Main
results
IFAD projects in Yemen have contributed
their share to the significant achievements which were realised by the
country since the mid-eighties with regard to institution-building.
Implementation performance
Physically, the projects made substantial
contributions in irrigation structures, water supply schemes, agricultural
research, extension, fisheries and credit infrastructures, and rural roads.
Yet, some of these structures are incomplete or not fully operational
for various reasons (including contractual disputes, social conflicts,
radical changes in policy environment, lack of operating funds, and lack
of sustainability in institutional or environmental aspects). Disbursements
were generally low in the first three years of project life due to a slow
start in project implementation.
Complications in procurement, withdrawal
application and customs clearance procedures have contributed significantly
to implementation delays. Counterpart funding was problematic du budgetary
constraints, inflationary pressures and a redundant labour force, which
is at the same time not of adequate quality. In relation to these issues,
the mission supports the recommendations of the Country Implementation
Review (CIR) undertaken by the International Development Agency (IDA)
in July 1991.
Supervision of most projects was found
adequate in terms of providing early signals on major problems[-[including
those of IFAD. The Government's response was often slow or even lacking
in some cases.
Institution-building
Over the last two decades, sizeable
financial and technical resources were used to build organisational structures,
at the regional and national level. Progress towards realising the full
benefits was masked by numerous problems. However, even the present barely
efficient institutions for rural development represents real progress
when compared with the previous absence of any institutional capacity
at all, particularly in the Northern Governorates. The time has come now
to consolidate previous achievements.
The lack of resources to support central
institutions has resulted in their lagging behind project-supported institutions.
Indeed, central authorities have adopted various means of control that
are seen as obstacles to institutional development at project level. Project
assistance has been used to foster institutional development for national
institutions such as the Cooperative Agricultural Credit Bank (CACB) through
the Southern Uplands Rural Development Project Phase II (SURDP II) and
the Agricultural Credit Project (ACP) and the Agricultural Research and
Extension Authority (AREA), through the Agricultural Research and Development
Project[(ARDP), among others. It should be used similarly for the support
of other concerned central government institutions. For such action to
be rewarding, government should be encouraged to draw a comprehensive
plan for national and regional institution building, and provide reasosonable
counterpart financing to implement it.
At the regional level, the intermediate
stage of a semi-autonomous project implementation unit seems to be problematic.
The Government of Yemen (GOY) should consider swift action to legislate
and harmonise regional development authorities which seems to be a more
viable model. Currently, this model is only fully applied in the Tihama
Development Authority (TDA), though recently the Northern Agricultural
Development Authority (NORADA) has been established.
Irrigation and rural infrastructure
Notwithstanding the tremendous effort
made by IFAD and other donors, the sustainability of institutions set
up for the purpose of providing irrigation and rural infrastructure is
a real concern in the face of a growing demand for the limited national
budgetary and human resources.
Spate Irrigation Improvement.
The selection of the appropriate development concept of a spate irrigation
system requires a very clear understanding and appreciation of traditional
water rights and operating arrangements at the design stage to avoid disputes
and misuse of the water by the upstream users. The sustainability of what
has been achieved so far is seriously threatened by the lack of adequate
maintenance, the absence of recovery of costs, and low beneficiary participation.
Groundwater Irrigation. Groundwater
development programmes have been relatively successful. The reason for
their success has been that projects have played the role of facilitators
by providing loans, design, and construction assistance. Once facilities
are constructed they are turned over to farmers who operate and maintain
them. Overexploitation of groundwater requires immediate and decisive
regulatory measures and the development of a master plan to rationalise
the exploitation of groundwater resources is highly recommended.
Rural water supplies. The enthusiasm
of villagers for water supply improvements has given publicity to the
projects, thus facilitating the implementation of other components. Therefore,
it needs continuing support, especially where initiatives can strengthen
and empower communities. Water supply schemes are very vulnerable to competition
for scarce water resources, especially from irrigation. Therefore, planning
of water use is paramount. Regulations should be promulgated to create
a priority system for access to drinking water, to create restricted zones
in areas where aquifers are depleting and to impose a minimum distance
e between wells to avoid interference.
Rural Roads. There is ample
evidence that the rural roads component in the projects cofinanced by
IFAD has increased accessibility of all beneficiaries to input and product
markets; reduced the cost of transportation of merchandise and contributed
effectively to the fruit and vegetable import-substitution policy adopted
by the Government in 1984.
The overriding consideration in road
construction, however, is the adequacy of maintenance. Since rural road
specications and standards of alignment are often inadequate to sustain
the traffic build-up there is also a need for upgrading. Thus arrangements
should be made to turnover those roads with heavier traffic to the competent
authority.
Generation and dissemination of improved technology
There is evidence that farmers have
adopted and adapted improved seed varieties and technology when these
were made available to them. There is also evidence that the production
of a number of crops has improved considerably not only due to research
and extension messages, but also in response to initiatives by innovative
private farmers.
IFAD-financed projects have contributed
to the generation and dissemination of improved technological packages
that have been utilized by farmers. Relatively more success has been achieved
with cash crops compared to traditional food crops, with irrigated compared
to rainfed crops, and with wheat and maize compared to sorghum and millet.
Projects financed by other donors have contributed as well.
The achievements in terms of cropping
patterns diversification and the penetration of commercial agriculture
owe a lot to investments in irrigation and infrastructure. They are, however,
very sensitive to market fluctuations. At present, the weakness of marketing
structures has become a major limiting factor.
Rural credit
CACB represents the only available
rural credit institution in Yemen. Therefore, IFAD, in collaboration with
other concerned donors, should continue to support it, taking into account
lessons learnt to date.
The credit components in the projects
reviewed did not generally receive adequate assessment during project
preparation and appraisal. Except for the recent ACP project, there is
no evidence that the performance of either credit institutions or credit
dissemination was carefully studied and incorporated into project design.
When credit was directly supplied by
the projects(1), it lacked effectiveness and did not necessarily reach
the intended target groups. Supervised credit (based on the traditional
concept of credit granted by a specialised institution with loan appraisal
done by extension and technical departments) were more effective. However,
the target groups with whom IFAD is most concerned were not always reached
either: experience shows it is particularly difficult for credit institutions
to consider managing resources using methods which they may not have used
before.
