Annual Progress Report

Transcription

1 Annual Progress Report July 2014-June 2015 Integrated Farm Management Component (IFMC) Agricultural Growth and Employment Programme Department of Agricultural Extension September 2015

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS 1. Component Data Executive Summary Project area Introduction Management and administration Main Activities description Progress towards objectives Achievement of Outputs Strategic Issues Risk Analysis and Mitigation Budget and Expenditure Annex Annex 1: Work Plan for IFMC (July 2014 to June 2015) Annex 2: Information sheet: Business Focal Person (BFP) Market Linkage Training Annex 3: Success Stories Annex 4: Details budget and expenditure for Annex 5: IFMC Gender Strategy Update ii

3 ABBREVIATIONS AAO ABDC ACDO ADP AEO AESA AFSP AGEP AM&EO APD ASPS II AWP&B BADC BBT BDT BEFTN BFP CDO CMU CSC DAE Danida DG DKK DLS DoF DPA DPD DPP DT EC ECNEC EoD FBF FBS FF FFS FGD FMA FO GoB HC - Assistant Agriculture Officer - Agri-business Development Component (ABDC) - Assistant Community Development Officer - Annual Development Plan - Agriculture Extension Officer - Agro-Ecological System Analysis - Agriculture and Food Security Project - Agricultural Growth and Employment Programme - Assistant Monitoring & Evaluation Officer - Assistant Project Director - Agricultural Sector Support Programme, Phase II - Annual Work Plan and Budget - Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation - Ballot Box Test - Bangladeshi Taka - Bangladesh Electronic Fund Transfer Network - Business Focal Person - Community Development Officer - Component Management Unit - Component Steering Committee - Department of Agricultural Extension - Danish International Development Agency - Director General - Danish Kroner - Department of Livestock Services - Department of Fisheries - Development Project Aid - Deputy Project Director - Development Project Proforma - Departmental Trainer - Executive Committee - Executive Committee of the National Economic Council - Embassy of Denmark - Farmer Business Facilitator - Farmer Business School - Farmer Facilitator - Farmer Field Schools - Focus Group Discussion - Farm Management Analysis - Farmer Organisation - Government of Bangladesh - Horticulture Center iii

4 HVC IA ICM ICT IDA IDO IFM IFMC IMED IPM LFA M&E M&EO MF MFI MIS MLT MoA MoU MT NA NATA NGO PD PIC PM&E QA R&P RDPP RFLDC RIC RTC SAAO SAPPO SLL SL-TOT SMS T&E TA TNA ToT UAO UFO ULO - High Value Crop - Internal Auditor - Integrated Crop Management - Information Communication Technology - Institutional Development Adviser - Institutional Development Officer - Integrated Farm Management - Integrated Farm Management Component - Internal Monitoring and Evaluation Department - Integrated Pest Management - Logical Frame Work Analysis - Monitoring and Evaluation - Monitoring & Evaluation Officer - Master Facilitator - Micro Finance Institution - Management Information System - Market Linkage Training - Ministry of Agriculture - Memorandum of Understanding - Master Trainer - National Adviser - National Agriculture Training Academy - Non Government Organisation - Project Director - Project Implementation Committee - Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation - Quality Assurance - Review & Planning - Revised Development Project Profoma - Regional Fishery and Livestock Development Component, ASPS-II - Regional IFMC Coordinator - Regional Technical Coordinator - Sub-Assistant Agriculture Officer - Sub-Assistant Plant Protection Officer - Season Long Learning - Season Long Training of Trainers - Subject Matter Specialist - Training & Extension - Technical Assistant - Training Need Assessment - Training of Trainers - Upazila Agriculture Office - Upazila Fishery Officer - Upazila Livestock Officer iv

5 1. Component Data Country: Name of Program: Bangladesh Agricultural Growth and Employment Program. (AGEP) Integrated Farm Management Component (IFMC) Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) Name of Component: Executing Agency: Sponsoring Ministry: Component Period: July 2013 to June 2018 Date of Approval of ECNEC: 19 January 2014 Administrative Approval from MoA: 12 February 2014 Estimated cost of the Project: i) Total : 43, million BDT (300 million DKK) ii) iii) GOB : 10, million BDT (75 million DKK) DPA : 32, million BDT (225 million DKK) Project Area: 61 Districts and 373 Upazila ( Excludes 3 Hill Districts). Project Director : Md Iqbal Telephone No (Ext. 102) pdifmc@accesstel.net Danida Adviser : Rilla Norslund Telephone No (Ext. 101) rilla-norslund@accesstel.net 1

