development cooperation progress report roap :administrative … · 2018-10-31 · 4...

Development Cooperation Progress Report (DCPR)

105054: IRIS Project No.

AFG/14/01/SID: TC Symbol SIDA :Donor

ROAP :Administrative Unit

Country or Region: AFGHANISTAN Title: Road to Jobs: Bringing decent work to rural households of Northern provinces of

Afghanistan P&B Outcome: 3

Report: Annual For projects reporting on an annual basis, all sections must be completed and the report must cover the previous 12 months.

6-month For projects reporting twice per year, all sections must be completed and the report must cover the previous 6 months.

Quarterly For projects reporting on a quarterly basis, every second and fourth report (i.e. twice a year) should complete all sections. The other reports may leave out sections 3 and 4.

Sequence: 1st report 2nd report 3rd report 4th report 5th report 6th

report 7th report 8th report 9th report 10th report 11th report

Related project(s): Road to Jobs Project: AFG/14/01/SID

Reporting Information Reporting period: From April 2015 to December 2015

Report prepared by: Julius Mutio, 30 March 2016

Report reviewed by: Eva Majurin

I have reviewed the classifications and agree they are a fair and accurate reflection of progress Reviewer initials: EM

Report approved by: Manzoor Khaliq, 30 April 2016

I have reviewed the classifications and agree they are a fair and accurate reflection of progress Approver initials: MK

Instructions

This is the standard ILO format for extra-budgetary development cooperation progress reporting. Information submitted in DCPRs will be collected and used by the ILO to monitor progress towards results. DCPRs must be submitted as per the schedule outlined in the Approval Minute. Please note this is the format for interim reports only. Final progress reports must use a different template. For guidance on completing the DCPR please visit: www.ilo.org/intranet/english/bureau/pardev/tcguides/templates.htm

http://www.ilo.org/intranet/english/bureau/pardev/tcguides/templates.htm

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Annual-Technical Progress Report R2J Project-Afghanistan 2015

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Introduction ‘Road to Jobs’ aims to unleash the economic potential of the expanding rural road network in Afghanistan, which has been supported by SIDA-UNOPS. These new roads provide rural communities with the opportunity for better connectivity to markets. Road to Jobs will help turn that opportunity into reality in selected Northern Provinces. The project will enhance competitive rural and urban value chains connected by the road network through multi-faceted interventions that respond to the underlying constraints inhibiting pro-poor sector growth. Giving special attention to vulnerable and marginalized groups, including women, the project will build on knowledge from the recent JICA-ILO study on cross-country agriculture value chains. In the year under review, the Road to Jobs (R2J) project made very bold steps in its inception. The project was launched among stakeholders in the northern provinces of Balkh and Samangan. Consultants were brought in to facilitate the stakeholder consultative processes through two Participatory Appraisal of Competitive Advantage (PACA) each at the provincial level, six Rapid market Appraisals (RMA) and the in-depth Market Systems Analysis (MSA) of the grape and raisin value chain The PACA process was supported by 12 stakeholder representatives who were trained by R2J project to be facilitators. These are called PACA facilitators. They were trained and they played a significant role in reaching the communities which were in high security areas during the consultations. They have been further trained to support the conduct of in-depth MSA and the project intends to continue to build their capacity to support the project implementation further. The PACA process yielded 12 quick-win interventions which were meant to address challenges identified in the 6 agricultural sub-sectors of cotton, sheep and goats, poultry, vegetables, almonds and grapes. The RMAs were conducted alongside the PACA exercise and 3 sub-sectors were subsequently selected for further in-depth analysis. The grape and raisin, cotton and inputs supply sub-sectors were picked by the R2J project during the inception phase because they offered realistic prospects for inclusiveness and potential for job creation. The project then undertook its first MSA for the grapes and raisin value chain. The process brought to the fore a number of systemic challenges which needed addressing and this was addressed through interventions which were designed by the R2J team and included in the annual work plan and budget for 2016. Immediately after the design of 19 interventions, the team began to support implementation of 5 of the 12 quick-win interventions through stakeholder working groups. At the centre of this strategy was capacity building of both staff and local stakeholders as they are key to the success of the whole project. These stakeholders will play a key role during the implementation of interventions to bring about systemic change which yields jobs and incomes for the poor. At the end of the first year, R2J project team came up with an annual work plan and inception report which were presented to SIDA in December 2015 capping a successful beginning to the three-year project.

1. Budget / Planning Information

Project budget in USD: 7,641,365

Project duration in months: 36 Planned Actual

Project start date: Dec, 2014 April, 2015

Project end date: Nov, 2017 month, year

2. NARRATIVE REPORT

2.1. Perspectives on current status

Briefly explain the overall status of project implementation, making reference to progress under each immediate objective.

