribution of staff time and facilities may well occur and bewill encouraged this will be set forth in the PVO-GOC exchange of letters
Additional contributions to the Project from other AID sources are also anticipated but cannot be projecteduntil subprojects are designed and approved and these
19
resources availability in Chad for specified periods isdetermined They are food-for-work provided under PL
II480 Title and rice sales proceeds generated by TitleII Emergency Sales in FY 1985 and Title II Section 206 programs or continued Emergency Sales thereafter
The remaining portion of the grant ($725000) willbe devoted to administration by AID That is financeof a fulltime project manager by AID Personal ServicesContract (PSC) (estimated at $125000 per year for four years plus management support of $50000) finance of acomprehensive final evaluation theof project in itsfourth year ($100000) also to be directly contracted for by AID and a small provision for contingencies($75000) It is expected that additional subprojectreview monitoring and evaluation services as necessaryduring the life of the project will be provided byREDSOWCA at no cost to the Project
Table 2 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS ($mil)
AID Grants to PVOs 120
AID Administration 0725
PVO Contributions 30
Food-for-Work
AID Food Sales Proceeds
Table 3
OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FISCAL YEAR ($mil)
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Obligations 3725 40 50 - -Expenditures - 2225 45 40 20
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A thorough financial analysis and detailed budgetwill be required in each subproject proposal Thisshould include a realistic list of inputs and theirprobable sources of supply (in AID Geographic Code 941countries and the cooperating country) with base costs calculated in ctrrent prices for each and price andphysical cortingencies estimated conservatively
In cases where sulpiojects comprise ldrge sets ofsmall interventions it will be permissible to aggregateestimates by category rather than for each individualsmall activity as related to total physical volumes of
20
work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
21
Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
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inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
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small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
29
2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
In particular water is available for small-scale farming in the Lake Chad alluvial basin with modestapplication of andlabor capital along riverperimeters in wadis with catchment from shallow wellsand recessionally via poldering Technicalorganizational snags however
and are not fully worked
out Reliable seed of course is essential andimproved varieties when obtainable are successfullyadopted Village organizations can cooperatively applylabor accumulate inputs and market excess produce withorganizational assistance Likewise a vigorous smallbusiness community willing take canto risks benurtured and find profitable opportunities in rural development (See V and Annex E below)
Eighteen or more small projects concerningirrigated and rainfed agriculture in the Sahelian zone are underway or planned For the next several yearsthey will demonstrate the feasibilities of particularcropcultivation practice combinations inputpracticalities small business roles in food productionand the potentials of areas from Kanem in the north to Bongor in the south to Abeche in the east
3 AppK(oaches to Developmen t
That is a small beginning to a large task for theindefinite future putting Chad back on the track toself-reliance and growth The necessity for a primaryconcentration on agriculture is evident as is the needfor more assistance The most recent comprehensivestudy on the subject (Club du SahelCILSSCONACILSSBilan Pro9ramme des Productions Veqetaies PluvialsetIrri du Tchad Sector Analysis Rainfed andIrrigated Crop Production in Chad December 1984) citesthe following first order constraints on agriculturaldevelopment in addition generally to drought and inadequate foreign aid
-- insufficient availability of seed
insufficient attention (policyinvestment) to irrigation properly scaled and
absence of significant intervention onproducer prices and marketing of agricultural products and on the costs of production inputs
The study also notes the general absence of adaptive andsub-regional research rural credit and extensionsophisticated inputs and planning
6
The prescription of CILSS to which it is difficult to take exception intellectually or in principle conwprises orientations building for the longer term and more or less iniaediate actions These are the basis for a national development strategy And until further study (eg on costs) and experience (egwith adoption of technologies) or a radical change in conditions indicate otherwise they will probablyreceive general assent The eight orientations are undifferentiated and unordered but offer opportunities for all They are
-- give priority to food self-sufficiency
-- operationalize irrigation potential not least small scale
-- protect and develop cotton production through intensification
revitalize rural development in the Sahelian zone through regional planning
define and operate a producer price and marketing policy which stimulates increased production
-- promote small-farmer initiative and responsibility through training cooperativization etc
-- adequately support rural development institutions for programming research crop protection extension etc and
-- acquire massive concerted properly adapted foreign aid applying better donor-Chadian cocrdination
Immediate actions called for are
an appeal for food aid in 198485 an important part in the forms of food-for-work and that generating sales proceeds
-- an appeal for building up a cereal seed stock for 198485
-- intensification of irrigation investments via food-for-work and by launching already proposed schemes
-- provisional suspension of transfer to small farmers of the real costs of production inputs
7
--
-- significant assistance to theInterministerial Bureau for Studies andProgramming (BEP) under the Minister of State for Agricultural and Rural Development and
-- intervention by the Nationai CerealsOffice in the consumer price systemthrough the use of donated food
In other words Chadian agriculture needseverything and much of this at once However there aredefinite practical steps to take that are developmentaland not shotgun crisis-reactive The proolems whichwill confront donors and the Government of Chad areassessment of risk husbanding of scarce resourceschoice of targets and timing Whereas policy dialogueand formulation Cor example should be fruitful civenChads disarray and are inexpensive larqe-scaleirrigation schemes massiveor provision of proaoictiveinputs and rural services are not necessarily eithe atpresent The challenge of Chad is not simple
B STRATEGY 1 AID Polic
The United States has several interests in Chadserved by its foreign assistance program Theseinterlock and are pursued through multilateralcoordination The humanitarian concern and efforts torelieve immediate mass suffering todue famine areessential But they would be insufficient -shypotentially futile if systemic improvements were notassisted eventually which should prevent the recurrenceof disaster even if drought pevails Such developmentcannot proceed however in an insecure polity subjecthaphazardly to turmoil and governmental paralysisespecially that induced by a capricious enemy neighbor
rherefore American policy action has focused since1982 on the recstablishment of a stable and vigorousgovernment which deals with Chads imradiate problemseffectively establishing credibility wkth the Chadianpeople and good relations with its neighbors AID hasprovided some of the means food medicines transportbudget support finance for small-scale physicalrehabilitation and the services of PVOs for outreachAmerican food assistance approved from Junethrough April 1985 to
1982 sum 139680 MT of grain andvegoil at a cost of $6948 million including transportand management Of that 7500 MT riceof and sorghumhave been granted to Chad the sales proceeds of which
will be devoted to emergency rehabilitation
8
Non-food assistance to be obligated through FY1985 and serve the above purpose in a quick-disbursingfashion will total $1935 million That is devoted largely with considerable success to agriculturalrestoration (35 percent) health restoration (21percent) and budget support (16 percent) with lesser amounts for basic assistance in human resources privateenterprise administrative management and road repair
At the same time after almost three yearsexperience the Government of Chad (GOC) the donor community at andlarge AID have concluded that efforts can and should be made to plan and commence investment programs that attack Chads root problems As indicated in the above discussions reliable food supply is Chads paramount need And for the foreseeable future this need can be served only by local production or food aid purchase of food out of export earnings is not in the cards Development of food production capacity is an immediate and long-term necessity and the sine qua non of all else developmental
Although Chad is an extreme case this fact is congruent with broader observations that have informed current AID policy For Africa this makes agriculturethe central focus and AIDs goal to assist African governments reverse the declining per capita food production trend increaseand overall agriculturalproduction and productivity increase farm incomes and improve nutritional status particularly of the small holder (Strategic Plan Executive Summary 62883p 12) Sahel development strategy (Review STATE 287422 July 14 1984) cites the need for realistic goals over a 10-20 year time frame based on food availability rather foodthan production as the central objective of AID assistance in the Sahel And the first emphasis is on food security however attained Secondarily sustainable food production to reduce dependence on emergency relief should be an objective
AIDs Chad policy is therefore to devote the largest part of its development assistance over the next decade at least to food production Economic SupportFund resources will support in a new project the development of a road maintenance capacity and there may be further need for budget support from the same source Limited interventions in health care human resources and management development from bilateral and regional development assistance projects will be adjuncts The isquestion how to proceed in promotingsustained increasing food production and consumption
9
--
Three factors affect AIDs strategy First thechoice and sequence of interventions in the specificcontext of Chad must create -early pay-offs that buildand accelerate there is no time to waste and eventualcommitments to long-term massive structural orinstitutional developments must have solid grounding -shyin national stability proved approaches and Chadiancommitment Second AIDs development assistanceresources both financial and managerial will continueto be severely constrained Projected levels areobligations of $50 million per year through FY 1990out of a total economic assistance program of $15million annually Eight direct-hire staff will manageall AID activity country-wide Third the alreadyvariegated program of the international donor (includingPVO) community in Chad is expected to grow in volume andcomplexity as stability and responsiveness of Chadincrease
AIDs food production strategy in Chad as seen atthis point then envisages a program of overlappingphases slotted into the overall donor effort and makingthe most economical use of AIDs scarce resources asfollows
-- while current agricultural rehabilitation activities are continuing (through 1986)their technical and organizational lessonswill be absorbed and then operationalizedin
four to five new initiatives supported bythis project from 1985 to 1990 which support small-holder food productiondevelopment and contributing privatebusiness development These will testtechnical (especially water application)and organizational approaches and measuretheir benefits in the Sahelian zone wherethe food problem is theyAnd will beconceived in detail and carried out byPVOs whose expertise and economy ofoperation in this realm are r-nowned
-- as the PVO Development Initiatives Projectwill be fully obligated by FY 1987 thethird overlapping phase will be planned to commence in 1988 It will draw from theexperience of phase two and of otherdonors in similar efforts and insupporting systematic developmentslarger scales (irrigation
at systems seedprovision extension research and
planning price policy export croppromotion for example) Long-term major
10
interventions by AID at that point will probably be in order It is too soon to tell of what type but adaptive (farmingsystems) researchextension is a reasonable possiblity
2 Definition of the Project
Therefore the goal of the Project is to increaseChads production of food and its availability to thedeprived and lay groundwork for more profoundagricultural development Its purpose is in theSahelian zone to assist small farmer production andsupportive private sector activities havingdemonstration and institutional development (primarilylocal cooperation) effects The objective is toaccomplish this broadly and quickly enough to (a) make asignificant contribution to the welfare of Chadianshitherto subject to famine and the recipients of foodaid including settled displaced persons and (b)demonstrate approaches to developing small farmer andprivate sector food production systems which successorlonger-term projects can adopt or otherwise support
The magnitude and duration of the Project havebeen determined on the basis of three considerations availability of funds current and developableabsorptive capacity in Chad and the sequence ofagricultural development isAID following here Asindicated above the level of development assistance of$50 million or less per year in the next four years inthe AID bilateral programs obligations on the one handand the assignment of mission direct-hire staff on theother limit the program practically to newone startat present But the condition of Chads infrastructuregovernmental systems and societal fabric does not permitan immediate large-scale or long-term commitment inagriculture They also limit the organizational meansby which assistance to agriculture in Chad can be delivered and monitored
From this follows a deliberate focus andlimitation of the Project to the essential and to targets and means where current experience and analysesindicate feasibility as well as potential forfarther-future interventions That is new foodproduction employing water application small groundworks and self-help and loan finance for smallagricultural businesses -- in accessible areas of theSahelian zone (north and south of NDjamena and around Abeche) -- with a spread of small-scale efforts andtargets clustered in four (or possibly five)subprojects Certain activities may employ AIDfood-for-work or food sales proceeds to supplementproject finance that will support technical assistanceand management tools and other inputs and a loan fund
11
for entrepreneurs And GOC contribution of staff andfacilities will be encouraged in individual subprojects
Strategy dictates that these efforts begin as soonas possible and produce tangible results within three tofour years AIDs experience with relief andrehabilitation activities indicates that such work canbe organized and implemented in Chad at an expenditurerate of about $30 million per year It also indicatesindeed presupposes that American PVOs already operatingeffectively in Chad should be the primary vehicle fordesign operation and monitoring Neither AIDChad northe GOC has the capacity to work on a day-to-day basisat this level -- with outreach to farmers acquisitionand delivery of a variety of inputs and detailedspecification and follow-up PVOs do (See B3 below)
The Project will combine the requisites ofquick-startup and disbursement breadth of effectaccommodation of several effective PVOs andconcentration on a particular target population in aunitary framework via a special type of PVO umbrellaproject This follows agency guidance mandating greatercooperation with registered PVOs in AID programs andsimplification of procedures But for Chad it is notand cannot be a peripheral adjunct to a large matureassistance program the Project will be central to thecurrent effort making a new start on Chads agriculturaldevelopment By design and intent it should become thestepping stone to a mature agricultural program andproject portfolio
Thus one project will be authorized havingtranched obligations over three years underagreement with the GOC an
Guidance on the development andimplementation of subprojects by PVOs contained in thisproject paper (PP) will lead interested PVOs initiallyCARE AFRICARE and VITA to design and proposeinitiatives to serve the projects goal and purpose inthe prescribed manner Cooperative Agreements betweenAID and the PVOs will set the work afoot mutatismutandis The customary andindependent imaginationinitiative of PVOs are necessary ingredients in thisendeavor And recent experience lends confidence thatPVO integrity and the requisites of andAID thisparticular project will be compatible and mutuallysupportive The Project then will be evaluated as awhole by AID and its subprojects monitored andevaluated cooperatively by the PVOs and AID in asequence that provides timely indicators to the futuredevelopment of AIDs program in Chad
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3 The Role and Use of PVOs
PVO umbrella or co-financing projects are relatively new in Africa though now conventional in Asia whereas AID assistance in Africa has a fairlywide though checkered history of support for individual PVO activities Two more or less pure umbrella projects in Africa are in Zaire and Kenya (and a second in the latter currently being developed) In these countries as in the Philippines and Indonesia the PVO co-financing endeavor is one AID project in a large and variegated portfolio where tapping the resources and vitality of PVOs (American and indigenous) is basically a valuable but peripheral outreach of the core AID program
As indicated above the project proposed here is different It is intended to be the centerpiece of AIDs agricultural development assistance for the next three years Its merits must be judged then (a)against those of alternative formulations of developmentassistance with which there is experience and (b) in terms of the efficacy in Chad of the kinds of subprojects it will support On matter (a) it can be said from current Chadian experience that rural-based production investments by AID cannot be inade more efficiently by any other means And the like ihood of economic payoff in Chad of larger-scaled longergestating more fundamental systemic agriculturaldevelopment projects of the typical AID type is highlyproblematical at this time In other wordsconventional AID experience in the Sahel does not givepromise in the present Chadian context In terms of implementation pay-off and foundation-laying the AID-PVO relief and rehabilitation and refugeeresettlement assistance experience of the past two yearsdoes -- as outlined below
There are seven American PVONGOs(Non-Governmental Organizations) 13 NGOsand non-US operating in Chad Some of the NGOs particularly the Protestant missions have been around for as long as thirty years Others such as CARE started work here in the 1970s but had to withdraw and then reinstall themselves because the civil warsof Most of the PVOs have seen an increase in expenditures and staff since the advent of the present Government of Chad followinginternational donor response to the devastation of war and drought
For the most part these organizations have been effective implementing agencies capitalizing on experience and procedures developed elsewhere and in Chad carrying comparatively low operating costs and retaining the respect and cooperation of government
They operate immediate emergency food distribution andhealth care services especially for displaced personsand resettlement and rehabilitation activities in KanemOuaddai Guera and Chari-Baguirmi prefectures (see Table 1)
PVOs financed directly by AID thus far in ChadCARE AFRICARE and VITA are
each of which is implementingimportant and urgently needed activities CARE presentin Che discontinuously since 1973 has ten expatriateand 110 Chadian staff members It distributed over $30million worth of emergency food in 1984 and has beensupervising the reconstruction of strategic roads waterstructures and public facilities with food-for-work resources and AID grants In the period 1982-1986 CAREwill have undertaken rehabilitation activities worth more than $38 million in AID funding in addition tothe value of the food distributed and CAREs owncontributions The June 1984 evaluation of its firstAID-financed rural infrastructure rehabilitation activity was favorable
AFRICARE began work in Chad in March 1983 and nowhas four expatriate staff two highly qualified Chadiantechnicians and 120 Chadian employees it wasinitially involved thein development of two irrigatedperimeters (120 ha total) close to NDjamena forvegetable gardening with mixed results More recentlyAFRICARE has undertaken a $285 million AID-fundedthree-year rehabilitationrural development project inOuaddai This project will have a major impact on therural population near Abeche who have been among thehardest hit by the war and drought by providing forseed distribution dike restoration reforestation andthe introduction of intermediate technologies Despitepoor rains in the past year this seems promising
VITA (Volunteers in Technical Assistance) beganoperations in Chad in 1984 and now has a staff of oneexpatriate (with an additional one on the way) fourChadian loan officers and five office workers Under a$15 million grant from AID it is providing animportant source of credit for small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs in and around NDjamena This privatesector activity aimed restoringat the activities ofdisplaced and other businessmen has already financedsuccessful melon poultry and food processingbusinesses in addition to more urban commercial ventures A reviewrecent indicates that this willprobably be a successful venture and VITA is nowlooking at the potential for expansion otherto market towns
The Project takes the explicit view that theexperience and in-place systems of the three major
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Table 1
MAJOR PVO ACTIVITIES IN CHAD
PVO Activity Title Valua ($O00) Period Description Heavy Tzucks-FoodCARE 1289 982-984 Delivery
Provides trucks 4WD vehicles Maintenance for food-for-vork (FFW) and other relief coimodities delivery to rural areas
CARE FM Road Repair 387 Repair 155 km Ndjamena-Cuelendeng road 850 workers CARE Ag Infrastructure 950 1283-485 FFW reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urbanRestoration I manitation CARE Ag Infrastructu-e 1200 1084-1086 Ff4 reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urban
Restoration 11 sanitation CARE Resettlement 217 185- Resettlement in Kane financed by FED and Dutch PVO AFRICARE Heavy Equip Repair 585 982-984 Provide master mechanic and rehabilitation to Public Works
NdjamenaAFRICARK Vegetable Gardening 380 683-986 FFW Establish 20 ha vegetable production nearNdjamena AFRICARE Abechi Rural Dev 2850 584-1186 Integrated rural development VITA Private Enterprise 1500 784-686 Provision of credit to entrepreneurs in and near Ndjamena for new
businesses SECADEV Displaced Personp
Rural Development Food aid distribution reconstruction ofrural infrastructure650 (annually) food relief
Ndjamena Social Aid to sick aged handicapped - a GOC-registered
Chadian Catholic PVO working with 10-12000 peopleNfdecins 6000 1983-85 Sans Medical Assistance
Epidemic prevention in displaced persons camps reestablishment11000 1985-88 Frontiaree of prefecture health clinics staff training hoterchtld health
monitoring preventive care European PVO CARED Rural Development - 1982- Pre-cooperative support Irrigated perimeters (5-10 ha each)
chicken and small rumLnant production village grain mills League of Emergency Relief 750 1983-4Red Cross Food and Blanket distribution to more than 50000 80 food7500 1985-8 distribution sites some resettlement programs
American PVOs in Chad can and should be utilized and built upon at this stage and through this project Alternative vehicles as suggested above are not promising in themselves and could not in any case be relied upon for rapid mobilization Nor in Sahelian experience are universities consulting firms or the technical offices of AID missions more suitable to the hands-on nature of this project They are less adaptable to (and experienced with) the rigors of work in Chad and more expensive as well
This does not mean however that the PVOs expected to implement this project will not need helpOn the model of current AID rehabtlitation efforts they can be relied upon to handle well the necessary procurement understandings with the government mobilization and delivery of inputs and monitoringTheir weaknesses understandable given contemporary Chad and the foreign assistance milieu but also correctable have lain in the design and technical supervision of rural activities (See VA below) Greater subproject financing of field specialists should assure that implementation is technically sound The PVOs will be encouraged to apply their own contributions to detailed design work at the proposal and later stages To augment this the Project will provide for the selected application of small grants to PVOs for specific desiqn assistance
C ELEMENTS
1 Subprojects
Analyses indicate that considerable potential for new food production and related private sector activityobtains dispersed through the Sahelian zone To capture this potential and test developmental approaches (including local organizational dynamics) economically and rapidly American PVOs with substantial in-country facilities and experience will be invited to propose four to five subprojects having durations of two to four years beginning in late FY 1985 These subprojects will be the substance of the Project
Following the focus and expectations described above and in later analyses there is a strong prospect that CARE AFRICARE and VITA will propose initial subprojects which treat settled populations in the geographical Kanem area around Abeche and in Chari-Baguirmi Each should be prepared and ready to commelice before the end of FY 1986 probably much earlier on the part of CARE They may either fullycomprehend a large scattered population -- possibly expanded to additional accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- or commence in a more limited fashion and for
16
shorter duraticn with the intention of a second phase within the life of the Project At the same time the Project allows for the introduction of at least one new American PVO into Chads food production sector
On the basis of this project papers guidance each PVO will develop a detailed proposal the equivalent substantively of an AID small-project PP (see also Implementation Plan III below) for review and approval by AID in the field These proposals must adhere to the Projects focus criteria and meet various standards of format and detail Most important among the latter treat beneficiaries (the deprived but able) technological feasibility inputs availability and utility (tools seeds food-for-work etc) social and organizational practicality (regarding inter alia adaptiveness and cooperativeness of populations land tenure and government role) economic justifiability (cost-benefit or least cost market relations etc) and intended demonstration and institutional especially local institutional effects The PVO must further demonstrate its managerial capacity and provide as a condition to proposal approval an agreement with the appropriate GOC ministry to undertake the subproject on its behalf That should indicate the role of specific GOC agencies in implementation and the institutional developmental feasiblity and goals of that
The inputs of the project will be largely grants through Cooperative Agreements to the PVOs and as necessary and possible AID or World Food Program food-for-work contributions and food aid sales proceeds The quantification of those will be done at the subproject design stage The inputs of subprojects financed by the AID grants will be technical asistance management implements and other inputs loan finance in the private sector efforts food or proceeds perhaps (financed outside the Project) monitoring and evaluation and provision for contingencies The outputs will be functioning food production schemes and food production or related businesses Output targets will be enumerated by scheme or area based on the PVOs detailed analyses
Total Project funds programmed for subproject grants are $12 million with expenditures to be incurred by September 30 1989 the Project Assistance Completion Date (PACD) and fully disbursed by December 31 1989 Included in the grant financing to PVOs may be design costs not normally to exceed $50000 per subproject
PVOs are expected to make a maximum effort to meet the requirement of a 25 pezcent contribution from their own resources to the total costs of their subproject(s) and especially to the development of subprojects
17
Provision of Project assistance to subprojectconceptualization and design will be justifiedespecially for new PVO entrants to Chad or more importantly where an intended subprojects objectivesexplicitly emphasize testing and monitoring oftechnologies development) application
or processes with promise
(including institutional for future systematic
2 Procedures
Participating PVOs are expected to be familiar with AID requirements to follow the proposal format set forth in the Implementation Plan below and to be acceptable to AID in terms of registrationnon-government source globalof revenue and auditability Given that AID will entertain proposals on a rolling admissions basis up to a magnitude of $40million each with activities to be completed by the PACD
As a central principle of the Project isminimization of direct AID design and implementationburden and maximization of impact a small but necessaryprovision is made for management by AID This $725000will finance a full-time project manager management support allowance for contingencies and an AID evaluation The project manager will coordinate AID-PVO relationships including assistance to subprojectdesign as necessary subproject proposal review dild approval (including adherence to FAA Sec 611(a)requirements) GOC approvals activation of cooperativeagreements reporting and evaluation (See II-IV below)
Thus subproject proposals will be treated in the same fashion as projects for field authorization and to the same standards This will require full review byAIDChad professional staff the Chad AID Directors approval with concurrence of the REDSOWCA Director From an approved proposal AIDChad will develop a PIOTto generate in turn the Cooperative Agreement to be executed by a REDSOWCA Grant Officer The GOC will be a signatory to the PIOT thereby exercising its rightto determine the use of funds granted to it by AID
3 Results
As should now be clear the end-of-project-statusof this effort has two strands and a corollarySignificant increases in food production and consumption among Chads currently destitute must occur and be managed at an uncommonly low cost to AID and the GOC In achieving this techniques of cultivation and organization including use of private capital and local cooperation should be tested reasonably
18
systematically this should provide a part of the basis for later concerted attacks on Chads poverty by the GOC and its Atdonors the same time AID-PVO cooperationwill enhance the impact of the assistance of each in Chads difficult environment And strengthened PVOs and PVO-GOC collaboration is unquestionably a short- andmedium-term good given the straightened circumstances and poor prospects of Chads people and systems
Finally specification measurement and lessons of such results are particularly important to agriculturaldevelopment in Chad The era of the Project is onewhere a turning point may be reached thisfor countryThus monitoring and evaluation of the Project are especially important (See IV below) If the Projects assumptions are correct and this is designedto be verified in the Projects timeframe Chad has reasonable hope and AID will have fulfilled its current mandate and immediate strategic purpose
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS
A BUDGET
The Project will provide $12725 million in grantfunds from the Sahel (121) account to the Government of Chad to be obligated over the Fiscal Years 1985 through1987 Expenditures may be accrued up theto PACD (September 30 1989) and must be fully disbursed byDecember 31 1989 Obligation will be by GrantAgreement and its amendment with the GOC Funds will be handled directly by registered American PVOs and in the case of administration of the Project by USAIDChad
Of the total AID dollar contribution $120 million will be provided by AID to PVOs by CooperativeAgreements through letters of credit Generally a 25percent contribution to each subproject from non-AID sources will be required including cash input so far as possible from each PVO This can be waived by the Chad AID Representative if the interests of United States policy in Chad so warrant It is estimated that the non-AID contribution by PVOs to the overall costs of the Project will be about $30 million The Government of Chad will not be called upon to contribute to the overall Project as this is deemed impossible under current Chadian circumstances and in any case is not required in the Sahel program However in individual subprojects certain GOC contribution of staff time and facilities may well occur and bewill encouraged this will be set forth in the PVO-GOC exchange of letters
Additional contributions to the Project from other AID sources are also anticipated but cannot be projecteduntil subprojects are designed and approved and these
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resources availability in Chad for specified periods isdetermined They are food-for-work provided under PL
II480 Title and rice sales proceeds generated by TitleII Emergency Sales in FY 1985 and Title II Section 206 programs or continued Emergency Sales thereafter
The remaining portion of the grant ($725000) willbe devoted to administration by AID That is financeof a fulltime project manager by AID Personal ServicesContract (PSC) (estimated at $125000 per year for four years plus management support of $50000) finance of acomprehensive final evaluation theof project in itsfourth year ($100000) also to be directly contracted for by AID and a small provision for contingencies($75000) It is expected that additional subprojectreview monitoring and evaluation services as necessaryduring the life of the project will be provided byREDSOWCA at no cost to the Project
Table 2 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS ($mil)
AID Grants to PVOs 120
AID Administration 0725
PVO Contributions 30
Food-for-Work
AID Food Sales Proceeds
Table 3
OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FISCAL YEAR ($mil)
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Obligations 3725 40 50 - -Expenditures - 2225 45 40 20
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A thorough financial analysis and detailed budgetwill be required in each subproject proposal Thisshould include a realistic list of inputs and theirprobable sources of supply (in AID Geographic Code 941countries and the cooperating country) with base costs calculated in ctrrent prices for each and price andphysical cortingencies estimated conservatively
In cases where sulpiojects comprise ldrge sets ofsmall interventions it will be permissible to aggregateestimates by category rather than for each individualsmall activity as related to total physical volumes of
20
work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
21
Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
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inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
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small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
29
2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
The prescription of CILSS to which it is difficult to take exception intellectually or in principle conwprises orientations building for the longer term and more or less iniaediate actions These are the basis for a national development strategy And until further study (eg on costs) and experience (egwith adoption of technologies) or a radical change in conditions indicate otherwise they will probablyreceive general assent The eight orientations are undifferentiated and unordered but offer opportunities for all They are
-- give priority to food self-sufficiency
-- operationalize irrigation potential not least small scale
-- protect and develop cotton production through intensification
revitalize rural development in the Sahelian zone through regional planning
define and operate a producer price and marketing policy which stimulates increased production
-- promote small-farmer initiative and responsibility through training cooperativization etc
-- adequately support rural development institutions for programming research crop protection extension etc and
-- acquire massive concerted properly adapted foreign aid applying better donor-Chadian cocrdination
Immediate actions called for are
an appeal for food aid in 198485 an important part in the forms of food-for-work and that generating sales proceeds
-- an appeal for building up a cereal seed stock for 198485
-- intensification of irrigation investments via food-for-work and by launching already proposed schemes
-- provisional suspension of transfer to small farmers of the real costs of production inputs
7
--
-- significant assistance to theInterministerial Bureau for Studies andProgramming (BEP) under the Minister of State for Agricultural and Rural Development and
-- intervention by the Nationai CerealsOffice in the consumer price systemthrough the use of donated food
In other words Chadian agriculture needseverything and much of this at once However there aredefinite practical steps to take that are developmentaland not shotgun crisis-reactive The proolems whichwill confront donors and the Government of Chad areassessment of risk husbanding of scarce resourceschoice of targets and timing Whereas policy dialogueand formulation Cor example should be fruitful civenChads disarray and are inexpensive larqe-scaleirrigation schemes massiveor provision of proaoictiveinputs and rural services are not necessarily eithe atpresent The challenge of Chad is not simple
B STRATEGY 1 AID Polic
The United States has several interests in Chadserved by its foreign assistance program Theseinterlock and are pursued through multilateralcoordination The humanitarian concern and efforts torelieve immediate mass suffering todue famine areessential But they would be insufficient -shypotentially futile if systemic improvements were notassisted eventually which should prevent the recurrenceof disaster even if drought pevails Such developmentcannot proceed however in an insecure polity subjecthaphazardly to turmoil and governmental paralysisespecially that induced by a capricious enemy neighbor
rherefore American policy action has focused since1982 on the recstablishment of a stable and vigorousgovernment which deals with Chads imradiate problemseffectively establishing credibility wkth the Chadianpeople and good relations with its neighbors AID hasprovided some of the means food medicines transportbudget support finance for small-scale physicalrehabilitation and the services of PVOs for outreachAmerican food assistance approved from Junethrough April 1985 to
1982 sum 139680 MT of grain andvegoil at a cost of $6948 million including transportand management Of that 7500 MT riceof and sorghumhave been granted to Chad the sales proceeds of which
will be devoted to emergency rehabilitation
8
Non-food assistance to be obligated through FY1985 and serve the above purpose in a quick-disbursingfashion will total $1935 million That is devoted largely with considerable success to agriculturalrestoration (35 percent) health restoration (21percent) and budget support (16 percent) with lesser amounts for basic assistance in human resources privateenterprise administrative management and road repair
At the same time after almost three yearsexperience the Government of Chad (GOC) the donor community at andlarge AID have concluded that efforts can and should be made to plan and commence investment programs that attack Chads root problems As indicated in the above discussions reliable food supply is Chads paramount need And for the foreseeable future this need can be served only by local production or food aid purchase of food out of export earnings is not in the cards Development of food production capacity is an immediate and long-term necessity and the sine qua non of all else developmental