6 2. Executive Summary This is the second Progress Report of Integrated Farm Management Component (IFMC) covering the period July 2014 to June The report covers the second full year of component implementation and the year during which implementation got into full swing for IFM FFS implementation and during which the Farmers organization strategy was shaped and drafted and implementation moved from piloting to early roll out. All staff joined during this period and a major orientation workshop took place in February 2015, as well as various capacity building activities for IFMC staff. Regional and district offices were fully established during the year and systems for regional management and administration have been put in place. Monitoring and data collection systems have been developed and fully established during the period under review. During the year Steering committee met once as well as two meetings of the Project Implementation Committee chaired by the DG DAE. The project also faced scrutiny through an Inception Review as well as a second visit from Danida headquarters in form of an Appraisal mission for future support. Joint and Special monitoring teams of GOB also visited activities and made recommendations for improvement. During the reporting period 3317 IFM FFS were implemented in 371 Upazilas of 61 districts. The FFS were facilitated by 1706 project trained Farmer Facilitators (FFs) who all received regular refresher courses and participated in review and planning workshops at the start of each FFS seasons. One hundred DAE officers received season-long training in IFM FFS and from all IFMC Upazilas DAE officers received crash course, refresher courses, orientation courses and participated in review and planning workshops to build capacity and ensure quality monitoring of FFS activities. A total of 165,155 farmers participated in IFM FFS during the reporting period, of which 53% were female. The FO strategy was developed to a final draft and approved for implementation, by DAE. Activities moved from piloting to the beginning of market linkage activities. Scale up is yet to take place but plans are well developed with guidelines and curriculum drafted and tested for full roll out of activities in IFMC Upazilas. This report contains a detailed description of major activities in Chapter 6 for those not familiar with IFMC, as well as a number of case studies and success stories in the annexes which give a more in-depth picture of the impact of IFMC activities from the point of view of beneficiaries. 2

7 3. Project area Region District Upazila (Nos.) Region District Upazila (Nos.) Barisal Barguna 5 Noakhali 9 Barisal 10 Brahmanbaria 7 Bhola 7 Chandpur 8 Jhalokathi 4 Comilla 11 Patuakhali 7 Khulna Bagerhat 8 Pirojpur 7 Chuadanga 4 Faridpur 7 Jessore 7 Gopalganj 5 Jhenaidha 6 Madaripur 4 Khulna 7 Rajbari 5 Kushtia 5 Shariatpur 5 Magura 3 Dhaka Dhaka 2 Meherpur 2 Gazipur 2 Narail 3 Manikganj 6 Sathkhira 6 Munshiganj 4 Rajshahi Bogra 12 Narayanganj 1 Chapai Nawabganj 5 Narshingdi 5 Joypurhat 5 Tangail 8 Naogaon 11 Jamalpur 7 Natore 6 Kishoreganj 8 Pabna 9 Mymensingh 7 Rajshahi 9 Netrokona 10 Sirajganj 9 Sherpur 5 Rangpur Dinajpur 12 Sylhet Habiganj 4 Gaibandha 7 Moulavibazar 4 Kurigram 9 Sunamganj 4 Lalmonirhat 5 Sylhet 4 Nilphamari 6 Chittagong Chittagong 3 Panchagarh 5 Cox's bazar 3 Rangpur 8 Feni 6 Thakurgaon 5 Laxmipur 5 Total 61 Districts, 373 Upazilas 3

8 Project area map 4

9 Map of Project Region 5

10 4. Introduction This report covers the activities of the Integrated Farm Management Component (IFMC) for the period July 2014 to June 2015, the second year of the project. IFMC operates in 373 upazilas of 61 districts of Bangladesh. The three districts making up the Chittagong Hill tracts are not covered by IFMC but are covered in a separate UNDP implemented program Agriculture and Food Security Project (AFSP) also supported by AGEP funding. IFMC is one of three components of the Agricultural Growth and employment Programme, (AGEP) financed jointly by the Governments of Bangladesh and Denmark. IFMC is implemented through the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) of the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and will run for five years, from July 2013 to June Due to the mentioned delays in start of full implementation a one year no cost extension is expected to be approved. The target groups of IFMC are landless, marginal and small farmer households cultivating up to 2.5 acres of land, with a focus on total farm activities and diversification and adoption of Integrated Farm Management (IFM) Farmer Field School (FFS) promoted technologies and management practices. The component emphasizes empowerment of female and male farmers through formation of, and support to, Farmer Organizations (FO) including linking farmer groups and organizations to markets and service providers with the target of increased farm profitability. As the first year of the component, starting from July 2013, was mainly concerned with approval of project documents, particularly the DPP, establishment of component infrastructure and recruitment of staff, has in effect been the first year of full implementation and has included finalizing start up activities such as recruitment of the balance of component staff not recruited during the first year, and establishment of regional offices and district offices which were not fully completed during the period. The Development objective of IFMC is Pro-poor, inclusive and sustainable growth and employment creation and the immediate objective is Increased agricultural production among female and male members of landless, marginal and small farming households. The specific objectives of the project are: Female and male farmers have been empowered and increased number of total farm activities and diversification adopting Integrated Farm Management (IFM) Farmer Field Schools (FFS) promoted technologies and management practices Female and male farmers have been empowered in Farmer Organization (FO) formation and linked to service providers, market actors and micro-finance organizations to increase farm profitability National dialogue on farmer-centered extension approaches has been strengthened 6

