10261 mas EconomicDevelopment Institute *41, P I of TheWorld Bank Public Disclosure Authorized Successful Development Public Disclosure Authorized in Africa Case Studies of Projects, Programs, and Policies Contributors Public Disclosure Authorized Rundheersing Bheenick Katundu M. Mtawali Edouard G. Bonkoungou Morton Owen Schapiro Catharine B. Hill Stephen Wainaina Earl L. McFarland, Jr. Stephen D. Younger D. Nelson Mokgethi Jean-Baptiste Zongo Public Disclosure Authorized EDI DEVELOPMENT POLICY CASE SERIES Analytical Case Studies * Number 1 I I EDI DEVELOPMENTPOLICY CASE SERIES Analytical Case Studies * No. 1 Successful Development in Africa Case Studies of Projects, Programs, and Policies Contributors Rundheersing Bheenick Edouard G. Bonkoungou Catharine B. Hill Earl L. McFarland,Jr. D. Nelson Mokgethi Katundu M. Mtawali Morton Owen Schapiro Stephen Wainaina Stephen D. Younger Jean-Baptiste Zongo The World Bank Washington, D.C. Copyright © 1989 The InternationalBank for Reconstruction and Development/THEWORLD BANK 1818 H Street, N.W. Washington,D.C. 20433,U.S.A. All rights reserved Manufacturedin the United States of America First printing March 1989 Second printing October 1989 The Economic Development Institute (EDI) was established by the World Bank in 1955 to train officials concerned with development planning, policymaking, investment analysis, and project implementation in member developing countries. At present the substance of the EDI's work emphasizes macroeconomic and sectoral economic policy analysis. Through a variety of courses, seminars, and workshops, most of which are given overseas in cooperation with local, institutions, the EDI seeks to sharpen analytical skills used in policy analysis and to broaden understanding of the experience of individual countries with economic development. Although the EDI's publications are designed to support its training activities, many are of interest to a much broader audience. EDI materials, including any findings, interpretations, and conclusions, are entirely those of the authors and should not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank, to its affiliated organizations, or to members of its Board of Executive Directors or the countries they represent. Because of the informality of this series and to make the publication available with the least possible delay, the typescript has not been prepared as fully as would be the case with a more formal document, and the World Bank accepts no responsibility for errors. The backlist of publications of the World Bank is shown in the annual Index of Publications, which is available from Publications Sales UJnit, The World Bank, 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A., or from Publications, Banque mondiale, 66, avenue d'I6na, 75116 Paris, France. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Successful development in Africa: case studies of projects, programs, and policies / contributors, Rundheersing Bheenick . [et al.] . p. cm. -- (EDI development policy case series. Analytical case studies ; no. 1) ISBN 0-8213-1163-8 1. Economic development projects--Africa, Sub-Saharan--Case :studies. 2. Africa, Sub-Saharan--Economic policy--Case studies. I. Bheenick, Rundheersing. II. Series. HC800.S83 1989 338.967--dcl9 88-36905 CIP EDI Catalog No. 405/032 ISSN 1013-333X Contents Preface u Introduction 1 Earl L. McFarland, Jr. Part I. Micro Studies 1. Burkina Faso: The Projet Agro-Forestier - A Case Study of 11 Agricultural Research and Extension Stephen D. Younger and Edouard G. Bonkoungou 2. West Africa: The Onchocerciasis Control Program 27 Stephen D. Younger and Jean-Baptiste Zongo 3. Malawi: Lessons from the Gravity-Fed Piped Water System 57 Catharine B. Hill and Katundu M. Mtawali 4. Kenya: A Case Study of the Production and Export of Horticultural 79 Commodities Morton Owen Schapiro and Stephen Wainaina Part II. Macro Studies 5. Mauritius: A Case Study of the Export Processing Zone 97 Rundheersing Bheenick and Morton Owen Schapiro 6. Ghana: Economic Recovery Program - A Case Study of Stabilization 128 and Structural Adjustment in Sub-Saharan Africa Stephen D. Younger 7. Botswana: Macroeconomic Management of Commodity Booms, 1975-86 174 Catharine B. Hill and D. Nelson Mokgethi Conclusions 2Y7 Earl L. McFarland, Jr. iii Abbreviations CIDA - Canadian International Development Agency cif - charged in full CPI - consumer price index EEC - European Economic Community FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of t;he United Nations fob - free on board GDP - gross domestic product ICRISAT - International Crops Research Institute! for the Semi-Arid Tropics IMF - International Monetary Fund OPEC - Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries OXFAM - Oxford Committee for Famine Relief UNDP - United