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Report/Evaluation Type:Project Level Evaluations (PPARs)
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Brazil : Sustainable Production in Areas Previously Converted to Agricultural Use Project

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This is a Project Performance Assessment Report by the Independent Evaluation Group of the World Bank Group on the Sustainable Production in Areas Previously Converted to Agricultural Use (P143184) project in Brazil. Focusing on the Cerrado biome—a savanna-forest mosaic located in central Brazil—the project was intended to Show MoreThis is a Project Performance Assessment Report by the Independent Evaluation Group of the World Bank Group on the Sustainable Production in Areas Previously Converted to Agricultural Use (P143184) project in Brazil. Focusing on the Cerrado biome—a savanna-forest mosaic located in central Brazil—the project was intended to shed light on the best way to provide private landholders on midsize farms with the knowledge and skills needed to adopt low-carbon technologies. The project, which was designed to include 9 of the 11 Cerrado states, was an adjunct to Brazil’s Low-Carbon Emissions Agriculture (Agricultura de Baixa Emissão de Carbono; ABC) Plan, which supported technology transfer investments of $6.7 billion between 2010 and 2020, making it one of the largest climate-smart agriculture programs in the world. The project sponsored a randomized control trial to measure the effectiveness of training plus technical assistance in promoting technology adoption compared with training alone and with a control group of farmers who received no training or technical assistance. At appraisal, the project development objective was to promote the adoption of selected sustainable low-carbon-emitting agricultural technologies by midsize producers in the Cerrado region. The objective was not altered during implementation. Ratings for this project are as follows: Outcome was satisfactory, Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and Quality of monitoring and evaluation was substantial. This assessment offers the following five lessons: (i) Agencies signed up to deliver training and technical assistance to an extensive area, such as an agricultural region, need to have a strong decentralized presence and well-established outreach to producers to deliver good results. (ii) Once they have been persuaded of the profitability of adopting improved farming practices, farmers with adequate means are likely to be willing to pay for technical assistance. (iii) Impact evaluations that rely on randomized control trials can produce compelling findings about the constraints to adopting new farming technologies; however, it is challenging to accommodate the needs of control-group farmers who are among beneficiary farmers but denied project benefits. The design of these impact evaluations may actually reduce a project’s total impact. (iv) The gains from a one-off evaluation of impact are likely less substantial than the rewards from building a systematic and well-integrated system of monitoring that remains in place for the long term. (v) This assessment confirms an age-old lesson: technology transfer depends on effective collaboration between research and extension agencies.

Albania : Competitiveness Development Policy Lending Project

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The Albania Competitiveness Development Policy Loan (DPL) was financed by an International Bank for Reconstruction and Development loan in the amount of $77.72 million and approved by the World Bank Group Board of Executive Directors on January 31, 2017. The DPL was designed as a stand-alone operation. The objective of the Show MoreThe Albania Competitiveness Development Policy Loan (DPL) was financed by an International Bank for Reconstruction and Development loan in the amount of $77.72 million and approved by the World Bank Group Board of Executive Directors on January 31, 2017. The DPL was designed as a stand-alone operation. The objective of the DPL was “to enhance Albania’s competitiveness by improving the investment regime, making it easier to do business, and facilitating trade. Ratings for the Competitiveness Development Policy Lending Project are as follows: Outcome was moderately unsatisfactory, Risk to development outcome was substantial, Bank performance was moderately unsatisfactory, and Borrower performance was moderately unsatisfactory. This assessment offers the following lessons: (i) It is crucial for prior actions to address the key binding constraints to achieving the stated objective of a DPL. (ii) Prior actions of this operation did not have a sufficient level of ambition to make a significant contribution to enhancing competitiveness. (iii) At implementation, it is crucial for IFC to determine warning signals regarding inadequate client commitment and show flexibility and patience only to those clients that show proof of trust, ownership, and commitment. (iv) For progress in the uptake of the local clearance procedure or the approved economic operator programs by businesses, it is crucial to have in place (i) a clear communication and outreach strategy, (ii) a systematic approach to educating businesses and customs about the benefits of these programs, (iii) strong engagement of customs and other border agencies with the private sector, and (iv) a culture of trust between customs and the business community. (v) Doing Business (DB) indicators as targets and metrics of reforms do not work very well, even if they are valid ways to point to a problem area. (vi) Clear assignment of responsibility for collection of particular data needs to be assigned at the outset.