The overall goal of the Road to Jobs project is More and better jobs in selected Northern Provinces contribute to improved livelihoods and poverty reduction. The project aims at addressing the underlying causes of poor market systems performance in selected agricultural sub-sectors. The following was done to set the project on course to achieve this goal.

Two Participatory Appraisal of Competitive Advantage (PACA) process and six Rapid Market Appraisal (RMA) conducted to assess the local economic landscape, identify ‘quick wins’ and support sector selection.

Three Sub-sectors were selected for the implementation of market systems development interventions based on clear criteria of potential for growth, inclusiveness, and job creation/improvement.

1 in-depth market systems analysis (MSA) for the grape and raisin value chain was completed. Two others for Cotton and Inputs Supply Systems are set to be undertaken in 2016.

A vision for how the grape and raisin market system needs to change, and a clear vision for sustainability were developed.

A detailed ‘strategic’ planning of interventions and activities to respond to underlying constraints uncovered in the market systems analysis was carried out.

A system for monitoring and results measurement based on the DCED Standard was developed and is still undergoing refinement.

A draft gender strategy has been developed.

The project log frame has been finalised and indicators fine-tuned.

Implementation of 5 proposals from the selected sub-sectors has started. Outcome 0: More and better jobs in selected Northern Provinces contribute to improved livelihoods and poverty reduction

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i) Programme Management Unit

A fully functional Programme Management Unit has been established in the new R2J Project offices within WFP Compound in Mazar-e-Sharif. The project team consists of a Chief Technical Advisor (CTA), a Market Systems Development Officer, two Provincial Local Economic Development Coordinators, a Gender and Livelihood Officer, a Results Measurement Officer, a Finance Assistant, a Programme Assistant, one Driver, a Field Security & Safety Liaison Officer(FSSLO) (cost-shared) and a Local Security Assistant. The entire team is located in Mazar-e-Sharif except for the FSSLO who is based in Kabul and will be coming to Mazar occasionally.

One driver has been recruited and another one is yet to be recruited because currently R2J is using hired vehicles from WFP and UNDP, and is waiting for the procurement of the 2 new vehicles.

ii) Programme oversight

The project will be governed by a project advisory committee (PAC) to be formed at the regional level (to be established in Mazar-e-Sharif) comprising representatives of Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD), other concerned ministries, employers (Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Balkh and its member associations representing relevant sectors) and workers organizations and the ILO. The main responsibilities of the advisory group shall include the following:

Review the annual action plan of the project;

Review the progress of the project and recommend corrective measures if necessary;

Ensure the alignment between the key policies and development plans (e.g., the ANDS, the UNDAF, the DWCP, the National Employment Policy and Strategy) and the project activities; and

Facilitate coordination with and access benefits of other key programmes and projects. This PAC will be constituted in the implementation phase of the project early in 2016.

Outcome 1: Collaboration and co-ordination among local stakeholders for local economic development is improved

Stakeholder consultations, sector selection and working groups The R2J Project, through extensive stakeholder consultations, identified 12 PACA proposals all in agricultural sub-sectors and will be implementing in 2016 and 2017. The same process was used to bring together stakeholders to participate in the selection of the Grape and raisin, cotton and inputs supply value chains. These 3 value chains will be supported and working groups will form around sectors of interest to take the way forward. It is the role of R2J to support the development of these working groups so that there is local ownership of the local economic development work. The project will contribute to the achievement of AFG128: Enhanced Conducive Environment for Developing Micro- and Small Enterprises through enhancement of competitiveness of selected agriculture value chains, protection and upgrading of urban work and small enterprises, and improved financial management of households, which together bring higher returns to rural households. The project will contribute to the following National Priority Programmes (NPPs):

Skills Development and Labour (under the Human Resources Development cluster)

Trade Facilitation and SME (under the Private Sector Development cluster)

Comprehensive Agriculture (under the Agriculture and Rural Development cluster) The project will also contribute to the new UNDAF (2014-2018), particularly to its Pillar One “Inclusive, more equitable and sustainable economic growth with reduced dependency on the illicit economy”. The project interventions will contribute to the realization of productive and decent work. The latter is recognized as a core element of the millennium development goal (MDG) 1, “Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, “which has incorporated “full and productive employment and decent work for all” as an indicator.

PACA Proposals from 6 agricultural sub-sectors The 12 proposals were selected from the PACA which is a participatory process which empowers local stakeholders to take a lead in identifying challenges in market systems and coming up with solutions to enable systemic change so that local economic development is sustained. The aftermath of the participatory selection of the Almonds, Dairy, Commercial Vegetables, Sheep and Goats and Cotton means that stakeholders in all these sectors will come together as interest groups to carry out or ‘ champion’ the proposals meant for local economic development. These took place from April 2015 and the process is still continuing. Through consultative workshops, working groups are formed and implementation then starts. In August and September 2015, a total of five (5) consultative workshops were convened and 8 working groups constituted. To date 4 working groups remain and work on all proposals is continuing. In a situation where a champion emerges immediately after the consultations no working group is needed because the champions will carry on with what needs to be done at the implementation stage.