Although Chad is an extreme case this fact is congruent with broader observations that have informed current AID policy For Africa this makes agriculturethe central focus and AIDs goal to assist African governments reverse the declining per capita food production trend increaseand overall agriculturalproduction and productivity increase farm incomes and improve nutritional status particularly of the small holder (Strategic Plan Executive Summary 62883p 12) Sahel development strategy (Review STATE 287422 July 14 1984) cites the need for realistic goals over a 10-20 year time frame based on food availability rather foodthan production as the central objective of AID assistance in the Sahel And the first emphasis is on food security however attained Secondarily sustainable food production to reduce dependence on emergency relief should be an objective
AIDs Chad policy is therefore to devote the largest part of its development assistance over the next decade at least to food production Economic SupportFund resources will support in a new project the development of a road maintenance capacity and there may be further need for budget support from the same source Limited interventions in health care human resources and management development from bilateral and regional development assistance projects will be adjuncts The isquestion how to proceed in promotingsustained increasing food production and consumption
9
--
Three factors affect AIDs strategy First thechoice and sequence of interventions in the specificcontext of Chad must create -early pay-offs that buildand accelerate there is no time to waste and eventualcommitments to long-term massive structural orinstitutional developments must have solid grounding -shyin national stability proved approaches and Chadiancommitment Second AIDs development assistanceresources both financial and managerial will continueto be severely constrained Projected levels areobligations of $50 million per year through FY 1990out of a total economic assistance program of $15million annually Eight direct-hire staff will manageall AID activity country-wide Third the alreadyvariegated program of the international donor (includingPVO) community in Chad is expected to grow in volume andcomplexity as stability and responsiveness of Chadincrease
AIDs food production strategy in Chad as seen atthis point then envisages a program of overlappingphases slotted into the overall donor effort and makingthe most economical use of AIDs scarce resources asfollows
-- while current agricultural rehabilitation activities are continuing (through 1986)their technical and organizational lessonswill be absorbed and then operationalizedin
four to five new initiatives supported bythis project from 1985 to 1990 which support small-holder food productiondevelopment and contributing privatebusiness development These will testtechnical (especially water application)and organizational approaches and measuretheir benefits in the Sahelian zone wherethe food problem is theyAnd will beconceived in detail and carried out byPVOs whose expertise and economy ofoperation in this realm are r-nowned
-- as the PVO Development Initiatives Projectwill be fully obligated by FY 1987 thethird overlapping phase will be planned to commence in 1988 It will draw from theexperience of phase two and of otherdonors in similar efforts and insupporting systematic developmentslarger scales (irrigation
at systems seedprovision extension research and
planning price policy export croppromotion for example) Long-term major
10
interventions by AID at that point will probably be in order It is too soon to tell of what type but adaptive (farmingsystems) researchextension is a reasonable possiblity
2 Definition of the Project
Therefore the goal of the Project is to increaseChads production of food and its availability to thedeprived and lay groundwork for more profoundagricultural development Its purpose is in theSahelian zone to assist small farmer production andsupportive private sector activities havingdemonstration and institutional development (primarilylocal cooperation) effects The objective is toaccomplish this broadly and quickly enough to (a) make asignificant contribution to the welfare of Chadianshitherto subject to famine and the recipients of foodaid including settled displaced persons and (b)demonstrate approaches to developing small farmer andprivate sector food production systems which successorlonger-term projects can adopt or otherwise support
The magnitude and duration of the Project havebeen determined on the basis of three considerations availability of funds current and developableabsorptive capacity in Chad and the sequence ofagricultural development isAID following here Asindicated above the level of development assistance of$50 million or less per year in the next four years inthe AID bilateral programs obligations on the one handand the assignment of mission direct-hire staff on theother limit the program practically to newone startat present But the condition of Chads infrastructuregovernmental systems and societal fabric does not permitan immediate large-scale or long-term commitment inagriculture They also limit the organizational meansby which assistance to agriculture in Chad can be delivered and monitored
From this follows a deliberate focus andlimitation of the Project to the essential and to targets and means where current experience and analysesindicate feasibility as well as potential forfarther-future interventions That is new foodproduction employing water application small groundworks and self-help and loan finance for smallagricultural businesses -- in accessible areas of theSahelian zone (north and south of NDjamena and around Abeche) -- with a spread of small-scale efforts andtargets clustered in four (or possibly five)subprojects Certain activities may employ AIDfood-for-work or food sales proceeds to supplementproject finance that will support technical assistanceand management tools and other inputs and a loan fund
11
for entrepreneurs And GOC contribution of staff andfacilities will be encouraged in individual subprojects
Strategy dictates that these efforts begin as soonas possible and produce tangible results within three tofour years AIDs experience with relief andrehabilitation activities indicates that such work canbe organized and implemented in Chad at an expenditurerate of about $30 million per year It also indicatesindeed presupposes that American PVOs already operatingeffectively in Chad should be the primary vehicle fordesign operation and monitoring Neither AIDChad northe GOC has the capacity to work on a day-to-day basisat this level -- with outreach to farmers acquisitionand delivery of a variety of inputs and detailedspecification and follow-up PVOs do (See B3 below)
The Project will combine the requisites ofquick-startup and disbursement breadth of effectaccommodation of several effective PVOs andconcentration on a particular target population in aunitary framework via a special type of PVO umbrellaproject This follows agency guidance mandating greatercooperation with registered PVOs in AID programs andsimplification of procedures But for Chad it is notand cannot be a peripheral adjunct to a large matureassistance program the Project will be central to thecurrent effort making a new start on Chads agriculturaldevelopment By design and intent it should become thestepping stone to a mature agricultural program andproject portfolio
Thus one project will be authorized havingtranched obligations over three years underagreement with the GOC an
Guidance on the development andimplementation of subprojects by PVOs contained in thisproject paper (PP) will lead interested PVOs initiallyCARE AFRICARE and VITA to design and proposeinitiatives to serve the projects goal and purpose inthe prescribed manner Cooperative Agreements betweenAID and the PVOs will set the work afoot mutatismutandis The customary andindependent imaginationinitiative of PVOs are necessary ingredients in thisendeavor And recent experience lends confidence thatPVO integrity and the requisites of andAID thisparticular project will be compatible and mutuallysupportive The Project then will be evaluated as awhole by AID and its subprojects monitored andevaluated cooperatively by the PVOs and AID in asequence that provides timely indicators to the futuredevelopment of AIDs program in Chad
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3 The Role and Use of PVOs
PVO umbrella or co-financing projects are relatively new in Africa though now conventional in Asia whereas AID assistance in Africa has a fairlywide though checkered history of support for individual PVO activities Two more or less pure umbrella projects in Africa are in Zaire and Kenya (and a second in the latter currently being developed) In these countries as in the Philippines and Indonesia the PVO co-financing endeavor is one AID project in a large and variegated portfolio where tapping the resources and vitality of PVOs (American and indigenous) is basically a valuable but peripheral outreach of the core AID program
As indicated above the project proposed here is different It is intended to be the centerpiece of AIDs agricultural development assistance for the next three years Its merits must be judged then (a)against those of alternative formulations of developmentassistance with which there is experience and (b) in terms of the efficacy in Chad of the kinds of subprojects it will support On matter (a) it can be said from current Chadian experience that rural-based production investments by AID cannot be inade more efficiently by any other means And the like ihood of economic payoff in Chad of larger-scaled longergestating more fundamental systemic agriculturaldevelopment projects of the typical AID type is highlyproblematical at this time In other wordsconventional AID experience in the Sahel does not givepromise in the present Chadian context In terms of implementation pay-off and foundation-laying the AID-PVO relief and rehabilitation and refugeeresettlement assistance experience of the past two yearsdoes -- as outlined below
There are seven American PVONGOs(Non-Governmental Organizations) 13 NGOsand non-US operating in Chad Some of the NGOs particularly the Protestant missions have been around for as long as thirty years Others such as CARE started work here in the 1970s but had to withdraw and then reinstall themselves because the civil warsof Most of the PVOs have seen an increase in expenditures and staff since the advent of the present Government of Chad followinginternational donor response to the devastation of war and drought
For the most part these organizations have been effective implementing agencies capitalizing on experience and procedures developed elsewhere and in Chad carrying comparatively low operating costs and retaining the respect and cooperation of government
They operate immediate emergency food distribution andhealth care services especially for displaced personsand resettlement and rehabilitation activities in KanemOuaddai Guera and Chari-Baguirmi prefectures (see Table 1)
PVOs financed directly by AID thus far in ChadCARE AFRICARE and VITA are
each of which is implementingimportant and urgently needed activities CARE presentin Che discontinuously since 1973 has ten expatriateand 110 Chadian staff members It distributed over $30million worth of emergency food in 1984 and has beensupervising the reconstruction of strategic roads waterstructures and public facilities with food-for-work resources and AID grants In the period 1982-1986 CAREwill have undertaken rehabilitation activities worth more than $38 million in AID funding in addition tothe value of the food distributed and CAREs owncontributions The June 1984 evaluation of its firstAID-financed rural infrastructure rehabilitation activity was favorable
AFRICARE began work in Chad in March 1983 and nowhas four expatriate staff two highly qualified Chadiantechnicians and 120 Chadian employees it wasinitially involved thein development of two irrigatedperimeters (120 ha total) close to NDjamena forvegetable gardening with mixed results More recentlyAFRICARE has undertaken a $285 million AID-fundedthree-year rehabilitationrural development project inOuaddai This project will have a major impact on therural population near Abeche who have been among thehardest hit by the war and drought by providing forseed distribution dike restoration reforestation andthe introduction of intermediate technologies Despitepoor rains in the past year this seems promising
VITA (Volunteers in Technical Assistance) beganoperations in Chad in 1984 and now has a staff of oneexpatriate (with an additional one on the way) fourChadian loan officers and five office workers Under a$15 million grant from AID it is providing animportant source of credit for small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs in and around NDjamena This privatesector activity aimed restoringat the activities ofdisplaced and other businessmen has already financedsuccessful melon poultry and food processingbusinesses in addition to more urban commercial ventures A reviewrecent indicates that this willprobably be a successful venture and VITA is nowlooking at the potential for expansion otherto market towns
The Project takes the explicit view that theexperience and in-place systems of the three major
14
Table 1
MAJOR PVO ACTIVITIES IN CHAD
PVO Activity Title Valua ($O00) Period Description Heavy Tzucks-FoodCARE 1289 982-984 Delivery
Provides trucks 4WD vehicles Maintenance for food-for-vork (FFW) and other relief coimodities delivery to rural areas
CARE FM Road Repair 387 Repair 155 km Ndjamena-Cuelendeng road 850 workers CARE Ag Infrastructure 950 1283-485 FFW reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urbanRestoration I manitation CARE Ag Infrastructu-e 1200 1084-1086 Ff4 reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urban
Restoration 11 sanitation CARE Resettlement 217 185- Resettlement in Kane financed by FED and Dutch PVO AFRICARE Heavy Equip Repair 585 982-984 Provide master mechanic and rehabilitation to Public Works
NdjamenaAFRICARK Vegetable Gardening 380 683-986 FFW Establish 20 ha vegetable production nearNdjamena AFRICARE Abechi Rural Dev 2850 584-1186 Integrated rural development VITA Private Enterprise 1500 784-686 Provision of credit to entrepreneurs in and near Ndjamena for new
businesses SECADEV Displaced Personp
Rural Development Food aid distribution reconstruction ofrural infrastructure650 (annually) food relief
Ndjamena Social Aid to sick aged handicapped - a GOC-registered
Chadian Catholic PVO working with 10-12000 peopleNfdecins 6000 1983-85 Sans Medical Assistance
Epidemic prevention in displaced persons camps reestablishment11000 1985-88 Frontiaree of prefecture health clinics staff training hoterchtld health
monitoring preventive care European PVO CARED Rural Development - 1982- Pre-cooperative support Irrigated perimeters (5-10 ha each)
chicken and small rumLnant production village grain mills League of Emergency Relief 750 1983-4Red Cross Food and Blanket distribution to more than 50000 80 food7500 1985-8 distribution sites some resettlement programs
American PVOs in Chad can and should be utilized and built upon at this stage and through this project Alternative vehicles as suggested above are not promising in themselves and could not in any case be relied upon for rapid mobilization Nor in Sahelian experience are universities consulting firms or the technical offices of AID missions more suitable to the hands-on nature of this project They are less adaptable to (and experienced with) the rigors of work in Chad and more expensive as well
This does not mean however that the PVOs expected to implement this project will not need helpOn the model of current AID rehabtlitation efforts they can be relied upon to handle well the necessary procurement understandings with the government mobilization and delivery of inputs and monitoringTheir weaknesses understandable given contemporary Chad and the foreign assistance milieu but also correctable have lain in the design and technical supervision of rural activities (See VA below) Greater subproject financing of field specialists should assure that implementation is technically sound The PVOs will be encouraged to apply their own contributions to detailed design work at the proposal and later stages To augment this the Project will provide for the selected application of small grants to PVOs for specific desiqn assistance
C ELEMENTS
1 Subprojects
Analyses indicate that considerable potential for new food production and related private sector activityobtains dispersed through the Sahelian zone To capture this potential and test developmental approaches (including local organizational dynamics) economically and rapidly American PVOs with substantial in-country facilities and experience will be invited to propose four to five subprojects having durations of two to four years beginning in late FY 1985 These subprojects will be the substance of the Project
Following the focus and expectations described above and in later analyses there is a strong prospect that CARE AFRICARE and VITA will propose initial subprojects which treat settled populations in the geographical Kanem area around Abeche and in Chari-Baguirmi Each should be prepared and ready to commelice before the end of FY 1986 probably much earlier on the part of CARE They may either fullycomprehend a large scattered population -- possibly expanded to additional accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- or commence in a more limited fashion and for
16
shorter duraticn with the intention of a second phase within the life of the Project At the same time the Project allows for the introduction of at least one new American PVO into Chads food production sector
On the basis of this project papers guidance each PVO will develop a detailed proposal the equivalent substantively of an AID small-project PP (see also Implementation Plan III below) for review and approval by AID in the field These proposals must adhere to the Projects focus criteria and meet various standards of format and detail Most important among the latter treat beneficiaries (the deprived but able) technological feasibility inputs availability and utility (tools seeds food-for-work etc) social and organizational practicality (regarding inter alia adaptiveness and cooperativeness of populations land tenure and government role) economic justifiability (cost-benefit or least cost market relations etc) and intended demonstration and institutional especially local institutional effects The PVO must further demonstrate its managerial capacity and provide as a condition to proposal approval an agreement with the appropriate GOC ministry to undertake the subproject on its behalf That should indicate the role of specific GOC agencies in implementation and the institutional developmental feasiblity and goals of that
The inputs of the project will be largely grants through Cooperative Agreements to the PVOs and as necessary and possible AID or World Food Program food-for-work contributions and food aid sales proceeds The quantification of those will be done at the subproject design stage The inputs of subprojects financed by the AID grants will be technical asistance management implements and other inputs loan finance in the private sector efforts food or proceeds perhaps (financed outside the Project) monitoring and evaluation and provision for contingencies The outputs will be functioning food production schemes and food production or related businesses Output targets will be enumerated by scheme or area based on the PVOs detailed analyses
Total Project funds programmed for subproject grants are $12 million with expenditures to be incurred by September 30 1989 the Project Assistance Completion Date (PACD) and fully disbursed by December 31 1989 Included in the grant financing to PVOs may be design costs not normally to exceed $50000 per subproject
PVOs are expected to make a maximum effort to meet the requirement of a 25 pezcent contribution from their own resources to the total costs of their subproject(s) and especially to the development of subprojects
17
Provision of Project assistance to subprojectconceptualization and design will be justifiedespecially for new PVO entrants to Chad or more importantly where an intended subprojects objectivesexplicitly emphasize testing and monitoring oftechnologies development) application
or processes with promise
(including institutional for future systematic
2 Procedures
Participating PVOs are expected to be familiar with AID requirements to follow the proposal format set forth in the Implementation Plan below and to be acceptable to AID in terms of registrationnon-government source globalof revenue and auditability Given that AID will entertain proposals on a rolling admissions basis up to a magnitude of $40million each with activities to be completed by the PACD
As a central principle of the Project isminimization of direct AID design and implementationburden and maximization of impact a small but necessaryprovision is made for management by AID This $725000will finance a full-time project manager management support allowance for contingencies and an AID evaluation The project manager will coordinate AID-PVO relationships including assistance to subprojectdesign as necessary subproject proposal review dild approval (including adherence to FAA Sec 611(a)requirements) GOC approvals activation of cooperativeagreements reporting and evaluation (See II-IV below)
Thus subproject proposals will be treated in the same fashion as projects for field authorization and to the same standards This will require full review byAIDChad professional staff the Chad AID Directors approval with concurrence of the REDSOWCA Director From an approved proposal AIDChad will develop a PIOTto generate in turn the Cooperative Agreement to be executed by a REDSOWCA Grant Officer The GOC will be a signatory to the PIOT thereby exercising its rightto determine the use of funds granted to it by AID
3 Results
As should now be clear the end-of-project-statusof this effort has two strands and a corollarySignificant increases in food production and consumption among Chads currently destitute must occur and be managed at an uncommonly low cost to AID and the GOC In achieving this techniques of cultivation and organization including use of private capital and local cooperation should be tested reasonably
18
systematically this should provide a part of the basis for later concerted attacks on Chads poverty by the GOC and its Atdonors the same time AID-PVO cooperationwill enhance the impact of the assistance of each in Chads difficult environment And strengthened PVOs and PVO-GOC collaboration is unquestionably a short- andmedium-term good given the straightened circumstances and poor prospects of Chads people and systems
Finally specification measurement and lessons of such results are particularly important to agriculturaldevelopment in Chad The era of the Project is onewhere a turning point may be reached thisfor countryThus monitoring and evaluation of the Project are especially important (See IV below) If the Projects assumptions are correct and this is designedto be verified in the Projects timeframe Chad has reasonable hope and AID will have fulfilled its current mandate and immediate strategic purpose
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS
A BUDGET
The Project will provide $12725 million in grantfunds from the Sahel (121) account to the Government of Chad to be obligated over the Fiscal Years 1985 through1987 Expenditures may be accrued up theto PACD (September 30 1989) and must be fully disbursed byDecember 31 1989 Obligation will be by GrantAgreement and its amendment with the GOC Funds will be handled directly by registered American PVOs and in the case of administration of the Project by USAIDChad
Of the total AID dollar contribution $120 million will be provided by AID to PVOs by CooperativeAgreements through letters of credit Generally a 25percent contribution to each subproject from non-AID sources will be required including cash input so far as possible from each PVO This can be waived by the Chad AID Representative if the interests of United States policy in Chad so warrant It is estimated that the non-AID contribution by PVOs to the overall costs of the Project will be about $30 million The Government of Chad will not be called upon to contribute to the overall Project as this is deemed impossible under current Chadian circumstances and in any case is not required in the Sahel program However in individual subprojects certain GOC contribution of staff time and facilities may well occur and bewill encouraged this will be set forth in the PVO-GOC exchange of letters
Additional contributions to the Project from other AID sources are also anticipated but cannot be projecteduntil subprojects are designed and approved and these
19
resources availability in Chad for specified periods isdetermined They are food-for-work provided under PL
II480 Title and rice sales proceeds generated by TitleII Emergency Sales in FY 1985 and Title II Section 206 programs or continued Emergency Sales thereafter
The remaining portion of the grant ($725000) willbe devoted to administration by AID That is financeof a fulltime project manager by AID Personal ServicesContract (PSC) (estimated at $125000 per year for four years plus management support of $50000) finance of acomprehensive final evaluation theof project in itsfourth year ($100000) also to be directly contracted for by AID and a small provision for contingencies($75000) It is expected that additional subprojectreview monitoring and evaluation services as necessaryduring the life of the project will be provided byREDSOWCA at no cost to the Project
Table 2 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS ($mil)
AID Grants to PVOs 120
AID Administration 0725
PVO Contributions 30
Food-for-Work
AID Food Sales Proceeds
Table 3
OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FISCAL YEAR ($mil)
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Obligations 3725 40 50 - -Expenditures - 2225 45 40 20
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A thorough financial analysis and detailed budgetwill be required in each subproject proposal Thisshould include a realistic list of inputs and theirprobable sources of supply (in AID Geographic Code 941countries and the cooperating country) with base costs calculated in ctrrent prices for each and price andphysical cortingencies estimated conservatively
In cases where sulpiojects comprise ldrge sets ofsmall interventions it will be permissible to aggregateestimates by category rather than for each individualsmall activity as related to total physical volumes of
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work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
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Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
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inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
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small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
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2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
--
-- significant assistance to theInterministerial Bureau for Studies andProgramming (BEP) under the Minister of State for Agricultural and Rural Development and
-- intervention by the Nationai CerealsOffice in the consumer price systemthrough the use of donated food
In other words Chadian agriculture needseverything and much of this at once However there aredefinite practical steps to take that are developmentaland not shotgun crisis-reactive The proolems whichwill confront donors and the Government of Chad areassessment of risk husbanding of scarce resourceschoice of targets and timing Whereas policy dialogueand formulation Cor example should be fruitful civenChads disarray and are inexpensive larqe-scaleirrigation schemes massiveor provision of proaoictiveinputs and rural services are not necessarily eithe atpresent The challenge of Chad is not simple
B STRATEGY 1 AID Polic
The United States has several interests in Chadserved by its foreign assistance program Theseinterlock and are pursued through multilateralcoordination The humanitarian concern and efforts torelieve immediate mass suffering todue famine areessential But they would be insufficient -shypotentially futile if systemic improvements were notassisted eventually which should prevent the recurrenceof disaster even if drought pevails Such developmentcannot proceed however in an insecure polity subjecthaphazardly to turmoil and governmental paralysisespecially that induced by a capricious enemy neighbor
rherefore American policy action has focused since1982 on the recstablishment of a stable and vigorousgovernment which deals with Chads imradiate problemseffectively establishing credibility wkth the Chadianpeople and good relations with its neighbors AID hasprovided some of the means food medicines transportbudget support finance for small-scale physicalrehabilitation and the services of PVOs for outreachAmerican food assistance approved from Junethrough April 1985 to
1982 sum 139680 MT of grain andvegoil at a cost of $6948 million including transportand management Of that 7500 MT riceof and sorghumhave been granted to Chad the sales proceeds of which
will be devoted to emergency rehabilitation
8
Non-food assistance to be obligated through FY1985 and serve the above purpose in a quick-disbursingfashion will total $1935 million That is devoted largely with considerable success to agriculturalrestoration (35 percent) health restoration (21percent) and budget support (16 percent) with lesser amounts for basic assistance in human resources privateenterprise administrative management and road repair
At the same time after almost three yearsexperience the Government of Chad (GOC) the donor community at andlarge AID have concluded that efforts can and should be made to plan and commence investment programs that attack Chads root problems As indicated in the above discussions reliable food supply is Chads paramount need And for the foreseeable future this need can be served only by local production or food aid purchase of food out of export earnings is not in the cards Development of food production capacity is an immediate and long-term necessity and the sine qua non of all else developmental
Although Chad is an extreme case this fact is congruent with broader observations that have informed current AID policy For Africa this makes agriculturethe central focus and AIDs goal to assist African governments reverse the declining per capita food production trend increaseand overall agriculturalproduction and productivity increase farm incomes and improve nutritional status particularly of the small holder (Strategic Plan Executive Summary 62883p 12) Sahel development strategy (Review STATE 287422 July 14 1984) cites the need for realistic goals over a 10-20 year time frame based on food availability rather foodthan production as the central objective of AID assistance in the Sahel And the first emphasis is on food security however attained Secondarily sustainable food production to reduce dependence on emergency relief should be an objective
AIDs Chad policy is therefore to devote the largest part of its development assistance over the next decade at least to food production Economic SupportFund resources will support in a new project the development of a road maintenance capacity and there may be further need for budget support from the same source Limited interventions in health care human resources and management development from bilateral and regional development assistance projects will be adjuncts The isquestion how to proceed in promotingsustained increasing food production and consumption
9
--
Three factors affect AIDs strategy First thechoice and sequence of interventions in the specificcontext of Chad must create -early pay-offs that buildand accelerate there is no time to waste and eventualcommitments to long-term massive structural orinstitutional developments must have solid grounding -shyin national stability proved approaches and Chadiancommitment Second AIDs development assistanceresources both financial and managerial will continueto be severely constrained Projected levels areobligations of $50 million per year through FY 1990out of a total economic assistance program of $15million annually Eight direct-hire staff will manageall AID activity country-wide Third the alreadyvariegated program of the international donor (includingPVO) community in Chad is expected to grow in volume andcomplexity as stability and responsiveness of Chadincrease
AIDs food production strategy in Chad as seen atthis point then envisages a program of overlappingphases slotted into the overall donor effort and makingthe most economical use of AIDs scarce resources asfollows
-- while current agricultural rehabilitation activities are continuing (through 1986)their technical and organizational lessonswill be absorbed and then operationalizedin
four to five new initiatives supported bythis project from 1985 to 1990 which support small-holder food productiondevelopment and contributing privatebusiness development These will testtechnical (especially water application)and organizational approaches and measuretheir benefits in the Sahelian zone wherethe food problem is theyAnd will beconceived in detail and carried out byPVOs whose expertise and economy ofoperation in this realm are r-nowned
-- as the PVO Development Initiatives Projectwill be fully obligated by FY 1987 thethird overlapping phase will be planned to commence in 1988 It will draw from theexperience of phase two and of otherdonors in similar efforts and insupporting systematic developmentslarger scales (irrigation
at systems seedprovision extension research and
planning price policy export croppromotion for example) Long-term major
10
interventions by AID at that point will probably be in order It is too soon to tell of what type but adaptive (farmingsystems) researchextension is a reasonable possiblity
2 Definition of the Project
Therefore the goal of the Project is to increaseChads production of food and its availability to thedeprived and lay groundwork for more profoundagricultural development Its purpose is in theSahelian zone to assist small farmer production andsupportive private sector activities havingdemonstration and institutional development (primarilylocal cooperation) effects The objective is toaccomplish this broadly and quickly enough to (a) make asignificant contribution to the welfare of Chadianshitherto subject to famine and the recipients of foodaid including settled displaced persons and (b)demonstrate approaches to developing small farmer andprivate sector food production systems which successorlonger-term projects can adopt or otherwise support
The magnitude and duration of the Project havebeen determined on the basis of three considerations availability of funds current and developableabsorptive capacity in Chad and the sequence ofagricultural development isAID following here Asindicated above the level of development assistance of$50 million or less per year in the next four years inthe AID bilateral programs obligations on the one handand the assignment of mission direct-hire staff on theother limit the program practically to newone startat present But the condition of Chads infrastructuregovernmental systems and societal fabric does not permitan immediate large-scale or long-term commitment inagriculture They also limit the organizational meansby which assistance to agriculture in Chad can be delivered and monitored
From this follows a deliberate focus andlimitation of the Project to the essential and to targets and means where current experience and analysesindicate feasibility as well as potential forfarther-future interventions That is new foodproduction employing water application small groundworks and self-help and loan finance for smallagricultural businesses -- in accessible areas of theSahelian zone (north and south of NDjamena and around Abeche) -- with a spread of small-scale efforts andtargets clustered in four (or possibly five)subprojects Certain activities may employ AIDfood-for-work or food sales proceeds to supplementproject finance that will support technical assistanceand management tools and other inputs and a loan fund
11
for entrepreneurs And GOC contribution of staff andfacilities will be encouraged in individual subprojects
Strategy dictates that these efforts begin as soonas possible and produce tangible results within three tofour years AIDs experience with relief andrehabilitation activities indicates that such work canbe organized and implemented in Chad at an expenditurerate of about $30 million per year It also indicatesindeed presupposes that American PVOs already operatingeffectively in Chad should be the primary vehicle fordesign operation and monitoring Neither AIDChad northe GOC has the capacity to work on a day-to-day basisat this level -- with outreach to farmers acquisitionand delivery of a variety of inputs and detailedspecification and follow-up PVOs do (See B3 below)
The Project will combine the requisites ofquick-startup and disbursement breadth of effectaccommodation of several effective PVOs andconcentration on a particular target population in aunitary framework via a special type of PVO umbrellaproject This follows agency guidance mandating greatercooperation with registered PVOs in AID programs andsimplification of procedures But for Chad it is notand cannot be a peripheral adjunct to a large matureassistance program the Project will be central to thecurrent effort making a new start on Chads agriculturaldevelopment By design and intent it should become thestepping stone to a mature agricultural program andproject portfolio
Thus one project will be authorized havingtranched obligations over three years underagreement with the GOC an
Guidance on the development andimplementation of subprojects by PVOs contained in thisproject paper (PP) will lead interested PVOs initiallyCARE AFRICARE and VITA to design and proposeinitiatives to serve the projects goal and purpose inthe prescribed manner Cooperative Agreements betweenAID and the PVOs will set the work afoot mutatismutandis The customary andindependent imaginationinitiative of PVOs are necessary ingredients in thisendeavor And recent experience lends confidence thatPVO integrity and the requisites of andAID thisparticular project will be compatible and mutuallysupportive The Project then will be evaluated as awhole by AID and its subprojects monitored andevaluated cooperatively by the PVOs and AID in asequence that provides timely indicators to the futuredevelopment of AIDs program in Chad
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3 The Role and Use of PVOs
PVO umbrella or co-financing projects are relatively new in Africa though now conventional in Asia whereas AID assistance in Africa has a fairlywide though checkered history of support for individual PVO activities Two more or less pure umbrella projects in Africa are in Zaire and Kenya (and a second in the latter currently being developed) In these countries as in the Philippines and Indonesia the PVO co-financing endeavor is one AID project in a large and variegated portfolio where tapping the resources and vitality of PVOs (American and indigenous) is basically a valuable but peripheral outreach of the core AID program
As indicated above the project proposed here is different It is intended to be the centerpiece of AIDs agricultural development assistance for the next three years Its merits must be judged then (a)against those of alternative formulations of developmentassistance with which there is experience and (b) in terms of the efficacy in Chad of the kinds of subprojects it will support On matter (a) it can be said from current Chadian experience that rural-based production investments by AID cannot be inade more efficiently by any other means And the like ihood of economic payoff in Chad of larger-scaled longergestating more fundamental systemic agriculturaldevelopment projects of the typical AID type is highlyproblematical at this time In other wordsconventional AID experience in the Sahel does not givepromise in the present Chadian context In terms of implementation pay-off and foundation-laying the AID-PVO relief and rehabilitation and refugeeresettlement assistance experience of the past two yearsdoes -- as outlined below
There are seven American PVONGOs(Non-Governmental Organizations) 13 NGOsand non-US operating in Chad Some of the NGOs particularly the Protestant missions have been around for as long as thirty years Others such as CARE started work here in the 1970s but had to withdraw and then reinstall themselves because the civil warsof Most of the PVOs have seen an increase in expenditures and staff since the advent of the present Government of Chad followinginternational donor response to the devastation of war and drought
For the most part these organizations have been effective implementing agencies capitalizing on experience and procedures developed elsewhere and in Chad carrying comparatively low operating costs and retaining the respect and cooperation of government
They operate immediate emergency food distribution andhealth care services especially for displaced personsand resettlement and rehabilitation activities in KanemOuaddai Guera and Chari-Baguirmi prefectures (see Table 1)
PVOs financed directly by AID thus far in ChadCARE AFRICARE and VITA are
