Members of Special Committee: Dr. DG Sisler Dr. TT Poleman
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NIA1MEY DEPARTMENT T)EVELOPMENT PROJ17CT: MANAGING RURAL DEVELOPMENT WITH MINIMAL EVIDENCE A Project Report Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell 'nivers''ty in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of Master of Professional Studies (Agriculture) by Mark Gregory Wentling August 1983 Members of Special Committee: Dr. D.G. Sisler Dr. T.T. Poleman ABSTRACT Managers of agricultural projects in developing countries need farm level information that is useful and timely. Large-scale efforts are frequently undertaken to obtain this information. These efforts are often costly and cumbersome to execute. They alsc may produce a large amount of information that is inconsequential to project operations. Moreover, much of the essential information generated by these efforts arrives too late to be of any use in making key project decisions. This paper uses the case of the Niamey Department Development Project in the Republic of Niger to illustrate how a minimal amount of easily obtainable data can often be adequate to implement a new project or effectively manage an on-going program., Drawing upon his own experience with this project, the author describes how this simple, common-sense approach was used to assist with the administration of this complex, regional development project. The author relates the many insights gained by the application of this approach and the problems involved with collecting farm-level data under uncertain agricultural conditions in a resource-rpoor country. The author recommends this approach for areas where little concrete information is available, especially those situations which call for an inexpensive means of quickly identifying principal farming practices and important con straints to improving major cropping systems. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH M~rk Gregory Wentling was born on July 3, 1945 in Wichita, Kansas and grew up in the nearby rural communities of El Dorado and Udall. His interest in agriculture began while living and working on farms in the area. In May 1970 he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Wichita State University. The author entered the Peace Corps in February 1967 and served for two years as a rural community development volunteer in Nueva Ocotepeque, Honduras. In September 1970 he returned to the Peace Corps and was assigned to undertake a program of primary school construction and gardening in the Agou district of Togo. In September 1974 the author joined the Peace Corps staff in Togo as Associate Peace Corps Director responsible for agricultural and rural development programs. In February 1975 he was assigned to Gabon as Peace Corps Director, and in May 1976 he took up the same position in Niger. In February 1977 the author accepted an appointment with the United States Agency for Internat>'.nal Development. From this time until July 1981 he worked as a rural development project officer in Niger. For his work in Niger he received a superior honor award from USAID and a special commendation from the Government of Niger. From August 1981 to July 1982 the author worked as a regional projects officer in USAID's Bureau for Africa in Washington, D.C. He left this position after being selected for a year of training at Cornell University. The author is married to Gisele Nicole Alifotse of Agou-Nyogbo, Togo. They have three children: Elsa, Sudie, and Clyde. ii DEDICATED TO MOUSSA SALEY DIRECTEUR DU PROJECT PRODUCTIVITE NIAMEY My friend and counterpart who made all the difference in my stay in Niger iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my gratitude to the many people who contributed (some unknowingly) to the development of much of the content of this paper. A special note of thanks goes to Earl M. Kulp, who does not know that it was his book, Designing and Managing Basic Agricultural Programs, that first gave me the idea of trying to develop a more simple approach to satisfying the data needs of the Niamey Department Development Project. I am especially grateful to John H. Mullenax, who collaborated closely with me during the implementation of the project and brought to bear his almost two decades of development experience in West Africa on my many requests for additional information from Niger. I am also deeply grateful to My Nigerien counterparts, USAID colleagues and many villagers in the project zone for their tolerance of my incessant questioning; their responses contributed immeasurably to this paper. Special thanks also go to Dr. William Morris of Purdue University and Dr. Thomau Zalla of Michigan State University, who took the time during their visits to Niger to discuss the basic themes of the paper. I would also like to thank Dr. Martin Limbird of Iowa State University for