Grape and Raisin, Cotton and Inputs Supply Systems sub-sectors.

These 3 value chains were selected through the RMA process with the participation of local stakeholders in a number of consultative events like field studies, workshops and the resultant market systems analysis for grape and raisin value chain. The same process will be followed through for cotton and inputs supply value chains. In order to design interventions which better address the underlying causes of market systems failure, the R2J project conducted the first market systems analysis to enable the design of interventions meant to achieve positive system change for local economic development to be achieved. This was carried out in August-October 2015. Interventions have now been designed and implementation will begin in the implementation phase. The remaining two market systems analyses are scheduled to take place in the second and fourth quarters of 2016. Outcome 2: The position of poor and disadvantaged groups within selected sub-sectors is improved The PACA, RMA and MSA found out a number of major underlying causes of market systems failure. Interventions have now been designed to address those challenges in order to bring about systemic change and enable markets to function in a way which fosters job creation and increases incomes for both enterprises and the poor. Two studies have also been carried out in order to assess the extent of child labour and gender issues in the Northern provinces. These two studies will feed into the existing plan so that decent work and gender equality are built into the work that R2J project is doing.

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Outcome 3: Financial management of the poor and disadvantaged groups is improved

A study has been commissioned to do a mapping of financial services in Northern Afghanistan. The findings of this study allude to some of the constraints faced by farmers and enterprises in accessing finance in Afghanistan. The recommendations will be used to come up with realistic outputs and design appropriate interventions. The study was scheduled to conclude in November 2015 but the international consultant fell ill in Mazar-I-Sharif and he had to return to Kenya before compiling the report. R2J is currently finalizing the report and reviewing the recommendations.

2.2 Issues and actions the report

Examine the main challenges facing the timely delivery of outputs and achievement of immediate objectives. Please explain delays duration and the reasons why. These can be issues that have already been encountered or are foreseen.

Delayed recruitment of International Staff , procurement of project vehicles

Recruitment of staff for the Project and procurement of equipment took longer than expected. This meant that the Programme had only a skeleton team for the larger part of the inception phase. Due to procurement procedures by Afghanistan customs, the project was unable to acquire project vehicles on time. This resulted in the process of putting various Programme systems in place taking longer than earlier planned.

Consultant for Financial services mapping fell ill during the assignment. Inclusive financial services expert hired fell ill when he was just finalizing data collection in the field and he had to be allowed to leave at that point. The project had to carry out the remaining part of the data collection. This affected the analysis and drafting of the report for this study.

Examine to which extent expenditure is in line with budget forecasts. Please explain any over or

Year 2015

Exp Category Budget Line Budget Actual Balance Remarks

Outcome 1: Rapid Market Assessment 01.01-01.01 69276.16 146350 -77073.8

Due to limited number of staff recruited at the time, Several international and local consultants were hired to manage the whole exercise. The exercise took longer to finalize, hence the

underspend and the reasons why.

(RMA) reason for overspend.

Sector selection ( Urban and Agriculture ) 01.02-01.02 6200 6200

Costs related to sector selection were absorbed through the PACA and RMA study budget line

Local competitiveness assessment (PACA) and thematic assessment 01.03-01.03 188150.44 187182 968.44

This activity was covered fully from the budget line as envisaged.

Value chain Analysis (VCA) 01.04-01.04 38679.07 38678 1.07

This activity was covered fully from the budget line as envisaged

Implementation phase planning 01.05-01.05 49213.46 49213 0.46


Project Personnel 01.06-01.06 309495.42 302174 7321.42

The recruitment of the Monitoring and results measurement officer was delayed till November 2015. This is partly the reason that we have a surplus on the salaries line item.

Supplies and Commodity 01.07-01.07 76422.32 76422 0.32


Equipment 01.08-01.08 76217.22 28417 47800.22

There was office equipment like photocopiers, printers, trauma bags, PPEs, computers all are yet to be purchased in the new year. Moreover, the office space leased come with furniture and fittings, hence, less was spend on this budget line than initially planned.

Project Support Costs 01.09-01.09 107554.63

107696.66 -142.03


Total 921208.72 936132.

66 -14923.9

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Explain corrective actions taken or to be taken regarding implementation challenges, delayed delivery, over or underspend and the low probability of achieving immediate objectives.