Côte d’Ivoire : Agriculture Sector Support Project

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The Agriculture Sector Support Project (PSAC) in Côte d’Ivoire was conceived in 2010–12 to support government reforms to achieve a more competitive, sustainable, and private sector–led cash crop sector and to ensure sustained increases in producers’ incomes. The PSAC focused on Côte d’Ivoire’s five key export commodities: Show MoreThe Agriculture Sector Support Project (PSAC) in Côte d’Ivoire was conceived in 2010–12 to support government reforms to achieve a more competitive, sustainable, and private sector–led cash crop sector and to ensure sustained increases in producers’ incomes. The PSAC focused on Côte d’Ivoire’s five key export commodities: cocoa, rubber, oil palm, cotton, and cashew nuts. It supported value chain development for these commodities through three strategic pathways: (i) improving production technologies and smallholder farmer access to them, (ii) improving smallholder farmer access to markets, and (iii) enhancing value chain governance. An integrated package of productivity, marketing, and institutional interventions was implemented for each commodity as a pilot in its most important or representative production region. Ratings for this project are as follows: Outcome was moderately satisfactory, Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and Quality of monitoring and evaluation was modest. This assessment offers the following lessons: (i) Project relevance and efficacy are enhanced by aligning projects with national strategies, building on existing institutional mechanisms and stakeholder consensus and supporting ongoing activities. (ii) Project efficiency and sustainability are enhanced by ensuring continuity in coordination and management staffing from design to implementation to postproject internalization. (iii) Projects with short time frames need to set realistic goals on institutional development and governance improvement, while adapting to institutional and political risks, to be effective. (iv) Effective institutional development requires elaborate methodologies and monitoring frameworks, instead of merely end goals and flexible ad hoc approaches. (v) Reinforcing the role of IPOs and producer cooperatives in agricultural value chains requires buy-in from both the state and the private sector on a well-defined and well-balanced demarcation of roles and powers, and a solid and loyal base of professionalized cooperatives ensuring true representativity. (vi) A diverse set of productivity enhancement interventions can support overcoming challenges of rural poverty, lack of competitiveness, demographic pressure, and land scarcity. (vii) Sustainability of project achievements can be compromised if contingencies among development pathways are not recognized or if they are not capitalized on by the government. (viii) Co-financing provides critical leverage and ownership; however, sustained effects require co-management and arrangements for postproject continuation.

Rwanda : Transformation of Agriculture Sector Program Phase 3 Program-for-Results

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Ratings for the Transformation of Agriculture Sector Program Phase 3 Program-for-Results are as follows: Outcome was moderately satisfactory, Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and Quality of monitoring and evaluation was modest. This assessment offers the following lessons: (i) PforRs should start with relatively Show MoreRatings for the Transformation of Agriculture Sector Program Phase 3 Program-for-Results are as follows: Outcome was moderately satisfactory, Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and Quality of monitoring and evaluation was modest. This assessment offers the following lessons: (i) PforRs should start with relatively mature and ready-to-implement activities, in this case including soil erosion control and enhanced technological innovation, which led to early results in land husbandry and increased agricultural productivity. (ii) Incentivizing institutional reforms is an added value of the PforR instrument that needs to be internalized by all stakeholders across sectors and at both national and subnational levels. (iii) Any gaps in capacity and eligibility to request and execute budgets need to be addressed first to ensure the effective functioning of the fund disbursement mechanism—based on DLI achievements—from the central treasury to the line ministry and affiliated institutions.