each of which is implementingimportant and urgently needed activities CARE presentin Che discontinuously since 1973 has ten expatriateand 110 Chadian staff members It distributed over $30million worth of emergency food in 1984 and has beensupervising the reconstruction of strategic roads waterstructures and public facilities with food-for-work resources and AID grants In the period 1982-1986 CAREwill have undertaken rehabilitation activities worth more than $38 million in AID funding in addition tothe value of the food distributed and CAREs owncontributions The June 1984 evaluation of its firstAID-financed rural infrastructure rehabilitation activity was favorable
AFRICARE began work in Chad in March 1983 and nowhas four expatriate staff two highly qualified Chadiantechnicians and 120 Chadian employees it wasinitially involved thein development of two irrigatedperimeters (120 ha total) close to NDjamena forvegetable gardening with mixed results More recentlyAFRICARE has undertaken a $285 million AID-fundedthree-year rehabilitationrural development project inOuaddai This project will have a major impact on therural population near Abeche who have been among thehardest hit by the war and drought by providing forseed distribution dike restoration reforestation andthe introduction of intermediate technologies Despitepoor rains in the past year this seems promising
VITA (Volunteers in Technical Assistance) beganoperations in Chad in 1984 and now has a staff of oneexpatriate (with an additional one on the way) fourChadian loan officers and five office workers Under a$15 million grant from AID it is providing animportant source of credit for small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs in and around NDjamena This privatesector activity aimed restoringat the activities ofdisplaced and other businessmen has already financedsuccessful melon poultry and food processingbusinesses in addition to more urban commercial ventures A reviewrecent indicates that this willprobably be a successful venture and VITA is nowlooking at the potential for expansion otherto market towns
The Project takes the explicit view that theexperience and in-place systems of the three major
14
Table 1
MAJOR PVO ACTIVITIES IN CHAD
PVO Activity Title Valua ($O00) Period Description Heavy Tzucks-FoodCARE 1289 982-984 Delivery
Provides trucks 4WD vehicles Maintenance for food-for-vork (FFW) and other relief coimodities delivery to rural areas
CARE FM Road Repair 387 Repair 155 km Ndjamena-Cuelendeng road 850 workers CARE Ag Infrastructure 950 1283-485 FFW reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urbanRestoration I manitation CARE Ag Infrastructu-e 1200 1084-1086 Ff4 reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urban
Restoration 11 sanitation CARE Resettlement 217 185- Resettlement in Kane financed by FED and Dutch PVO AFRICARE Heavy Equip Repair 585 982-984 Provide master mechanic and rehabilitation to Public Works
NdjamenaAFRICARK Vegetable Gardening 380 683-986 FFW Establish 20 ha vegetable production nearNdjamena AFRICARE Abechi Rural Dev 2850 584-1186 Integrated rural development VITA Private Enterprise 1500 784-686 Provision of credit to entrepreneurs in and near Ndjamena for new
businesses SECADEV Displaced Personp
Rural Development Food aid distribution reconstruction ofrural infrastructure650 (annually) food relief
Ndjamena Social Aid to sick aged handicapped - a GOC-registered
Chadian Catholic PVO working with 10-12000 peopleNfdecins 6000 1983-85 Sans Medical Assistance
Epidemic prevention in displaced persons camps reestablishment11000 1985-88 Frontiaree of prefecture health clinics staff training hoterchtld health
monitoring preventive care European PVO CARED Rural Development - 1982- Pre-cooperative support Irrigated perimeters (5-10 ha each)
chicken and small rumLnant production village grain mills League of Emergency Relief 750 1983-4Red Cross Food and Blanket distribution to more than 50000 80 food7500 1985-8 distribution sites some resettlement programs
American PVOs in Chad can and should be utilized and built upon at this stage and through this project Alternative vehicles as suggested above are not promising in themselves and could not in any case be relied upon for rapid mobilization Nor in Sahelian experience are universities consulting firms or the technical offices of AID missions more suitable to the hands-on nature of this project They are less adaptable to (and experienced with) the rigors of work in Chad and more expensive as well
This does not mean however that the PVOs expected to implement this project will not need helpOn the model of current AID rehabtlitation efforts they can be relied upon to handle well the necessary procurement understandings with the government mobilization and delivery of inputs and monitoringTheir weaknesses understandable given contemporary Chad and the foreign assistance milieu but also correctable have lain in the design and technical supervision of rural activities (See VA below) Greater subproject financing of field specialists should assure that implementation is technically sound The PVOs will be encouraged to apply their own contributions to detailed design work at the proposal and later stages To augment this the Project will provide for the selected application of small grants to PVOs for specific desiqn assistance
C ELEMENTS
1 Subprojects
Analyses indicate that considerable potential for new food production and related private sector activityobtains dispersed through the Sahelian zone To capture this potential and test developmental approaches (including local organizational dynamics) economically and rapidly American PVOs with substantial in-country facilities and experience will be invited to propose four to five subprojects having durations of two to four years beginning in late FY 1985 These subprojects will be the substance of the Project
Following the focus and expectations described above and in later analyses there is a strong prospect that CARE AFRICARE and VITA will propose initial subprojects which treat settled populations in the geographical Kanem area around Abeche and in Chari-Baguirmi Each should be prepared and ready to commelice before the end of FY 1986 probably much earlier on the part of CARE They may either fullycomprehend a large scattered population -- possibly expanded to additional accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- or commence in a more limited fashion and for
16
shorter duraticn with the intention of a second phase within the life of the Project At the same time the Project allows for the introduction of at least one new American PVO into Chads food production sector
On the basis of this project papers guidance each PVO will develop a detailed proposal the equivalent substantively of an AID small-project PP (see also Implementation Plan III below) for review and approval by AID in the field These proposals must adhere to the Projects focus criteria and meet various standards of format and detail Most important among the latter treat beneficiaries (the deprived but able) technological feasibility inputs availability and utility (tools seeds food-for-work etc) social and organizational practicality (regarding inter alia adaptiveness and cooperativeness of populations land tenure and government role) economic justifiability (cost-benefit or least cost market relations etc) and intended demonstration and institutional especially local institutional effects The PVO must further demonstrate its managerial capacity and provide as a condition to proposal approval an agreement with the appropriate GOC ministry to undertake the subproject on its behalf That should indicate the role of specific GOC agencies in implementation and the institutional developmental feasiblity and goals of that
The inputs of the project will be largely grants through Cooperative Agreements to the PVOs and as necessary and possible AID or World Food Program food-for-work contributions and food aid sales proceeds The quantification of those will be done at the subproject design stage The inputs of subprojects financed by the AID grants will be technical asistance management implements and other inputs loan finance in the private sector efforts food or proceeds perhaps (financed outside the Project) monitoring and evaluation and provision for contingencies The outputs will be functioning food production schemes and food production or related businesses Output targets will be enumerated by scheme or area based on the PVOs detailed analyses
Total Project funds programmed for subproject grants are $12 million with expenditures to be incurred by September 30 1989 the Project Assistance Completion Date (PACD) and fully disbursed by December 31 1989 Included in the grant financing to PVOs may be design costs not normally to exceed $50000 per subproject
PVOs are expected to make a maximum effort to meet the requirement of a 25 pezcent contribution from their own resources to the total costs of their subproject(s) and especially to the development of subprojects
17
Provision of Project assistance to subprojectconceptualization and design will be justifiedespecially for new PVO entrants to Chad or more importantly where an intended subprojects objectivesexplicitly emphasize testing and monitoring oftechnologies development) application
or processes with promise
(including institutional for future systematic
2 Procedures
Participating PVOs are expected to be familiar with AID requirements to follow the proposal format set forth in the Implementation Plan below and to be acceptable to AID in terms of registrationnon-government source globalof revenue and auditability Given that AID will entertain proposals on a rolling admissions basis up to a magnitude of $40million each with activities to be completed by the PACD
As a central principle of the Project isminimization of direct AID design and implementationburden and maximization of impact a small but necessaryprovision is made for management by AID This $725000will finance a full-time project manager management support allowance for contingencies and an AID evaluation The project manager will coordinate AID-PVO relationships including assistance to subprojectdesign as necessary subproject proposal review dild approval (including adherence to FAA Sec 611(a)requirements) GOC approvals activation of cooperativeagreements reporting and evaluation (See II-IV below)
Thus subproject proposals will be treated in the same fashion as projects for field authorization and to the same standards This will require full review byAIDChad professional staff the Chad AID Directors approval with concurrence of the REDSOWCA Director From an approved proposal AIDChad will develop a PIOTto generate in turn the Cooperative Agreement to be executed by a REDSOWCA Grant Officer The GOC will be a signatory to the PIOT thereby exercising its rightto determine the use of funds granted to it by AID
3 Results
As should now be clear the end-of-project-statusof this effort has two strands and a corollarySignificant increases in food production and consumption among Chads currently destitute must occur and be managed at an uncommonly low cost to AID and the GOC In achieving this techniques of cultivation and organization including use of private capital and local cooperation should be tested reasonably
18
systematically this should provide a part of the basis for later concerted attacks on Chads poverty by the GOC and its Atdonors the same time AID-PVO cooperationwill enhance the impact of the assistance of each in Chads difficult environment And strengthened PVOs and PVO-GOC collaboration is unquestionably a short- andmedium-term good given the straightened circumstances and poor prospects of Chads people and systems
Finally specification measurement and lessons of such results are particularly important to agriculturaldevelopment in Chad The era of the Project is onewhere a turning point may be reached thisfor countryThus monitoring and evaluation of the Project are especially important (See IV below) If the Projects assumptions are correct and this is designedto be verified in the Projects timeframe Chad has reasonable hope and AID will have fulfilled its current mandate and immediate strategic purpose
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS
A BUDGET
The Project will provide $12725 million in grantfunds from the Sahel (121) account to the Government of Chad to be obligated over the Fiscal Years 1985 through1987 Expenditures may be accrued up theto PACD (September 30 1989) and must be fully disbursed byDecember 31 1989 Obligation will be by GrantAgreement and its amendment with the GOC Funds will be handled directly by registered American PVOs and in the case of administration of the Project by USAIDChad
Of the total AID dollar contribution $120 million will be provided by AID to PVOs by CooperativeAgreements through letters of credit Generally a 25percent contribution to each subproject from non-AID sources will be required including cash input so far as possible from each PVO This can be waived by the Chad AID Representative if the interests of United States policy in Chad so warrant It is estimated that the non-AID contribution by PVOs to the overall costs of the Project will be about $30 million The Government of Chad will not be called upon to contribute to the overall Project as this is deemed impossible under current Chadian circumstances and in any case is not required in the Sahel program However in individual subprojects certain GOC contribution of staff time and facilities may well occur and bewill encouraged this will be set forth in the PVO-GOC exchange of letters
Additional contributions to the Project from other AID sources are also anticipated but cannot be projecteduntil subprojects are designed and approved and these
19
resources availability in Chad for specified periods isdetermined They are food-for-work provided under PL
II480 Title and rice sales proceeds generated by TitleII Emergency Sales in FY 1985 and Title II Section 206 programs or continued Emergency Sales thereafter
The remaining portion of the grant ($725000) willbe devoted to administration by AID That is financeof a fulltime project manager by AID Personal ServicesContract (PSC) (estimated at $125000 per year for four years plus management support of $50000) finance of acomprehensive final evaluation theof project in itsfourth year ($100000) also to be directly contracted for by AID and a small provision for contingencies($75000) It is expected that additional subprojectreview monitoring and evaluation services as necessaryduring the life of the project will be provided byREDSOWCA at no cost to the Project
Table 2 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS ($mil)
AID Grants to PVOs 120
AID Administration 0725
PVO Contributions 30
Food-for-Work
AID Food Sales Proceeds
Table 3
OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FISCAL YEAR ($mil)
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Obligations 3725 40 50 - -Expenditures - 2225 45 40 20
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A thorough financial analysis and detailed budgetwill be required in each subproject proposal Thisshould include a realistic list of inputs and theirprobable sources of supply (in AID Geographic Code 941countries and the cooperating country) with base costs calculated in ctrrent prices for each and price andphysical cortingencies estimated conservatively
In cases where sulpiojects comprise ldrge sets ofsmall interventions it will be permissible to aggregateestimates by category rather than for each individualsmall activity as related to total physical volumes of
20
work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
21
Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
22
inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
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drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
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small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
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2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
Non-food assistance to be obligated through FY1985 and serve the above purpose in a quick-disbursingfashion will total $1935 million That is devoted largely with considerable success to agriculturalrestoration (35 percent) health restoration (21percent) and budget support (16 percent) with lesser amounts for basic assistance in human resources privateenterprise administrative management and road repair
At the same time after almost three yearsexperience the Government of Chad (GOC) the donor community at andlarge AID have concluded that efforts can and should be made to plan and commence investment programs that attack Chads root problems As indicated in the above discussions reliable food supply is Chads paramount need And for the foreseeable future this need can be served only by local production or food aid purchase of food out of export earnings is not in the cards Development of food production capacity is an immediate and long-term necessity and the sine qua non of all else developmental
Although Chad is an extreme case this fact is congruent with broader observations that have informed current AID policy For Africa this makes agriculturethe central focus and AIDs goal to assist African governments reverse the declining per capita food production trend increaseand overall agriculturalproduction and productivity increase farm incomes and improve nutritional status particularly of the small holder (Strategic Plan Executive Summary 62883p 12) Sahel development strategy (Review STATE 287422 July 14 1984) cites the need for realistic goals over a 10-20 year time frame based on food availability rather foodthan production as the central objective of AID assistance in the Sahel And the first emphasis is on food security however attained Secondarily sustainable food production to reduce dependence on emergency relief should be an objective
AIDs Chad policy is therefore to devote the largest part of its development assistance over the next decade at least to food production Economic SupportFund resources will support in a new project the development of a road maintenance capacity and there may be further need for budget support from the same source Limited interventions in health care human resources and management development from bilateral and regional development assistance projects will be adjuncts The isquestion how to proceed in promotingsustained increasing food production and consumption
9
--
Three factors affect AIDs strategy First thechoice and sequence of interventions in the specificcontext of Chad must create -early pay-offs that buildand accelerate there is no time to waste and eventualcommitments to long-term massive structural orinstitutional developments must have solid grounding -shyin national stability proved approaches and Chadiancommitment Second AIDs development assistanceresources both financial and managerial will continueto be severely constrained Projected levels areobligations of $50 million per year through FY 1990out of a total economic assistance program of $15million annually Eight direct-hire staff will manageall AID activity country-wide Third the alreadyvariegated program of the international donor (includingPVO) community in Chad is expected to grow in volume andcomplexity as stability and responsiveness of Chadincrease
AIDs food production strategy in Chad as seen atthis point then envisages a program of overlappingphases slotted into the overall donor effort and makingthe most economical use of AIDs scarce resources asfollows
-- while current agricultural rehabilitation activities are continuing (through 1986)their technical and organizational lessonswill be absorbed and then operationalizedin
four to five new initiatives supported bythis project from 1985 to 1990 which support small-holder food productiondevelopment and contributing privatebusiness development These will testtechnical (especially water application)and organizational approaches and measuretheir benefits in the Sahelian zone wherethe food problem is theyAnd will beconceived in detail and carried out byPVOs whose expertise and economy ofoperation in this realm are r-nowned
-- as the PVO Development Initiatives Projectwill be fully obligated by FY 1987 thethird overlapping phase will be planned to commence in 1988 It will draw from theexperience of phase two and of otherdonors in similar efforts and insupporting systematic developmentslarger scales (irrigation
at systems seedprovision extension research and
planning price policy export croppromotion for example) Long-term major
10
interventions by AID at that point will probably be in order It is too soon to tell of what type but adaptive (farmingsystems) researchextension is a reasonable possiblity
2 Definition of the Project
Therefore the goal of the Project is to increaseChads production of food and its availability to thedeprived and lay groundwork for more profoundagricultural development Its purpose is in theSahelian zone to assist small farmer production andsupportive private sector activities havingdemonstration and institutional development (primarilylocal cooperation) effects The objective is toaccomplish this broadly and quickly enough to (a) make asignificant contribution to the welfare of Chadianshitherto subject to famine and the recipients of foodaid including settled displaced persons and (b)demonstrate approaches to developing small farmer andprivate sector food production systems which successorlonger-term projects can adopt or otherwise support
The magnitude and duration of the Project havebeen determined on the basis of three considerations availability of funds current and developableabsorptive capacity in Chad and the sequence ofagricultural development isAID following here Asindicated above the level of development assistance of$50 million or less per year in the next four years inthe AID bilateral programs obligations on the one handand the assignment of mission direct-hire staff on theother limit the program practically to newone startat present But the condition of Chads infrastructuregovernmental systems and societal fabric does not permitan immediate large-scale or long-term commitment inagriculture They also limit the organizational meansby which assistance to agriculture in Chad can be delivered and monitored
From this follows a deliberate focus andlimitation of the Project to the essential and to targets and means where current experience and analysesindicate feasibility as well as potential forfarther-future interventions That is new foodproduction employing water application small groundworks and self-help and loan finance for smallagricultural businesses -- in accessible areas of theSahelian zone (north and south of NDjamena and around Abeche) -- with a spread of small-scale efforts andtargets clustered in four (or possibly five)subprojects Certain activities may employ AIDfood-for-work or food sales proceeds to supplementproject finance that will support technical assistanceand management tools and other inputs and a loan fund
11
for entrepreneurs And GOC contribution of staff andfacilities will be encouraged in individual subprojects
Strategy dictates that these efforts begin as soonas possible and produce tangible results within three tofour years AIDs experience with relief andrehabilitation activities indicates that such work canbe organized and implemented in Chad at an expenditurerate of about $30 million per year It also indicatesindeed presupposes that American PVOs already operatingeffectively in Chad should be the primary vehicle fordesign operation and monitoring Neither AIDChad northe GOC has the capacity to work on a day-to-day basisat this level -- with outreach to farmers acquisitionand delivery of a variety of inputs and detailedspecification and follow-up PVOs do (See B3 below)
The Project will combine the requisites ofquick-startup and disbursement breadth of effectaccommodation of several effective PVOs andconcentration on a particular target population in aunitary framework via a special type of PVO umbrellaproject This follows agency guidance mandating greatercooperation with registered PVOs in AID programs andsimplification of procedures But for Chad it is notand cannot be a peripheral adjunct to a large matureassistance program the Project will be central to thecurrent effort making a new start on Chads agriculturaldevelopment By design and intent it should become thestepping stone to a mature agricultural program andproject portfolio
Thus one project will be authorized havingtranched obligations over three years underagreement with the GOC an
Guidance on the development andimplementation of subprojects by PVOs contained in thisproject paper (PP) will lead interested PVOs initiallyCARE AFRICARE and VITA to design and proposeinitiatives to serve the projects goal and purpose inthe prescribed manner Cooperative Agreements betweenAID and the PVOs will set the work afoot mutatismutandis The customary andindependent imaginationinitiative of PVOs are necessary ingredients in thisendeavor And recent experience lends confidence thatPVO integrity and the requisites of andAID thisparticular project will be compatible and mutuallysupportive The Project then will be evaluated as awhole by AID and its subprojects monitored andevaluated cooperatively by the PVOs and AID in asequence that provides timely indicators to the futuredevelopment of AIDs program in Chad
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3 The Role and Use of PVOs
PVO umbrella or co-financing projects are relatively new in Africa though now conventional in Asia whereas AID assistance in Africa has a fairlywide though checkered history of support for individual PVO activities Two more or less pure umbrella projects in Africa are in Zaire and Kenya (and a second in the latter currently being developed) In these countries as in the Philippines and Indonesia the PVO co-financing endeavor is one AID project in a large and variegated portfolio where tapping the resources and vitality of PVOs (American and indigenous) is basically a valuable but peripheral outreach of the core AID program
As indicated above the project proposed here is different It is intended to be the centerpiece of AIDs agricultural development assistance for the next three years Its merits must be judged then (a)against those of alternative formulations of developmentassistance with which there is experience and (b) in terms of the efficacy in Chad of the kinds of subprojects it will support On matter (a) it can be said from current Chadian experience that rural-based production investments by AID cannot be inade more efficiently by any other means And the like ihood of economic payoff in Chad of larger-scaled longergestating more fundamental systemic agriculturaldevelopment projects of the typical AID type is highlyproblematical at this time In other wordsconventional AID experience in the Sahel does not givepromise in the present Chadian context In terms of implementation pay-off and foundation-laying the AID-PVO relief and rehabilitation and refugeeresettlement assistance experience of the past two yearsdoes -- as outlined below
There are seven American PVONGOs(Non-Governmental Organizations) 13 NGOsand non-US operating in Chad Some of the NGOs particularly the Protestant missions have been around for as long as thirty years Others such as CARE started work here in the 1970s but had to withdraw and then reinstall themselves because the civil warsof Most of the PVOs have seen an increase in expenditures and staff since the advent of the present Government of Chad followinginternational donor response to the devastation of war and drought
For the most part these organizations have been effective implementing agencies capitalizing on experience and procedures developed elsewhere and in Chad carrying comparatively low operating costs and retaining the respect and cooperation of government
They operate immediate emergency food distribution andhealth care services especially for displaced personsand resettlement and rehabilitation activities in KanemOuaddai Guera and Chari-Baguirmi prefectures (see Table 1)
PVOs financed directly by AID thus far in ChadCARE AFRICARE and VITA are
each of which is implementingimportant and urgently needed activities CARE presentin Che discontinuously since 1973 has ten expatriateand 110 Chadian staff members It distributed over $30million worth of emergency food in 1984 and has beensupervising the reconstruction of strategic roads waterstructures and public facilities with food-for-work resources and AID grants In the period 1982-1986 CAREwill have undertaken rehabilitation activities worth more than $38 million in AID funding in addition tothe value of the food distributed and CAREs owncontributions The June 1984 evaluation of its firstAID-financed rural infrastructure rehabilitation activity was favorable
AFRICARE began work in Chad in March 1983 and nowhas four expatriate staff two highly qualified Chadiantechnicians and 120 Chadian employees it wasinitially involved thein development of two irrigatedperimeters (120 ha total) close to NDjamena forvegetable gardening with mixed results More recentlyAFRICARE has undertaken a $285 million AID-fundedthree-year rehabilitationrural development project inOuaddai This project will have a major impact on therural population near Abeche who have been among thehardest hit by the war and drought by providing forseed distribution dike restoration reforestation andthe introduction of intermediate technologies Despitepoor rains in the past year this seems promising
VITA (Volunteers in Technical Assistance) beganoperations in Chad in 1984 and now has a staff of oneexpatriate (with an additional one on the way) fourChadian loan officers and five office workers Under a$15 million grant from AID it is providing animportant source of credit for small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs in and around NDjamena This privatesector activity aimed restoringat the activities ofdisplaced and other businessmen has already financedsuccessful melon poultry and food processingbusinesses in addition to more urban commercial ventures A reviewrecent indicates that this willprobably be a successful venture and VITA is nowlooking at the potential for expansion otherto market towns
The Project takes the explicit view that theexperience and in-place systems of the three major
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Table 1
MAJOR PVO ACTIVITIES IN CHAD
PVO Activity Title Valua ($O00) Period Description Heavy Tzucks-FoodCARE 1289 982-984 Delivery
Provides trucks 4WD vehicles Maintenance for food-for-vork (FFW) and other relief coimodities delivery to rural areas
CARE FM Road Repair 387 Repair 155 km Ndjamena-Cuelendeng road 850 workers CARE Ag Infrastructure 950 1283-485 FFW reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urbanRestoration I manitation CARE Ag Infrastructu-e 1200 1084-1086 Ff4 reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urban
Restoration 11 sanitation CARE Resettlement 217 185- Resettlement in Kane financed by FED and Dutch PVO AFRICARE Heavy Equip Repair 585 982-984 Provide master mechanic and rehabilitation to Public Works
NdjamenaAFRICARK Vegetable Gardening 380 683-986 FFW Establish 20 ha vegetable production nearNdjamena AFRICARE Abechi Rural Dev 2850 584-1186 Integrated rural development VITA Private Enterprise 1500 784-686 Provision of credit to entrepreneurs in and near Ndjamena for new
businesses SECADEV Displaced Personp
Rural Development Food aid distribution reconstruction ofrural infrastructure650 (annually) food relief
Ndjamena Social Aid to sick aged handicapped - a GOC-registered
Chadian Catholic PVO working with 10-12000 peopleNfdecins 6000 1983-85 Sans Medical Assistance
Epidemic prevention in displaced persons camps reestablishment11000 1985-88 Frontiaree of prefecture health clinics staff training hoterchtld health
monitoring preventive care European PVO CARED Rural Development - 1982- Pre-cooperative support Irrigated perimeters (5-10 ha each)
chicken and small rumLnant production village grain mills League of Emergency Relief 750 1983-4Red Cross Food and Blanket distribution to more than 50000 80 food7500 1985-8 distribution sites some resettlement programs
American PVOs in Chad can and should be utilized and built upon at this stage and through this project Alternative vehicles as suggested above are not promising in themselves and could not in any case be relied upon for rapid mobilization Nor in Sahelian experience are universities consulting firms or the technical offices of AID missions more suitable to the hands-on nature of this project They are less adaptable to (and experienced with) the rigors of work in Chad and more expensive as well
This does not mean however that the PVOs expected to implement this project will not need helpOn the model of current AID rehabtlitation efforts they can be relied upon to handle well the necessary procurement understandings with the government mobilization and delivery of inputs and monitoringTheir weaknesses understandable given contemporary Chad and the foreign assistance milieu but also correctable have lain in the design and technical supervision of rural activities (See VA below) Greater subproject financing of field specialists should assure that implementation is technically sound The PVOs will be encouraged to apply their own contributions to detailed design work at the proposal and later stages To augment this the Project will provide for the selected application of small grants to PVOs for specific desiqn assistance
C ELEMENTS
1 Subprojects
Analyses indicate that considerable potential for new food production and related private sector activityobtains dispersed through the Sahelian zone To capture this potential and test developmental approaches (including local organizational dynamics) economically and rapidly American PVOs with substantial in-country facilities and experience will be invited to propose four to five subprojects having durations of two to four years beginning in late FY 1985 These subprojects will be the substance of the Project
Following the focus and expectations described above and in later analyses there is a strong prospect that CARE AFRICARE and VITA will propose initial subprojects which treat settled populations in the geographical Kanem area around Abeche and in Chari-Baguirmi Each should be prepared and ready to commelice before the end of FY 1986 probably much earlier on the part of CARE They may either fullycomprehend a large scattered population -- possibly expanded to additional accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- or commence in a more limited fashion and for
16
shorter duraticn with the intention of a second phase within the life of the Project At the same time the Project allows for the introduction of at least one new American PVO into Chads food production sector
On the basis of this project papers guidance each PVO will develop a detailed proposal the equivalent substantively of an AID small-project PP (see also Implementation Plan III below) for review and approval by AID in the field These proposals must adhere to the Projects focus criteria and meet various standards of format and detail Most important among the latter treat beneficiaries (the deprived but able) technological feasibility inputs availability and utility (tools seeds food-for-work etc) social and organizational practicality (regarding inter alia adaptiveness and cooperativeness of populations land tenure and government role) economic justifiability (cost-benefit or least cost market relations etc) and intended demonstration and institutional especially local institutional effects The PVO must further demonstrate its managerial capacity and provide as a condition to proposal approval an agreement with the appropriate GOC ministry to undertake the subproject on its behalf That should indicate the role of specific GOC agencies in implementation and the institutional developmental feasiblity and goals of that
The inputs of the project will be largely grants through Cooperative Agreements to the PVOs and as necessary and possible AID or World Food Program food-for-work contributions and food aid sales proceeds The quantification of those will be done at the subproject design stage The inputs of subprojects financed by the AID grants will be technical asistance management implements and other inputs loan finance in the private sector efforts food or proceeds perhaps (financed outside the Project) monitoring and evaluation and provision for contingencies The outputs will be functioning food production schemes and food production or related businesses Output targets will be enumerated by scheme or area based on the PVOs detailed analyses
Total Project funds programmed for subproject grants are $12 million with expenditures to be incurred by September 30 1989 the Project Assistance Completion Date (PACD) and fully disbursed by December 31 1989 Included in the grant financing to PVOs may be design costs not normally to exceed $50000 per subproject
PVOs are expected to make a maximum effort to meet the requirement of a 25 pezcent contribution from their own resources to the total costs of their subproject(s) and especially to the development of subprojects
17
Provision of Project assistance to subprojectconceptualization and design will be justifiedespecially for new PVO entrants to Chad or more importantly where an intended subprojects objectivesexplicitly emphasize testing and monitoring oftechnologies development) application
or processes with promise
(including institutional for future systematic
2 Procedures
Participating PVOs are expected to be familiar with AID requirements to follow the proposal format set forth in the Implementation Plan below and to be acceptable to AID in terms of registrationnon-government source globalof revenue and auditability Given that AID will entertain proposals on a rolling admissions basis up to a magnitude of $40million each with activities to be completed by the PACD
As a central principle of the Project isminimization of direct AID design and implementationburden and maximization of impact a small but necessaryprovision is made for management by AID This $725000will finance a full-time project manager management support allowance for contingencies and an AID evaluation The project manager will coordinate AID-PVO relationships including assistance to subprojectdesign as necessary subproject proposal review dild approval (including adherence to FAA Sec 611(a)requirements) GOC approvals activation of cooperativeagreements reporting and evaluation (See II-IV below)
Thus subproject proposals will be treated in the same fashion as projects for field authorization and to the same standards This will require full review byAIDChad professional staff the Chad AID Directors approval with concurrence of the REDSOWCA Director From an approved proposal AIDChad will develop a PIOTto generate in turn the Cooperative Agreement to be executed by a REDSOWCA Grant Officer The GOC will be a signatory to the PIOT thereby exercising its rightto determine the use of funds granted to it by AID
3 Results
As should now be clear the end-of-project-statusof this effort has two strands and a corollarySignificant increases in food production and consumption among Chads currently destitute must occur and be managed at an uncommonly low cost to AID and the GOC In achieving this techniques of cultivation and organization including use of private capital and local cooperation should be tested reasonably
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systematically this should provide a part of the basis for later concerted attacks on Chads poverty by the GOC and its Atdonors the same time AID-PVO cooperationwill enhance the impact of the assistance of each in Chads difficult environment And strengthened PVOs and PVO-GOC collaboration is unquestionably a short- andmedium-term good given the straightened circumstances and poor prospects of Chads people and systems
Finally specification measurement and lessons of such results are particularly important to agriculturaldevelopment in Chad The era of the Project is onewhere a turning point may be reached thisfor countryThus monitoring and evaluation of the Project are especially important (See IV below) If the Projects assumptions are correct and this is designedto be verified in the Projects timeframe Chad has reasonable hope and AID will have fulfilled its current mandate and immediate strategic purpose
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS
A BUDGET
The Project will provide $12725 million in grantfunds from the Sahel (121) account to the Government of Chad to be obligated over the Fiscal Years 1985 through1987 Expenditures may be accrued up theto PACD (September 30 1989) and must be fully disbursed byDecember 31 1989 Obligation will be by GrantAgreement and its amendment with the GOC Funds will be handled directly by registered American PVOs and in the case of administration of the Project by USAIDChad
Of the total AID dollar contribution $120 million will be provided by AID to PVOs by CooperativeAgreements through letters of credit Generally a 25percent contribution to each subproject from non-AID sources will be required including cash input so far as possible from each PVO This can be waived by the Chad AID Representative if the interests of United States policy in Chad so warrant It is estimated that the non-AID contribution by PVOs to the overall costs of the Project will be about $30 million The Government of Chad will not be called upon to contribute to the overall Project as this is deemed impossible under current Chadian circumstances and in any case is not required in the Sahel program However in individual subprojects certain GOC contribution of staff time and facilities may well occur and bewill encouraged this will be set forth in the PVO-GOC exchange of letters