11 The three objectives are reflected in the three outputs of IFMC each of which focus on the achievement of one of the specific objectives. Output 3 of IFMC includes activities relating to collaboration with AFSP as well as collaboration with the third component of AGEP, Agri-business Development Component (ABDC) on the National Platform for extension actors. Project Orientation, February 2014 at National Agricultural Training Academy (NATA), Gazipur. 7

12 5. Management and administration Administration Staffing and recruitment For half of the reporting period IFMC has worked with less than the full project staff outlined in the component document. While almost all GOB positions (27 of 29) including PD, DPD, and two APD s were deputed/ recruited by the end of last fiscal year ( ) the recruitment of TA staff was completed well into the current reporting period. Recruitment of TA staff had started through a 5 member Selection Committee chaired by Additional Secretary (Extension), Ministry of Agriculture from October By January 2015 all the recruitment had been completed and all 150 TA staff, including outsourced staff had joined the project between November 2014 and February Table-1: Status of the Manpower in IFMC Personnel Category (female in brackets) Deputation Direct recruitment Out sourcing Total % female a) GOB Personnel: GOB Officers Head office Regional office District office Total officers GOB Staff Head office 2 2 (1) 3(1) 7 (1) 14% Regional office 0 0 6(1) 6(1) 17% District office Total Staff (1) 13(1) 8% Total GOB personnel 18 2(1) 9(1) 29(2) 7% b) Danida Personnel: Danida Officers Head office 0 13 (3) 0 13(3) 23% Regional office 0 36 (3) 0 36(3) 8% District office 0 40 (13) 0 40(13) 33% Total officers (19) 21% Danida Staff Head office 0 8 (1) 1 9 (1) 11% Regional office 0 18 (1) 6 24 (1) 4% District office (1) 20(1) 5% Total staff 0 26(2) 27(1) 53(3) 6% 8

13 Personnel Category (female in brackets) Deputation Direct recruitment Out sourcing Total % female Total Danida staff (22) 16% Total IFMC manpower (24) 14% Recruitment interview for the second International Advisor - Institutional Development (IDA) was conducted in June 2014, but due to unexpected bureaucratic delays it took more than a half year to get the advisor to Bangladesh. The table above shows the breakdown of total staff including percentage of female officers and staff. For Danida staff and outsourcing a great effort was made to recruit females, however with limited success. To recruit females it was in several cases necessary to accept candidates with lower skill levels than their male counterparts, and for this reason it is also necessary to keep focus on building the capacity of female staff members. The majority of females applied and qualified for the lower position, particularly in the districts, whereas, it was difficult to recruit females for higher positions. The highest number of females is as CDOs and ACDs with 4 and 9 out of 20, respectively. Employment and probation All Danida staff was initially employed on 3 month probation, however due to the level of activities and the high number of staff recruited it was not found possible to properly assess new employees during this period. The probation period for all was therefore extended to 6 months to allow time for proper assessment of all staff. Towards the end of probation period, assessment was carried out prior to confirmation of employment. In cases where there were concerns raised during the assessment a further three months extension was applied and a thorough assessment will be made at the end of this period. Staff who resigned or were not confirmed in employment were replaced through the guidance of the recruitment committee chaired by the Additional Secretary Extension, MOA, through a process of interviewing short listed candidates. Capacity building of IFMC Staff Initial Staff Orientation Workshop In February 2015 IFMC conducted an Orientation Program for all the project personnel of district, regional and head offices at the National Agriculture Training Academy, Gazipur. The orientation program was designed and organized by Component Management Unit (CMU) team. Project staff were grouped according to technical area into 4 teams: Training and Extension Team, Farmer Organization Team, Finance and Administration Team and Monitoring and Evaluation Team. Afternoon sessions were used for separate technical orientation programs and trainings for the four groups while mornings were devoted to overall project orientation for the entire group. 9

14 The orientation program brought together 120 participants and created a unique opportunity for clarifying project objectives, getting to know each other, sharing experience and expertise and going into some detail on expectations in terms of project document and job descriptions. The orientation program was conducted using presentation, open discussion and brain storming methods with high levels of participant involvement. FFS team The FFS team consist of Regional IFMC Coordinators (RIC), Regional Technical Coordinators (RTC), Subject matter specialists (SMS) and Master Facilitators (Livestock and fisheries). As the team members come from different technical and experience backgrounds it has been necessary to build capacity on IFM FFS, facilitation skills and monitoring and backstopping as required for successful implementation, backstopping and monitoring of FFS in IFMC. After recruitment of RTC, MF and deputation of RIC and SMS, IFMC developed a plan to provide necessary training and orientation. An orientation course was organized in February 2015 just after recruitment of all team members. This course focused on technical issues of the various modules, facilitation skill, monitoring and backstopping of the IFM FFS and gender. Besides this, regular monthly work plans and quarterly reports from RTC and MF have received regular feedback from headquarters as well as comments and suggestions on performed activities. Mentoring by CMU FFS team to Regional IFMC FFS team is part of the FFS quality assurance strategy of IFMC. FO team FO staff came with a variety of backgrounds and different skill levels and while many had experience working with FOs on institutional and social issues, few had experience with collective marketing and business planning. Many had the attitude of being implementers ready to follow instructions. Few had capacity and drive to independently analyzing FO and market opportunities. Therefore, to build the capacity of the FO staff to implement the FO strategy and to create a team spirit and ensure a consistent direction of activities the HQ FO team conducted several trainings for the staff: In February a 5-day training and introduction was conducted with IDOs and half of CDOs. CDOs were included to equip them with the necessary technical background to support the upcoming batch of 22 FBSs. On February under the 3-day general IFMC Orientation Workshop the FO subjects were introduced during three half-day sessions. All major output 2 subjects, forms, tools and FBS curriculum were covered. At the beginning of April all 46 staff, divided into two batches, got a 3-day Skills Development Training to deepen their understanding of the project interventions and the tools and methodologies used to work with the project stakeholders. 10