Delayed recruitment of professional staff This challenge was addressed by ILO heavily backstopping the project from Kabul, Bangkok and Geneva. A number of consultants were hired to carry out assessments during this interim period. A senior value chains specialist with extensive experience was engaged together with 2 experienced PACA consultants to facilitate the PACA and RMA exercises as well as the Grape and Raisin MSA. They worked with the new staff as they were gradually coming on board but they assumed greater responsibility for activities and that was shed off to project staff as they gradually came on board. A team of 12 PACA local facilitators were trained to help with reaching those project participants living in hard to reach areas and they were very instrumental in the consultative processes which required going to some of the low security districts. Consultant for Financial services mapping fell ill during the assignment. Arrangements were made with the consultants and he offered to let his team of consultants from his consulting firm finish the work. These would include being in close contact with the R2J project team to ensure the work proceeded well and in time.

Briefly explain any reformulations of project immediate objectives or outputs, and their corresponding indicators and targets.

The Programme Management Team has maintained the overall goal of the Project and the first 2 outcomes. Outcome 3 will only be re-defined after the conclusion of the financial services mapping study. This has been done so that the final design of the project reflects the vision for market system change that the programme seeks to achieve in the light of the research findings. Indicated are the reformulated Outcomes and Outputs. Outcome 1: Collaboration and co-ordination among local stakeholders for local economic development is improved Output 1.1 Regular collaboration mechanisms established for dialogue among local economic development stakeholders Output 1.2 Knowledge creation on the use of VCD and LED tools for job creation in post-conflict environments enhanced Outcome 2: The position of poor and disadvantaged groups within selected sub-sectors is improved Output 2.1: The underlying constraints inhibiting the performance of key sub-sectors for competitiveness and inclusive growth are addressed

Outcome 3: Financial management of the poor and disadvantaged groups is improved

Output 3.1: Platforms for households and migrant workers to access financial knowledge and services are established

This output will be revised or reformulated based on the final results and recommendations following the finalization of the Financial Services

Mapping report

Please describe whether within the reporting period any efficiency gains have been realized. This can be achieved through: - Learning, improved or shared knowledge; - Partnerships with key stakeholders, - Sequencing of activities; - Cost savings; - Economies of scalea or scopeb by combining activities within a project, or between projects; - Other (please explain).

1. Training of local PACA facilitators

The project trained 12 local PACA facilitators from the local community to help with implementation of planned activities. The idea was to enlist the support of locals in implementing project activities and build a skills base among the local stakeholders. In the end it was easy to reach those targeted project beneficiaries in areas with security concerns and this was also meant to re-inforce the R2J project’s intention to enlist participation of locals and ownership of the intervention processes.

2. Training on setting up and managing of the DCED Standard As a new monitoring and results measurement tool, the DCED standard needs well trained staff to set it up and use it properly to support efficient project management. R2J project management sent the newly recruited MRM Officer to ILO’s ITC Turin for training on the DCED standard. Upon return, he started working on designing the DCED Manual for the project. The DCED Manual for R2J project is now available but still under development. Under normal circumstances a consultant would have been hired to set up the DCED monitoring and results measurement standard.

3. Sustainable enterprise workshop in Zambia R2J project sent 3 officers from the ministry of labour, the Afghanistan national workers union and the Balkh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) for Sustainable enterprise workshop in Zambia to raise awareness and create capacity within the tripartite constituents to support the implementation of the project. It has been very helpful that these institutions are supporting the implementation of the project. They help mobilize their members to meetings convened by R2J project, support members to effectively participate in implementation of interventions as well as advice projects staff on how to manage.

4. MSA brief training with consultants The grape and raisin value chain MSA was facilitated by experienced consultants but the process was used as an opportunity to train up the R2J team on the basics of MSA using the Making Markets Work for the Poor (M4P) approach. The consultants conducted hands-on training for project staff and the PACA facilitators who were supporting the process. This made it easy for the R2J team to collect much-needed information and contribute to the analysis which eventually culminated in the grape and raisin MSA report. It also enhanced the R2J team’s understanding of the grape and raisin value chain which also greatly informed the design of interventions meant to address the underlying causes of market failure which were uncovered during the MSA.

5. ILO Global Enterprise Team meeting in Turin 2015 The Chief Technical Advisor attended the enterprise academy in Turin for knowledge sharing and learning on value chain development in fragile states like Afghanistan. It was an opportunity to share learning about value chain development in a conflict area, how to elicit stakeholder participation, navigating your way around market distortions brought about grant giving projects dominating the market landscape and the

a Declining unit costs as scale increases b Functions serving more than one activity

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inherent insecurity affecting investor sentiment. A lot was learnt which has helped shape up the rolling out of the R2J project to date. One of the major learning points was how many value chains could be tackled at a time to achieve meaningful impact. The experience by other practitioners helped to keep the choice of value chains to a manageable minimum of 3 with continuous review.