Additional contributions to the Project from other AID sources are also anticipated but cannot be projecteduntil subprojects are designed and approved and these
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resources availability in Chad for specified periods isdetermined They are food-for-work provided under PL
II480 Title and rice sales proceeds generated by TitleII Emergency Sales in FY 1985 and Title II Section 206 programs or continued Emergency Sales thereafter
The remaining portion of the grant ($725000) willbe devoted to administration by AID That is financeof a fulltime project manager by AID Personal ServicesContract (PSC) (estimated at $125000 per year for four years plus management support of $50000) finance of acomprehensive final evaluation theof project in itsfourth year ($100000) also to be directly contracted for by AID and a small provision for contingencies($75000) It is expected that additional subprojectreview monitoring and evaluation services as necessaryduring the life of the project will be provided byREDSOWCA at no cost to the Project
Table 2 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS ($mil)
AID Grants to PVOs 120
AID Administration 0725
PVO Contributions 30
Food-for-Work
AID Food Sales Proceeds
Table 3
OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FISCAL YEAR ($mil)
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Obligations 3725 40 50 - -Expenditures - 2225 45 40 20
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A thorough financial analysis and detailed budgetwill be required in each subproject proposal Thisshould include a realistic list of inputs and theirprobable sources of supply (in AID Geographic Code 941countries and the cooperating country) with base costs calculated in ctrrent prices for each and price andphysical cortingencies estimated conservatively
In cases where sulpiojects comprise ldrge sets ofsmall interventions it will be permissible to aggregateestimates by category rather than for each individualsmall activity as related to total physical volumes of
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work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
21
Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
22
inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
28
small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
29
2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
--
Three factors affect AIDs strategy First thechoice and sequence of interventions in the specificcontext of Chad must create -early pay-offs that buildand accelerate there is no time to waste and eventualcommitments to long-term massive structural orinstitutional developments must have solid grounding -shyin national stability proved approaches and Chadiancommitment Second AIDs development assistanceresources both financial and managerial will continueto be severely constrained Projected levels areobligations of $50 million per year through FY 1990out of a total economic assistance program of $15million annually Eight direct-hire staff will manageall AID activity country-wide Third the alreadyvariegated program of the international donor (includingPVO) community in Chad is expected to grow in volume andcomplexity as stability and responsiveness of Chadincrease
AIDs food production strategy in Chad as seen atthis point then envisages a program of overlappingphases slotted into the overall donor effort and makingthe most economical use of AIDs scarce resources asfollows
-- while current agricultural rehabilitation activities are continuing (through 1986)their technical and organizational lessonswill be absorbed and then operationalizedin
four to five new initiatives supported bythis project from 1985 to 1990 which support small-holder food productiondevelopment and contributing privatebusiness development These will testtechnical (especially water application)and organizational approaches and measuretheir benefits in the Sahelian zone wherethe food problem is theyAnd will beconceived in detail and carried out byPVOs whose expertise and economy ofoperation in this realm are r-nowned
-- as the PVO Development Initiatives Projectwill be fully obligated by FY 1987 thethird overlapping phase will be planned to commence in 1988 It will draw from theexperience of phase two and of otherdonors in similar efforts and insupporting systematic developmentslarger scales (irrigation
at systems seedprovision extension research and
planning price policy export croppromotion for example) Long-term major
10
interventions by AID at that point will probably be in order It is too soon to tell of what type but adaptive (farmingsystems) researchextension is a reasonable possiblity
2 Definition of the Project
Therefore the goal of the Project is to increaseChads production of food and its availability to thedeprived and lay groundwork for more profoundagricultural development Its purpose is in theSahelian zone to assist small farmer production andsupportive private sector activities havingdemonstration and institutional development (primarilylocal cooperation) effects The objective is toaccomplish this broadly and quickly enough to (a) make asignificant contribution to the welfare of Chadianshitherto subject to famine and the recipients of foodaid including settled displaced persons and (b)demonstrate approaches to developing small farmer andprivate sector food production systems which successorlonger-term projects can adopt or otherwise support
The magnitude and duration of the Project havebeen determined on the basis of three considerations availability of funds current and developableabsorptive capacity in Chad and the sequence ofagricultural development isAID following here Asindicated above the level of development assistance of$50 million or less per year in the next four years inthe AID bilateral programs obligations on the one handand the assignment of mission direct-hire staff on theother limit the program practically to newone startat present But the condition of Chads infrastructuregovernmental systems and societal fabric does not permitan immediate large-scale or long-term commitment inagriculture They also limit the organizational meansby which assistance to agriculture in Chad can be delivered and monitored
From this follows a deliberate focus andlimitation of the Project to the essential and to targets and means where current experience and analysesindicate feasibility as well as potential forfarther-future interventions That is new foodproduction employing water application small groundworks and self-help and loan finance for smallagricultural businesses -- in accessible areas of theSahelian zone (north and south of NDjamena and around Abeche) -- with a spread of small-scale efforts andtargets clustered in four (or possibly five)subprojects Certain activities may employ AIDfood-for-work or food sales proceeds to supplementproject finance that will support technical assistanceand management tools and other inputs and a loan fund
11
for entrepreneurs And GOC contribution of staff andfacilities will be encouraged in individual subprojects
Strategy dictates that these efforts begin as soonas possible and produce tangible results within three tofour years AIDs experience with relief andrehabilitation activities indicates that such work canbe organized and implemented in Chad at an expenditurerate of about $30 million per year It also indicatesindeed presupposes that American PVOs already operatingeffectively in Chad should be the primary vehicle fordesign operation and monitoring Neither AIDChad northe GOC has the capacity to work on a day-to-day basisat this level -- with outreach to farmers acquisitionand delivery of a variety of inputs and detailedspecification and follow-up PVOs do (See B3 below)
The Project will combine the requisites ofquick-startup and disbursement breadth of effectaccommodation of several effective PVOs andconcentration on a particular target population in aunitary framework via a special type of PVO umbrellaproject This follows agency guidance mandating greatercooperation with registered PVOs in AID programs andsimplification of procedures But for Chad it is notand cannot be a peripheral adjunct to a large matureassistance program the Project will be central to thecurrent effort making a new start on Chads agriculturaldevelopment By design and intent it should become thestepping stone to a mature agricultural program andproject portfolio
Thus one project will be authorized havingtranched obligations over three years underagreement with the GOC an
Guidance on the development andimplementation of subprojects by PVOs contained in thisproject paper (PP) will lead interested PVOs initiallyCARE AFRICARE and VITA to design and proposeinitiatives to serve the projects goal and purpose inthe prescribed manner Cooperative Agreements betweenAID and the PVOs will set the work afoot mutatismutandis The customary andindependent imaginationinitiative of PVOs are necessary ingredients in thisendeavor And recent experience lends confidence thatPVO integrity and the requisites of andAID thisparticular project will be compatible and mutuallysupportive The Project then will be evaluated as awhole by AID and its subprojects monitored andevaluated cooperatively by the PVOs and AID in asequence that provides timely indicators to the futuredevelopment of AIDs program in Chad
12
3 The Role and Use of PVOs
PVO umbrella or co-financing projects are relatively new in Africa though now conventional in Asia whereas AID assistance in Africa has a fairlywide though checkered history of support for individual PVO activities Two more or less pure umbrella projects in Africa are in Zaire and Kenya (and a second in the latter currently being developed) In these countries as in the Philippines and Indonesia the PVO co-financing endeavor is one AID project in a large and variegated portfolio where tapping the resources and vitality of PVOs (American and indigenous) is basically a valuable but peripheral outreach of the core AID program
As indicated above the project proposed here is different It is intended to be the centerpiece of AIDs agricultural development assistance for the next three years Its merits must be judged then (a)against those of alternative formulations of developmentassistance with which there is experience and (b) in terms of the efficacy in Chad of the kinds of subprojects it will support On matter (a) it can be said from current Chadian experience that rural-based production investments by AID cannot be inade more efficiently by any other means And the like ihood of economic payoff in Chad of larger-scaled longergestating more fundamental systemic agriculturaldevelopment projects of the typical AID type is highlyproblematical at this time In other wordsconventional AID experience in the Sahel does not givepromise in the present Chadian context In terms of implementation pay-off and foundation-laying the AID-PVO relief and rehabilitation and refugeeresettlement assistance experience of the past two yearsdoes -- as outlined below
There are seven American PVONGOs(Non-Governmental Organizations) 13 NGOsand non-US operating in Chad Some of the NGOs particularly the Protestant missions have been around for as long as thirty years Others such as CARE started work here in the 1970s but had to withdraw and then reinstall themselves because the civil warsof Most of the PVOs have seen an increase in expenditures and staff since the advent of the present Government of Chad followinginternational donor response to the devastation of war and drought
For the most part these organizations have been effective implementing agencies capitalizing on experience and procedures developed elsewhere and in Chad carrying comparatively low operating costs and retaining the respect and cooperation of government
They operate immediate emergency food distribution andhealth care services especially for displaced personsand resettlement and rehabilitation activities in KanemOuaddai Guera and Chari-Baguirmi prefectures (see Table 1)
PVOs financed directly by AID thus far in ChadCARE AFRICARE and VITA are
each of which is implementingimportant and urgently needed activities CARE presentin Che discontinuously since 1973 has ten expatriateand 110 Chadian staff members It distributed over $30million worth of emergency food in 1984 and has beensupervising the reconstruction of strategic roads waterstructures and public facilities with food-for-work resources and AID grants In the period 1982-1986 CAREwill have undertaken rehabilitation activities worth more than $38 million in AID funding in addition tothe value of the food distributed and CAREs owncontributions The June 1984 evaluation of its firstAID-financed rural infrastructure rehabilitation activity was favorable
AFRICARE began work in Chad in March 1983 and nowhas four expatriate staff two highly qualified Chadiantechnicians and 120 Chadian employees it wasinitially involved thein development of two irrigatedperimeters (120 ha total) close to NDjamena forvegetable gardening with mixed results More recentlyAFRICARE has undertaken a $285 million AID-fundedthree-year rehabilitationrural development project inOuaddai This project will have a major impact on therural population near Abeche who have been among thehardest hit by the war and drought by providing forseed distribution dike restoration reforestation andthe introduction of intermediate technologies Despitepoor rains in the past year this seems promising
VITA (Volunteers in Technical Assistance) beganoperations in Chad in 1984 and now has a staff of oneexpatriate (with an additional one on the way) fourChadian loan officers and five office workers Under a$15 million grant from AID it is providing animportant source of credit for small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs in and around NDjamena This privatesector activity aimed restoringat the activities ofdisplaced and other businessmen has already financedsuccessful melon poultry and food processingbusinesses in addition to more urban commercial ventures A reviewrecent indicates that this willprobably be a successful venture and VITA is nowlooking at the potential for expansion otherto market towns
The Project takes the explicit view that theexperience and in-place systems of the three major
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Table 1
MAJOR PVO ACTIVITIES IN CHAD
PVO Activity Title Valua ($O00) Period Description Heavy Tzucks-FoodCARE 1289 982-984 Delivery
Provides trucks 4WD vehicles Maintenance for food-for-vork (FFW) and other relief coimodities delivery to rural areas
CARE FM Road Repair 387 Repair 155 km Ndjamena-Cuelendeng road 850 workers CARE Ag Infrastructure 950 1283-485 FFW reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urbanRestoration I manitation CARE Ag Infrastructu-e 1200 1084-1086 Ff4 reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urban
Restoration 11 sanitation CARE Resettlement 217 185- Resettlement in Kane financed by FED and Dutch PVO AFRICARE Heavy Equip Repair 585 982-984 Provide master mechanic and rehabilitation to Public Works
NdjamenaAFRICARK Vegetable Gardening 380 683-986 FFW Establish 20 ha vegetable production nearNdjamena AFRICARE Abechi Rural Dev 2850 584-1186 Integrated rural development VITA Private Enterprise 1500 784-686 Provision of credit to entrepreneurs in and near Ndjamena for new
businesses SECADEV Displaced Personp
Rural Development Food aid distribution reconstruction ofrural infrastructure650 (annually) food relief
Ndjamena Social Aid to sick aged handicapped - a GOC-registered
Chadian Catholic PVO working with 10-12000 peopleNfdecins 6000 1983-85 Sans Medical Assistance
Epidemic prevention in displaced persons camps reestablishment11000 1985-88 Frontiaree of prefecture health clinics staff training hoterchtld health
monitoring preventive care European PVO CARED Rural Development - 1982- Pre-cooperative support Irrigated perimeters (5-10 ha each)
chicken and small rumLnant production village grain mills League of Emergency Relief 750 1983-4Red Cross Food and Blanket distribution to more than 50000 80 food7500 1985-8 distribution sites some resettlement programs
American PVOs in Chad can and should be utilized and built upon at this stage and through this project Alternative vehicles as suggested above are not promising in themselves and could not in any case be relied upon for rapid mobilization Nor in Sahelian experience are universities consulting firms or the technical offices of AID missions more suitable to the hands-on nature of this project They are less adaptable to (and experienced with) the rigors of work in Chad and more expensive as well
This does not mean however that the PVOs expected to implement this project will not need helpOn the model of current AID rehabtlitation efforts they can be relied upon to handle well the necessary procurement understandings with the government mobilization and delivery of inputs and monitoringTheir weaknesses understandable given contemporary Chad and the foreign assistance milieu but also correctable have lain in the design and technical supervision of rural activities (See VA below) Greater subproject financing of field specialists should assure that implementation is technically sound The PVOs will be encouraged to apply their own contributions to detailed design work at the proposal and later stages To augment this the Project will provide for the selected application of small grants to PVOs for specific desiqn assistance
C ELEMENTS
1 Subprojects
Analyses indicate that considerable potential for new food production and related private sector activityobtains dispersed through the Sahelian zone To capture this potential and test developmental approaches (including local organizational dynamics) economically and rapidly American PVOs with substantial in-country facilities and experience will be invited to propose four to five subprojects having durations of two to four years beginning in late FY 1985 These subprojects will be the substance of the Project
Following the focus and expectations described above and in later analyses there is a strong prospect that CARE AFRICARE and VITA will propose initial subprojects which treat settled populations in the geographical Kanem area around Abeche and in Chari-Baguirmi Each should be prepared and ready to commelice before the end of FY 1986 probably much earlier on the part of CARE They may either fullycomprehend a large scattered population -- possibly expanded to additional accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- or commence in a more limited fashion and for
16
shorter duraticn with the intention of a second phase within the life of the Project At the same time the Project allows for the introduction of at least one new American PVO into Chads food production sector
On the basis of this project papers guidance each PVO will develop a detailed proposal the equivalent substantively of an AID small-project PP (see also Implementation Plan III below) for review and approval by AID in the field These proposals must adhere to the Projects focus criteria and meet various standards of format and detail Most important among the latter treat beneficiaries (the deprived but able) technological feasibility inputs availability and utility (tools seeds food-for-work etc) social and organizational practicality (regarding inter alia adaptiveness and cooperativeness of populations land tenure and government role) economic justifiability (cost-benefit or least cost market relations etc) and intended demonstration and institutional especially local institutional effects The PVO must further demonstrate its managerial capacity and provide as a condition to proposal approval an agreement with the appropriate GOC ministry to undertake the subproject on its behalf That should indicate the role of specific GOC agencies in implementation and the institutional developmental feasiblity and goals of that
The inputs of the project will be largely grants through Cooperative Agreements to the PVOs and as necessary and possible AID or World Food Program food-for-work contributions and food aid sales proceeds The quantification of those will be done at the subproject design stage The inputs of subprojects financed by the AID grants will be technical asistance management implements and other inputs loan finance in the private sector efforts food or proceeds perhaps (financed outside the Project) monitoring and evaluation and provision for contingencies The outputs will be functioning food production schemes and food production or related businesses Output targets will be enumerated by scheme or area based on the PVOs detailed analyses
Total Project funds programmed for subproject grants are $12 million with expenditures to be incurred by September 30 1989 the Project Assistance Completion Date (PACD) and fully disbursed by December 31 1989 Included in the grant financing to PVOs may be design costs not normally to exceed $50000 per subproject
PVOs are expected to make a maximum effort to meet the requirement of a 25 pezcent contribution from their own resources to the total costs of their subproject(s) and especially to the development of subprojects
17
Provision of Project assistance to subprojectconceptualization and design will be justifiedespecially for new PVO entrants to Chad or more importantly where an intended subprojects objectivesexplicitly emphasize testing and monitoring oftechnologies development) application
or processes with promise
(including institutional for future systematic
2 Procedures
Participating PVOs are expected to be familiar with AID requirements to follow the proposal format set forth in the Implementation Plan below and to be acceptable to AID in terms of registrationnon-government source globalof revenue and auditability Given that AID will entertain proposals on a rolling admissions basis up to a magnitude of $40million each with activities to be completed by the PACD
As a central principle of the Project isminimization of direct AID design and implementationburden and maximization of impact a small but necessaryprovision is made for management by AID This $725000will finance a full-time project manager management support allowance for contingencies and an AID evaluation The project manager will coordinate AID-PVO relationships including assistance to subprojectdesign as necessary subproject proposal review dild approval (including adherence to FAA Sec 611(a)requirements) GOC approvals activation of cooperativeagreements reporting and evaluation (See II-IV below)
Thus subproject proposals will be treated in the same fashion as projects for field authorization and to the same standards This will require full review byAIDChad professional staff the Chad AID Directors approval with concurrence of the REDSOWCA Director From an approved proposal AIDChad will develop a PIOTto generate in turn the Cooperative Agreement to be executed by a REDSOWCA Grant Officer The GOC will be a signatory to the PIOT thereby exercising its rightto determine the use of funds granted to it by AID
3 Results
As should now be clear the end-of-project-statusof this effort has two strands and a corollarySignificant increases in food production and consumption among Chads currently destitute must occur and be managed at an uncommonly low cost to AID and the GOC In achieving this techniques of cultivation and organization including use of private capital and local cooperation should be tested reasonably
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systematically this should provide a part of the basis for later concerted attacks on Chads poverty by the GOC and its Atdonors the same time AID-PVO cooperationwill enhance the impact of the assistance of each in Chads difficult environment And strengthened PVOs and PVO-GOC collaboration is unquestionably a short- andmedium-term good given the straightened circumstances and poor prospects of Chads people and systems
Finally specification measurement and lessons of such results are particularly important to agriculturaldevelopment in Chad The era of the Project is onewhere a turning point may be reached thisfor countryThus monitoring and evaluation of the Project are especially important (See IV below) If the Projects assumptions are correct and this is designedto be verified in the Projects timeframe Chad has reasonable hope and AID will have fulfilled its current mandate and immediate strategic purpose
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS
A BUDGET
The Project will provide $12725 million in grantfunds from the Sahel (121) account to the Government of Chad to be obligated over the Fiscal Years 1985 through1987 Expenditures may be accrued up theto PACD (September 30 1989) and must be fully disbursed byDecember 31 1989 Obligation will be by GrantAgreement and its amendment with the GOC Funds will be handled directly by registered American PVOs and in the case of administration of the Project by USAIDChad
Of the total AID dollar contribution $120 million will be provided by AID to PVOs by CooperativeAgreements through letters of credit Generally a 25percent contribution to each subproject from non-AID sources will be required including cash input so far as possible from each PVO This can be waived by the Chad AID Representative if the interests of United States policy in Chad so warrant It is estimated that the non-AID contribution by PVOs to the overall costs of the Project will be about $30 million The Government of Chad will not be called upon to contribute to the overall Project as this is deemed impossible under current Chadian circumstances and in any case is not required in the Sahel program However in individual subprojects certain GOC contribution of staff time and facilities may well occur and bewill encouraged this will be set forth in the PVO-GOC exchange of letters
Additional contributions to the Project from other AID sources are also anticipated but cannot be projecteduntil subprojects are designed and approved and these
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resources availability in Chad for specified periods isdetermined They are food-for-work provided under PL
II480 Title and rice sales proceeds generated by TitleII Emergency Sales in FY 1985 and Title II Section 206 programs or continued Emergency Sales thereafter
The remaining portion of the grant ($725000) willbe devoted to administration by AID That is financeof a fulltime project manager by AID Personal ServicesContract (PSC) (estimated at $125000 per year for four years plus management support of $50000) finance of acomprehensive final evaluation theof project in itsfourth year ($100000) also to be directly contracted for by AID and a small provision for contingencies($75000) It is expected that additional subprojectreview monitoring and evaluation services as necessaryduring the life of the project will be provided byREDSOWCA at no cost to the Project
Table 2 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS ($mil)
AID Grants to PVOs 120
AID Administration 0725
PVO Contributions 30
Food-for-Work
AID Food Sales Proceeds
Table 3
OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FISCAL YEAR ($mil)
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Obligations 3725 40 50 - -Expenditures - 2225 45 40 20
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A thorough financial analysis and detailed budgetwill be required in each subproject proposal Thisshould include a realistic list of inputs and theirprobable sources of supply (in AID Geographic Code 941countries and the cooperating country) with base costs calculated in ctrrent prices for each and price andphysical cortingencies estimated conservatively
In cases where sulpiojects comprise ldrge sets ofsmall interventions it will be permissible to aggregateestimates by category rather than for each individualsmall activity as related to total physical volumes of
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work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
21
Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
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inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
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The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
28
small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
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2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
interventions by AID at that point will probably be in order It is too soon to tell of what type but adaptive (farmingsystems) researchextension is a reasonable possiblity
2 Definition of the Project
Therefore the goal of the Project is to increaseChads production of food and its availability to thedeprived and lay groundwork for more profoundagricultural development Its purpose is in theSahelian zone to assist small farmer production andsupportive private sector activities havingdemonstration and institutional development (primarilylocal cooperation) effects The objective is toaccomplish this broadly and quickly enough to (a) make asignificant contribution to the welfare of Chadianshitherto subject to famine and the recipients of foodaid including settled displaced persons and (b)demonstrate approaches to developing small farmer andprivate sector food production systems which successorlonger-term projects can adopt or otherwise support
The magnitude and duration of the Project havebeen determined on the basis of three considerations availability of funds current and developableabsorptive capacity in Chad and the sequence ofagricultural development isAID following here Asindicated above the level of development assistance of$50 million or less per year in the next four years inthe AID bilateral programs obligations on the one handand the assignment of mission direct-hire staff on theother limit the program practically to newone startat present But the condition of Chads infrastructuregovernmental systems and societal fabric does not permitan immediate large-scale or long-term commitment inagriculture They also limit the organizational meansby which assistance to agriculture in Chad can be delivered and monitored
From this follows a deliberate focus andlimitation of the Project to the essential and to targets and means where current experience and analysesindicate feasibility as well as potential forfarther-future interventions That is new foodproduction employing water application small groundworks and self-help and loan finance for smallagricultural businesses -- in accessible areas of theSahelian zone (north and south of NDjamena and around Abeche) -- with a spread of small-scale efforts andtargets clustered in four (or possibly five)subprojects Certain activities may employ AIDfood-for-work or food sales proceeds to supplementproject finance that will support technical assistanceand management tools and other inputs and a loan fund
11
for entrepreneurs And GOC contribution of staff andfacilities will be encouraged in individual subprojects
Strategy dictates that these efforts begin as soonas possible and produce tangible results within three tofour years AIDs experience with relief andrehabilitation activities indicates that such work canbe organized and implemented in Chad at an expenditurerate of about $30 million per year It also indicatesindeed presupposes that American PVOs already operatingeffectively in Chad should be the primary vehicle fordesign operation and monitoring Neither AIDChad northe GOC has the capacity to work on a day-to-day basisat this level -- with outreach to farmers acquisitionand delivery of a variety of inputs and detailedspecification and follow-up PVOs do (See B3 below)
The Project will combine the requisites ofquick-startup and disbursement breadth of effectaccommodation of several effective PVOs andconcentration on a particular target population in aunitary framework via a special type of PVO umbrellaproject This follows agency guidance mandating greatercooperation with registered PVOs in AID programs andsimplification of procedures But for Chad it is notand cannot be a peripheral adjunct to a large matureassistance program the Project will be central to thecurrent effort making a new start on Chads agriculturaldevelopment By design and intent it should become thestepping stone to a mature agricultural program andproject portfolio
Thus one project will be authorized havingtranched obligations over three years underagreement with the GOC an
Guidance on the development andimplementation of subprojects by PVOs contained in thisproject paper (PP) will lead interested PVOs initiallyCARE AFRICARE and VITA to design and proposeinitiatives to serve the projects goal and purpose inthe prescribed manner Cooperative Agreements betweenAID and the PVOs will set the work afoot mutatismutandis The customary andindependent imaginationinitiative of PVOs are necessary ingredients in thisendeavor And recent experience lends confidence thatPVO integrity and the requisites of andAID thisparticular project will be compatible and mutuallysupportive The Project then will be evaluated as awhole by AID and its subprojects monitored andevaluated cooperatively by the PVOs and AID in asequence that provides timely indicators to the futuredevelopment of AIDs program in Chad
12
3 The Role and Use of PVOs
PVO umbrella or co-financing projects are relatively new in Africa though now conventional in Asia whereas AID assistance in Africa has a fairlywide though checkered history of support for individual PVO activities Two more or less pure umbrella projects in Africa are in Zaire and Kenya (and a second in the latter currently being developed) In these countries as in the Philippines and Indonesia the PVO co-financing endeavor is one AID project in a large and variegated portfolio where tapping the resources and vitality of PVOs (American and indigenous) is basically a valuable but peripheral outreach of the core AID program
As indicated above the project proposed here is different It is intended to be the centerpiece of AIDs agricultural development assistance for the next three years Its merits must be judged then (a)against those of alternative formulations of developmentassistance with which there is experience and (b) in terms of the efficacy in Chad of the kinds of subprojects it will support On matter (a) it can be said from current Chadian experience that rural-based production investments by AID cannot be inade more efficiently by any other means And the like ihood of economic payoff in Chad of larger-scaled longergestating more fundamental systemic agriculturaldevelopment projects of the typical AID type is highlyproblematical at this time In other wordsconventional AID experience in the Sahel does not givepromise in the present Chadian context In terms of implementation pay-off and foundation-laying the AID-PVO relief and rehabilitation and refugeeresettlement assistance experience of the past two yearsdoes -- as outlined below
There are seven American PVONGOs(Non-Governmental Organizations) 13 NGOsand non-US operating in Chad Some of the NGOs particularly the Protestant missions have been around for as long as thirty years Others such as CARE started work here in the 1970s but had to withdraw and then reinstall themselves because the civil warsof Most of the PVOs have seen an increase in expenditures and staff since the advent of the present Government of Chad followinginternational donor response to the devastation of war and drought
For the most part these organizations have been effective implementing agencies capitalizing on experience and procedures developed elsewhere and in Chad carrying comparatively low operating costs and retaining the respect and cooperation of government
They operate immediate emergency food distribution andhealth care services especially for displaced personsand resettlement and rehabilitation activities in KanemOuaddai Guera and Chari-Baguirmi prefectures (see Table 1)
PVOs financed directly by AID thus far in ChadCARE AFRICARE and VITA are
each of which is implementingimportant and urgently needed activities CARE presentin Che discontinuously since 1973 has ten expatriateand 110 Chadian staff members It distributed over $30million worth of emergency food in 1984 and has beensupervising the reconstruction of strategic roads waterstructures and public facilities with food-for-work resources and AID grants In the period 1982-1986 CAREwill have undertaken rehabilitation activities worth more than $38 million in AID funding in addition tothe value of the food distributed and CAREs owncontributions The June 1984 evaluation of its firstAID-financed rural infrastructure rehabilitation activity was favorable
AFRICARE began work in Chad in March 1983 and nowhas four expatriate staff two highly qualified Chadiantechnicians and 120 Chadian employees it wasinitially involved thein development of two irrigatedperimeters (120 ha total) close to NDjamena forvegetable gardening with mixed results More recentlyAFRICARE has undertaken a $285 million AID-fundedthree-year rehabilitationrural development project inOuaddai This project will have a major impact on therural population near Abeche who have been among thehardest hit by the war and drought by providing forseed distribution dike restoration reforestation andthe introduction of intermediate technologies Despitepoor rains in the past year this seems promising
VITA (Volunteers in Technical Assistance) beganoperations in Chad in 1984 and now has a staff of oneexpatriate (with an additional one on the way) fourChadian loan officers and five office workers Under a$15 million grant from AID it is providing animportant source of credit for small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs in and around NDjamena This privatesector activity aimed restoringat the activities ofdisplaced and other businessmen has already financedsuccessful melon poultry and food processingbusinesses in addition to more urban commercial ventures A reviewrecent indicates that this willprobably be a successful venture and VITA is nowlooking at the potential for expansion otherto market towns
The Project takes the explicit view that theexperience and in-place systems of the three major
14
Table 1
MAJOR PVO ACTIVITIES IN CHAD
PVO Activity Title Valua ($O00) Period Description Heavy Tzucks-FoodCARE 1289 982-984 Delivery
Provides trucks 4WD vehicles Maintenance for food-for-vork (FFW) and other relief coimodities delivery to rural areas
CARE FM Road Repair 387 Repair 155 km Ndjamena-Cuelendeng road 850 workers CARE Ag Infrastructure 950 1283-485 FFW reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urbanRestoration I manitation CARE Ag Infrastructu-e 1200 1084-1086 Ff4 reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urban
Restoration 11 sanitation CARE Resettlement 217 185- Resettlement in Kane financed by FED and Dutch PVO AFRICARE Heavy Equip Repair 585 982-984 Provide master mechanic and rehabilitation to Public Works
NdjamenaAFRICARK Vegetable Gardening 380 683-986 FFW Establish 20 ha vegetable production nearNdjamena AFRICARE Abechi Rural Dev 2850 584-1186 Integrated rural development VITA Private Enterprise 1500 784-686 Provision of credit to entrepreneurs in and near Ndjamena for new
businesses SECADEV Displaced Personp
Rural Development Food aid distribution reconstruction ofrural infrastructure650 (annually) food relief
Ndjamena Social Aid to sick aged handicapped - a GOC-registered
Chadian Catholic PVO working with 10-12000 peopleNfdecins 6000 1983-85 Sans Medical Assistance
Epidemic prevention in displaced persons camps reestablishment11000 1985-88 Frontiaree of prefecture health clinics staff training hoterchtld health
monitoring preventive care European PVO CARED Rural Development - 1982- Pre-cooperative support Irrigated perimeters (5-10 ha each)
chicken and small rumLnant production village grain mills League of Emergency Relief 750 1983-4Red Cross Food and Blanket distribution to more than 50000 80 food7500 1985-8 distribution sites some resettlement programs
American PVOs in Chad can and should be utilized and built upon at this stage and through this project Alternative vehicles as suggested above are not promising in themselves and could not in any case be relied upon for rapid mobilization Nor in Sahelian experience are universities consulting firms or the technical offices of AID missions more suitable to the hands-on nature of this project They are less adaptable to (and experienced with) the rigors of work in Chad and more expensive as well
This does not mean however that the PVOs expected to implement this project will not need helpOn the model of current AID rehabtlitation efforts they can be relied upon to handle well the necessary procurement understandings with the government mobilization and delivery of inputs and monitoringTheir weaknesses understandable given contemporary Chad and the foreign assistance milieu but also correctable have lain in the design and technical supervision of rural activities (See VA below) Greater subproject financing of field specialists should assure that implementation is technically sound The PVOs will be encouraged to apply their own contributions to detailed design work at the proposal and later stages To augment this the Project will provide for the selected application of small grants to PVOs for specific desiqn assistance
C ELEMENTS
1 Subprojects