15 In May a one-day meeting with IDOs and CDOs was conducted to improve their understanding of the FO selection tool and to make sure that they selected FOs according to the criteria. From June IDOs, CDOs and ACDOs have started participating in the 10-day BFP trainings, six to eight at a time. This ensures in-depth understanding of the strategy, tools, technical areas and activities. In addition, by mixing up with BFPs the IFMC FO staff gets a chance to get insight into marketing issues raised by the farmers and to establish good links to the FOs. Female CDOs and ACDOs have been invited as assistants to DAE trainings to give them an extra chance to learn and gain confidence. IDOs have worked continuously to build capacity of CDOs and ACDOs and the IDA has visited many district offices to discuss work progress and challenges with CDOs and ACDOs, and to observe them in the field. By end of the project year many IDOs and CDOs have a good understanding of the collective marketing and FO business. Some are working well independently and organizing their duties meticulously. Those who have personal laptops, cameras and Internet have used them while waiting for office equipment. Some have even used own motorbikes. Among many of the field staff a good and enthusiastic work attitude is emerging and it seems like motivation is high in many places. However, there is still a way to go before all field staff fully understand their duties and how to work towards creating results. To ensure good cooperation with stakeholders a special effort has been made to ensure CDOs and ACDOs are respectful to farmers and Upazila DAE offices. Finally, the FO team has developed an internal plan to develop those with good facilitation skills to become facilitators of the many residential training courses on business and collective marketing for BFPs and DAE officials. Especially, the team works to develop female facilitators by giving females priority as assistants in training sessions and using them as assistant facilitators until they are ready to become main facilitators. M&E Team The IFMC M&E systems has developed more towards result-based M&E systems in addition to tracking spending. In this regard, there is a felt need of strong M&E capability. The IFMC M&E team consist of six Monitoring and Evaluation Officer and six Assistant Monitoring and Evaluation Officer based in six IFMC regional offices, one Database Officer at head quarter and is headed by a National Adviser-M&E. To improve the performances of M&E staff, IFMC has arranged orientation, workshops and meetings during the reporting period. Initially two days orientations were organized to make officers familiar with the project activities, LFA and M&E systems. The M&E team members participated in different technical training like SLL and Review and Planning Workshops and refresher courses for Farmer Facilitators. 11

16 As part of regular capacity development of M&E staff project has initiated to conduct bimonthly meeting cum workshop. This bimonthly meeting cum workshop held in two days, first day is for discussion on plan and progress of the period and second day is for capacity development activities. These capacity development activities are including data collection, newly developed data collection tools, data analysis, database management and other related computer skills. Accounts team The IFMC project has a finance and accounts team consisting of 10 members, led by the chief accountant. It consists of one chief accountant, one accounts officer, two internal auditors based in the IFMC HQ, Dhaka, and six accountants based in the IFMC regional offices. Accounting software has been installed in regions and in HQ for maintaining IFMC books of accounts. The software of regional offices is linked with that of HQ to facilitate the update reporting of financial information. IFMC is transferring its funds to 373 upazilas, and is making payments to its different stakeholders through Bangladesh Electronic Fund Transfer Network (BEFTN). Regional accountants have already received training on maintenance of accounting software, billing and procurement process, administrative issues and have also been given hands-on training on any issues requiring special attention to ensure the efficient accounting and financial management. The two member internal audit team is engaged in giving the accountants hands-on training and in monitoring their financial activities through visits to regional offices on a regular basis. Regional offices IFMC has six Regional Offices in Mymensingh, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Jessore, Barisal and Comilla. Throughout the reporting period there has been an ongoing effort to decentralize activity implementation and monitoring to regional offices as much as possible and to empower regional teams to take ownership of activities in the regions. The DAE regional office officials (Regional IFMC Coordinator and SMS) joined their positions in June 2014, while Danida officials (RTC, MFs, IDO, MEO, AMEO and Accountant Officer) joined from December to February Regional offices have been equipped with furniture and necessary equipment including landlines, fax facilities and internal communications systems as well as Broad Band internet facilities. Accounting systems have been established with Tally software and accountants have received training and orientation as necessary on systems and procedures of accounting. The M&E team members are responsible for monitoring project activities and divide their time between monitoring of activities for the Region and carrying out surveys and impact monitoring as requested from Headquarters. 12