6. Publication of the Road to Jobs (R2J) project Newsflash R2J project has started monthly publication of a Newsflash. This is meant to keep stakeholders informed of the progress as well as share learning with partners. This was initiated in August 2015.

7. Partnerships with key stakeholders A number key partnerships have now been agreed with key stakeholders and negotiations are still underway with more.

- The Balkh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) has proved to be a willing partner in a number of initiatives involving its members. They have been heavily involved in helping organize all 30 cotton oil processing firms in Balkh province in order to address the issue of low quality cotton oil currently being produced in Afghanistan. With BCCI’s support, a plan on how to address the issue of low quality oil and improve the competitiveness of the product in the marketplace has been agreed and all 30 firms have participated fully in the development of strategies to address this challenge.

- R2J project has now partnered with Drukhshan Poultry Company to process chicken litter into fertilizer and negotiations are also underway with the same company to start an outgrower scheme for the production of broiler chickens with 150 women farmers in Balkh district.

- A sheep and goats development committee has been set up in Samangan to spearhead the development of strategies to combat high mortality rates of animals due to winter cold, lack of water in summer and low access to high quality veterinary medicines. The committee is now working with R2J project to ensure that such challenges are reduced so that farmers can increase their incomes from sheep and goats.

- Negotiations are under way with RADP-N, a USAID-funded value chain development initiative managed by Development. A partnership to economic empowerment of women through SIYB programme is underway with USAID project. Alternatives Inc (DAI). The partnership is meant to explore joint efforts in making value chains for grapes and almonds more efficient and profitable for farmers and other participating firms.

- R2J project is also exploring partnership with UNOPS in the north. The collaboration will centred on commercialization of agricultural activities especially those that help increase women’s participation in economic activities.

- Discussions are also under way with stakeholders in the dairy sector to firm up a partnership with CARD-F, a major funding player in the dairy sector. The partnership will help CARD-F channel funds into areas which will help address market system challenges.

Briefly describe any evaluations, project reviews, self-assessments or undertaken, including follow-up to findings and recommendations.

Project review meeting with SIDA in December 2015 A project review meeting was held in Kabul in December 2015 between the R2J team and SIDA officials. An update on what had been achieved was shared with the embassy. This included the launch of the project, stakeholder consultations through PACA, RMA and the MSA for grapes and raisins. The sector selection and the work plan development for the implementation of interventions designed out of the extensive stakeholder consultations were also included in the briefing.

Lessons learnt The project has learned that full participation and inclusiveness of stakeholders is time consuming and therefore requires strong and mutual commitment but the inclusion of stakeholders creates a strong sense of ownership in the project; a close working relationship and cooperation with local partners is critical to develop and work with creative ideas on the ground.

Challenges outlined

Insecurity is one of the key challenges, missions are at times delayed and cancelled because of security reasons. Therefore, the project had to find other ways, such as relying on the stakeholders and PACA facilitators that the project has trained. Hiring and getting consultants to work in the country is another difficulty that we have faced. Recently, the project found out that Dubai was the best place to acquire Afghan visa and its process is much easier than other locations. Lack of regular and up to date data, especially primary data is one of the other key challenges.

Feedback by Swedish Embassy in Kabul

The Swedish embassy advised on the inclusion of the following in R2J’s work

women and gender considerations and how social norms restrict women to traditional roles

cross-cutting sectors like transport system, infrastructure and finance, inputs supply, etc.

greater partnership building and collaboration with other UN agencies, e.g UN Women, UNOPS, UNDP, etc

Foreseen challenges in working in conflict and post-conflict environments

Recommendations The ILO-R2J project provided further explanations and after the discussions, the following action points were agreed:

1. The ILO-R2J project will submit a narrative work plan for 2016 by 17th of December 2015 for approval by Sida/the Embassy 2. ILO-R2J Project would prepare and share a list of key market players and other stakeholders with the Swedish Embassy. 3. ILO-R2J Project to share key assessment reports/studies, e.g. Gender strategy, Child labour, Financial services assessment,

with Swedish Embassy 4. ILO-R2J Project will in future prepare narrative annual work plans 5. Swedish Embassy and ILO-R2J Project to look for informal meeting opportunities in updating each other on a regular basis.