Analyses indicate that considerable potential for new food production and related private sector activityobtains dispersed through the Sahelian zone To capture this potential and test developmental approaches (including local organizational dynamics) economically and rapidly American PVOs with substantial in-country facilities and experience will be invited to propose four to five subprojects having durations of two to four years beginning in late FY 1985 These subprojects will be the substance of the Project
Following the focus and expectations described above and in later analyses there is a strong prospect that CARE AFRICARE and VITA will propose initial subprojects which treat settled populations in the geographical Kanem area around Abeche and in Chari-Baguirmi Each should be prepared and ready to commelice before the end of FY 1986 probably much earlier on the part of CARE They may either fullycomprehend a large scattered population -- possibly expanded to additional accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- or commence in a more limited fashion and for
16
shorter duraticn with the intention of a second phase within the life of the Project At the same time the Project allows for the introduction of at least one new American PVO into Chads food production sector
On the basis of this project papers guidance each PVO will develop a detailed proposal the equivalent substantively of an AID small-project PP (see also Implementation Plan III below) for review and approval by AID in the field These proposals must adhere to the Projects focus criteria and meet various standards of format and detail Most important among the latter treat beneficiaries (the deprived but able) technological feasibility inputs availability and utility (tools seeds food-for-work etc) social and organizational practicality (regarding inter alia adaptiveness and cooperativeness of populations land tenure and government role) economic justifiability (cost-benefit or least cost market relations etc) and intended demonstration and institutional especially local institutional effects The PVO must further demonstrate its managerial capacity and provide as a condition to proposal approval an agreement with the appropriate GOC ministry to undertake the subproject on its behalf That should indicate the role of specific GOC agencies in implementation and the institutional developmental feasiblity and goals of that
The inputs of the project will be largely grants through Cooperative Agreements to the PVOs and as necessary and possible AID or World Food Program food-for-work contributions and food aid sales proceeds The quantification of those will be done at the subproject design stage The inputs of subprojects financed by the AID grants will be technical asistance management implements and other inputs loan finance in the private sector efforts food or proceeds perhaps (financed outside the Project) monitoring and evaluation and provision for contingencies The outputs will be functioning food production schemes and food production or related businesses Output targets will be enumerated by scheme or area based on the PVOs detailed analyses
Total Project funds programmed for subproject grants are $12 million with expenditures to be incurred by September 30 1989 the Project Assistance Completion Date (PACD) and fully disbursed by December 31 1989 Included in the grant financing to PVOs may be design costs not normally to exceed $50000 per subproject
PVOs are expected to make a maximum effort to meet the requirement of a 25 pezcent contribution from their own resources to the total costs of their subproject(s) and especially to the development of subprojects
17
Provision of Project assistance to subprojectconceptualization and design will be justifiedespecially for new PVO entrants to Chad or more importantly where an intended subprojects objectivesexplicitly emphasize testing and monitoring oftechnologies development) application
or processes with promise
(including institutional for future systematic
2 Procedures
Participating PVOs are expected to be familiar with AID requirements to follow the proposal format set forth in the Implementation Plan below and to be acceptable to AID in terms of registrationnon-government source globalof revenue and auditability Given that AID will entertain proposals on a rolling admissions basis up to a magnitude of $40million each with activities to be completed by the PACD
As a central principle of the Project isminimization of direct AID design and implementationburden and maximization of impact a small but necessaryprovision is made for management by AID This $725000will finance a full-time project manager management support allowance for contingencies and an AID evaluation The project manager will coordinate AID-PVO relationships including assistance to subprojectdesign as necessary subproject proposal review dild approval (including adherence to FAA Sec 611(a)requirements) GOC approvals activation of cooperativeagreements reporting and evaluation (See II-IV below)
Thus subproject proposals will be treated in the same fashion as projects for field authorization and to the same standards This will require full review byAIDChad professional staff the Chad AID Directors approval with concurrence of the REDSOWCA Director From an approved proposal AIDChad will develop a PIOTto generate in turn the Cooperative Agreement to be executed by a REDSOWCA Grant Officer The GOC will be a signatory to the PIOT thereby exercising its rightto determine the use of funds granted to it by AID
3 Results
As should now be clear the end-of-project-statusof this effort has two strands and a corollarySignificant increases in food production and consumption among Chads currently destitute must occur and be managed at an uncommonly low cost to AID and the GOC In achieving this techniques of cultivation and organization including use of private capital and local cooperation should be tested reasonably
18
systematically this should provide a part of the basis for later concerted attacks on Chads poverty by the GOC and its Atdonors the same time AID-PVO cooperationwill enhance the impact of the assistance of each in Chads difficult environment And strengthened PVOs and PVO-GOC collaboration is unquestionably a short- andmedium-term good given the straightened circumstances and poor prospects of Chads people and systems
Finally specification measurement and lessons of such results are particularly important to agriculturaldevelopment in Chad The era of the Project is onewhere a turning point may be reached thisfor countryThus monitoring and evaluation of the Project are especially important (See IV below) If the Projects assumptions are correct and this is designedto be verified in the Projects timeframe Chad has reasonable hope and AID will have fulfilled its current mandate and immediate strategic purpose
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS
A BUDGET
The Project will provide $12725 million in grantfunds from the Sahel (121) account to the Government of Chad to be obligated over the Fiscal Years 1985 through1987 Expenditures may be accrued up theto PACD (September 30 1989) and must be fully disbursed byDecember 31 1989 Obligation will be by GrantAgreement and its amendment with the GOC Funds will be handled directly by registered American PVOs and in the case of administration of the Project by USAIDChad
Of the total AID dollar contribution $120 million will be provided by AID to PVOs by CooperativeAgreements through letters of credit Generally a 25percent contribution to each subproject from non-AID sources will be required including cash input so far as possible from each PVO This can be waived by the Chad AID Representative if the interests of United States policy in Chad so warrant It is estimated that the non-AID contribution by PVOs to the overall costs of the Project will be about $30 million The Government of Chad will not be called upon to contribute to the overall Project as this is deemed impossible under current Chadian circumstances and in any case is not required in the Sahel program However in individual subprojects certain GOC contribution of staff time and facilities may well occur and bewill encouraged this will be set forth in the PVO-GOC exchange of letters
Additional contributions to the Project from other AID sources are also anticipated but cannot be projecteduntil subprojects are designed and approved and these
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resources availability in Chad for specified periods isdetermined They are food-for-work provided under PL
II480 Title and rice sales proceeds generated by TitleII Emergency Sales in FY 1985 and Title II Section 206 programs or continued Emergency Sales thereafter
The remaining portion of the grant ($725000) willbe devoted to administration by AID That is financeof a fulltime project manager by AID Personal ServicesContract (PSC) (estimated at $125000 per year for four years plus management support of $50000) finance of acomprehensive final evaluation theof project in itsfourth year ($100000) also to be directly contracted for by AID and a small provision for contingencies($75000) It is expected that additional subprojectreview monitoring and evaluation services as necessaryduring the life of the project will be provided byREDSOWCA at no cost to the Project
Table 2 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS ($mil)
AID Grants to PVOs 120
AID Administration 0725
PVO Contributions 30
Food-for-Work
AID Food Sales Proceeds
Table 3
OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FISCAL YEAR ($mil)
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Obligations 3725 40 50 - -Expenditures - 2225 45 40 20
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A thorough financial analysis and detailed budgetwill be required in each subproject proposal Thisshould include a realistic list of inputs and theirprobable sources of supply (in AID Geographic Code 941countries and the cooperating country) with base costs calculated in ctrrent prices for each and price andphysical cortingencies estimated conservatively
In cases where sulpiojects comprise ldrge sets ofsmall interventions it will be permissible to aggregateestimates by category rather than for each individualsmall activity as related to total physical volumes of
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work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
21
Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
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inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
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small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
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2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
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real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
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In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
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ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
for entrepreneurs And GOC contribution of staff andfacilities will be encouraged in individual subprojects
Strategy dictates that these efforts begin as soonas possible and produce tangible results within three tofour years AIDs experience with relief andrehabilitation activities indicates that such work canbe organized and implemented in Chad at an expenditurerate of about $30 million per year It also indicatesindeed presupposes that American PVOs already operatingeffectively in Chad should be the primary vehicle fordesign operation and monitoring Neither AIDChad northe GOC has the capacity to work on a day-to-day basisat this level -- with outreach to farmers acquisitionand delivery of a variety of inputs and detailedspecification and follow-up PVOs do (See B3 below)
The Project will combine the requisites ofquick-startup and disbursement breadth of effectaccommodation of several effective PVOs andconcentration on a particular target population in aunitary framework via a special type of PVO umbrellaproject This follows agency guidance mandating greatercooperation with registered PVOs in AID programs andsimplification of procedures But for Chad it is notand cannot be a peripheral adjunct to a large matureassistance program the Project will be central to thecurrent effort making a new start on Chads agriculturaldevelopment By design and intent it should become thestepping stone to a mature agricultural program andproject portfolio
Thus one project will be authorized havingtranched obligations over three years underagreement with the GOC an
Guidance on the development andimplementation of subprojects by PVOs contained in thisproject paper (PP) will lead interested PVOs initiallyCARE AFRICARE and VITA to design and proposeinitiatives to serve the projects goal and purpose inthe prescribed manner Cooperative Agreements betweenAID and the PVOs will set the work afoot mutatismutandis The customary andindependent imaginationinitiative of PVOs are necessary ingredients in thisendeavor And recent experience lends confidence thatPVO integrity and the requisites of andAID thisparticular project will be compatible and mutuallysupportive The Project then will be evaluated as awhole by AID and its subprojects monitored andevaluated cooperatively by the PVOs and AID in asequence that provides timely indicators to the futuredevelopment of AIDs program in Chad
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3 The Role and Use of PVOs
PVO umbrella or co-financing projects are relatively new in Africa though now conventional in Asia whereas AID assistance in Africa has a fairlywide though checkered history of support for individual PVO activities Two more or less pure umbrella projects in Africa are in Zaire and Kenya (and a second in the latter currently being developed) In these countries as in the Philippines and Indonesia the PVO co-financing endeavor is one AID project in a large and variegated portfolio where tapping the resources and vitality of PVOs (American and indigenous) is basically a valuable but peripheral outreach of the core AID program
As indicated above the project proposed here is different It is intended to be the centerpiece of AIDs agricultural development assistance for the next three years Its merits must be judged then (a)against those of alternative formulations of developmentassistance with which there is experience and (b) in terms of the efficacy in Chad of the kinds of subprojects it will support On matter (a) it can be said from current Chadian experience that rural-based production investments by AID cannot be inade more efficiently by any other means And the like ihood of economic payoff in Chad of larger-scaled longergestating more fundamental systemic agriculturaldevelopment projects of the typical AID type is highlyproblematical at this time In other wordsconventional AID experience in the Sahel does not givepromise in the present Chadian context In terms of implementation pay-off and foundation-laying the AID-PVO relief and rehabilitation and refugeeresettlement assistance experience of the past two yearsdoes -- as outlined below
There are seven American PVONGOs(Non-Governmental Organizations) 13 NGOsand non-US operating in Chad Some of the NGOs particularly the Protestant missions have been around for as long as thirty years Others such as CARE started work here in the 1970s but had to withdraw and then reinstall themselves because the civil warsof Most of the PVOs have seen an increase in expenditures and staff since the advent of the present Government of Chad followinginternational donor response to the devastation of war and drought
For the most part these organizations have been effective implementing agencies capitalizing on experience and procedures developed elsewhere and in Chad carrying comparatively low operating costs and retaining the respect and cooperation of government
They operate immediate emergency food distribution andhealth care services especially for displaced personsand resettlement and rehabilitation activities in KanemOuaddai Guera and Chari-Baguirmi prefectures (see Table 1)
PVOs financed directly by AID thus far in ChadCARE AFRICARE and VITA are
each of which is implementingimportant and urgently needed activities CARE presentin Che discontinuously since 1973 has ten expatriateand 110 Chadian staff members It distributed over $30million worth of emergency food in 1984 and has beensupervising the reconstruction of strategic roads waterstructures and public facilities with food-for-work resources and AID grants In the period 1982-1986 CAREwill have undertaken rehabilitation activities worth more than $38 million in AID funding in addition tothe value of the food distributed and CAREs owncontributions The June 1984 evaluation of its firstAID-financed rural infrastructure rehabilitation activity was favorable
AFRICARE began work in Chad in March 1983 and nowhas four expatriate staff two highly qualified Chadiantechnicians and 120 Chadian employees it wasinitially involved thein development of two irrigatedperimeters (120 ha total) close to NDjamena forvegetable gardening with mixed results More recentlyAFRICARE has undertaken a $285 million AID-fundedthree-year rehabilitationrural development project inOuaddai This project will have a major impact on therural population near Abeche who have been among thehardest hit by the war and drought by providing forseed distribution dike restoration reforestation andthe introduction of intermediate technologies Despitepoor rains in the past year this seems promising
VITA (Volunteers in Technical Assistance) beganoperations in Chad in 1984 and now has a staff of oneexpatriate (with an additional one on the way) fourChadian loan officers and five office workers Under a$15 million grant from AID it is providing animportant source of credit for small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs in and around NDjamena This privatesector activity aimed restoringat the activities ofdisplaced and other businessmen has already financedsuccessful melon poultry and food processingbusinesses in addition to more urban commercial ventures A reviewrecent indicates that this willprobably be a successful venture and VITA is nowlooking at the potential for expansion otherto market towns
The Project takes the explicit view that theexperience and in-place systems of the three major
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Table 1
MAJOR PVO ACTIVITIES IN CHAD
PVO Activity Title Valua ($O00) Period Description Heavy Tzucks-FoodCARE 1289 982-984 Delivery
Provides trucks 4WD vehicles Maintenance for food-for-vork (FFW) and other relief coimodities delivery to rural areas
CARE FM Road Repair 387 Repair 155 km Ndjamena-Cuelendeng road 850 workers CARE Ag Infrastructure 950 1283-485 FFW reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urbanRestoration I manitation CARE Ag Infrastructu-e 1200 1084-1086 Ff4 reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urban
Restoration 11 sanitation CARE Resettlement 217 185- Resettlement in Kane financed by FED and Dutch PVO AFRICARE Heavy Equip Repair 585 982-984 Provide master mechanic and rehabilitation to Public Works
NdjamenaAFRICARK Vegetable Gardening 380 683-986 FFW Establish 20 ha vegetable production nearNdjamena AFRICARE Abechi Rural Dev 2850 584-1186 Integrated rural development VITA Private Enterprise 1500 784-686 Provision of credit to entrepreneurs in and near Ndjamena for new
businesses SECADEV Displaced Personp
Rural Development Food aid distribution reconstruction ofrural infrastructure650 (annually) food relief
Ndjamena Social Aid to sick aged handicapped - a GOC-registered
Chadian Catholic PVO working with 10-12000 peopleNfdecins 6000 1983-85 Sans Medical Assistance
Epidemic prevention in displaced persons camps reestablishment11000 1985-88 Frontiaree of prefecture health clinics staff training hoterchtld health
monitoring preventive care European PVO CARED Rural Development - 1982- Pre-cooperative support Irrigated perimeters (5-10 ha each)
chicken and small rumLnant production village grain mills League of Emergency Relief 750 1983-4Red Cross Food and Blanket distribution to more than 50000 80 food7500 1985-8 distribution sites some resettlement programs
American PVOs in Chad can and should be utilized and built upon at this stage and through this project Alternative vehicles as suggested above are not promising in themselves and could not in any case be relied upon for rapid mobilization Nor in Sahelian experience are universities consulting firms or the technical offices of AID missions more suitable to the hands-on nature of this project They are less adaptable to (and experienced with) the rigors of work in Chad and more expensive as well
This does not mean however that the PVOs expected to implement this project will not need helpOn the model of current AID rehabtlitation efforts they can be relied upon to handle well the necessary procurement understandings with the government mobilization and delivery of inputs and monitoringTheir weaknesses understandable given contemporary Chad and the foreign assistance milieu but also correctable have lain in the design and technical supervision of rural activities (See VA below) Greater subproject financing of field specialists should assure that implementation is technically sound The PVOs will be encouraged to apply their own contributions to detailed design work at the proposal and later stages To augment this the Project will provide for the selected application of small grants to PVOs for specific desiqn assistance
C ELEMENTS
1 Subprojects
Analyses indicate that considerable potential for new food production and related private sector activityobtains dispersed through the Sahelian zone To capture this potential and test developmental approaches (including local organizational dynamics) economically and rapidly American PVOs with substantial in-country facilities and experience will be invited to propose four to five subprojects having durations of two to four years beginning in late FY 1985 These subprojects will be the substance of the Project
Following the focus and expectations described above and in later analyses there is a strong prospect that CARE AFRICARE and VITA will propose initial subprojects which treat settled populations in the geographical Kanem area around Abeche and in Chari-Baguirmi Each should be prepared and ready to commelice before the end of FY 1986 probably much earlier on the part of CARE They may either fullycomprehend a large scattered population -- possibly expanded to additional accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- or commence in a more limited fashion and for
16
shorter duraticn with the intention of a second phase within the life of the Project At the same time the Project allows for the introduction of at least one new American PVO into Chads food production sector
On the basis of this project papers guidance each PVO will develop a detailed proposal the equivalent substantively of an AID small-project PP (see also Implementation Plan III below) for review and approval by AID in the field These proposals must adhere to the Projects focus criteria and meet various standards of format and detail Most important among the latter treat beneficiaries (the deprived but able) technological feasibility inputs availability and utility (tools seeds food-for-work etc) social and organizational practicality (regarding inter alia adaptiveness and cooperativeness of populations land tenure and government role) economic justifiability (cost-benefit or least cost market relations etc) and intended demonstration and institutional especially local institutional effects The PVO must further demonstrate its managerial capacity and provide as a condition to proposal approval an agreement with the appropriate GOC ministry to undertake the subproject on its behalf That should indicate the role of specific GOC agencies in implementation and the institutional developmental feasiblity and goals of that
The inputs of the project will be largely grants through Cooperative Agreements to the PVOs and as necessary and possible AID or World Food Program food-for-work contributions and food aid sales proceeds The quantification of those will be done at the subproject design stage The inputs of subprojects financed by the AID grants will be technical asistance management implements and other inputs loan finance in the private sector efforts food or proceeds perhaps (financed outside the Project) monitoring and evaluation and provision for contingencies The outputs will be functioning food production schemes and food production or related businesses Output targets will be enumerated by scheme or area based on the PVOs detailed analyses
Total Project funds programmed for subproject grants are $12 million with expenditures to be incurred by September 30 1989 the Project Assistance Completion Date (PACD) and fully disbursed by December 31 1989 Included in the grant financing to PVOs may be design costs not normally to exceed $50000 per subproject
PVOs are expected to make a maximum effort to meet the requirement of a 25 pezcent contribution from their own resources to the total costs of their subproject(s) and especially to the development of subprojects
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Provision of Project assistance to subprojectconceptualization and design will be justifiedespecially for new PVO entrants to Chad or more importantly where an intended subprojects objectivesexplicitly emphasize testing and monitoring oftechnologies development) application
or processes with promise
(including institutional for future systematic
2 Procedures
Participating PVOs are expected to be familiar with AID requirements to follow the proposal format set forth in the Implementation Plan below and to be acceptable to AID in terms of registrationnon-government source globalof revenue and auditability Given that AID will entertain proposals on a rolling admissions basis up to a magnitude of $40million each with activities to be completed by the PACD
As a central principle of the Project isminimization of direct AID design and implementationburden and maximization of impact a small but necessaryprovision is made for management by AID This $725000will finance a full-time project manager management support allowance for contingencies and an AID evaluation The project manager will coordinate AID-PVO relationships including assistance to subprojectdesign as necessary subproject proposal review dild approval (including adherence to FAA Sec 611(a)requirements) GOC approvals activation of cooperativeagreements reporting and evaluation (See II-IV below)
Thus subproject proposals will be treated in the same fashion as projects for field authorization and to the same standards This will require full review byAIDChad professional staff the Chad AID Directors approval with concurrence of the REDSOWCA Director From an approved proposal AIDChad will develop a PIOTto generate in turn the Cooperative Agreement to be executed by a REDSOWCA Grant Officer The GOC will be a signatory to the PIOT thereby exercising its rightto determine the use of funds granted to it by AID
3 Results
As should now be clear the end-of-project-statusof this effort has two strands and a corollarySignificant increases in food production and consumption among Chads currently destitute must occur and be managed at an uncommonly low cost to AID and the GOC In achieving this techniques of cultivation and organization including use of private capital and local cooperation should be tested reasonably
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systematically this should provide a part of the basis for later concerted attacks on Chads poverty by the GOC and its Atdonors the same time AID-PVO cooperationwill enhance the impact of the assistance of each in Chads difficult environment And strengthened PVOs and PVO-GOC collaboration is unquestionably a short- andmedium-term good given the straightened circumstances and poor prospects of Chads people and systems
Finally specification measurement and lessons of such results are particularly important to agriculturaldevelopment in Chad The era of the Project is onewhere a turning point may be reached thisfor countryThus monitoring and evaluation of the Project are especially important (See IV below) If the Projects assumptions are correct and this is designedto be verified in the Projects timeframe Chad has reasonable hope and AID will have fulfilled its current mandate and immediate strategic purpose
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS
A BUDGET
The Project will provide $12725 million in grantfunds from the Sahel (121) account to the Government of Chad to be obligated over the Fiscal Years 1985 through1987 Expenditures may be accrued up theto PACD (September 30 1989) and must be fully disbursed byDecember 31 1989 Obligation will be by GrantAgreement and its amendment with the GOC Funds will be handled directly by registered American PVOs and in the case of administration of the Project by USAIDChad
Of the total AID dollar contribution $120 million will be provided by AID to PVOs by CooperativeAgreements through letters of credit Generally a 25percent contribution to each subproject from non-AID sources will be required including cash input so far as possible from each PVO This can be waived by the Chad AID Representative if the interests of United States policy in Chad so warrant It is estimated that the non-AID contribution by PVOs to the overall costs of the Project will be about $30 million The Government of Chad will not be called upon to contribute to the overall Project as this is deemed impossible under current Chadian circumstances and in any case is not required in the Sahel program However in individual subprojects certain GOC contribution of staff time and facilities may well occur and bewill encouraged this will be set forth in the PVO-GOC exchange of letters
Additional contributions to the Project from other AID sources are also anticipated but cannot be projecteduntil subprojects are designed and approved and these
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resources availability in Chad for specified periods isdetermined They are food-for-work provided under PL
II480 Title and rice sales proceeds generated by TitleII Emergency Sales in FY 1985 and Title II Section 206 programs or continued Emergency Sales thereafter
The remaining portion of the grant ($725000) willbe devoted to administration by AID That is financeof a fulltime project manager by AID Personal ServicesContract (PSC) (estimated at $125000 per year for four years plus management support of $50000) finance of acomprehensive final evaluation theof project in itsfourth year ($100000) also to be directly contracted for by AID and a small provision for contingencies($75000) It is expected that additional subprojectreview monitoring and evaluation services as necessaryduring the life of the project will be provided byREDSOWCA at no cost to the Project
Table 2 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS ($mil)
AID Grants to PVOs 120
AID Administration 0725
PVO Contributions 30
Food-for-Work
AID Food Sales Proceeds
Table 3
OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FISCAL YEAR ($mil)
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Obligations 3725 40 50 - -Expenditures - 2225 45 40 20
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A thorough financial analysis and detailed budgetwill be required in each subproject proposal Thisshould include a realistic list of inputs and theirprobable sources of supply (in AID Geographic Code 941countries and the cooperating country) with base costs calculated in ctrrent prices for each and price andphysical cortingencies estimated conservatively
In cases where sulpiojects comprise ldrge sets ofsmall interventions it will be permissible to aggregateestimates by category rather than for each individualsmall activity as related to total physical volumes of
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work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
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Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
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inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
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execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
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drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
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small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
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2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
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it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
3 The Role and Use of PVOs
PVO umbrella or co-financing projects are relatively new in Africa though now conventional in Asia whereas AID assistance in Africa has a fairlywide though checkered history of support for individual PVO activities Two more or less pure umbrella projects in Africa are in Zaire and Kenya (and a second in the latter currently being developed) In these countries as in the Philippines and Indonesia the PVO co-financing endeavor is one AID project in a large and variegated portfolio where tapping the resources and vitality of PVOs (American and indigenous) is basically a valuable but peripheral outreach of the core AID program
As indicated above the project proposed here is different It is intended to be the centerpiece of AIDs agricultural development assistance for the next three years Its merits must be judged then (a)against those of alternative formulations of developmentassistance with which there is experience and (b) in terms of the efficacy in Chad of the kinds of subprojects it will support On matter (a) it can be said from current Chadian experience that rural-based production investments by AID cannot be inade more efficiently by any other means And the like ihood of economic payoff in Chad of larger-scaled longergestating more fundamental systemic agriculturaldevelopment projects of the typical AID type is highlyproblematical at this time In other wordsconventional AID experience in the Sahel does not givepromise in the present Chadian context In terms of implementation pay-off and foundation-laying the AID-PVO relief and rehabilitation and refugeeresettlement assistance experience of the past two yearsdoes -- as outlined below
There are seven American PVONGOs(Non-Governmental Organizations) 13 NGOsand non-US operating in Chad Some of the NGOs particularly the Protestant missions have been around for as long as thirty years Others such as CARE started work here in the 1970s but had to withdraw and then reinstall themselves because the civil warsof Most of the PVOs have seen an increase in expenditures and staff since the advent of the present Government of Chad followinginternational donor response to the devastation of war and drought
For the most part these organizations have been effective implementing agencies capitalizing on experience and procedures developed elsewhere and in Chad carrying comparatively low operating costs and retaining the respect and cooperation of government
They operate immediate emergency food distribution andhealth care services especially for displaced personsand resettlement and rehabilitation activities in KanemOuaddai Guera and Chari-Baguirmi prefectures (see Table 1)
PVOs financed directly by AID thus far in ChadCARE AFRICARE and VITA are
each of which is implementingimportant and urgently needed activities CARE presentin Che discontinuously since 1973 has ten expatriateand 110 Chadian staff members It distributed over $30million worth of emergency food in 1984 and has beensupervising the reconstruction of strategic roads waterstructures and public facilities with food-for-work resources and AID grants In the period 1982-1986 CAREwill have undertaken rehabilitation activities worth more than $38 million in AID funding in addition tothe value of the food distributed and CAREs owncontributions The June 1984 evaluation of its firstAID-financed rural infrastructure rehabilitation activity was favorable
AFRICARE began work in Chad in March 1983 and nowhas four expatriate staff two highly qualified Chadiantechnicians and 120 Chadian employees it wasinitially involved thein development of two irrigatedperimeters (120 ha total) close to NDjamena forvegetable gardening with mixed results More recentlyAFRICARE has undertaken a $285 million AID-fundedthree-year rehabilitationrural development project inOuaddai This project will have a major impact on therural population near Abeche who have been among thehardest hit by the war and drought by providing forseed distribution dike restoration reforestation andthe introduction of intermediate technologies Despitepoor rains in the past year this seems promising
VITA (Volunteers in Technical Assistance) beganoperations in Chad in 1984 and now has a staff of oneexpatriate (with an additional one on the way) fourChadian loan officers and five office workers Under a$15 million grant from AID it is providing animportant source of credit for small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs in and around NDjamena This privatesector activity aimed restoringat the activities ofdisplaced and other businessmen has already financedsuccessful melon poultry and food processingbusinesses in addition to more urban commercial ventures A reviewrecent indicates that this willprobably be a successful venture and VITA is nowlooking at the potential for expansion otherto market towns
The Project takes the explicit view that theexperience and in-place systems of the three major
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Table 1
MAJOR PVO ACTIVITIES IN CHAD
PVO Activity Title Valua ($O00) Period Description Heavy Tzucks-FoodCARE 1289 982-984 Delivery
Provides trucks 4WD vehicles Maintenance for food-for-vork (FFW) and other relief coimodities delivery to rural areas
CARE FM Road Repair 387 Repair 155 km Ndjamena-Cuelendeng road 850 workers CARE Ag Infrastructure 950 1283-485 FFW reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urbanRestoration I manitation CARE Ag Infrastructu-e 1200 1084-1086 Ff4 reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urban
Restoration 11 sanitation CARE Resettlement 217 185- Resettlement in Kane financed by FED and Dutch PVO AFRICARE Heavy Equip Repair 585 982-984 Provide master mechanic and rehabilitation to Public Works
NdjamenaAFRICARK Vegetable Gardening 380 683-986 FFW Establish 20 ha vegetable production nearNdjamena AFRICARE Abechi Rural Dev 2850 584-1186 Integrated rural development VITA Private Enterprise 1500 784-686 Provision of credit to entrepreneurs in and near Ndjamena for new
businesses SECADEV Displaced Personp
Rural Development Food aid distribution reconstruction ofrural infrastructure650 (annually) food relief
Ndjamena Social Aid to sick aged handicapped - a GOC-registered
Chadian Catholic PVO working with 10-12000 peopleNfdecins 6000 1983-85 Sans Medical Assistance
Epidemic prevention in displaced persons camps reestablishment11000 1985-88 Frontiaree of prefecture health clinics staff training hoterchtld health
monitoring preventive care European PVO CARED Rural Development - 1982- Pre-cooperative support Irrigated perimeters (5-10 ha each)
chicken and small rumLnant production village grain mills League of Emergency Relief 750 1983-4Red Cross Food and Blanket distribution to more than 50000 80 food7500 1985-8 distribution sites some resettlement programs
American PVOs in Chad can and should be utilized and built upon at this stage and through this project Alternative vehicles as suggested above are not promising in themselves and could not in any case be relied upon for rapid mobilization Nor in Sahelian experience are universities consulting firms or the technical offices of AID missions more suitable to the hands-on nature of this project They are less adaptable to (and experienced with) the rigors of work in Chad and more expensive as well
This does not mean however that the PVOs expected to implement this project will not need helpOn the model of current AID rehabtlitation efforts they can be relied upon to handle well the necessary procurement understandings with the government mobilization and delivery of inputs and monitoringTheir weaknesses understandable given contemporary Chad and the foreign assistance milieu but also correctable have lain in the design and technical supervision of rural activities (See VA below) Greater subproject financing of field specialists should assure that implementation is technically sound The PVOs will be encouraged to apply their own contributions to detailed design work at the proposal and later stages To augment this the Project will provide for the selected application of small grants to PVOs for specific desiqn assistance
C ELEMENTS
1 Subprojects
Analyses indicate that considerable potential for new food production and related private sector activityobtains dispersed through the Sahelian zone To capture this potential and test developmental approaches (including local organizational dynamics) economically and rapidly American PVOs with substantial in-country facilities and experience will be invited to propose four to five subprojects having durations of two to four years beginning in late FY 1985 These subprojects will be the substance of the Project