17 RIC and RTC are responsible for management of the regional office with support from the whole regional team. Regions have fortnightly and/or monthly meetings for Regional staff. In most cases the IFMC district staff under supervision of that regional office is invited to meetings on a monthly basis. These meetings are for delegation of activities and discussion on progress and upcoming activities. Major activity of Regional Offices in the implementation of trainings and workshops at the regional level, ensuring training facilities at the Horticulture Center used by that region are maintained and monitoring of the implementation of regular activities including FFS and market linkage activities. Regional offices regularly co-ordinate with IFMC district offices through visits, meetings, mobile and monitoring online communication and assist them in making activities plan and solving any problems as they arises. The Regional office is also responsible to maintain regular communication with DAE officials at District and Upazila levels and get for getting update on IFMC activity implementation, progress and any problems. The relationship with DAE is considered vital not only for the implementation of activities but also for the sustainably of all activities after the end of project implementation. District Offices The search for suitable office locations started in January and continued into February. By March 2015 all 20 locations had been identified and lease terms had been negotiated and agreed by IFMC HQ and landlords. The IFMC HQ team had provided a deed of agreement, which was signed by the parties. The process of equipping the district offices has been lengthy because of procurement procedures. Office furniture and stationary was sent to the district offices by end of May and beginning of June and thereafter computers were provided. The fact that many of the computers were from the RFLDC project caused further delays as many required reconditioning and upgrading by the IFMC Systems Officer. After receiving office equipment IDA and IDOs have worked with CDOs and ACDOs to ensure establishment of suitable filing systems and RICs and RTCs have worked to equip the offices with fans, curtains, bulbs etc. Motorcycles have been distributed, two to each District office for use by CDO and ACDO, who are required to be proficient motorcycle riders. What are considered female friendly motorcycles have been procured for female staff members. IFMC Database establishment As part of strengthen the Management Information Systems of IFMC the M&E Unit has developed a web-based interconnected database for collection and processing of information for ease of access, up-dating and management. The objectives the database are; - To store dynamic data such as number and particulars of FFS rollout in each seasons - To store data on particulars of Farmers Facilitators (FFs) - To store Farmers Organizations (FO) related data - To store all kind of training data and 13

18 - Make it accessible to all IFMC concerned Region level data can be updated regularly which saves time and resources and output can be produced at all level (HQ, region, district and Upazila). The main feature of the database is data entry option for assigned users and viewing report for all. There are more than 10 types of structured report available for users by project, region, district and Upazila. Besides these structured report custom report can be produced using the database as per requirement. During the reporting period a total of 4,706 records on FFS, 2,075 FFs particulars and all completed training information have been updated to the database. Procurement Procurement of materials is ongoing as per work plan and DPP. During the reporting period major procurements included a Prado jeep, a Hi-lux pick-up and 46 motorcycles. CD vat cheque for the 45 motorcycles procured in the first year and for the Toyota Hi-lux were received, while CD Vat for the 46 motorcycles procured in is under process. The motorcycles were distributed to the regional offices (one per office) and 40 to district offices (one for CDO and one for ACDO). There were also minor procurements of computers, printers, photocopy machines etc as required by the various newly established offices according to the DPP provisions. There were no other major procurements outside of the normal procurements included in activity budgets, i.e. training materials and FFS materials including trial materials, materials for FFs and Upazilas for FFS implementation. 14

19 Management Component Steering Committee (CSC) / Project Implementation Committee (PIC) In the DPP there is provision for two committees to guide IFMC implementation: Component Steering committee (CSC) and Project Implementation Committee (PIC). The CSC is an inter-ministerial committee composed of 14 members and headed by the Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture; the sponsoring ministry. The PIC is composed of 10 members and headed by the Director General, DAE; the implementing agency. The CSC is responsible for reviewing progress, approval of annual work-plans and budgets, as well as progress reports. PIC will review IFMC progress and achievements. During the reporting period one CSC meeting was held on August 31, 2015, along with other agenda discussed annual work plan and budget for were approved during this meeting. Two PIC meeting (2 nd and 3 rd ) were held during the reporting period (one on March 19, 2015 and another one on May 18, 2015). CMU Meetings The IFMC CMU holds regular meetings to approve activities and expenditures, and discuss on-going activities, delegate duties including organizing trainings and monitoring visits to the headquarters team. The CMU consists of Project Director and Senior Adviser, but all members of headquarters team act as resource persons to the CMU and attend and contribute to CMU meetings when possible and necessary. CMU and Regional Meetings Every alternate month RICs and RTCs attend meetings in headquarters where they present progress from the regions and discuss challenges and achievements with the headquarters team. Inception Review AGEP Inception Review took place from 30 November to 14 December The Review Aide Memoire provides a number of recommendations and suggestions for the implementation of IFMC. A process action plan was developed for the implementation of these recommendations which has been updated and included below: Recommendation / action Deadline Progress 1 i).adjust the job descriptions for future MTs in order to expand the professional skill since the number of qualified women possessing these skills traditionally is higher; When relevant For new recruitment head hunt female candidates, with IFMC Selection committee. ii) Address, in the gender strategies, barriers to overcome mobility/social conditions e.g. develop trust among reluctant husbands; introduce team of two female FFs (for IFMC only); introduce mature 15 As soon as possible Ongoing good success at FFS level, some success at FF level. Good progress at

