UNCLASSIFIED --- y EVALUATION MALI: OPERATION MILS-MOPTI (688-0202 AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 1982 UNCLASSIFIED TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWARD. .. V I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. .. ... .. .. I-1 A. Introduction . .... .. 1-1 B. Program and Policy Issues. I-3 C. Implementation of the Project. I-9 b. Future of the Project................... 1-23 II. SUMMARY OF MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS. .. ... .-. II- 1 A. Program and Policy Recommendation. ... .. ... II- 1 B. Implementation Actions . .. II- 2 C. Future of the Project. .. .. .. II- 3 III. PROJECT MANAGEMENT ................... I11- 1 A. Project Design . a . 0 . 0 0 0 a 0 0 0 0 0 a a 0 0 a 0 4 I1- 1 B. Project Implementation . .. .. II1- 3 C. Project Organization . .. ... .. .. 111- 4 D. Project Execution. .. .. ... 111- 9 E. Project Monitoring and Evaluation. .. ... .. .. -1 IV. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT A. Background and Funding . ... .. ... .. IV- 1 B. Current Financial Situations . ... ... IV-12 C. Financial Organization . .. .. .. IV-16 D. Budgetary Planning and Control . .. IV-17 E. OMM Accounting . .. IV-20 F. Supporting Activities and Documents. ........... IV-27 G. Financial Reporting ... .. .. .. IV-35 H. Funds Reimbursement'; .. .. .. .. .. IV-36 I. OMM Accounting Personnel . .. IV-37 J. Problems . .. o . o . IV-38 K. Recommendations . ... IV-42 V. PROJECT COMPONENTS o...................... V- I A. Agricultural Research and Extension. o. .... V- 1 1.Project Background. ................. V-1 2. The Agricultural Setting. .. V- 2 3. Agricultural Research . .. .. V- 3 4. Agricultural Extension . .. V-18 5. Vegetable Production on Dooon Plateau . ... V-30 6. Technology and Economic Feasibility . V-32 7. Overall Impact of the Project ........ .. V-34 DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES, L'C. B. Agricultural Credit. V-36 1. Background. V-36 2. The Supply and Credit System. .... .. V-37 Supply and Credit Implementation. V-38 Issues and Problems . V-40 5. Recommendations . V-50 C. Traction Animal Credit ........ .. ..... V-53 1.Background. V-53 2. Achievements. ............. • • ..... • V-55 3. Problems. V-55 4. Recommendations ......... • .. ...... V-57 D. Agricultural Marketing . V-60 1. Background . V-60 2. The Official Cereal Marketing Structure . V-62 3. Summary of Improvements for Farmers in Official Marketing During Recent Years . ... V-73 4. Continuing Problems and Questions to'Resolve. ..... V-78 5. Recommendations . V-80 E. Village Associations . V-83 1. Background. V-83 2. Achievements. V-84 3. Problems. V-86 4. Recommendations . V-87 F. Ancillary Activities . V-90 1. Action Moulin . V-90 2. Wells . .. V-95 3. Blacksmith Shops. V-96 4. Recommendations . V-107 VI, PROJECT ENGINEERING .. VI- 1 A. Road Construction. VI- 1 B. Prosect Buildings. VI- 9 C. Motor Pool Operations. VI-15 Appendices . VI-21 MAPS Map I: Republic of Mali, Showing Project Area Map II: Central Area of the Fifth Region ANNEXES Annex I: List of Recommendations Annex II: Detailed Financial Recommendation Annex III: Evaluation of the Agricultural Credit System of Operation Mils-Mopti, Amadou Camara, 1982 Annex IV: The Marketing of Grains by Operation Mils-Mopti, Amadou Camara, 1982 DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES, LNC. ii Annex VI: List of Documents and Publications Consulted Annex VII: Operation Mils-Mopti Project (688-0202), Evaluation Terms of Reference, Unclassified Telegram, Bamako 7744 DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES, INC. iii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 Operation Mils-Mopti - Phase I Total Expenditures in $U.S. (000). IV-3 2 Phase II - $(000) Proposed Budget Appropriated Funds (P.P.).. IV-4 3 Phase II - Incremental Funding - Pro/Ag and Amendments U.S. Contribution. IV-4 4 Phase II - Current and Future Expenditures . IV-4 5 Phase II - Use of Incremental U.S. Contribution. .. IV-4 6 Phase II- Reimbursements to OMM by USAID for Operating Expenses (USAID Proj. Line Item 7) . .. IV-9 7 OMM 1982 Budget in &U.S. (000) - ($1 - 500 MF) . .. .. IV-13 8 Bank Account Balances at the Banque Malienne de Developpment in Malian Francs on 28 February 1982. .. IV-22 9 Total Ag. Credit Sales, Reimbursements and Arrears to 30 September 1981. .. .. .. .. .. IV-32 10 Total Cash Sales (000 FM) of Agricultural Inputs . .. V-44 11 Placement of Agricultural Equipment and Light. .0. .. .. V-46 12 Credit Provided per Year (000 FM) and Percent of Reimburse­ ment in Arrears as of 30/9/81. .. .. V-48 13 Financial Situation of OMM's Marketing Activity, 1978-79 to 1980-81 (FM) . .. .. .. .. .. ........