Provincial Aquaculture Development Project (Lao/97/007)
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FI: DP/LAO/97/007 STS - Field Document No. 8 DEPARTMENT OF LIVESTOCK AND FISHERIES FISHERIES DIVISION PROVINCIAL AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT (LAO/97/007) MID TERM EVALUATION REPORT MAIN REPORT SEPTEMBER 1999 BY MR. BRETT TAN DR. HANH CHOUNDARA MR. HANS GUTTMAN Executive summary The introduction of fish culture has great potential for the improvement of nutrition and increased income for the rural farmers in Lao PDR. The Project builds on the lessons learnt from the previous aquaculture development project and focuses in five target provinces with the inclusion of institutional capacity strengthening and human resource development of both the government staff and the village community. The Project, nationally executed, utilises existing government mechanism and emphasises effective extension interface between the district technicians and selected fish farmers. It has been successful in its pragmatic people-centred consultative approach in responding to their perceived needs, instead of applying strict scientific solutions. The provincial capacity in providing technical and management supports to the district has been the Project major priority item. Examples of concrete and potential accomplishment at the national level include: · successful try-out of a transferable aquaculture development technology that is within the capability of the fish farmers to adopt, · substantial increase in awareness in the target and adjacent provinces through the development and dissemination of aquaculture extension materials, · first-time establishment of a comprehensive aquaculture training programme that forms the basis of the aquaculture extension appropriate to the unique condition of rural Lao PDR, · establishment of a linked process of fry production, fingerling distribution and table-fish production through providing supports to state hatcheries and private smallholders. The Project, however, suffers from inadequate clarity and lack of focus in the Project Document on the “process” approach to be adopted. The main inadequacy has been a lack of a cohesive implementation framework with clear and concise goal, objectives, purposes, indicators and expected outputs that the Project team can rely on. Instead, the Project team was forced to follow a set of pre-defined activities. With the aquaculture technology proven, the Project now has the opportunity to focus more on the capacity building of the government staff and strengthening the management of the farmers groups by analysing and sharing the experiences with other active projects in the region. Mission’s recommendations stress this aspect and also urge to: · further develop and support a self-sustaining farmers group network specialising in fry production and nursing, · provide further intensive training in project management to the provincial and district staff, · study the specific aspects of the national natural resource and water resource legislation and the land allocation policy, · explore the prospect of utilising aquaculture as the entry point for integrated rural development activities, · develop documentation in the form of notes or guides from stakeholder analysis and consultative approaches at the field level, as part of the national aquaculture extension programme. 1 The Project will enter the last year of implementation without the in-house technical backstopping of the ADA and UNV’s, the mission recommends an arrangement of a periodic technical/management backstopping mission and an establishment of a participatory impact monitoring and evaluation system based on RRA and development of a concise logical framework matrix (suggested in Annex D) to be put in place by the end of 1999. 2 Table of contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................................................1 I. INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................................................................7 II. MAJOR FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................................................................................8 II.1 PROJECT .........................................................................................................................................................................8 II.1.1 Technology............................................................................................................................................................8 II.1.2 Design....................................................................................................................................................................8 II.1.3 Entry Point for Integrated Rural Development..............................................................................................8 II.1.4 Project Implementation......................................................................................................................................9 II.1.5 Process Documentation......................................................................................................................................9 II.1.6 Target Group........................................................................................................................................................9 II.2 NATIONAL EXECUTION (NEX) ..................................................................................................................................10 II.2.1 Ownership.......................................................................................................................................................... 10 II.2.2 Procurement...................................................................................................................................................... 10 II.3 CENTRAL GOVERNMENT ...........................................................................................................................................10 II.3.1 Post-ADA/UNV Technical Support............................................................................................................... 10 II.3.2 Post-Project Commitment............................................................................................................................... 10 II.4 PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT ......................................................................................................................................11 II.4.1 Attitude............................................................................................................................................................... 11 II.4.2 Project Management........................................................................................................................................ 12 II.5 DISTRICT LEVEL..........................................................................................................................................................12 II.5.1 Extension............................................................................................................................................................ 12 II.5.2 Innovativeness................................................................................................................................................... 12 II.6 FARMER GROUPS........................................................................................................................................................13 II.6.1 Group Development......................................................................................................................................... 13 II.6.2 Group Strengthening........................................................................................................................................ 13 II.6.3 Small Equipment............................................................................................................................................... 13 II.6.4 Public Relation................................................................................................................................................. 13 II.6.5 Central Emergency Fund................................................................................................................................ 14 II.6.6 Credit & Loan................................................................................................................................................... 14 II.7 GENDER AND ETHNIC ISSUES....................................................................................................................................14 II.7.1 Sharing of Responsibility................................................................................................................................ 14 II.7.2 Exclusion............................................................................................................................................................ 14 II.7.3 Ethnicity............................................................................................................................................................. 15 II.8 INTER-PROJECT CO-ORDINATION.............................................................................................................................15 II.8.1 Multi-disciplinary Approach .......................................................................................................................... 15 II.8.2 RDC