20 Recommendation / action Deadline Progress women as FF (i.e. post child care) in recruitment of FO level (details in female FFs and apply accordingly report) 2 iii) Report against the gender action plans in the annual reports. Future annual progress reports should include an assessment of developments in risk. July 2015 July 2015 See annex See chapter 9 on risk 3 i) Careful management attention to regional level quality assurance of Upazilas monitoring and backstopping of FFS/FF is required, especially during the fast roll-out of decentralisation and upscaling of implementation at a time when new staff are coming in. Ongoing attention Quality assurance strategy has been developed and is being implemented. Capacity building of facilitators at all levels in on-going ii) For quality control of FFS implementation, monitoring arrangements should be reviewed, and any necessary changes made at the various levels June 2015 Monitoring arrangements under review, some changes approved by Steering committee will included in RDPP iii) Thorough orientation and introduction should be carried out for all IFMC officers to ensure understanding of the FFS approach, technical and empowerment. ASAP Orientation in February and ongoing capacity building iv) Review of job descriptions of newly recruited staff, particularly those involved in FOs may be required as the approach for support to FOs is further piloted and developed. 4 Final FO strategy and implementation plan must be prepared and should consider to: i) develop more support modalities than only that of running FBS; this could include engaging with informal farmer groups ii) establish and train networks of FFS participants who have qualifications and interest in facilitating market linkages (e.g. becoming agents of traders, operating across several UPs) iii) focus on the sustainability of interventions based on a continued analysis of earlier experience (RFLDC; Katalyst; Blue Gold). When relevant FO job descriptions have been reviewed and will be reviewed after annual staff evaluations. May 2015 FO Team / FO strategy See chapter 9 on development of FO strategy. 5 Final National Dialogue strategy and implementation plan should be prepared February 2015 First meeting held. Working Committee 16

21 Recommendation / action Deadline Progress appointed with Director Field Services as Chairman. 6 Future annual reporting should include progress against log frame targets as well as expenditure per output (actual figures). July 2015 See chapter 7 Appraisal Mission visit from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Denmark An appraisal mission of the proposed Agricultural Growth and Employment Thematic Programme (AGEP II) under the Bangladesh Country Programme for (BCP) was fielded in Bangladesh during May Although the appraisal mission was not a formal review, the Appraisal Team1participated in a detailed presentation and discussion session in DAE/IFMC on component progress and implementation issues arising an annex containing a number of observations and recommendations for the embassy and for the IFMC management were developed. IFMC has to the extent possible integrated the suggestions and advise of the team, however a number of suggestions require a revision of the DPP and will be raised during this process. IFMC IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES Practical planning issues If starting a new Bangladeshi planning period/dpp (rather than a revision of DPP) after the current IFMC program, implementation will certainly be delayed (based on previous experience) DAE has to the Appraisal Team expressed a strong wish for a costed extension of the present DPP for rather than starting afresh for only a two-year period. The Appraisal team recommends that the embassy should go a long way to cater for that request. It should be possible to close Danida accounts upon completion of present Danish appropriation. The last two years of the revised DPP would constitute the partner documentation of the new engagement. Market Linkages It is the impression of the Appraisal team that the very late start of staff + staffing issues + decentralization + quick scaling up poses a threat to the effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of the market linkages output. IFMC is still in the process of learning from piloting. A draft market linkages strategy prepared May 2015 and the strategy is a good step forward. It is not clear to the Appraisal Team how or to which degree the lessons learnt from the piloting has been translated into changes to curriculum or approach. It is recommended that the component management carefully assesses both the internal pilot evaluation, curricula and draft strategy. 1 The appraisal team consisted of the same members as for the AGEP I Inception Review performed in November/December