Bhutan - Fiscal Sustainability and Investment Climate Development Policy Credit Series

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This Project Performance Assessment Report (PPAR) evaluates a development policy credit (DPC) series for Bhutan consisting of the First and Second Fiscal Sustainability and Investment Climate Development Policy Credits. The program development objective was to promote fiscal discipline, improve access to finance for Show MoreThis Project Performance Assessment Report (PPAR) evaluates a development policy credit (DPC) series for Bhutan consisting of the First and Second Fiscal Sustainability and Investment Climate Development Policy Credits. The program development objective was to promote fiscal discipline, improve access to finance for enterprises,1 and improve the climate for business entry and investment in Bhutan. Ratings are as follows: Outcome was moderately unsatisfactory, and Bank performance was moderately unsatisfactory. The experience with this DPC series suggests several lessons for Bhutan that may also be relevant to countries in similar situations: (i) DPCs should be more selective, focusing on fewer and better-sequenced reforms. Selectivity filters should include reforms that address critical constraints to economic growth and stability, those that have government and parliamentary support, and those for which complementary implementation support—including to address concerns of Parliament—is available. (ii) DPCs in Bhutan should have more thorough assessments of technical capacity and implementation risks and pay more attention to risk mitigation. (iii) Greater attention is needed to foster coordination across ministries and agencies. For this purpose, investment project financing with results-based (disbursement-linked) indicators or Programs-for-Results may be more efficacious instruments to support the achievement of objectives. (iv) DPCs in Bhutan that aim to address economic growth should be informed by a more rigorous assessment of major constraints to private sector development. (v) Bank Group management should consider what steps are feasible when legislation supported by development policy financing prior actions is not enacted.

Arab Republic of Egypt : Integrated Irrigation Improvement and Management Project and Farm-Level Irrigation Modernization Project

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Ratings for the Integrated Irrigation Improvement and Management Project are as follows: Outcome was moderately satisfactory, Risk to development outcome was modest, Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and Borrow performance was moderately satisfactory. Ratings for the Farm-Level Irrigation Modernization Project are as Show MoreRatings for the Integrated Irrigation Improvement and Management Project are as follows: Outcome was moderately satisfactory, Risk to development outcome was modest, Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and Borrow performance was moderately satisfactory. Ratings for the Farm-Level Irrigation Modernization Project are as follows: Outcome was moderately satisfactory, Risk to development outcome was modest, and Bank performance was moderately satisfactory. This assessment offers the following lessons: (i) In irrigation systems, such as the Nile Delta’s, that are organized along a hierarchical canal network, irrigation improvement efforts can realize greater impact by applying a systematic approach to rehabilitation, as was done through these two projects, as opposed to addressing different levels of the canal system in isolation. (ii) Efficient implementation of irrigation improvement works requires coordinating and sequencing activities that fall under the mandate of many different entities, which are often beyond the authority of the project implementing agency. (iii) Effecting behavior changes in on-farm water use, agronomic practices, and diversification to higher-value crops requires support beyond improvements to the irrigation water delivery system. (iv) Successfully reforming the institutions that manage irrigation and drainage services, both water users and government agencies, requires greater attention to incentives for collaboration. (v) In a context such as the Nile Delta, where overall efficiency of the irrigation system is already high, there is little scope for addressing water savings at the basin level through infrastructure improvement.

Jamaica : Early Childhood Development Project

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Ratings for the Early Childhood Development Project are as follows: Outcome was moderately unsatisfactory, Bank performance was moderately unsatisfactory, and Quality of monitoring and evaluation was modest. This assessment offers the following lessons: (1) Collaboration, strong national ownership of the NSP, and financial Show MoreRatings for the Early Childhood Development Project are as follows: Outcome was moderately unsatisfactory, Bank performance was moderately unsatisfactory, and Quality of monitoring and evaluation was modest. This assessment offers the following lessons: (1) Collaboration, strong national ownership of the NSP, and financial support are requisite conditions but do not ensure performance and outcomes because the World Bank must also provide rigor and candor in its dialogue and advice. (ii) Country teams need to share and archive lessons and implementation knowledge, including Global Practice knowledge, across projects. (iii) The institutional arrangements for cross-sectoral or cross-ministerial action and coordination are less likely to succeed when authority is centered in one of the involved ministers or ministries. (iv) Intersectoral coordination may more likely be sustained with “light mechanisms” and financial resources that empower ministries and national agencies to focus on achieving a convergence of common policies, actions, and results.