* V-72 14 Cost of Agricultural Inputs, 1975-76-to 1981-82. .. V-75 15 Cereal Marketing Quotas (T). .. .. .. V-76 16 Official Sales of Millet/Sorghum (T) . .. V-76 17 Recent Changes in Quota-Sales - Production Ratios. .. V-77 18 Type of Building and Related Cost Breakdown. .. VI-13 19 Cost per Unit Floor Area from GR bids. .. .. VI-15 DETELOPMENT ASSOCIATES, LC. iv FOREWORD This evaluation report responds to a very thorough and demanding scope of work prepared by the USAID Mission, Bamako. We have tried to deal with the many concerns expressed in that scope of work and to answer its many questions. In some cases, we have been forced to limit or reserve our comments due to a lack of data. In those cases, we have recommended actions to obtain the data for future analyses or project design. The report follows a fairly standard format. The Executive Summary contains every major finding and important recommendation. A careful reading of its 27 pages, and the synthesis of recommendations which immediately follow, should provide Mission and AID/W management with the information necessary to decision­ making both as to the need and usefulness of continued assistance to basic grain production in the project area and also as to how the project should be carried out. The sections on Project Management and Financial Management describe in great detail difficulties and problems observed by the team and ways to deal with them. These sections are intended to provide persons directly charged with the project and its finances with guidance on how better to meet their respective responsibilities. The section on Project Components, and its various sub-sections, is more technical in nature. The information and recommendations provided should give the generalist a clearer understanding of the technical aspects of the project. They should particularly interest the specialist seeking to understand the projects problems and how he/she may contribute to their resolution. The section on Engineering deals with both a separate component of the project, road building, and with engineering problems affecting the project as a whole. Finally, the entire report, as well as its various sections, is designed to support the overall conclusion of the evaluation that basic grain production in the Fifth (Mopti) Region of Mali isworthy of continued AID support provided that prompt and effective actions are taken to correct the deficiencies herein described. DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES, INC. v PREFACE The team that gathered together inSevare inmid-February 1982 consisted of five persons from Development Associates, Inc., under contract to AID, the USAID Mission anthropologist and an agricultural economist from the Institute of Rural Economics (IER) of the Ministry of Agriculture. The team members and the parts of the report for which they were primarily responsible were: Frederic Bergier, Civil Engineer Section VI. Engineering Amadou Camara, Economist Annex III. Credit Annex IV. Marketing Gerald Cashion, Anthropologist Section V Bl. Animal Traction Credit Section V D. Village Associations Section V E. Action Moulin Section V E. Blacksmiths Shops Alan Fleming, Agricultural Economist Section V B. Agricultural Credit Section V C. Agricultural Marketing Parke Massey, Management Advisor Section I. Executive Summary Section II. Summary of Major Recommendations Section III. Project Management Section V E. Wells Sanath K. Reddy, Agronomist Section V A. Agricultural Research and Extension Charles Wilding-White, Financial Advisor Section IV. Financial Management Mr. Parke Massey also acted as team leader and was responsible for final organization and editing of the complete evaluation report. The assignments listed above do not adequately indicate the contributions made by each member of the team to the work of the others. During the four weeks at Sevare, all of the team but the engineer (who finished his field work in a little over a week) met regularly in the evenings for an exchange of ideas, knowledge, concepts and experience. DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES, LNC. vi The contribution of Gerry Cashion was very special. He organized, scheduled and conducted the various field trips out from the main base. He advised and gave direction on protocol and inter-personal relationships. He used his skills as an interviewer to develop Information needed by other team workers. We had expected Amadou Camara to act primarily as an advisor, giving us the Malian perspective. Instead, he became a very integral part of the team. He worked very closely with Alan Fleming and many of their ideas were thrashed out jointly in long sessions of discussion and interchanges. Mr. Camara wanted to make his own separate contribution and his material is included as additional and supporting views on credit and marketing, in AnnexlB and-C, During the team's stay at Sevare/Mopti, we were joined for part of the time by Mr. Kurt Fuller, Project Officerand by Mr. Robert Shoemaker, Design and Evaluation Officer. Both made major contributions to our knowledge and understanding of the project, its setting in the Mali context and its part in the overall U.S. assistance program. In Bamako, we had substantive discussions with all elements of the Mission involved in the implementation of the project or its supervision. We received excellent logistic support from the USAID Mission and we were received in a very open atmosphere despite the obvious fact that some of the teamt findings were bound to be critical of past and present Mission actions or practices. Finally, the team wishes to express its very special thanks to Miss Linda D. Smith, who was contracted in Bamako as the team's administrative assistant.