22 Farmer Business Schools visited this time and in November were not convincing but rather confirming the Appraisal Team s concern of being supply driven. The Appraisal Team is concerned that Output 2 is rolled out quickly during next financial year without sufficient capacity and potentially also qualifications of staff at all levels. It is recommended to develop capacity of component staff now and continuously throughout the life of the IFMC. If push for achieving present targets, quality is bound to be compromised. It is recommended to roll out activities more cautiously and to revise targets accordingly, potentially allowing the present targets to be met only by Various options for concentrating efforts could be considered (zoning/clustering, not all planned Upazilas to be covered before end of present IFMC this may be politically sensitive). It should be considered to open up for other types of support during later revisions of market linkage strategy potentially training of individuals and networking between groups and individual farmers with business potential Quality Assurance of FFS approach and FO activities in implementation A working Quality Assurance system embedded in DAE is one of the main parameters of sustainability of our support. Ongoing Quality Assurance system appears to be in place at all levels but it remains to be seen if the system is effective and applied in practice. Component management is conscious about the importance of the internal QA, and the planned2016 mid-term review will assess progress of QA carefully. If QA is not ensured, implementation strategy may have to be revised in future phase(s). We need to ensure quality rather than quantity and it is recommended to lower output targets if needed (they were very ambitious, especially for market linkages). In parallel, it is recommended to revisit the outputs and formulate a set of definitions that are fit for purpose. Finally, it is recommended to continuously build capacity of IFMC staff on the essence of the FFS approach (empowerment aspects). FFS activities should continue to focus on quality and sustainability of the capacity built in terms of human resources. Strengthening facilitation skills and technical knowledge of Farmer Facilitators should continue to be a priority. If budget allows, orientation and some capacity building of SAAOs should be included since these are the DAE officers closest to FFS implementation. Sadar Upazilas During the DPP approval process it was suggested to leave out Sadar Upazilas (those Upazilas that house the District headquarters). The Appraisal Team understands that an agreement was reached to drop them in year 3. The Sadar Upazilas are found to be those with the largest local market potential and relevance to the market linkages output. Considering the opportunities for synergy with output 2 market linkage activities and also with activities of the Agri-Business Development Component (ABDC), dropping the Sadar Upazilas would potentially also have a negative impact on the achievement of Output 2 and potentially also the ABDC. The Appraisal Team therefore recommends not excluding the Sadar Upazilas. 18

23 6. Main Activities description The main activities of IFMC are (Output 1) implementation of Farmer Field Schools on Integrated Farm Management (IFM) with a module based curriculum allowing farmer groups to select amongst crop, livestock and aquaculture modules and (Output 2) support to farmer clubs and associations as a way to improve farmers links to input and output markets and increase farm profitability. Photo: IFM FFS participants develop and perform a drama on marketing Output 1 - Implementation of Farmer Field School (FFS) IFMC uses the Farmer Field School (FFS) extension methodology to provide demand driven extension services to its target group. The approach of FFS is a non-formal education model. In this approach, adult learning principles such as valuing farmers field experiences, listening to their explanations, collaborative activities and encouraging group interactions but mutually supportive and challenging are incorporated in order to promote the learning process for conceptual change to take place. The Farmer Field School is not like a normal school. It does not have four walls, tables, chairs and black boards, rather the participants of this school sit near their crop field in an open place under the shade of a tree and the site of school is not permanent. Crop field and homestead are the learning places for the participants of FFS. An FFS lasts for one cropping season and next season the facilitators move on to another village to work with a new group of farmers in the Upazila. The IFM FFS will be 19

24 established twice a year. First cycle will start from Rabi season (October/ November) and second cycle from Kharif II season (May). IFM FFS curriculum and modules FFS is field oriented and based on learning by doing. IFMC implements FFS on Integrated Farm Management (IFM) through 9 modules which deal with rice, livestock, fisheries, homestead vegetable production and family nutrition. The curriculum of IFM FFS includes Integrated Crop Management which includes soil health management, importance of improved variety/seed, water management and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in the rice and homestead vegetable gardening modules. In addition, homestead livestock management (poultry, small and large ruminants) and pond fisheries management are included. Nutrition through homestead gardening, hygiene, fruit tree management and improved food preparation, and introduction to Farmers Organizations are also included. In IFM FFS integration is practiced in two way, firstly integration of improve management practices in each component of a farm and second integration is one component resource verses other component that is byproduct of one component used as input of other component. Modules on High Value Crops will be added as they are developed. Photo: Group work session of FF ToT FFS is a holistic approach to increasing production and improving livelihood of small, poor and marginal farmers who represents about 85% of farmers in Bangladesh. FFS follows an Experiential Learning Cycle using Agro-Ecological System Analysis (AESA) and Farm Management Analysis (FMA) as decision making tools. Included in the curriculum are 20