Kyrgyz Republic - The First and Second Development Policy Operations and Programmatic Governance and Competitiveness Development Policy Operation

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The World Bank approved two programmatic series of development policy operations (DPOs) from 2013 through 2016 to improve governance and private sector development in the Kyrgyz Republic. The strategic focus of both series’ objectives was highly relevant to the country context: weak governance (which had become evident during Show MoreThe World Bank approved two programmatic series of development policy operations (DPOs) from 2013 through 2016 to improve governance and private sector development in the Kyrgyz Republic. The strategic focus of both series’ objectives was highly relevant to the country context: weak governance (which had become evident during the 2010 revolution) and the need to shift to a private sector–oriented model of development to increase long-term economic growth. Ratings for First and Second Development Policy Operations are as follows: Outcome was moderately unsatisfactory, Risk to development outcome was high, and Bank performance was moderately unsatisfactory. Ratings for the Governance and Competitiveness Development Policy Operation was moderately unsatisfactory for outcome, high for risk to development outcome, and moderately unsatisfactory for Bank performance. The findings of this Project Performance Assessment Report lead to several operationally relevant lessons include: (i) In a high-risk context, DPOs that are more targeted may have a greater chance of success, with implementation supported by complementary interventions (for example, investment projects and advisory services and analytics). (ii) Discussion of risks to the success of budget support operations should reflect the compounding of risks from parallel budget support operations. (iii) Analytics that take a broader view of constraints to achieving DPO objectives (in this case, those related to private sector development) are needed to ensure relevant design; more narrowly targeted analytics help justify specific reforms. (iv) The focus on governance and competitiveness was appropriate but raises questions regarding whether DPOs are the right modality in the Kyrgyz Republic to achieve reforms that frequently are slow to come to fruition.

Vietnam : Results-Based Rural Water Supply and Sanitation under the National Target Program

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Ratings for the Results-Based Rural Water Supply and Sanitation under the National Target Program project are as follows: Outcome was highly satisfactory, Bank performance was highly satisfactory, and Quality of monitoring and evaluation was substantial. The RWSS PforR’s experience suggests the following lessons: (i) PforR Show MoreRatings for the Results-Based Rural Water Supply and Sanitation under the National Target Program project are as follows: Outcome was highly satisfactory, Bank performance was highly satisfactory, and Quality of monitoring and evaluation was substantial. The RWSS PforR’s experience suggests the following lessons: (i) PforR design needs to be closely aligned with national policies and regulations, particularly regarding financial management. (ii) PforR design and implementation need to exercise equity and inclusivity in targeting beneficiaries to avoid selection bias against hard-to-reach ethnic and the poorest minorities and to reduce their vulnerability in the long term. (iii) The existence of an enabling environment for private participation could enhance the effectiveness of PforRs.

Panama : First, Second, and Third Programmatic Fiscal Management and Efficiency of Expenditures Development Policy Loan

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Ratings for the First, Second, and Third Programmatic Fiscal Management and Efficiency of Expenditures Development Policy Loans are as follows: Outcome was satisfactory, Risk to development outcome was not applicable, Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and Borrower performance was not applicable. This assessment Show MoreRatings for the First, Second, and Third Programmatic Fiscal Management and Efficiency of Expenditures Development Policy Loans are as follows: Outcome was satisfactory, Risk to development outcome was not applicable, Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and Borrower performance was not applicable. This assessment offers the following lessons: (i) Development policy financing design requires realism and clarity about risks to implementation, and (ii) Social protection reform in Panama was a matter of political will rather than resource availability.