Following the focus and expectations described above and in later analyses there is a strong prospect that CARE AFRICARE and VITA will propose initial subprojects which treat settled populations in the geographical Kanem area around Abeche and in Chari-Baguirmi Each should be prepared and ready to commelice before the end of FY 1986 probably much earlier on the part of CARE They may either fullycomprehend a large scattered population -- possibly expanded to additional accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- or commence in a more limited fashion and for
16
shorter duraticn with the intention of a second phase within the life of the Project At the same time the Project allows for the introduction of at least one new American PVO into Chads food production sector
On the basis of this project papers guidance each PVO will develop a detailed proposal the equivalent substantively of an AID small-project PP (see also Implementation Plan III below) for review and approval by AID in the field These proposals must adhere to the Projects focus criteria and meet various standards of format and detail Most important among the latter treat beneficiaries (the deprived but able) technological feasibility inputs availability and utility (tools seeds food-for-work etc) social and organizational practicality (regarding inter alia adaptiveness and cooperativeness of populations land tenure and government role) economic justifiability (cost-benefit or least cost market relations etc) and intended demonstration and institutional especially local institutional effects The PVO must further demonstrate its managerial capacity and provide as a condition to proposal approval an agreement with the appropriate GOC ministry to undertake the subproject on its behalf That should indicate the role of specific GOC agencies in implementation and the institutional developmental feasiblity and goals of that
The inputs of the project will be largely grants through Cooperative Agreements to the PVOs and as necessary and possible AID or World Food Program food-for-work contributions and food aid sales proceeds The quantification of those will be done at the subproject design stage The inputs of subprojects financed by the AID grants will be technical asistance management implements and other inputs loan finance in the private sector efforts food or proceeds perhaps (financed outside the Project) monitoring and evaluation and provision for contingencies The outputs will be functioning food production schemes and food production or related businesses Output targets will be enumerated by scheme or area based on the PVOs detailed analyses
Total Project funds programmed for subproject grants are $12 million with expenditures to be incurred by September 30 1989 the Project Assistance Completion Date (PACD) and fully disbursed by December 31 1989 Included in the grant financing to PVOs may be design costs not normally to exceed $50000 per subproject
PVOs are expected to make a maximum effort to meet the requirement of a 25 pezcent contribution from their own resources to the total costs of their subproject(s) and especially to the development of subprojects
17
Provision of Project assistance to subprojectconceptualization and design will be justifiedespecially for new PVO entrants to Chad or more importantly where an intended subprojects objectivesexplicitly emphasize testing and monitoring oftechnologies development) application
or processes with promise
(including institutional for future systematic
2 Procedures
Participating PVOs are expected to be familiar with AID requirements to follow the proposal format set forth in the Implementation Plan below and to be acceptable to AID in terms of registrationnon-government source globalof revenue and auditability Given that AID will entertain proposals on a rolling admissions basis up to a magnitude of $40million each with activities to be completed by the PACD
As a central principle of the Project isminimization of direct AID design and implementationburden and maximization of impact a small but necessaryprovision is made for management by AID This $725000will finance a full-time project manager management support allowance for contingencies and an AID evaluation The project manager will coordinate AID-PVO relationships including assistance to subprojectdesign as necessary subproject proposal review dild approval (including adherence to FAA Sec 611(a)requirements) GOC approvals activation of cooperativeagreements reporting and evaluation (See II-IV below)
Thus subproject proposals will be treated in the same fashion as projects for field authorization and to the same standards This will require full review byAIDChad professional staff the Chad AID Directors approval with concurrence of the REDSOWCA Director From an approved proposal AIDChad will develop a PIOTto generate in turn the Cooperative Agreement to be executed by a REDSOWCA Grant Officer The GOC will be a signatory to the PIOT thereby exercising its rightto determine the use of funds granted to it by AID
3 Results
As should now be clear the end-of-project-statusof this effort has two strands and a corollarySignificant increases in food production and consumption among Chads currently destitute must occur and be managed at an uncommonly low cost to AID and the GOC In achieving this techniques of cultivation and organization including use of private capital and local cooperation should be tested reasonably
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systematically this should provide a part of the basis for later concerted attacks on Chads poverty by the GOC and its Atdonors the same time AID-PVO cooperationwill enhance the impact of the assistance of each in Chads difficult environment And strengthened PVOs and PVO-GOC collaboration is unquestionably a short- andmedium-term good given the straightened circumstances and poor prospects of Chads people and systems
Finally specification measurement and lessons of such results are particularly important to agriculturaldevelopment in Chad The era of the Project is onewhere a turning point may be reached thisfor countryThus monitoring and evaluation of the Project are especially important (See IV below) If the Projects assumptions are correct and this is designedto be verified in the Projects timeframe Chad has reasonable hope and AID will have fulfilled its current mandate and immediate strategic purpose
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS
A BUDGET
The Project will provide $12725 million in grantfunds from the Sahel (121) account to the Government of Chad to be obligated over the Fiscal Years 1985 through1987 Expenditures may be accrued up theto PACD (September 30 1989) and must be fully disbursed byDecember 31 1989 Obligation will be by GrantAgreement and its amendment with the GOC Funds will be handled directly by registered American PVOs and in the case of administration of the Project by USAIDChad
Of the total AID dollar contribution $120 million will be provided by AID to PVOs by CooperativeAgreements through letters of credit Generally a 25percent contribution to each subproject from non-AID sources will be required including cash input so far as possible from each PVO This can be waived by the Chad AID Representative if the interests of United States policy in Chad so warrant It is estimated that the non-AID contribution by PVOs to the overall costs of the Project will be about $30 million The Government of Chad will not be called upon to contribute to the overall Project as this is deemed impossible under current Chadian circumstances and in any case is not required in the Sahel program However in individual subprojects certain GOC contribution of staff time and facilities may well occur and bewill encouraged this will be set forth in the PVO-GOC exchange of letters
Additional contributions to the Project from other AID sources are also anticipated but cannot be projecteduntil subprojects are designed and approved and these
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resources availability in Chad for specified periods isdetermined They are food-for-work provided under PL
II480 Title and rice sales proceeds generated by TitleII Emergency Sales in FY 1985 and Title II Section 206 programs or continued Emergency Sales thereafter
The remaining portion of the grant ($725000) willbe devoted to administration by AID That is financeof a fulltime project manager by AID Personal ServicesContract (PSC) (estimated at $125000 per year for four years plus management support of $50000) finance of acomprehensive final evaluation theof project in itsfourth year ($100000) also to be directly contracted for by AID and a small provision for contingencies($75000) It is expected that additional subprojectreview monitoring and evaluation services as necessaryduring the life of the project will be provided byREDSOWCA at no cost to the Project
Table 2 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS ($mil)
AID Grants to PVOs 120
AID Administration 0725
PVO Contributions 30
Food-for-Work
AID Food Sales Proceeds
Table 3
OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FISCAL YEAR ($mil)
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Obligations 3725 40 50 - -Expenditures - 2225 45 40 20
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A thorough financial analysis and detailed budgetwill be required in each subproject proposal Thisshould include a realistic list of inputs and theirprobable sources of supply (in AID Geographic Code 941countries and the cooperating country) with base costs calculated in ctrrent prices for each and price andphysical cortingencies estimated conservatively
In cases where sulpiojects comprise ldrge sets ofsmall interventions it will be permissible to aggregateestimates by category rather than for each individualsmall activity as related to total physical volumes of
20
work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
21
Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
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inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
28
small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
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2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
They operate immediate emergency food distribution andhealth care services especially for displaced personsand resettlement and rehabilitation activities in KanemOuaddai Guera and Chari-Baguirmi prefectures (see Table 1)
PVOs financed directly by AID thus far in ChadCARE AFRICARE and VITA are
each of which is implementingimportant and urgently needed activities CARE presentin Che discontinuously since 1973 has ten expatriateand 110 Chadian staff members It distributed over $30million worth of emergency food in 1984 and has beensupervising the reconstruction of strategic roads waterstructures and public facilities with food-for-work resources and AID grants In the period 1982-1986 CAREwill have undertaken rehabilitation activities worth more than $38 million in AID funding in addition tothe value of the food distributed and CAREs owncontributions The June 1984 evaluation of its firstAID-financed rural infrastructure rehabilitation activity was favorable
AFRICARE began work in Chad in March 1983 and nowhas four expatriate staff two highly qualified Chadiantechnicians and 120 Chadian employees it wasinitially involved thein development of two irrigatedperimeters (120 ha total) close to NDjamena forvegetable gardening with mixed results More recentlyAFRICARE has undertaken a $285 million AID-fundedthree-year rehabilitationrural development project inOuaddai This project will have a major impact on therural population near Abeche who have been among thehardest hit by the war and drought by providing forseed distribution dike restoration reforestation andthe introduction of intermediate technologies Despitepoor rains in the past year this seems promising
VITA (Volunteers in Technical Assistance) beganoperations in Chad in 1984 and now has a staff of oneexpatriate (with an additional one on the way) fourChadian loan officers and five office workers Under a$15 million grant from AID it is providing animportant source of credit for small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs in and around NDjamena This privatesector activity aimed restoringat the activities ofdisplaced and other businessmen has already financedsuccessful melon poultry and food processingbusinesses in addition to more urban commercial ventures A reviewrecent indicates that this willprobably be a successful venture and VITA is nowlooking at the potential for expansion otherto market towns
The Project takes the explicit view that theexperience and in-place systems of the three major
14
Table 1
MAJOR PVO ACTIVITIES IN CHAD
PVO Activity Title Valua ($O00) Period Description Heavy Tzucks-FoodCARE 1289 982-984 Delivery
Provides trucks 4WD vehicles Maintenance for food-for-vork (FFW) and other relief coimodities delivery to rural areas
CARE FM Road Repair 387 Repair 155 km Ndjamena-Cuelendeng road 850 workers CARE Ag Infrastructure 950 1283-485 FFW reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urbanRestoration I manitation CARE Ag Infrastructu-e 1200 1084-1086 Ff4 reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urban
Restoration 11 sanitation CARE Resettlement 217 185- Resettlement in Kane financed by FED and Dutch PVO AFRICARE Heavy Equip Repair 585 982-984 Provide master mechanic and rehabilitation to Public Works
NdjamenaAFRICARK Vegetable Gardening 380 683-986 FFW Establish 20 ha vegetable production nearNdjamena AFRICARE Abechi Rural Dev 2850 584-1186 Integrated rural development VITA Private Enterprise 1500 784-686 Provision of credit to entrepreneurs in and near Ndjamena for new
businesses SECADEV Displaced Personp
Rural Development Food aid distribution reconstruction ofrural infrastructure650 (annually) food relief
Ndjamena Social Aid to sick aged handicapped - a GOC-registered
Chadian Catholic PVO working with 10-12000 peopleNfdecins 6000 1983-85 Sans Medical Assistance
Epidemic prevention in displaced persons camps reestablishment11000 1985-88 Frontiaree of prefecture health clinics staff training hoterchtld health
monitoring preventive care European PVO CARED Rural Development - 1982- Pre-cooperative support Irrigated perimeters (5-10 ha each)
chicken and small rumLnant production village grain mills League of Emergency Relief 750 1983-4Red Cross Food and Blanket distribution to more than 50000 80 food7500 1985-8 distribution sites some resettlement programs
American PVOs in Chad can and should be utilized and built upon at this stage and through this project Alternative vehicles as suggested above are not promising in themselves and could not in any case be relied upon for rapid mobilization Nor in Sahelian experience are universities consulting firms or the technical offices of AID missions more suitable to the hands-on nature of this project They are less adaptable to (and experienced with) the rigors of work in Chad and more expensive as well
This does not mean however that the PVOs expected to implement this project will not need helpOn the model of current AID rehabtlitation efforts they can be relied upon to handle well the necessary procurement understandings with the government mobilization and delivery of inputs and monitoringTheir weaknesses understandable given contemporary Chad and the foreign assistance milieu but also correctable have lain in the design and technical supervision of rural activities (See VA below) Greater subproject financing of field specialists should assure that implementation is technically sound The PVOs will be encouraged to apply their own contributions to detailed design work at the proposal and later stages To augment this the Project will provide for the selected application of small grants to PVOs for specific desiqn assistance
C ELEMENTS
1 Subprojects
Analyses indicate that considerable potential for new food production and related private sector activityobtains dispersed through the Sahelian zone To capture this potential and test developmental approaches (including local organizational dynamics) economically and rapidly American PVOs with substantial in-country facilities and experience will be invited to propose four to five subprojects having durations of two to four years beginning in late FY 1985 These subprojects will be the substance of the Project
Following the focus and expectations described above and in later analyses there is a strong prospect that CARE AFRICARE and VITA will propose initial subprojects which treat settled populations in the geographical Kanem area around Abeche and in Chari-Baguirmi Each should be prepared and ready to commelice before the end of FY 1986 probably much earlier on the part of CARE They may either fullycomprehend a large scattered population -- possibly expanded to additional accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- or commence in a more limited fashion and for
16
shorter duraticn with the intention of a second phase within the life of the Project At the same time the Project allows for the introduction of at least one new American PVO into Chads food production sector
On the basis of this project papers guidance each PVO will develop a detailed proposal the equivalent substantively of an AID small-project PP (see also Implementation Plan III below) for review and approval by AID in the field These proposals must adhere to the Projects focus criteria and meet various standards of format and detail Most important among the latter treat beneficiaries (the deprived but able) technological feasibility inputs availability and utility (tools seeds food-for-work etc) social and organizational practicality (regarding inter alia adaptiveness and cooperativeness of populations land tenure and government role) economic justifiability (cost-benefit or least cost market relations etc) and intended demonstration and institutional especially local institutional effects The PVO must further demonstrate its managerial capacity and provide as a condition to proposal approval an agreement with the appropriate GOC ministry to undertake the subproject on its behalf That should indicate the role of specific GOC agencies in implementation and the institutional developmental feasiblity and goals of that
The inputs of the project will be largely grants through Cooperative Agreements to the PVOs and as necessary and possible AID or World Food Program food-for-work contributions and food aid sales proceeds The quantification of those will be done at the subproject design stage The inputs of subprojects financed by the AID grants will be technical asistance management implements and other inputs loan finance in the private sector efforts food or proceeds perhaps (financed outside the Project) monitoring and evaluation and provision for contingencies The outputs will be functioning food production schemes and food production or related businesses Output targets will be enumerated by scheme or area based on the PVOs detailed analyses
Total Project funds programmed for subproject grants are $12 million with expenditures to be incurred by September 30 1989 the Project Assistance Completion Date (PACD) and fully disbursed by December 31 1989 Included in the grant financing to PVOs may be design costs not normally to exceed $50000 per subproject
PVOs are expected to make a maximum effort to meet the requirement of a 25 pezcent contribution from their own resources to the total costs of their subproject(s) and especially to the development of subprojects
17
Provision of Project assistance to subprojectconceptualization and design will be justifiedespecially for new PVO entrants to Chad or more importantly where an intended subprojects objectivesexplicitly emphasize testing and monitoring oftechnologies development) application
or processes with promise
(including institutional for future systematic
2 Procedures
Participating PVOs are expected to be familiar with AID requirements to follow the proposal format set forth in the Implementation Plan below and to be acceptable to AID in terms of registrationnon-government source globalof revenue and auditability Given that AID will entertain proposals on a rolling admissions basis up to a magnitude of $40million each with activities to be completed by the PACD
As a central principle of the Project isminimization of direct AID design and implementationburden and maximization of impact a small but necessaryprovision is made for management by AID This $725000will finance a full-time project manager management support allowance for contingencies and an AID evaluation The project manager will coordinate AID-PVO relationships including assistance to subprojectdesign as necessary subproject proposal review dild approval (including adherence to FAA Sec 611(a)requirements) GOC approvals activation of cooperativeagreements reporting and evaluation (See II-IV below)
Thus subproject proposals will be treated in the same fashion as projects for field authorization and to the same standards This will require full review byAIDChad professional staff the Chad AID Directors approval with concurrence of the REDSOWCA Director From an approved proposal AIDChad will develop a PIOTto generate in turn the Cooperative Agreement to be executed by a REDSOWCA Grant Officer The GOC will be a signatory to the PIOT thereby exercising its rightto determine the use of funds granted to it by AID
3 Results
As should now be clear the end-of-project-statusof this effort has two strands and a corollarySignificant increases in food production and consumption among Chads currently destitute must occur and be managed at an uncommonly low cost to AID and the GOC In achieving this techniques of cultivation and organization including use of private capital and local cooperation should be tested reasonably
18
systematically this should provide a part of the basis for later concerted attacks on Chads poverty by the GOC and its Atdonors the same time AID-PVO cooperationwill enhance the impact of the assistance of each in Chads difficult environment And strengthened PVOs and PVO-GOC collaboration is unquestionably a short- andmedium-term good given the straightened circumstances and poor prospects of Chads people and systems
Finally specification measurement and lessons of such results are particularly important to agriculturaldevelopment in Chad The era of the Project is onewhere a turning point may be reached thisfor countryThus monitoring and evaluation of the Project are especially important (See IV below) If the Projects assumptions are correct and this is designedto be verified in the Projects timeframe Chad has reasonable hope and AID will have fulfilled its current mandate and immediate strategic purpose
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS
A BUDGET
The Project will provide $12725 million in grantfunds from the Sahel (121) account to the Government of Chad to be obligated over the Fiscal Years 1985 through1987 Expenditures may be accrued up theto PACD (September 30 1989) and must be fully disbursed byDecember 31 1989 Obligation will be by GrantAgreement and its amendment with the GOC Funds will be handled directly by registered American PVOs and in the case of administration of the Project by USAIDChad
Of the total AID dollar contribution $120 million will be provided by AID to PVOs by CooperativeAgreements through letters of credit Generally a 25percent contribution to each subproject from non-AID sources will be required including cash input so far as possible from each PVO This can be waived by the Chad AID Representative if the interests of United States policy in Chad so warrant It is estimated that the non-AID contribution by PVOs to the overall costs of the Project will be about $30 million The Government of Chad will not be called upon to contribute to the overall Project as this is deemed impossible under current Chadian circumstances and in any case is not required in the Sahel program However in individual subprojects certain GOC contribution of staff time and facilities may well occur and bewill encouraged this will be set forth in the PVO-GOC exchange of letters
Additional contributions to the Project from other AID sources are also anticipated but cannot be projecteduntil subprojects are designed and approved and these
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resources availability in Chad for specified periods isdetermined They are food-for-work provided under PL
II480 Title and rice sales proceeds generated by TitleII Emergency Sales in FY 1985 and Title II Section 206 programs or continued Emergency Sales thereafter
The remaining portion of the grant ($725000) willbe devoted to administration by AID That is financeof a fulltime project manager by AID Personal ServicesContract (PSC) (estimated at $125000 per year for four years plus management support of $50000) finance of acomprehensive final evaluation theof project in itsfourth year ($100000) also to be directly contracted for by AID and a small provision for contingencies($75000) It is expected that additional subprojectreview monitoring and evaluation services as necessaryduring the life of the project will be provided byREDSOWCA at no cost to the Project
Table 2 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS ($mil)
AID Grants to PVOs 120
AID Administration 0725
PVO Contributions 30
Food-for-Work
AID Food Sales Proceeds
Table 3
OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FISCAL YEAR ($mil)
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Obligations 3725 40 50 - -Expenditures - 2225 45 40 20
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A thorough financial analysis and detailed budgetwill be required in each subproject proposal Thisshould include a realistic list of inputs and theirprobable sources of supply (in AID Geographic Code 941countries and the cooperating country) with base costs calculated in ctrrent prices for each and price andphysical cortingencies estimated conservatively
In cases where sulpiojects comprise ldrge sets ofsmall interventions it will be permissible to aggregateestimates by category rather than for each individualsmall activity as related to total physical volumes of
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work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
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Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
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inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
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small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
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2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
Table 1
MAJOR PVO ACTIVITIES IN CHAD
PVO Activity Title Valua ($O00) Period Description Heavy Tzucks-FoodCARE 1289 982-984 Delivery
Provides trucks 4WD vehicles Maintenance for food-for-vork (FFW) and other relief coimodities delivery to rural areas
CARE FM Road Repair 387 Repair 155 km Ndjamena-Cuelendeng road 850 workers CARE Ag Infrastructure 950 1283-485 FFW reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urbanRestoration I manitation CARE Ag Infrastructu-e 1200 1084-1086 Ff4 reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure and urban
Restoration 11 sanitation CARE Resettlement 217 185- Resettlement in Kane financed by FED and Dutch PVO AFRICARE Heavy Equip Repair 585 982-984 Provide master mechanic and rehabilitation to Public Works
NdjamenaAFRICARK Vegetable Gardening 380 683-986 FFW Establish 20 ha vegetable production nearNdjamena AFRICARE Abechi Rural Dev 2850 584-1186 Integrated rural development VITA Private Enterprise 1500 784-686 Provision of credit to entrepreneurs in and near Ndjamena for new
businesses SECADEV Displaced Personp
Rural Development Food aid distribution reconstruction ofrural infrastructure650 (annually) food relief
Ndjamena Social Aid to sick aged handicapped - a GOC-registered
Chadian Catholic PVO working with 10-12000 peopleNfdecins 6000 1983-85 Sans Medical Assistance
Epidemic prevention in displaced persons camps reestablishment11000 1985-88 Frontiaree of prefecture health clinics staff training hoterchtld health
monitoring preventive care European PVO CARED Rural Development - 1982- Pre-cooperative support Irrigated perimeters (5-10 ha each)
chicken and small rumLnant production village grain mills League of Emergency Relief 750 1983-4Red Cross Food and Blanket distribution to more than 50000 80 food7500 1985-8 distribution sites some resettlement programs
American PVOs in Chad can and should be utilized and built upon at this stage and through this project Alternative vehicles as suggested above are not promising in themselves and could not in any case be relied upon for rapid mobilization Nor in Sahelian experience are universities consulting firms or the technical offices of AID missions more suitable to the hands-on nature of this project They are less adaptable to (and experienced with) the rigors of work in Chad and more expensive as well
This does not mean however that the PVOs expected to implement this project will not need helpOn the model of current AID rehabtlitation efforts they can be relied upon to handle well the necessary procurement understandings with the government mobilization and delivery of inputs and monitoringTheir weaknesses understandable given contemporary Chad and the foreign assistance milieu but also correctable have lain in the design and technical supervision of rural activities (See VA below) Greater subproject financing of field specialists should assure that implementation is technically sound The PVOs will be encouraged to apply their own contributions to detailed design work at the proposal and later stages To augment this the Project will provide for the selected application of small grants to PVOs for specific desiqn assistance
C ELEMENTS
1 Subprojects
Analyses indicate that considerable potential for new food production and related private sector activityobtains dispersed through the Sahelian zone To capture this potential and test developmental approaches (including local organizational dynamics) economically and rapidly American PVOs with substantial in-country facilities and experience will be invited to propose four to five subprojects having durations of two to four years beginning in late FY 1985 These subprojects will be the substance of the Project
Following the focus and expectations described above and in later analyses there is a strong prospect that CARE AFRICARE and VITA will propose initial subprojects which treat settled populations in the geographical Kanem area around Abeche and in Chari-Baguirmi Each should be prepared and ready to commelice before the end of FY 1986 probably much earlier on the part of CARE They may either fullycomprehend a large scattered population -- possibly expanded to additional accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- or commence in a more limited fashion and for
16
shorter duraticn with the intention of a second phase within the life of the Project At the same time the Project allows for the introduction of at least one new American PVO into Chads food production sector
On the basis of this project papers guidance each PVO will develop a detailed proposal the equivalent substantively of an AID small-project PP (see also Implementation Plan III below) for review and approval by AID in the field These proposals must adhere to the Projects focus criteria and meet various standards of format and detail Most important among the latter treat beneficiaries (the deprived but able) technological feasibility inputs availability and utility (tools seeds food-for-work etc) social and organizational practicality (regarding inter alia adaptiveness and cooperativeness of populations land tenure and government role) economic justifiability (cost-benefit or least cost market relations etc) and intended demonstration and institutional especially local institutional effects The PVO must further demonstrate its managerial capacity and provide as a condition to proposal approval an agreement with the appropriate GOC ministry to undertake the subproject on its behalf That should indicate the role of specific GOC agencies in implementation and the institutional developmental feasiblity and goals of that
The inputs of the project will be largely grants through Cooperative Agreements to the PVOs and as necessary and possible AID or World Food Program food-for-work contributions and food aid sales proceeds The quantification of those will be done at the subproject design stage The inputs of subprojects financed by the AID grants will be technical asistance management implements and other inputs loan finance in the private sector efforts food or proceeds perhaps (financed outside the Project) monitoring and evaluation and provision for contingencies The outputs will be functioning food production schemes and food production or related businesses Output targets will be enumerated by scheme or area based on the PVOs detailed analyses
Total Project funds programmed for subproject grants are $12 million with expenditures to be incurred by September 30 1989 the Project Assistance Completion Date (PACD) and fully disbursed by December 31 1989 Included in the grant financing to PVOs may be design costs not normally to exceed $50000 per subproject
PVOs are expected to make a maximum effort to meet the requirement of a 25 pezcent contribution from their own resources to the total costs of their subproject(s) and especially to the development of subprojects
17
Provision of Project assistance to subprojectconceptualization and design will be justifiedespecially for new PVO entrants to Chad or more importantly where an intended subprojects objectivesexplicitly emphasize testing and monitoring oftechnologies development) application
or processes with promise
(including institutional for future systematic
2 Procedures
Participating PVOs are expected to be familiar with AID requirements to follow the proposal format set forth in the Implementation Plan below and to be acceptable to AID in terms of registrationnon-government source globalof revenue and auditability Given that AID will entertain proposals on a rolling admissions basis up to a magnitude of $40million each with activities to be completed by the PACD
As a central principle of the Project isminimization of direct AID design and implementationburden and maximization of impact a small but necessaryprovision is made for management by AID This $725000will finance a full-time project manager management support allowance for contingencies and an AID evaluation The project manager will coordinate AID-PVO relationships including assistance to subprojectdesign as necessary subproject proposal review dild approval (including adherence to FAA Sec 611(a)requirements) GOC approvals activation of cooperativeagreements reporting and evaluation (See II-IV below)
Thus subproject proposals will be treated in the same fashion as projects for field authorization and to the same standards This will require full review byAIDChad professional staff the Chad AID Directors approval with concurrence of the REDSOWCA Director From an approved proposal AIDChad will develop a PIOTto generate in turn the Cooperative Agreement to be executed by a REDSOWCA Grant Officer The GOC will be a signatory to the PIOT thereby exercising its rightto determine the use of funds granted to it by AID
3 Results
As should now be clear the end-of-project-statusof this effort has two strands and a corollarySignificant increases in food production and consumption among Chads currently destitute must occur and be managed at an uncommonly low cost to AID and the GOC In achieving this techniques of cultivation and organization including use of private capital and local cooperation should be tested reasonably
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systematically this should provide a part of the basis for later concerted attacks on Chads poverty by the GOC and its Atdonors the same time AID-PVO cooperationwill enhance the impact of the assistance of each in Chads difficult environment And strengthened PVOs and PVO-GOC collaboration is unquestionably a short- andmedium-term good given the straightened circumstances and poor prospects of Chads people and systems
Finally specification measurement and lessons of such results are particularly important to agriculturaldevelopment in Chad The era of the Project is onewhere a turning point may be reached thisfor countryThus monitoring and evaluation of the Project are especially important (See IV below) If the Projects assumptions are correct and this is designedto be verified in the Projects timeframe Chad has reasonable hope and AID will have fulfilled its current mandate and immediate strategic purpose
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS
A BUDGET
The Project will provide $12725 million in grantfunds from the Sahel (121) account to the Government of Chad to be obligated over the Fiscal Years 1985 through1987 Expenditures may be accrued up theto PACD (September 30 1989) and must be fully disbursed byDecember 31 1989 Obligation will be by GrantAgreement and its amendment with the GOC Funds will be handled directly by registered American PVOs and in the case of administration of the Project by USAIDChad
Of the total AID dollar contribution $120 million will be provided by AID to PVOs by CooperativeAgreements through letters of credit Generally a 25percent contribution to each subproject from non-AID sources will be required including cash input so far as possible from each PVO This can be waived by the Chad AID Representative if the interests of United States policy in Chad so warrant It is estimated that the non-AID contribution by PVOs to the overall costs of the Project will be about $30 million The Government of Chad will not be called upon to contribute to the overall Project as this is deemed impossible under current Chadian circumstances and in any case is not required in the Sahel program However in individual subprojects certain GOC contribution of staff time and facilities may well occur and bewill encouraged this will be set forth in the PVO-GOC exchange of letters
Additional contributions to the Project from other AID sources are also anticipated but cannot be projecteduntil subprojects are designed and approved and these
19
resources availability in Chad for specified periods isdetermined They are food-for-work provided under PL
II480 Title and rice sales proceeds generated by TitleII Emergency Sales in FY 1985 and Title II Section 206 programs or continued Emergency Sales thereafter
The remaining portion of the grant ($725000) willbe devoted to administration by AID That is financeof a fulltime project manager by AID Personal ServicesContract (PSC) (estimated at $125000 per year for four years plus management support of $50000) finance of acomprehensive final evaluation theof project in itsfourth year ($100000) also to be directly contracted for by AID and a small provision for contingencies($75000) It is expected that additional subprojectreview monitoring and evaluation services as necessaryduring the life of the project will be provided byREDSOWCA at no cost to the Project
Table 2 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS ($mil)
AID Grants to PVOs 120
AID Administration 0725
PVO Contributions 30
Food-for-Work
AID Food Sales Proceeds
Table 3
OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FISCAL YEAR ($mil)
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Obligations 3725 40 50 - -Expenditures - 2225 45 40 20
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A thorough financial analysis and detailed budgetwill be required in each subproject proposal Thisshould include a realistic list of inputs and theirprobable sources of supply (in AID Geographic Code 941countries and the cooperating country) with base costs calculated in ctrrent prices for each and price andphysical cortingencies estimated conservatively
In cases where sulpiojects comprise ldrge sets ofsmall interventions it will be permissible to aggregateestimates by category rather than for each individualsmall activity as related to total physical volumes of
20
work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
21
Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
22
inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
28
small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
29
2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
American PVOs in Chad can and should be utilized and built upon at this stage and through this project Alternative vehicles as suggested above are not promising in themselves and could not in any case be relied upon for rapid mobilization Nor in Sahelian experience are universities consulting firms or the technical offices of AID missions more suitable to the hands-on nature of this project They are less adaptable to (and experienced with) the rigors of work in Chad and more expensive as well
This does not mean however that the PVOs expected to implement this project will not need helpOn the model of current AID rehabtlitation efforts they can be relied upon to handle well the necessary procurement understandings with the government mobilization and delivery of inputs and monitoringTheir weaknesses understandable given contemporary Chad and the foreign assistance milieu but also correctable have lain in the design and technical supervision of rural activities (See VA below) Greater subproject financing of field specialists should assure that implementation is technically sound The PVOs will be encouraged to apply their own contributions to detailed design work at the proposal and later stages To augment this the Project will provide for the selected application of small grants to PVOs for specific desiqn assistance