Nations Development Programme USAID - United States Agencyfor International Development WHO - World Health Organization iv Preface This collection of case studies examines a variety of successful development projects, programs, or policy actions undertaken in a number of African countries. By successful, we mean that the policies achieved their intended objectives and that the economic benefits outweighed the costs. We recognize, of course, that success has many dimensions and that there is always room for disagreement about how successful any particular policy or project has been. Each study analyzes the problems that a specific development activity addressed, the experience in carrying out the activity, the degree of success, and possible implications for similar activities in other settings. All the studies come from Sub-Saharan Africa. We selected this region because, in general, its economic performance in the 1970s and early 1980s was poorer than that of any other region and because its failures and disappointments have attracted much attention. Bleak generalizations are, however, too sweeping. The region has also had many successful activities, and we can learn from them. All but one of the case studies are collaborative efforts by a faculty member in the Department of Economics of Williams College and an African professional working in each country. An advisory committee, consisting of Henry J. Bruton, Paul G. Clark, and Richard Sabot of the Department of Economics, participated in planning the research and offering critiques of earlier drafts. The studies were carried out with the cooperation and financial support of the Economic Development Institute of the World Bank. They are intended for use in courses and seminars offered by EDI or by EDI in cooperation with other training institutions. They should also be of interest to officials and scholars concerned with effective activities for promoting economic progress in other developing countries. Earl L. McFarland, Jr. Williams College u Introduction Earl L. McFarland, Jr., Department of Economics, Williams College The seven case studies in this book differ in various dimensions, as well as in their country settings. Four of them analyze development projects or programs, namely, (a) a project for controlling the runoff of rainfall in semi-arid areas of Burkina Faso; (b) a multicountry program to control the serious endemic disease of river blindness (onchocerciasis) in West Africa; (c) a program to organize gravity- fed piped water systems for rural villages in Malawi; and (d) a program to develop horticultural commodities for export in Kenya. The other three studies analyze macroeconomic programs or policies, namely, (e) a trade strategy based on the creation of an export processing zone in Mauritius; (f) a balance of payments and structural adjustment program in Ghana; and (g) macroeconomic management of commodity booms in Botswana. A brief introduction to each case study follows. The final chapter suggests some wider implications that emerge from the studies. The Projet Agro-Forestier in Burkina Faso This agricultural research and extension project in Burkina Faso, initiated by Oxfam, started very small, but as it grew, those involved learned and adapted the project accordingly. The technique, imported from Israel, of using earthen basins to catch rainwater for trees turned out to be of no interest to local farmers. Yet a local adaptation of that technology using rock bunds to slow the runoff of rainfall from terraces proved very effective in reducing soil erosion and retaining moisture in the soil, thereby increasing the yield of foodgrains. The technology involved is very simple. Farmers can readily understand the technology, see the results, and do the basic work and maintenance themselves with locally available materials. The technology involved has all the desired attributes of being simple, cheap, and visibly effective. The extension services involved are also simple. Few extension workers can help many farmers. An elaborate network of government extension services is not needed. The benefits are so obvious and the costs so minimal that farmers readily undertake the improvements on their own. Farmers are not required to move, to grow crops they are unfamiliar with, to borrow money to purchase a new technology, or to do anything very different from what they have been doing all along. For a minimal investment of time and effort on their part, they can increase output and reduce risk at the same time. Explaining why the "new technology" has spread so quickly is not difficult-it has all the basic ingredients for success. From the national point of view, this project has two limitations. The yield increases that the bund technology makes possible are modest rather