his thorough review of the initial draft of the paper. I particularly want to extend my deep appreciation for the assistance provided by the members of my special committee, Drs. Daniel G. Sisler and Thomas T. Poleman. Dr. Sisler's careful review of the paper revealed many important issues that I had failed to cover adequately. Dr. Poleman was instrumental in the selection of the paper's topic, and his comments on the initial and final drafts of the paper were very helpful. I am iv especially grateful to these members for their willingness to accommodate my need to complete this paper on short notice. I would also like to mention and formally thank other professors, who through classroom instruction and informal discussions, contributed in many ways to portions of the paper. These included, most importantly, Drs. Douglas Lathwell, Robert McDowell, Bede Okigbo, and Madison Wright. Thanks are also due to Joe Baldwin and Lillian Thomas for their help in completing the graphic displays presented in the paper. Special tribute goes to Darlene Jennings for the care and exceptional diligence with which she typed the several versions of the paper. I am deeply indebted to my employer, the U.S. Agency for Inter national Development (USAID), for its sponsorship of this year of academic training. Thanks are especially extended to USAID's long-term training coordinator, Sheila Cunningham. Finally, I reserve my most sincere note of appreciation for my spouse, Gisele. Without her support and forbearance during the many hours that my studies required I be away from home, this paper would never have been completed. I also owe her much for the many insights that only one born and raised in rural Africa can provide. I accept, of course, full responsibility for this paper; therefore, any faults it may have are directly attributable to me. v CONTENTS CHAPTERS Page I.• INTRODUCTION . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 II. THE SETTING: THE COUNTRY AND THE PROJECT ZONE . ....... 4 The Republic of Niger: One of the World's Poorest Countries . 4 The Role of Uranium ..... ...... ........ .. 5 The Nigerian Connection *......... ....... 10 Food Self-Sufficiency: Niger's First Fiiority .. ..... 12 The Importance of Rainfed Agriculture . ... 16 Description of the Project Zone . .. ... 18 Climate . .. 19 Topography and Soils. ............. ...... 22 Water and Vegetation. ..................... 23 Animal and Human Population Levels .. .. ...... 23 Ethnic Groups . 26 Roads, Communications, Power and Water Supplies . .. 27 Health, Education and Markets 9.9 . ... 9..9 28 Summary of Salient Factors . 9999 ..... 99 9 9 . 29 III. PROJECT AIMS, ORIGINS AND INITIAL SURVEYS . .. 31 Activities and Achievements 99.9.. 9..9.9.9 32 Pre-Project Events ....... ........ ....... 34 Initial Efforts to Overcome Data Deficiencies . .. 38 IV. MANAGING WITHOUT SUFFICIENT DATA: THE QUAD APPROACH APPLIED . 49 Step One: Make Inittal Assumptions . .. .. .. .. 50 Step Two: Construct a Profile of the Average Farm . ... 54 Step Three: Analyze Labor Requirements . o - - * o . 66 Step Four: Evaluate Impact of Improved Practices . o 75 Step Five: Identify and Appraise Major Constraints * . 83 Labor Bottleneck: Implications and Possible Solutions • • • 83. Availability, Cost and Appropriateness of Inputs . 95 Viability of Complementary Yield-Raising Practices - o . 102 Pesticide Use Dilemma . o . ... 109 Agronomic and Economic Returns . .. .. 113 Other Constraints and Consequences of Success .- o . 120 V. ASSESSING THE CREDIBILITY OF THE QUAD APPROACH . 125 Criticisms and Possible Failings of QUAD . 125 Testing QUAD Against More Reliable Data . .. o . .. 128 VI. ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS OF USING MINIMAL EVIDENCE . .. 137 CITATIONS .......o o # . .. 143 APPENDICES ... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. ISo A. Niger: Selected Development Indicators . .. .. .. 150 B. Niger: Millet-Sorghum Production Data and Annal Rainfall at Niamey Airport, 1964-1983 . * . .. .. .. 153 C. Basic Statistics on the Project Zone . .. .. .. .. 154 D. Major Millet and Cowpea Pests and Diseases in Niger . 156 E. Sample Profile of a "Typical" Soil Found in the Project Zone 159 F. List of Principal Project Documents . .. .. * . .. 161 G. Niger's Prices for Selected Agricultural Inputs (1980-1981) 164 vii FIGURES Figure *Page 1. Niger: Land-Use Divisions and Location of Project Zone within the Country . .. .. 6 2. Niger: Per Capita Production of Millet and Sorghum (and daily caloric equivalents) and Annual Rainfall, 1964-1982 . 14 3. Population Distribution within the Project Zone . .. .. 25 4. Niamey Department Development Project: Performance During Phase I (1978-1980)....... .......... 33 5. Niamey Department Development Project: Chronological List of Major Pre-Project Events . ... 36 6. Present Farm System - Output Model for Project Zone