C ELEMENTS
1 Subprojects
Analyses indicate that considerable potential for new food production and related private sector activityobtains dispersed through the Sahelian zone To capture this potential and test developmental approaches (including local organizational dynamics) economically and rapidly American PVOs with substantial in-country facilities and experience will be invited to propose four to five subprojects having durations of two to four years beginning in late FY 1985 These subprojects will be the substance of the Project
Following the focus and expectations described above and in later analyses there is a strong prospect that CARE AFRICARE and VITA will propose initial subprojects which treat settled populations in the geographical Kanem area around Abeche and in Chari-Baguirmi Each should be prepared and ready to commelice before the end of FY 1986 probably much earlier on the part of CARE They may either fullycomprehend a large scattered population -- possibly expanded to additional accessible areas of the Sahelian zone -- or commence in a more limited fashion and for
16
shorter duraticn with the intention of a second phase within the life of the Project At the same time the Project allows for the introduction of at least one new American PVO into Chads food production sector
On the basis of this project papers guidance each PVO will develop a detailed proposal the equivalent substantively of an AID small-project PP (see also Implementation Plan III below) for review and approval by AID in the field These proposals must adhere to the Projects focus criteria and meet various standards of format and detail Most important among the latter treat beneficiaries (the deprived but able) technological feasibility inputs availability and utility (tools seeds food-for-work etc) social and organizational practicality (regarding inter alia adaptiveness and cooperativeness of populations land tenure and government role) economic justifiability (cost-benefit or least cost market relations etc) and intended demonstration and institutional especially local institutional effects The PVO must further demonstrate its managerial capacity and provide as a condition to proposal approval an agreement with the appropriate GOC ministry to undertake the subproject on its behalf That should indicate the role of specific GOC agencies in implementation and the institutional developmental feasiblity and goals of that
The inputs of the project will be largely grants through Cooperative Agreements to the PVOs and as necessary and possible AID or World Food Program food-for-work contributions and food aid sales proceeds The quantification of those will be done at the subproject design stage The inputs of subprojects financed by the AID grants will be technical asistance management implements and other inputs loan finance in the private sector efforts food or proceeds perhaps (financed outside the Project) monitoring and evaluation and provision for contingencies The outputs will be functioning food production schemes and food production or related businesses Output targets will be enumerated by scheme or area based on the PVOs detailed analyses
Total Project funds programmed for subproject grants are $12 million with expenditures to be incurred by September 30 1989 the Project Assistance Completion Date (PACD) and fully disbursed by December 31 1989 Included in the grant financing to PVOs may be design costs not normally to exceed $50000 per subproject
PVOs are expected to make a maximum effort to meet the requirement of a 25 pezcent contribution from their own resources to the total costs of their subproject(s) and especially to the development of subprojects
17
Provision of Project assistance to subprojectconceptualization and design will be justifiedespecially for new PVO entrants to Chad or more importantly where an intended subprojects objectivesexplicitly emphasize testing and monitoring oftechnologies development) application
or processes with promise
(including institutional for future systematic
2 Procedures
Participating PVOs are expected to be familiar with AID requirements to follow the proposal format set forth in the Implementation Plan below and to be acceptable to AID in terms of registrationnon-government source globalof revenue and auditability Given that AID will entertain proposals on a rolling admissions basis up to a magnitude of $40million each with activities to be completed by the PACD
As a central principle of the Project isminimization of direct AID design and implementationburden and maximization of impact a small but necessaryprovision is made for management by AID This $725000will finance a full-time project manager management support allowance for contingencies and an AID evaluation The project manager will coordinate AID-PVO relationships including assistance to subprojectdesign as necessary subproject proposal review dild approval (including adherence to FAA Sec 611(a)requirements) GOC approvals activation of cooperativeagreements reporting and evaluation (See II-IV below)
Thus subproject proposals will be treated in the same fashion as projects for field authorization and to the same standards This will require full review byAIDChad professional staff the Chad AID Directors approval with concurrence of the REDSOWCA Director From an approved proposal AIDChad will develop a PIOTto generate in turn the Cooperative Agreement to be executed by a REDSOWCA Grant Officer The GOC will be a signatory to the PIOT thereby exercising its rightto determine the use of funds granted to it by AID
3 Results
As should now be clear the end-of-project-statusof this effort has two strands and a corollarySignificant increases in food production and consumption among Chads currently destitute must occur and be managed at an uncommonly low cost to AID and the GOC In achieving this techniques of cultivation and organization including use of private capital and local cooperation should be tested reasonably
18
systematically this should provide a part of the basis for later concerted attacks on Chads poverty by the GOC and its Atdonors the same time AID-PVO cooperationwill enhance the impact of the assistance of each in Chads difficult environment And strengthened PVOs and PVO-GOC collaboration is unquestionably a short- andmedium-term good given the straightened circumstances and poor prospects of Chads people and systems
Finally specification measurement and lessons of such results are particularly important to agriculturaldevelopment in Chad The era of the Project is onewhere a turning point may be reached thisfor countryThus monitoring and evaluation of the Project are especially important (See IV below) If the Projects assumptions are correct and this is designedto be verified in the Projects timeframe Chad has reasonable hope and AID will have fulfilled its current mandate and immediate strategic purpose
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS
A BUDGET
The Project will provide $12725 million in grantfunds from the Sahel (121) account to the Government of Chad to be obligated over the Fiscal Years 1985 through1987 Expenditures may be accrued up theto PACD (September 30 1989) and must be fully disbursed byDecember 31 1989 Obligation will be by GrantAgreement and its amendment with the GOC Funds will be handled directly by registered American PVOs and in the case of administration of the Project by USAIDChad
Of the total AID dollar contribution $120 million will be provided by AID to PVOs by CooperativeAgreements through letters of credit Generally a 25percent contribution to each subproject from non-AID sources will be required including cash input so far as possible from each PVO This can be waived by the Chad AID Representative if the interests of United States policy in Chad so warrant It is estimated that the non-AID contribution by PVOs to the overall costs of the Project will be about $30 million The Government of Chad will not be called upon to contribute to the overall Project as this is deemed impossible under current Chadian circumstances and in any case is not required in the Sahel program However in individual subprojects certain GOC contribution of staff time and facilities may well occur and bewill encouraged this will be set forth in the PVO-GOC exchange of letters
Additional contributions to the Project from other AID sources are also anticipated but cannot be projecteduntil subprojects are designed and approved and these
19
resources availability in Chad for specified periods isdetermined They are food-for-work provided under PL
II480 Title and rice sales proceeds generated by TitleII Emergency Sales in FY 1985 and Title II Section 206 programs or continued Emergency Sales thereafter
The remaining portion of the grant ($725000) willbe devoted to administration by AID That is financeof a fulltime project manager by AID Personal ServicesContract (PSC) (estimated at $125000 per year for four years plus management support of $50000) finance of acomprehensive final evaluation theof project in itsfourth year ($100000) also to be directly contracted for by AID and a small provision for contingencies($75000) It is expected that additional subprojectreview monitoring and evaluation services as necessaryduring the life of the project will be provided byREDSOWCA at no cost to the Project
Table 2 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS ($mil)
AID Grants to PVOs 120
AID Administration 0725
PVO Contributions 30
Food-for-Work
AID Food Sales Proceeds
Table 3
OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FISCAL YEAR ($mil)
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Obligations 3725 40 50 - -Expenditures - 2225 45 40 20
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A thorough financial analysis and detailed budgetwill be required in each subproject proposal Thisshould include a realistic list of inputs and theirprobable sources of supply (in AID Geographic Code 941countries and the cooperating country) with base costs calculated in ctrrent prices for each and price andphysical cortingencies estimated conservatively
In cases where sulpiojects comprise ldrge sets ofsmall interventions it will be permissible to aggregateestimates by category rather than for each individualsmall activity as related to total physical volumes of
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work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
21
Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
22
inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
28
small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
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2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
shorter duraticn with the intention of a second phase within the life of the Project At the same time the Project allows for the introduction of at least one new American PVO into Chads food production sector
On the basis of this project papers guidance each PVO will develop a detailed proposal the equivalent substantively of an AID small-project PP (see also Implementation Plan III below) for review and approval by AID in the field These proposals must adhere to the Projects focus criteria and meet various standards of format and detail Most important among the latter treat beneficiaries (the deprived but able) technological feasibility inputs availability and utility (tools seeds food-for-work etc) social and organizational practicality (regarding inter alia adaptiveness and cooperativeness of populations land tenure and government role) economic justifiability (cost-benefit or least cost market relations etc) and intended demonstration and institutional especially local institutional effects The PVO must further demonstrate its managerial capacity and provide as a condition to proposal approval an agreement with the appropriate GOC ministry to undertake the subproject on its behalf That should indicate the role of specific GOC agencies in implementation and the institutional developmental feasiblity and goals of that
The inputs of the project will be largely grants through Cooperative Agreements to the PVOs and as necessary and possible AID or World Food Program food-for-work contributions and food aid sales proceeds The quantification of those will be done at the subproject design stage The inputs of subprojects financed by the AID grants will be technical asistance management implements and other inputs loan finance in the private sector efforts food or proceeds perhaps (financed outside the Project) monitoring and evaluation and provision for contingencies The outputs will be functioning food production schemes and food production or related businesses Output targets will be enumerated by scheme or area based on the PVOs detailed analyses
Total Project funds programmed for subproject grants are $12 million with expenditures to be incurred by September 30 1989 the Project Assistance Completion Date (PACD) and fully disbursed by December 31 1989 Included in the grant financing to PVOs may be design costs not normally to exceed $50000 per subproject
PVOs are expected to make a maximum effort to meet the requirement of a 25 pezcent contribution from their own resources to the total costs of their subproject(s) and especially to the development of subprojects
17
Provision of Project assistance to subprojectconceptualization and design will be justifiedespecially for new PVO entrants to Chad or more importantly where an intended subprojects objectivesexplicitly emphasize testing and monitoring oftechnologies development) application
or processes with promise
(including institutional for future systematic
2 Procedures
Participating PVOs are expected to be familiar with AID requirements to follow the proposal format set forth in the Implementation Plan below and to be acceptable to AID in terms of registrationnon-government source globalof revenue and auditability Given that AID will entertain proposals on a rolling admissions basis up to a magnitude of $40million each with activities to be completed by the PACD
As a central principle of the Project isminimization of direct AID design and implementationburden and maximization of impact a small but necessaryprovision is made for management by AID This $725000will finance a full-time project manager management support allowance for contingencies and an AID evaluation The project manager will coordinate AID-PVO relationships including assistance to subprojectdesign as necessary subproject proposal review dild approval (including adherence to FAA Sec 611(a)requirements) GOC approvals activation of cooperativeagreements reporting and evaluation (See II-IV below)
Thus subproject proposals will be treated in the same fashion as projects for field authorization and to the same standards This will require full review byAIDChad professional staff the Chad AID Directors approval with concurrence of the REDSOWCA Director From an approved proposal AIDChad will develop a PIOTto generate in turn the Cooperative Agreement to be executed by a REDSOWCA Grant Officer The GOC will be a signatory to the PIOT thereby exercising its rightto determine the use of funds granted to it by AID
3 Results
As should now be clear the end-of-project-statusof this effort has two strands and a corollarySignificant increases in food production and consumption among Chads currently destitute must occur and be managed at an uncommonly low cost to AID and the GOC In achieving this techniques of cultivation and organization including use of private capital and local cooperation should be tested reasonably
18
systematically this should provide a part of the basis for later concerted attacks on Chads poverty by the GOC and its Atdonors the same time AID-PVO cooperationwill enhance the impact of the assistance of each in Chads difficult environment And strengthened PVOs and PVO-GOC collaboration is unquestionably a short- andmedium-term good given the straightened circumstances and poor prospects of Chads people and systems
Finally specification measurement and lessons of such results are particularly important to agriculturaldevelopment in Chad The era of the Project is onewhere a turning point may be reached thisfor countryThus monitoring and evaluation of the Project are especially important (See IV below) If the Projects assumptions are correct and this is designedto be verified in the Projects timeframe Chad has reasonable hope and AID will have fulfilled its current mandate and immediate strategic purpose
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS
A BUDGET
The Project will provide $12725 million in grantfunds from the Sahel (121) account to the Government of Chad to be obligated over the Fiscal Years 1985 through1987 Expenditures may be accrued up theto PACD (September 30 1989) and must be fully disbursed byDecember 31 1989 Obligation will be by GrantAgreement and its amendment with the GOC Funds will be handled directly by registered American PVOs and in the case of administration of the Project by USAIDChad
Of the total AID dollar contribution $120 million will be provided by AID to PVOs by CooperativeAgreements through letters of credit Generally a 25percent contribution to each subproject from non-AID sources will be required including cash input so far as possible from each PVO This can be waived by the Chad AID Representative if the interests of United States policy in Chad so warrant It is estimated that the non-AID contribution by PVOs to the overall costs of the Project will be about $30 million The Government of Chad will not be called upon to contribute to the overall Project as this is deemed impossible under current Chadian circumstances and in any case is not required in the Sahel program However in individual subprojects certain GOC contribution of staff time and facilities may well occur and bewill encouraged this will be set forth in the PVO-GOC exchange of letters
Additional contributions to the Project from other AID sources are also anticipated but cannot be projecteduntil subprojects are designed and approved and these
19
resources availability in Chad for specified periods isdetermined They are food-for-work provided under PL
II480 Title and rice sales proceeds generated by TitleII Emergency Sales in FY 1985 and Title II Section 206 programs or continued Emergency Sales thereafter
The remaining portion of the grant ($725000) willbe devoted to administration by AID That is financeof a fulltime project manager by AID Personal ServicesContract (PSC) (estimated at $125000 per year for four years plus management support of $50000) finance of acomprehensive final evaluation theof project in itsfourth year ($100000) also to be directly contracted for by AID and a small provision for contingencies($75000) It is expected that additional subprojectreview monitoring and evaluation services as necessaryduring the life of the project will be provided byREDSOWCA at no cost to the Project
Table 2 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS ($mil)
AID Grants to PVOs 120
AID Administration 0725
PVO Contributions 30
Food-for-Work
AID Food Sales Proceeds
Table 3
OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FISCAL YEAR ($mil)
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Obligations 3725 40 50 - -Expenditures - 2225 45 40 20
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A thorough financial analysis and detailed budgetwill be required in each subproject proposal Thisshould include a realistic list of inputs and theirprobable sources of supply (in AID Geographic Code 941countries and the cooperating country) with base costs calculated in ctrrent prices for each and price andphysical cortingencies estimated conservatively
In cases where sulpiojects comprise ldrge sets ofsmall interventions it will be permissible to aggregateestimates by category rather than for each individualsmall activity as related to total physical volumes of
20
work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
21
Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
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inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
28
small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
29
2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
Provision of Project assistance to subprojectconceptualization and design will be justifiedespecially for new PVO entrants to Chad or more importantly where an intended subprojects objectivesexplicitly emphasize testing and monitoring oftechnologies development) application
or processes with promise
(including institutional for future systematic
2 Procedures
Participating PVOs are expected to be familiar with AID requirements to follow the proposal format set forth in the Implementation Plan below and to be acceptable to AID in terms of registrationnon-government source globalof revenue and auditability Given that AID will entertain proposals on a rolling admissions basis up to a magnitude of $40million each with activities to be completed by the PACD
As a central principle of the Project isminimization of direct AID design and implementationburden and maximization of impact a small but necessaryprovision is made for management by AID This $725000will finance a full-time project manager management support allowance for contingencies and an AID evaluation The project manager will coordinate AID-PVO relationships including assistance to subprojectdesign as necessary subproject proposal review dild approval (including adherence to FAA Sec 611(a)requirements) GOC approvals activation of cooperativeagreements reporting and evaluation (See II-IV below)
Thus subproject proposals will be treated in the same fashion as projects for field authorization and to the same standards This will require full review byAIDChad professional staff the Chad AID Directors approval with concurrence of the REDSOWCA Director From an approved proposal AIDChad will develop a PIOTto generate in turn the Cooperative Agreement to be executed by a REDSOWCA Grant Officer The GOC will be a signatory to the PIOT thereby exercising its rightto determine the use of funds granted to it by AID
3 Results
As should now be clear the end-of-project-statusof this effort has two strands and a corollarySignificant increases in food production and consumption among Chads currently destitute must occur and be managed at an uncommonly low cost to AID and the GOC In achieving this techniques of cultivation and organization including use of private capital and local cooperation should be tested reasonably
18
systematically this should provide a part of the basis for later concerted attacks on Chads poverty by the GOC and its Atdonors the same time AID-PVO cooperationwill enhance the impact of the assistance of each in Chads difficult environment And strengthened PVOs and PVO-GOC collaboration is unquestionably a short- andmedium-term good given the straightened circumstances and poor prospects of Chads people and systems
Finally specification measurement and lessons of such results are particularly important to agriculturaldevelopment in Chad The era of the Project is onewhere a turning point may be reached thisfor countryThus monitoring and evaluation of the Project are especially important (See IV below) If the Projects assumptions are correct and this is designedto be verified in the Projects timeframe Chad has reasonable hope and AID will have fulfilled its current mandate and immediate strategic purpose
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS
A BUDGET
The Project will provide $12725 million in grantfunds from the Sahel (121) account to the Government of Chad to be obligated over the Fiscal Years 1985 through1987 Expenditures may be accrued up theto PACD (September 30 1989) and must be fully disbursed byDecember 31 1989 Obligation will be by GrantAgreement and its amendment with the GOC Funds will be handled directly by registered American PVOs and in the case of administration of the Project by USAIDChad
Of the total AID dollar contribution $120 million will be provided by AID to PVOs by CooperativeAgreements through letters of credit Generally a 25percent contribution to each subproject from non-AID sources will be required including cash input so far as possible from each PVO This can be waived by the Chad AID Representative if the interests of United States policy in Chad so warrant It is estimated that the non-AID contribution by PVOs to the overall costs of the Project will be about $30 million The Government of Chad will not be called upon to contribute to the overall Project as this is deemed impossible under current Chadian circumstances and in any case is not required in the Sahel program However in individual subprojects certain GOC contribution of staff time and facilities may well occur and bewill encouraged this will be set forth in the PVO-GOC exchange of letters
Additional contributions to the Project from other AID sources are also anticipated but cannot be projecteduntil subprojects are designed and approved and these
19
resources availability in Chad for specified periods isdetermined They are food-for-work provided under PL
II480 Title and rice sales proceeds generated by TitleII Emergency Sales in FY 1985 and Title II Section 206 programs or continued Emergency Sales thereafter
The remaining portion of the grant ($725000) willbe devoted to administration by AID That is financeof a fulltime project manager by AID Personal ServicesContract (PSC) (estimated at $125000 per year for four years plus management support of $50000) finance of acomprehensive final evaluation theof project in itsfourth year ($100000) also to be directly contracted for by AID and a small provision for contingencies($75000) It is expected that additional subprojectreview monitoring and evaluation services as necessaryduring the life of the project will be provided byREDSOWCA at no cost to the Project
Table 2 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS ($mil)
AID Grants to PVOs 120
AID Administration 0725
PVO Contributions 30
Food-for-Work
AID Food Sales Proceeds
Table 3
OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FISCAL YEAR ($mil)
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Obligations 3725 40 50 - -Expenditures - 2225 45 40 20
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A thorough financial analysis and detailed budgetwill be required in each subproject proposal Thisshould include a realistic list of inputs and theirprobable sources of supply (in AID Geographic Code 941countries and the cooperating country) with base costs calculated in ctrrent prices for each and price andphysical cortingencies estimated conservatively
In cases where sulpiojects comprise ldrge sets ofsmall interventions it will be permissible to aggregateestimates by category rather than for each individualsmall activity as related to total physical volumes of
20
work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
21
Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
22
inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
28
small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
29
2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
systematically this should provide a part of the basis for later concerted attacks on Chads poverty by the GOC and its Atdonors the same time AID-PVO cooperationwill enhance the impact of the assistance of each in Chads difficult environment And strengthened PVOs and PVO-GOC collaboration is unquestionably a short- andmedium-term good given the straightened circumstances and poor prospects of Chads people and systems
Finally specification measurement and lessons of such results are particularly important to agriculturaldevelopment in Chad The era of the Project is onewhere a turning point may be reached thisfor countryThus monitoring and evaluation of the Project are especially important (See IV below) If the Projects assumptions are correct and this is designedto be verified in the Projects timeframe Chad has reasonable hope and AID will have fulfilled its current mandate and immediate strategic purpose
II FINANCIAL PLAN AND ANALYSIS
A BUDGET
The Project will provide $12725 million in grantfunds from the Sahel (121) account to the Government of Chad to be obligated over the Fiscal Years 1985 through1987 Expenditures may be accrued up theto PACD (September 30 1989) and must be fully disbursed byDecember 31 1989 Obligation will be by GrantAgreement and its amendment with the GOC Funds will be handled directly by registered American PVOs and in the case of administration of the Project by USAIDChad
Of the total AID dollar contribution $120 million will be provided by AID to PVOs by CooperativeAgreements through letters of credit Generally a 25percent contribution to each subproject from non-AID sources will be required including cash input so far as possible from each PVO This can be waived by the Chad AID Representative if the interests of United States policy in Chad so warrant It is estimated that the non-AID contribution by PVOs to the overall costs of the Project will be about $30 million The Government of Chad will not be called upon to contribute to the overall Project as this is deemed impossible under current Chadian circumstances and in any case is not required in the Sahel program However in individual subprojects certain GOC contribution of staff time and facilities may well occur and bewill encouraged this will be set forth in the PVO-GOC exchange of letters
Additional contributions to the Project from other AID sources are also anticipated but cannot be projecteduntil subprojects are designed and approved and these
19
resources availability in Chad for specified periods isdetermined They are food-for-work provided under PL
II480 Title and rice sales proceeds generated by TitleII Emergency Sales in FY 1985 and Title II Section 206 programs or continued Emergency Sales thereafter
The remaining portion of the grant ($725000) willbe devoted to administration by AID That is financeof a fulltime project manager by AID Personal ServicesContract (PSC) (estimated at $125000 per year for four years plus management support of $50000) finance of acomprehensive final evaluation theof project in itsfourth year ($100000) also to be directly contracted for by AID and a small provision for contingencies($75000) It is expected that additional subprojectreview monitoring and evaluation services as necessaryduring the life of the project will be provided byREDSOWCA at no cost to the Project
Table 2 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS ($mil)
AID Grants to PVOs 120
AID Administration 0725
PVO Contributions 30
Food-for-Work
AID Food Sales Proceeds
Table 3
OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FISCAL YEAR ($mil)
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Obligations 3725 40 50 - -Expenditures - 2225 45 40 20
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A thorough financial analysis and detailed budgetwill be required in each subproject proposal Thisshould include a realistic list of inputs and theirprobable sources of supply (in AID Geographic Code 941countries and the cooperating country) with base costs calculated in ctrrent prices for each and price andphysical cortingencies estimated conservatively
In cases where sulpiojects comprise ldrge sets ofsmall interventions it will be permissible to aggregateestimates by category rather than for each individualsmall activity as related to total physical volumes of
20
work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
21
Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
22
inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
28
small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
29
2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
resources availability in Chad for specified periods isdetermined They are food-for-work provided under PL
II480 Title and rice sales proceeds generated by TitleII Emergency Sales in FY 1985 and Title II Section 206 programs or continued Emergency Sales thereafter
The remaining portion of the grant ($725000) willbe devoted to administration by AID That is financeof a fulltime project manager by AID Personal ServicesContract (PSC) (estimated at $125000 per year for four years plus management support of $50000) finance of acomprehensive final evaluation theof project in itsfourth year ($100000) also to be directly contracted for by AID and a small provision for contingencies($75000) It is expected that additional subprojectreview monitoring and evaluation services as necessaryduring the life of the project will be provided byREDSOWCA at no cost to the Project
Table 2 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS ($mil)
AID Grants to PVOs 120
AID Administration 0725
PVO Contributions 30
Food-for-Work
AID Food Sales Proceeds
Table 3
OBLIGATIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY FISCAL YEAR ($mil)
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Obligations 3725 40 50 - -Expenditures - 2225 45 40 20
B SUBPROJECT REQUIREMENTS
A thorough financial analysis and detailed budgetwill be required in each subproject proposal Thisshould include a realistic list of inputs and theirprobable sources of supply (in AID Geographic Code 941countries and the cooperating country) with base costs calculated in ctrrent prices for each and price andphysical cortingencies estimated conservatively
In cases where sulpiojects comprise ldrge sets ofsmall interventions it will be permissible to aggregateestimates by category rather than for each individualsmall activity as related to total physical volumes of
20
work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
21
Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
22
inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
28
small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
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2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
work planned In the case of private sector assistance the loan fund components magnitude should be justifiedby analysis of potential demand and a projection of its repayment and loan turnover
Each subprojects financial plan of course will estimate the quantities and timing of food-for-work andor food sales proceeds inputs as agreed with the GOC and AID If these are uncertain for later years of a subproject an alternative financial plan excludingthem should be provided
The PVOs contributions to subprojects should be estimated in current prices by category with suitable price contingencies allowed for In-kind contributions of materials vehicles supervisory staff time and institutional overhead will be permissible whereexceptsubprojects intend the use of facilities alreadyfinanced by a past AID project
C PAYMENT VERIFICATION AUDIT AND 121(d) COMPLIANCE
The $12 million to be provided to PVOs under the Project will be financed through Letters of Credit The $725000 devoted to Project management will be financed by AID direct payaent Letters of Credit are the most appropriate vehicle for the former because arePVOs non-profit organizations annual payments will aggregateto more the $120000 per year and the PVOs will have demonstrated acceptable financial management systemsAID contracts -- a long-term PSC and an institutional contract or short-term PSCs -- will be used for major elements of Project Management
Methods of Implementation and Financing
Method of Method of ApproximateFinancing Financing Amount
Technical Assistance-shyNon-profit Contractor FRLC 12000000
Technical Assistance--Direct PSCs Institushytional Support Contract and Mission Procurement Direct Pay 725000
TOTAL PROJECT 12725000
All methods of financing to be used for the proposedactivities fall within those which AIDs PaymentVerfification Policy Statements have determined as most appropriate
21
Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
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inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
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execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
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drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
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small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
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2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
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real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
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it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
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ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
Given this it will not be necessary to provideProject funds for audit coverage A positive FAASection 121(d) determination will be requested of theAssistant Administrator for Africa on the basis of aUSAIDChad certification (Annex C) that all projectfunds will be handled by American and AID-registeredPVOs or AID
III IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW
As indicated in the Project Description thisproject differs from conventional PVO umbrellaprojects in that (1) it is limited to four or fivesubprojects (2) they are of comparatively largemagnitude ($2-4 million each) (3) the efforts theyrepresent are central to AIDs country developmentstrategy and (4) they are expected largely to beconceived and implemented by PVOs already financed byAID in Chad and undertaking activities that are the precursors to those anticipated under the new project
Therefore a considerable degree of collaboration between USAIDChad and three or four PVOs isanticipated which extends from consultation and agreement on the fairly specific nature of subprojectsperhaps to financing by initial small grant the detaileddesign of subprojects to understandings on the timingand magnitude of subprojects and their fit with AID strategy in Chad This means that procedures set forthin AID Handbook 13 Section lB apply Specificallysubsection 2e(3) permits inviting an application from a single entity which the technical office (USAIDChad)deems unique or most appropriate to undertake the effortwhich the office wants to support or stimulate Such limitation of selection to a single entity may be doneunder a delegation of authority to the AID Chad Representative from the Assistant Administrator forAfrica This will be attached to the ProjectsAuthorization
The collaboration between USAIDChad and selected PVOs then will follow a determined plan for optimizingthe use of Project resources The following steps are expected
-- discussions with CAREChad will proceedimmediately on an intended subproject for small-farmer food production and soil conservation efforts spread through the geographical Kanem area and employingfood-for-work for water control structures construction technical assistance and supervision provision of production
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inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
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small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
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2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
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ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
inputs monitoring and evaluation Design of the detailed CARE proposal for efforts costing approximately $10 million per year may be supported by emergency food sales proceeds The resulting Cooperative Agreement should be executed in September 1985
-- Similar discussions with AFRICARE and VITA will begin in the summer of 1985 leading to Cooperative Agreements in the spring of 1986 at about the annual expenditure rates of current activities That for AFRICARE is expected to support extensified food productions development around Abeche VITA is anticipated to propose food production-related private sector assistance in NDjamena and its environs and as feasible in one or more market towns in the Sahelian zone -- on the model of its current AID-supported activity
- Concurrent with the above it will be made known through AIDWFVAPVC that a fourth opportunity exists in Chad for the Fiscal Years 1987-89 Preliminary discussions and reconnaissance will be encouraged If a promising PVO and subproject idea are agreed to the above steps will be followed and a Cooperative Agreement executed that exhausts the projects unearmarked funds
Development and review of subproject proposalswill follow fairly closely the procedures that have worked well with the Relief and Rehabilitation Project (677-0041) in the cases of its two CARE AgriculturalInfrastructure Restoration activities and the Africa Refugee Resettlement Project (698-05024) in its AFRICARE Abeche Rural Development and VITA NDjamena Private Enterprise activities That is proposals designed and submitted by the PVOs following consultation and guidance from USAIDChad are presented according to a presribed format given technical and policy review by USAIDChad and REDSOWCA and approvedby the Chad AID Director with the concurrence of the Director of REDSOWCA From each a PIOT is prepared byUSAIDChad reviewed and counter-signed by the GOC Ministry of Plan and Reconstruction and used by the REDSOWCA Grant Officer as the basis for negotiation and execution of an AID Cooperative Agreement with the PVO
As noted above finance of PVO support in the project can be applied within limits to the design of subprojects This recognizes that considerable