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6. ILO-R2J Project to use the Swedish Embassy logo instead of the Sida one in its project communication and other documents

ILO Development Cooperation Progress Report: page 13 of 22

3. Summary Outputs

OUTPUT DELIVERY c

Output Percent

complete Output status

Output summary (1000 characters maximum)

Immediate Objective 1: Collaboration and co-ordination among local stakeholders for local economic development is improved

1.1 Regular collaboration mechanisms established for dialogue among local economic development stakeholders

30% On schedule Five workshops were held to validate findings from PACA, RMA and MSA for grape and raisin value chain. Another 5 stakeholder consultative workshops were held with stakeholders to elicit participation in and ownership of PACA proposals currently being implemented. Another 3 stakeholder consultative workshops will be held in the implementation phase to move forward with the remaining PACA proposals. The existing working groups are working on the following

Dairy: Feasibility for UHT milk plant in Northern Afghanistan. A proposal has been produced by the working group. CARD-F are already co-financing the setting up of a UHT milk plant and they have agreed to collaborate on this. The group is now being linked to the investors to take the proposal forward.

Sheep and Goats: Provision of shelter and water to reduce mortality of animals in winter and summer. A working group has now produced a proposal to undertake an assessment of the extent of the problem and feed into the design of a joint proposal to be tabled to WFP and UNHLP who are willing to fund.

Improvement of the quality of cotton oil through development of a local standard, consumer awareness to public health issues around cotton oil and upgrading of machinery by companies to meet the cotton oil standard. This was being handled by 3 different working groups, but all three have now merged to pursue their objectives under one roof.

Conversion of chicken litter to fertilizer: a working group was set up to look at this but after 3 meetings, Drukhshan-e-Balkh poultry company emerged as the champion and now the working group has ceased to exist because all work is being managed by the company who are now developing a commercial product with the help of an expert provided by R2J.

The Chicken buy-back system: A working group is still looking at the best way of implementing outgrower schemes for broiler chickens but after 4 meetings the Drukhshan-e-Balkh Poultry Company has requested technical support with setting up their own scheme with 50 women chicken farmers.

Four working groups out of the five formed are still working on the implementation of PACA proposals.

1.2 Knowledge creation on the use of 10% On schedule R2J sent 3 representatives from ministry of labour, the workers union and the chamber of

c Based on the Implementation Plan

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VCD and LED tools for job creation in post-conflict environments enhanced

commerce and industry to Zambia for training on value chain development. The annual work plan for 2016 has also been finalized and it has a number of strategies meant to build capacity among project staff and stakeholders alike, knowledge sharing and learning events to also build knowledge among all market systems actors.

Immediate Objective 2: The position of poor and disadvantaged groups within selected sub-sectors is improved

2.1 The underlying constraints inhibiting the performance of key sub-sectors for competitiveness and inclusive growth are addressed.

10% On schedule The grape and raisin value chain MSA has provided very clear pointers for use in implementation and this will begin in January 2016. Two more MSAs for cotton and inputs supply have been put in the plan for 2016.

Immediate Objective 3: Financial management of the poor and disadvantaged groups is improved

3.1 Platforms for households and migrant

workers to access financial knowledge

and services are established

10% Delay: behind schedule THIS OUTPUT AND ITS INDICATORS WILL BE REVISED OR REFORMULATED DEPENDING ON THE OUTCOME OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES MAPPING exercise being carried out by a consultant. Activities will also be define from the findings and recommendations of this study.

OUTPUT CLASSIFICATION d

Highly satisfactory

Implementation of almost all (>80%) outputs is on schedule as envisaged in the implementation plan and almost all (>80%) indicator milestones have been met.

Satisfactory Implementation of the majority (60-80%) of outputs is on schedule as envisaged in the implementation plan and the majority (60-80%) of indicator milestones have been met.

Unsatisfactory Some (40-60%) outputs are being implemented on schedule as envisaged in the implementation plan and/or only some (40-60%) indicator milestones have been met.

Very unsatisfactory Few (<40%) outputs are being implemented on schedule as envisaged in the implementation plan and/or only a few (<40%) indicator milestones have been met.

Briefly explain the major factors taken into account to justify the output classification and provide any other comments (2000 characters maximum):

d This is a self-assessment


4. Summary Immediate Objectives

IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVE ACHIEVEMENT e

Indicator Baseline Indicator Milestone Target (end-of-project

total) Immediate Objective

summary (compare planned against actual)

Immediate Objective 1: Collaboration and co-ordination among local stakeholders for local economic development is improved

Number of local economic

development initiatives

resulting from dialogue

among stakeholders

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

The interventions are in progress for the following

milestones

Dairy: 5 Milk collection centres supported and functional for

UHT milk. One ISO certification for UHT plant achieved

Cotton: 1 Standard developed and functional for Improving of quality of cottonseed oil Conversion of chicken litter to fertilizer: 12 Poultry enterprises taken up the production of chicken litter compost Chicken buy back: 10 Contract signed between Drukhshan and outgrowers Sheep and Goats: 10 Shelters and 10 Drinking water ponds constructed for goats and sheep/livestock Expand Para-vet services: 20 Para-vets Technically