23
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
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The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
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execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
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small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
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2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
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it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
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ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
technical and other analyses may be necessary and that if a PVO new to Chad presents interesting prospects some assistance to its establishment may be desirable The intention is to devote not more than $100000 of Project funds to this purpose for any one subprojectalthough that is not inflexible Application of such funds will be regarded as more attractive to the extent design efforts treat technical or organizational issues with a longer-term demonstration bent Preferably this Project funding will be matched by PVOs out of their own resources
Experience indicates that some of The interventions expected in the Project will requireconsiderable technical agronomic engineering and social scientific work at the design stage -- not least owingto the in extremis condition of Chad However PVOs generally and the major ones operating in Chad at present do not maintain full staff support iii all necessary fields Certain American universities are a likely source of this expertise So the PVOs will be encouraged to collaborate with or otherwise avail themselves of experts from such universities especiallyHistorically Black American institutions
B FORMATS OF PROPOSALS
Subproject proposals should substantially follow the outline and guidance for PPs contained in AID Handbook 3 Chapter 3 Project Development Analysisand Presentation This project depends on the PVOs own capacity to plan and implement its activities So two things are particularly important First it is in the proposals that the requirements of AIDs legislation including FAA Section 611(a) and Regulation16 must be met That is there must be adequatepreliminary planning including persuasive engineeringand financial detail and a reasonably firm estimate of the cost the subproject must be environmentally sound and the obligation must be valid
As the Environmental Thzeshold Decision for the Project as a whole has been deferred (Annex B) an individual Initial Environmental Examination for each subproject must be included in its proposal which the REDSOWCA Regional Environmental Officer will review for approval The validity of obligation should be demonstrated by an agreement between the PVO and the appropriate agency or agencies of the GOC on the purpose mechanisms elements and intended results of the subprojects For this to be effected a precis of the subproject in French to which the agreement refersshould be attached to the proposal Obligation validitywill be reinforced by signature by the GOCs designatedofficial on the resulting PIOT that generates the AID-PVO Cooperative Agreement
24
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
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execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
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drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
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small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
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2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
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real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
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it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
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ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
The second important feature of the proposals will be demonstration of the technical economic and social feasibility of the intended interventions and estimation of the benefits Subprojects are expected to adhere to the focus and limits set forth in this PP and take into account the guidance presented in its analyses A Logical Framework should portray the subprojects concept with inputs and outputs rows serving the purpose and goal statements of the overall Project
The format to be followed will contain the following
Executive Summary I Rationale and Project Description -shy
which details the objectives approach elements (inputs and outputs) processes and expected results of the subproject
II Financial Plan -- including payment verification and audit approach of the PVO as necessary (See also II above)
III Implementation Plan -- which details procurement use of food-for-work or food sales proceeds as appropriate application of technical assistance and management personnel and the implementation schedule
IV Monitoring and Evaluation Plan -shywhich indicates intended contents of quarterly reports to AID internal control and reporting processes and the prospectively most importantsubjects of evaluation and the timing of this
V Analyses -- which as appropriate demonstrate the subprojects feasibility and project its impact in technical economic and social terms (Further guidance on these is provided in section V of this PP and Annex E)
Annexes -- Logical Framework Initial Environmental Examination Precis in French PVO-GOC Agreement ie exchange of letters and supportinganalyses and detailed plans as necessary
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
28
small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
29
2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
C IMPLEMENTATION BY AID
The process described above will require closi collaboration between USAIDChad and REDSOWCA -- foreview of proposals generation of the CooperativAgreements and Project evaluation -- on the model ol recent experience It will also require day-to-dalmanagement of USAIDChad-PVO relationships anc monitoring of PVO activities including relations wit the host government to assure that United StateE interests are served
The managerial rationale for this project -- itE employment of PVOs as design delivery aneand vehicles the umbrella structure with field decision-making -shyis easing of the potential burden on AID and movingimplementation closer to the clients (farmerslargely) The need for management by AID therefore isexpected to be small and accommodatable in the current field strength It is Given the current professional resources and mobility of REDSOWCA especially in irrigation engineering all that will be needed inUSAIDChad are (1) the attention periodically of the direct-hire Agricultural Development Officer theEngineer the Project Development Officer the ProgramOfficer and Director for policy guidance technical interpretation proposal review and enablingdocumentation these functions be incan accommodated current and projected workloads and (2) a fulltime Project Manager for the projects life whose serviceswill be acquired through a PSC and management supportfor that position (transport secretarial etc)
In each subproject the PVO will be responsibleand funded for all commodity and vehicle procurementstaff recruitment and operations in Chad includingworking relationships with the GOC The exceptions to this functional independence would be certain initial arrangements for AID food-for-work andor food salesproceeds and agreement for travel within Chad These would remain the responsibility of USAIDChad
USAIDChads management of the Project will be conducted by the Prcject Manager under the supervisionof the direct-hire Project Development Officer TheProject Manager will coordinate (1) the development of subprojects including developing relationships with PVOs new to Chad (2) review of subproject proposals(3) composition and execution of resulting PIOTs and Cooperative Agreements (4) application of food-for-work and food sales proceeds (5) review and processing of quarterly reports from PVOs and semi-annual ProjectImplementation reports to AIDW (6) AIDs participationin joint PVO-AID subproject evaluations and (7)
26
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
28
small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
29
2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
execution of the AID evaluation of the Proect asa
whole
IV MONITORING-AND EVALUATION PLAN
A SUBPROJECT MONITORING
This is primarily the responsibility of the PVOs It must treat timely delivery of inputs and their quality change planin necessitated by circumstancesresults and progress particularly on introduction of innovative or high-risk elements of subprojects The medium for reporting to AID and the GOC will bequarterly reports a partial model for which can be found in those for the CARE Agricultural Rehabilitation II Activity A necessary ingredient of a subprojectsdesign will be provision of the professional staff resources in Chad to monitor not only physical deliveryand effect but also technical success and beneficiary impact
B SUBPROJECT EVALUATIONS
A two-year subproject would be expected to have one evaluation mid-way through its second year A three to four-year subproject would be expected to have a mid-term progress and finalevaluation a evaluation Precise determination of the timing and contents of these joint PVO-AID evaluations is a design function at the proposal stage But in addition to the subjects of monitoring noted above the burden especially of final evaluations should be to assess immediate impact in terms of replicability And from a subprojectsperspective an analysis of larger-scaled problems in Chadian agriculture should be presented which informs the donor community and the GOC of critical needs and opportunities for the future
C PROJECT EVALUATION
This will be conducted by AID in the winter of 1989 In addition to measuring overall success of the Project in end-of-prcject-status terms it should also assess the utility of the PVO umbrella structure of the Project and the potential for continued valuable collaboration of AID and PVOs in Chadian development
It is expected as explained above that one longer-term developmEnt assistance project in agriculture will already have been started by AID in Chad by the time of tils evaluation -- and to have benefited from guidance provided by individual subproject monitoring and evaluations However that and the AID agricultural development strategy for this country expressed in current documents are not assured
27
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
28
small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
29
2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
drought may prevail and even worsen stability may not grow apace more conventional agricultural developmentprojects may still be infeasible to plan and operateThat AiDs strategic assumptions may not hold in other words means that more of the same as this project or like initiatives may be in order -- even sooner than the scheduled time of this evaluation Thereforeflexibility in the timing of the major AID evaluation should be maintained
In any event the nature and structure of the Project will lend to a valuable bi-product that irust be assembled and critically evaluated by AID Data on and experience with Chadian rural systems are highlylacking and this is reflected admittedly in the tentative nature of some of this PPs analyses Morewill be learned as subprojects are designed Yet more information will become available duringimplementation The record-keeping of PVOs is expectedto be good A profile even systems analysis of selected aspects of food production dynamics in the Sahelian zone of Chad will be constructable This will be a requirement of the AID evaluation
V CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSES
A TECHNICAL
1 gronqmy
This project will support the development of small-holder crop production in the Sahelian zone of Chad There is considerable potential for improvingagricultural production along major water courses and in wadis in this zone and this project will support efforts of the types that have been shown to have merit in projects currently being implemented by CARE and AFRICARE
As expanded upon in the Agronomic Analysis Annex E there are several water management systems in Chad which could be developed and improved upon They include
-- canal irrigation of low-lands for recessional agriculture around the southern shore of Lake Chad
-- polder development for recessional agriculture along the northern and eastern boundaries of Lake Chad
-- wadi development using the traditional shaduf or improved pumps and tube wells
28
small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
29
2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
small pump irrigation along the Chari and
Logone Rivers
Each system varies in its problems its potential and
its level of complexity Some are excellent require thoroughfood-for-work projects Others more
economic analyses and higher-level management
There are numerous constraints to increasing beyond management Theyagricultural production water
include shortages of seed fertilizers tools and
equipment ineffective government agencies poor changes in market conditionsinfrastructure temporal
and political and social instability While it is not
within the scope of this project to redress all of these using a PVOconstraints some progress can be made
approach in small communities As the political and
climate of Chad improves additionaleconomic advancements in the agricultural sector could be
expected
Water use can be facilitated by labor-intensive by improving upon the traditional shadufearthworks
system and by developing efficient small pump can be made more available throughirrigation Seeds
the contract growing of seeds with better pump should soon beirrigators foundation level seed
culturalFAO andavailable from Manuring improved can be encouraged Tools can be distributedpractices
might be justifiable for introductionAnimal traction animal traction equipmentinto cooperative holdings
might be manufactured under a Emall business loan The
extent and nature of these interventions would be
detailed in the PVO proposals
Some of the pitfalls of these interventions have
been learned from experience with similar activities
being carried out by PVOs in Chad Certainly the
implementing PVOs must have adequate proficiency in
water management and agronomy to design and conduct
these activities In particular where salinity is a pump irrigation is beingpotential hazard and where
developed a generalists understanding is not
sufficient
All proposals submitted for funding under this detailed technical analysis andproject must have a
should include an aspect of research and monitoring to
develop a more total understanding of the system being
supported Specifically the proposals must deal with
hydrological problems economicmarketingagronomic and issues social issues and environmental issues such as
use and storage ofsalinity deforestation and A description of theagricultural chemicals detailed
required and a recruitmenttechnical assistance procedure should be provided
29
2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
2 Irrigation ahd Water Management
CARE and AFRICARE have begun or proposedinterventions in several different types of irrigationand water management suited to the needs of particular areas or situations in the Sahelian zone of Chad They are quite varied but show considerable promise Theyalso have potential problems and limitations In water management terms the specific interventions may be categorized as (a) canals to augment recessional agriculture (b) polder development (c) wadi and oasis irrigation with shallow wells (d) irrigation with small power pumps and (e) water harvesting
Recessional agricultural development faces the problem of the lake having receded to about one-tenth its normal surface area Currently the level is the lowest recorded this century and has left many of the basins around the lake dry Nevertheless with propersite selection and planning relatively small amounts of earthwork can innundate large areas of very fertile land and render it suitable for crop production The annual cropping potential at such sites far outweighs the labor input to dig the canals Long-term development herehowever is problematical due to the unpredictability of lake size
Polder development has been used quitesuccessfully around the east and north shores of thelake for many years An area of the lake bottom is blocked off by building an embankment between dunes or peninsulas The bottom io cropped after water infiltrates and the high watertable recharged by the lake allows continuous cropping with natural sub-irrigation The primary limit to this system is salt concentrating in the root zone from the groundwaterand becoming excessive after several years As with canals good site selection can result in annual benefits that outweigh the cost and effort of construction Moreover the good so(ils and aquifers in these areas also indicate positive potential for irrigation from shallow wells during periods of extended drought But due attention must be given to salinitydrainage and leaching requirements
Wadi and oasis irrigation can be practiced on numerous sites throughout the northern Sahelian zone (Lac Kanem Batha Ouaddai Biltine) where displaced persons have concentrated Shallow wells (two to six meters) may be dug in these areas which yield up to 100 liters per minute CARE has addressed this usingfood-for-work to construct wells shadufs and landpreparation for small garden irrigation using nearbyfarmners to introduce the technology to new settlers for
30
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
real agricultural development And there is considerably more potential than is currently exploited -- not only in unused land but also by increasing plot sizes and improving distribution and application efficiencies Tube wells and manual pumps may be a feasible next step depending on market realities Again the constraint and threat to success will be salinity buildup throughout the area This will require reconnaissance monitoring and management techniques to anticipate and alleviate the problem
Power pump irrigation along the perimeters of the Chari River has considerable potential due to high quality water (electrical conductivity less than 100 micro mhoscm) and the normal mean annual minimum flow of the river greater than 100 cubic meters per second (It is about ten at present however) Current experience indicates that choice of sites for correct slope and uniformity and economical choice of pump technology are the main requirements of successful food production on these sites On the other hand there are virtually no small irrigation systems in Chad which approach the potential of properly designed and operated systems found in similar physical circumstances elsewhere A large benefit might well be realized if the design construction and operation of a model system were undertaken which would serve as an example for extension
Water harvesting is already being pursued by repair of small dams and construction of some new ones primarily in the Abeche area These catch and store water in wadis which flow only a few days or weeks a year The captured water recharges adjacent wells and provides for waterina of stock recession agriculture and some irrigation The piimary weakness in these systems is inadequate design and construction of flood spillways and outlet works The major problem though is the vagaries of desert hydrology a watershed must be carefully chosen for comparative reliability during dry years The large size and cost of the spillway for the amounts oi water stored may make the system hard to justify economically too but using food-for-work has been effective in providing the scarcist resource water by this method
3 Private Sector
Most consumers needs for products and services are served in Chad by the private sector Although devastated by war and systemic impoverishment Chad retains a great number of entrepreneurs desiring to pursue private economic interest Since 1978 little private investment has occurred but if peace continues
31
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
it is believed that in three to five years the private sector can be back where it was before the war(s) began
The Chadian private sector has an advantage over those in many African countries in that it is almost entirely composed of Chadians resulting in an unimpededindigenous dynamic Given the support 1y donors of projects aimed at increasing opportunities for local businesses to rebuild and grow and the Chadians tendencies toward entrepreneurial activities one can look at the development of the rLivate sector here with some optimism
The primary industries in Chad are agriculturalproduction and raising livestock for sale It is estimated that as many as 80 percent of the Chadian people make their living through rural-based activities A survey conducted in December 1984 identified numerous opportunities for assisting growerswith direct capital and technical assistance These were in the realms most importantly of vegetable and fruit farming capital support for truck transport seed farming grain processing and fisheries and fish products
At the present time the only source of credit available to and designed for small and medium size businesses in Chad is the AID-financed Private Enterprise Activity of VITA Its purpose is to make loans to qualified and financially viable businesseswith emphasis on those providing basic products and services disrupted by the war To date 26 loans have been made ten to primary food production (average loan size $6200) 12 to services ($5835) and four to productionmaterial transformation ($3750) March 15 1985 none is delinquent one has
As of been
rescheduled
A total of 80 loans will be made under this activity Repayments enter a revolving loan fund Since the opening of the program in August 1984 294 applications have been received USAIDChad considers this activity to be one of its most effective efforts And that is so not least due to the economy of operations of VITA (one expatriate four professional staff at present) and the PVOs ability to providetechnical assistance to borrowers in managementaccounting and market analysis in the loan review process
Thus potential and an effective vehicle exist for additional assistance under the Project to private sector development in food production and food-related business A detailed proposal for support should explore and demonstrate the viability of small
32
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
businesses in production of vegetables and fruits seeds and fish products especially and the development of upstream and downstream marketing systems Women as traditional cultivators and more efficient marketers of such products should be major beneficiaries
B SOCIO-ECONOMIC
1 Economic Rationale of the Project
The Project Description above underscores the extreme poverty desperate situation and limited nature of government and services in present day Chad It concludes that small-scale rapid-impact interventions in small-farmer food production and related private sector activities represent the most feasible approach to short- and medium-term agricultural development for AID to pursue in Chiad at this time Given other donor support the absence of infrastructure and the paucity of knowledge on basic rural systems (which themselves are in a state of drought-induced trauma and change) a project with some spread and relatively short duration is appropriate And if properly designed its short-term benefits may even be out-weighed by its contribution to longer-term development as experience is absorbed
This argues then for an application of Project resources through media that are very efficient in local operations relatively self-sufficient so far as support from government is concerned and able to reach directlythe target populations They should apply simpleinexpensive interventions that impact and draw lessons quickly As the GOC does not have sufficient personnel nor the lesources to manage such intervantions effectively we turn to PVOs They represent a valuable resource in themselves in that (a) they can generate their own contributions and (b) their experience and commitment to development in a milieu such as Chads have long-term value and potential
More particularly the three major American PVOs in Chad have specific experience in operating the kinds of interventions envisaged in this project (SeeIB3 above) As a group they have demonstrated the capacity to absorb and use AID resources economically employing relatively low overhead (CARE and AFRICARE particularly) and low to moderate salaries for their workers They are capable of handling short two to four year efforts at the required magnitude (about $10 million each per year see Table 4) The economic rationale of their use thus is posed in efficiency and least-cost terms And the umbrella structure of the Project will lend to further economies The geographic distribution and variety of interventions required by
33
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
the Project militates against one implementing agencyunder Chads circumstances even if a large enough one were available At the same time three to five separate idiosyncratic AID projects in agriculture -shywith all the management burden on AID they would entail -- would be unwise
TABLE 4 PVO Administrative Size
Approximate No of Employees ExpatriateAnnual Program Expatriate Local Overhead Co
Budget as Percent ($ millions) Total Cost
CARE 21 (FY 84) 10 110 (15) 27 a AFRICARE 11 (CY 84) 4 120 35b VITA 066 (CY 85) 2 8 52c
Does not include food donation values Proportions should only be taken as indicative of a particular project and do not reflect the entire program r each of the three PVOs AFRICAREs budycL reflects some start up costs VITAs programreflects little or no equipment purchases
aBased on CAREs Agriculture Infrastructure Restoration II Project
bBased on AFRICAREs Abeche Pioject CBased on VITAs Chad Private Enterprise Development Project
The economic effects of the subprojects themselves will be analyzed individually (see B3 below) But for those treating small farmers some general points maybe made First the focus on rural capital formation (small-scale infrastructure) will result in benefit streams over several or many years These investments will be of the type which village-level routine maintenance can for the most part keep operating In other words the Project emphasizes low or intermediate level technology which is not unknown to farmers or entrepreneurs to be scaled for minimal recurrent costs
Second the use of food-for-work where appropriate will ensure local participation and giveworkers a sense of self-worth and hope generating a currently lacking rural dynamic Subprojects are expected to reinforce local-level cooperation and institutionalization of self-help And the extensive use of Chadian supervisors and as possible governmentextension personnel should contribute importantly to development of a rural service cadre of great future utility
34
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
Below are presented three examples of activities now in place which indicate potentials and pitfalls
Catchment Basins AFRICARE is currently repairingrebuilding three dikesamscatchment basins within a 50 km radius of Abeche These dams have been used to catch and hold rainfall that flows out through wadis and which would otherwise be dissipated The basins were used for irrigating up to 50 ha at some sites and watering 500 livestock or more per day at others The two unfulfilled needs so far are for (a) a civil engineer who can make periodic visits to ensure that the dams are being constructed along sound engineering principles and (b) the establishment of a mechanism or organization which will guarantee annual maintenance of these structures If these two problems can be resolved rthese basins should function and provide useful services for years Such efforts are cost-effective because they involve the types of structures that have proved themselves to be effective and relatively low in cost
Wadi Gardens AFRICARE with a mere $25000 emergency relief grant helped settle some 5000 displaced persons 40 kms from Abeche Using food-for-work gardens of 40 m2 plots per family were established Women and men are now marketing onions turnips and other crops It is not known how long the peoplc will remain in the camp but these activities helped morale and nutrition Measurement of marketed produce will soon begin there Current pLublems involve insects and plant diseases
Irriqated Perimeters CARE has been re-activating small pump-irrigated petimeters along the Chari and Logone Rivers The cost of rehabilitation using food-for-work versus the cost of food relief presents an interesting comparison CARE has estimated that the cost to feed one family of nine to ten members for a year with PL 480 food is approximately $1300 By contrast the installation of a $3500 14 hp pump that comes complete with spare parts and converts to a grinding mill can provide irrigation capacity for irrigating farmland sufficient for up to ten families for four to five years provided that the pump and facilities are maintained (which are additional expenses) This cost may be compared with the $13000 in simple food relief expense Although most Chadian farmers do not exclusively farm irrigated perimeters it
See Howard Kaufman Evaluation and Socio-Economic Report on CARE Food for Work Projects in Chad NDjamena CARE 1985
35
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
is apparent that including fuel and maintenance costs the rehabilitation of these perimeters via food-for-work activities are investments that will reduce dependency on external food aid
2 Target Populations
The Project will affect a significant portion of the Chadian population located in accessible areas of the Sahelian zone potentially as many as 25000 to 40000 persons depending on the nature of activities and application of food-for-work Current AID-financed activities operating in these areas and upon which the Project will b1iild can be found along the Lake Chad-Bongor axis and in eastern Chad within a 50 km radius of the town of Abeche
In the region along the eastern demicircle of Lake Chad some 20000 farmers and 10000 herders reside in addition to two famine-related emergency camps whose population totals approximately 9700 men women anl children Most of the displaced persons are of the Bilala ethnic group who left their homeland near the now dried up Lake Fitri and the towns of Ati and Yao While exact numbers are not known more that 30000 persons are estimated to live between NDjamena and Bongor along the Chari and Logone Rivers In addition thousands of displaced persons have also settled along their banks
In eastern Chad Abeche is the most populous town and is the seat of Ouaddai prefecture Tne Ouaddai and Biltine prefectures which together make up the Ouaddai geographique supported approximately 522000 in 1979 Drought and civil disturbance have reduced thM population somewhat and the population density is now somewhat less than four personskm 2 In 1965 the rural population (93 percent of the total) was distributed in 1769 villages and 683 nomadic encampments Moba is the dominant ethnic tribe around Abeche and numbered 170000 in 1962 Other large groups include the Dodjo Massalat arid Zaghawa people Altogether some 16 ethnic groups are reptesented with 12 identified language families ilowever Chadian Arabic is the predominant universal language The people are primarily sedentary farmers or nomadic semi-nomadic herders and the drought has forced many of the transient peoples to learn how to settle and cultivate
The settled and settleable population is able at present to practice sedentary agriculture only at a very low technological level one similar to that practiced elsewhere in savanna West Africa Farm household labor carries out all operations with hand tools fields surrounding villages are manured to a small extent and more or less permanently cultivated with food crops
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
Irrigated swamp rice and vegetable cultivation are restricted to the floodplains of the Chari and Logone Rivers and the shores of Lake Chad -- and further restricted by the scarcity of enabling equipment and structures Higher technology inputs (improved seedsfertilizer etc) are virtually absent But for the most basic types of investments at the village level (in water capture pumps channels seed) there appear to be few insurmountable social or organizational impediments to application
Cultural impediments to project activity are minimal given that the technology to be used is already familiar to the sedentary farmers The recent report by a CARE sociologist (Kaufman op cit) indicates that near Lake Chad pastoralists who once disdained farming were now cultivating along side their wives although the stress of herders adaptation to sedentary agriculture should not be underestimated The introduction of new farmers to areas already if sparcely settled does pose problems Acceptability of new populations in an established social system must be viewed also as a potentially serious issue and treated accordingly Moreover land tenure specifically must be worked out so that equity is maintained while new farmers attain a security of holdings which stimulates sustained investment of their own labor and talents
The beneficiaries of PVO activities will primarily be men women and children of rural households in the regions delineated above Both long-term residents and displaced persons will have opportunities in some cases to receive continued food-for-work payments Farmers (both men and women) will have access to inputs irrigated perimeters sd technical advice and marketing support The children will benefit from better nutrition both through the food-for-work salaries to parents and higher parental income Herders will benefit where livestock watering holes are created Food-for-work workers will benefit from their salaries truckers and commercants will benefit from increased marketing opportunities And the very nature of development initiatives via food-for-work and village level interventions ensures benefits will be widelydistributed amongst the Project participants Within NDjamena recipients of private sector loans will benefit directly from the loans while the users of businesses services will indirectly benefit
3 Feasibility of Subprojects
The design of subproject proposals will face the same problem as did that of this project paper data on current socio-economic phenomena in Chad are sparce and incomplete And investment in elaborate surveys would
37
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
be not only difficult to obtain and inconvenient but also very time-consuming and delaying It is therefore a given that the proposals can only undertake certain types of beneficiary and benefits analyses at a modest scale -- drawing from current experience and limited field reconnaissance
For beneficiaries their numbers and types should be estimated for each subproject as a whole farm families entrepreneurs food-for-work recipients (if not also the in-place farmers) and supervisors secondary urban and rural beneficiaries if any and women in particular Underlying social and urganizational impediments to success especially of local self-help institutional development should be treated In cases where a subproject will consist of several or many small schemes the case for aggregating them couild be strengthened by presentation of a case study or two based on records of past activities
In economic terms proposals should be able to demonstrate that either (a) their activities are economically and financially viable kie benefitcostratio greater than one and positive financial returns are being generated by or for the direct beneficiary) or (b) the subproject is the most cost effective means for accomplishing particular goals
thether a bEefitcost (BC) ratio will be determied or not the analysis should include a discussion of the benefit and cost components broken down as fo)icws quantifiable and non-quantifiablebenefits number and incidence of beneficiaries for X period of time distribution of overhead costs byproject sub-activity related contributions by other donors or food-for-work or other ex-project inputs PVO doration and recurrent cost estimates
Quantifiable benefits include inter alia measurable benefits such as expected increase in crop yields or area cultivated fish yields and savings due to reduction in transportation costs If monetary values for these variables are known -- eg market prices -- the projected value of measurable output can then be estimated In some cases a value such as the worth in the decreased number of malnourished children cannot be determined however
In cases where PVO activities involve receiving inputs from other sources -- such as in past food-for-work related activities -- the shadow value of these inputs should be included as a cost for that particular activity That is in presenting the BC analysis for an irrigated garden for example the value of food-for-work wages should be included in the site preparation costs
38
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
In the case of private enterprise loans an attempt should be made to present a break-even analysisindicating ceteris paribus the number of loans andorinterest rate which must be attained in order for the administrative default otherand loan costs to becovered And a declining ratio of administrative cost to loan portfolio magnitude is desirable over time
The value of PVO-related donations needs to beincluded in the analysis as well as estimates of postsubproject recurrent costs anand assessment of host country participants andor governments ability to meet these expenses The analysis should also includein conjunction with the IEE qualitativea descriptionof potential environmental costs and benefits that mightbe incurred as a result of project sub-activities (egdeforestation around PVO-built livestock watering holes or forestation along wadis) In the situation where revenues are calculated to come from marketed producethe PVO proposal should provide an indication that demand for these goods is sufficient and a mechanism for marketing the goods exists or can be developed
Finally if using the least cost justificationmethodology proposals should be able to demonstrate how the approach is the lowest cost solution to the particular set problems itof which is addressingApproaches might include citing the estimated cost perparticipant comparison of PVO activity costs with thoseof other project implementing organizations and thereduction of set-up and operating costs because of in-country experience
VI CONDITIONS PRECEDENT
The Project Grant Agreement shall provideconditions precedent to disbursement in substance as follows
Prior to the first disbursement under the grant or to the issuance by AID of documentation pursuant towhich disbursement will be made the Cooperating Country(Republic of Chad) shall except as partiesthe otherwise agree in writing furnish to AID in form and substance satisfactory to AID
-- A statement of the names of the personsholding or acting in the office of the Cooperating Country specified in section 82 of the Grant and a specimen signatureof each person specified in such statement
39
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds
ANNEX A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
NARRATIVE SUMMARY OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE MEANS OF IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS INDICATORS VERIFICATION
GOAL To increase Chads productionof food and its availability to the deprived and lay groundwork for more profound agricultural development
Decline in food import requirements reduced hunger long-range policy informed
National statistics Absence of national disasters politicalstability continuatio of GOC policies
PURPOSE In the Sahelian Zone to assist small-farmer food productionand supportive private sector activities having demonstration and institutional development effects
Selected areas have increased food production by 50 or more 10 more ag-related business resulting data
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Water potential is realizable business environment continues positive access to Sahel is unimpeded
used for new projects OUTPUTS Small-scale irrigatedagriculture schemes with ag inputsdelivery functioning ag and ag-related businesses basic systemic data
To be determined at points of PVO subproject approval
Subprojects reportsand evaluations
Readiness of targetpopulations to particishypate continued cooperashytiveness of GOC agencies locally
data collectable INPUTS Low recurrent cost PVO-managed schemes in area-specific basic agriculture and market town private sector support making technical assistance inputs loan finance and food-for-work available in situ monitoring and evaluation
4-5 PVO-designed and managed subprojects each of 2-4 years duration with AID management and evaluation $12 mil and $05 mil reshyspectively plus $3 mil PVO
Subprojects reports and evaluations
Sufficient PVO absorpshytive capacity and field effectiveness contishynued access to Chad of inputs
contribution and food-forshywork and food sales Proceeds