Almost 2,000 cow farmers

(1350 Balkh and 750 Dawlat

Abad districts. CARD-F

5 large milk collection

centres

1 cotton oil standard

30 companies producing

standard cotton oil

12 poultry enterprises

600 commercial farms

supplying litter

100 Poultry Small holders (clients with company) 10 shelters 10 water ponds 5,340 families (owners of sheep and goats) 20 Para-vets for 7 districts

most milestones on track

e Based on the M&E plan

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0 0 0

supported and functional in 7 districts in Samangan Extension services: 1 Platform completed and ready for trial by Mobile company Introducing solar pump irrigation for grape: 2 Deals among MFIs, Khurshid Noor and farmers signed

1 platform operating 5,000 grape farmers for mobile messages might be targeted 30 farmers using solar pumps

Number of initiatives that aim at increasing participation of women in value chains

0 Chicken buy back: 10 Contracts signed between Drukhshan and out growers

100 poultry small holders (clients with company), 50 of Women

Immediate Objective 2: The position of poor and disadvantaged groups within selected sub-sectors is improved

Number of farmers accessing new/improved goods, services or market-selling opportunitiesa (male/female)

0

0

0

Dairy: 5 Milk collection centres supported and functional for

UHT milk. 1 ISO certification for UHT plant achieved

Chicken buy back: 10 Contract signed between Durukhshan and out growers

2000 dairy+100 buy-bak+5000 grape=7100 1 ISO certificate

most milestones on track

Number of workers reporting greater access to job improvement opportunitiesb (male/female)

0 Supporting entrepreneurs for better income generation: 20 Trainers trained in SIYB programme and giving training to 500 entrepreneurs

500 women from women cooperatives

Immediate Objective 3: Financial management of the poor and disadvantaged groups is im-proved

Number of households and migrant workers better managing their financial resources

This objective will be revised or reformulated depending on the results and recommendations of the Financial Services mapping report.

Under review


IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVE ACHIEVEMENT CLASSIFICATION f

Highly probable

Almost all (>80%) reporting period milestones have been met. Based on the indicators, it is highly probable all immediate objectives will be achieved by the end of the project.

Probable The majority (60-80%) of reporting period milestones have been met. Based on the indicators, it is probable the majority of immediate objectives will be achieved.

Low probability Some (40-60%) reporting period milestones have been. Progress is being made on the immediate objectives but based on the indicators only some immediate objectives will be achieved.

Improbable Few (<40%) reporting period milestones have been met. Limited progress is being made on the immediate objectives and based on the indicators only a few immediate objectives will be achieved.

Briefly explain the major factors taken into account to justify the immediate objective classification and provide any other comments (2000 characters maximum): Following the recommendations of the RMA, PACA and MSA assessments the project team revised and reformulated some of the out puts in order to provide a realistic expectations during the implementation. The project will review the milestones for each key output during the second quarter of 2016 .The Output Indicators currently defined are to be reached by the end of year 3. Results chains guides developed for each intervention will be used for tracking outreach and process towards producing the outputs and achieving the impact. This is in line with the DCED standard guidelines the project will be following through the project’s monitoring and results measurement system.

f This is a self-assessment

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5. Risks and Assumptions RISK TRACKING g

Key Assumptions

Risk level Describe current risk and any

mitigation measures (1000 characters maximum)

Start-of-project / previous

reporting period Current

The momentum of working together along the three pillars continues beyond the project period

Yellow (medium risk) Yellow (medium risk) Identify clear champions among the local stakeholders who could maintain the momentum beyond the project period.

Make sure that the several cycles of successful implementation of action plans reinforce the momentum during the project period.

Build realistic incentives for market system actors into the interventions.

The expansion capacity of lead firms is sufficient to accommodate a good number of target population

Yellow (medium risk) Yellow (medium risk) Parallel to supporting the expansion of the lead firm capacity, the project will actively promote replication by others.

The successful value chain business models are replicated by others

Green (low risk) Green (low risk) The project will work where the initial success of the private sector lead firms is observed.

Profitability of the business models are clearly documented.

Dissemination through media is emphasized.

Sharia-compliant financial products are becoming available in Afghanistan

Green (low risk) Green (low risk) Work closely with the program which has pioneered the Sharia-compliant products.

Work closely with the apex and industry association of microfinance in Afghanistan to address the challenge sector-wide.

Co-financing/investment opportunities exist in the target districts

Green (low risk) Green (low risk) The project can always put its resources when the resources are not available elsewhere.

The project should always look for low cost solutions.

Lead firms are interested and willing to collaborate

Yellow (medium risk) Yellow (medium risk) Sector selection and prioritization should continue to have lead firms’ propensity to collaborate as the selection criteria.

The inception phase brings together local stakeholders and leads to the formation of a forum as the platform for project activities

Green (low risk) Green (low risk) Well experienced PACA and RMA consultants were engaged to LEAD the stakeholder consultation processes.

Local working groups have been

g Based on Risk Register


set up to champion implementation of PACA Proposals and they will continue to be supported.

Competent international consultants are available on mission when needed on each topic of technical inputs

Yellow (medium risk) Yellow (medium risk) Develop a shortlist of consultants on the same topic to secure backups.

Begin inquiring concerned consultants early.

Prepare alternative means of support through enhanced use of video-conferencing/webinar/Skype.

Target population are available for planned training/capacity building

Green (low risk) Green (low risk) Plan training at time and places easily accessible by the target population in both rural and urban settings.

Strategy has worked well and will continue to be used.

6. Performance issues

Check key reasons for shortfalls in Output Delivery, Output Quality and Immediate Objective Achievement:

Implementing partner (constituents or private entities) performance

ILO (Office and staff) performance

Difficulties in inter-agency coordination Inadequate cost estimates Lack of constituent or implementing partner

commitment/ownership Inadequate project design

ILO policy changes Counterpart funding shortfall Budget processing (revision/disbursement etc.)

delays Unexpected change in external environment

Community/political opposition HR difficulties (recruitment, contracts) Other - please specify:

7. Lessons learned

Describe any lessons, positive and negative, that have been learned during project implementation. Organise the lessons using the headings below.

Context and implementing environment

Security is likely to be a persistent concern throughout the project, and will, in practice, slow down implementation.

The project needs to gain a deeper understanding of what makes the private sector, including farmers, “tick” in the target areas. Why market players act as they do, what their incentives are, is not always clear and needs longer-term engagement to understand.

Research and analysis suffered from a lack of quantitative, up-to-date data. The project will have to do more primary research itself than is usual, not only for the analysis of market systems and in preparation for the design of interventions, but also to measure and monitor progress.

These factors affect the potential for achieving systemic change.

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Most importantly, perhaps, the willingness to invest is weak due to the security situation. This will limit the scope for effective partnerships, and will require the project to invest more itself than would be expected in other contexts. However, the project has already identified potential partners in several market systems, with incentives and capacity to improve their roles, which is a reason for optimism.

Project strategy and design

The private sector development donor assistance landscape in the two target provinces and the North more generally is crowded, largely with programmes that use approaches more focused on direct assistance to target groups and enterprises than R2J. This has several important implications:

The project will have to remain in close contact and coordinate

with all relevant projects in order to achieve some overall

coherence in the approach to the selected sectors.

The approach followed by most other projects creates

expectations among market players and target beneficiaries that

run counter to R2J's facilitation strategy. Partners and beneficiaries

will expect “tangible” support rather than facilitation. It will take

time, effort, and some initial concrete successes to have them

accept that R2J is different but effective in its own right.

Market systems have been distorted by direct donor assistance,

which reduces the feasibility of achieving systemic change which

depends on market players rather than projects providing services.

Other projects also provide opportunities to be explored and

exploited: for collaboration, co-funding, leveraging funds. The

project has to be open to these opportunities, which are also

beneficial to the other projects since they have not always

identified good opportunities to invest in.

Advocacy, Communications and Capacity building

Advocacy for the ‘light touch’ facilitative approach needs to be undertaken strategically among private sector companies, donors and government authorities so that this approach can be given a chance.

The project will have to extensively communicate to stakeholders about our approach, progress and impact so that more and more stakeholders can begin to understand the sustainability of the approach. Knowledge sharing and learning events will help to build the profile of the project further.

It is also important to invest more in building the capacity of partners R2J project is working with so that there is a growing cadre of stakeholders to step up and ‘champion’ the approach in the course of the implementation of the project. This will enhance the achievement of intended results.


Implementation and Institutional Arrangements

The “quick wins” the PACA process was expected to identify are likely to take a longer time and more effort to achieve than usual elsewhere. The fact that the PACAs were conducted at the provincial rather than the district level may have contributed to this: this reduced the potential for identifying concrete local level opportunities.

The PACAs also found that more systemic issues limited the scope for quick wins and that these needed to be addressed first. It did not want to support “quick fixes” that would prove to be unsustainable.

Finally, the overall situation in the target provinces, with regard to security, access to markets, infrastructure, capacity of market players, and market players’ expectations is not conducive to quick wins.

8. ANNEXES

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Include any other documentation or information that may contribute to a better understanding of project progress.

6.1 Newsflash- July-Dec 2015 6.2 Log frame 6.3 Annual work plan 6.4 Certified financial report

development cooperation progress report roap :administrative … · 2018-10-31 · 4...

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