25 several small studies or trials that are carried out by the participants to build up their confidence. In general an FFS has 50 participants from 25 households (usually one female and one male from each household). At the end of an FFS cycle the participants a field day is held near the field to create awareness on IFM activities among the wider community. Field Day At the end of the IFM FFS, with guidance from FF and Upazila team, the participants organize a field day to share their new knowledge with the neighboring farmers. Six learning booths are prepared and FFS graduates present the FFS topics to the visitors giving an opportunity to share technologies and ideas as well as to reinforce the topics learnt. The learning booths include an Integrated Farm Management booth, an integrated rice cultivation booth, a poultry rearing booth, goat and cattle rearing booth, Homestead garden and Nutrition booth and a Farmer organization and aquaculture booth. At least 160 farmers are expected to attend in the field day including the FFS farmer. For an FFS which includes rice module there are 6 booths and 5 for FFS without rice module. At the end of touring the booths and listening to presentations from the FFS farmers, the invited farmers join a discussion meeting where visitors can share their questions and opinions on the displayed IFM technology. FFS participants receive their certificate for FFS graduation and best scorer 3 participant get prizes at the same occasion. Facilitators Each FFS is facilitated by a pair of trained facilitators, in most cases by Farmer Facilitators (FFs) though in some cases field level officers of DAE i.e. Departmental Trainers (DTs). DTs get training through Season-Long Training of Trainers (SL-TOT) course prior to acting as a facilitators. FFs, who are FFS graduates, receive a 26-day intensive TOT course. Each pair of FFs run two FFS per season in their local area and during the FFS implementation period they also get training (Season Long Learning) 2 times on effective implementation of FFS and the duration of the training is normally 3 days. The FFs also get backstopping support from the trained Upazila team (Agriculture Extension Officer, Sub- Assistant Plant Protection Officer and Sub-Assistant Agriculture officer (SAAO)) and also from component officers based at the regional offices and Head quarter of the component. IFM FFS organization An IFM- FFS is implemented mainly through a crop life cycle, starting with seed sowing and ending with the harvesting of the crop. Normally there are two sessions per week, lasting two to three hours depending on topics to be covered. The Upazila Agriculture Officer (UAO) is responsible for the implementation of FFS in his/her upazila. The UAO, Livestock officer and Fisheries Officer and also the concerned DAE officers of the district are responsible for monitoring the FFS for its quality. Each FFS maintains a register of activities in the FFS which also as a record and as a monitoring tool. For each FFS a Sub-assistant agriculture officer (SAAO) is attached and has responsibility for backstopping. 21

26 IFMC organizes half yearly review and planning workshops. These workshops are held at the end of each FFS cycle, and over a period of two days, FFS progress is reviewed and planning of FFS for the next season is carried out. The DTs/FFs who have implemented FFS are called for the workshop and are given the opportunity to discuss any problems encountered during implementation of FFS. Short training sessions are also included to address new issues and review some important topics to improve the training quality of FFS. To improve the skill of FFs as facilitators of FFS, IFMC organizes occasional refreshers courses for 6 days. Development of Farmer Facilitators Farmer Facilitators (FFs) are the main implementers of FFS in IFMC. They are selected among the farmers of previously participated FFS following certain criteria for selection. The main criteria are those have shown interest and potential during their participation in the FFS and who have organising capability in the community. However, age, educational level and knowledge of FFS promoted technologies are also considered during final selection of farmers. IFMC encourages selecting more female farmers to train as Farmer Facilitators. Selection is done by component staff in close collaboration with Upazila staff and includes individual interviews. Photo: Practical session of FF ToT Training of Trainers The finally selected farmers receive 26- days residential Training of Trainers (TOT) course where facilitators from IFMC act as course facilitators. The TOT curriculum follows the FFS curriculum combining practical and few theoretical sessions with emphasis on the 22

27 development of facilitation skills. After successful completion of FF-TOT course the FFs begin implementation of IFM FFS in their localities under the supervision of the Upazila Agriculture Officer and backstopping support from IFMC. Under backstopping support the concerned officers visit the FFS at least three times during the FFS cycle to provide hands-on training after assessment of their performance in implementation of FFS. New FFS attend a number of short SLL courses during the first year to reinforce learning from the TOT. Season long learning (SLL) After receiving FF ToT FFs start to implement IFM FFS in current season. During 1 st season FFS implementation these FFs come again 2 times (3days+3 days) for season long learning (SLL). During SLL FFs got an opportunity to present their feedback on completed sessions and receive facilitator s feedback on identified weak areas. They also receive an overview of how to conduct the remaining sessions of that season. Mentoring and follow up The FFs do not have the depth of knowledge as of the departmental trainers but they have the advantage that they are always easily available to the farmers in their community. To build the capacity of the FFs, IFMC arranges backstopping support as well as periodic refresher courses to improve their knowledge and facilitation skills. FFs also attend review and planning workshops twice a year and during these workshops they have the opportunity to interact and learn from their fellow FFs, ask questions and seek advice from Master Facilitators on FFS topics. Photo: Practical session of DT-ToT 23

28 Through the whole process of development, the FFs become valuable resource persons in their communities on agricultural related aspects. Most are involved in advising their community farmers on farm management technologies. In many cases FF develops strong linkages with the Upazila level officers of the department of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries and also other service providers, thus linking their community to a variety of services. Capacity building in Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) An important activity of IFMC is the development of facilitators from DAE for mentoring of FFs and for the implementation, monitoring and backstopping of IFM FFS. To address this need IFMC has designed a season long (seed to seed) Training of Trainers (SL-TOT) course for Upazila level DAE officers (AEO, SAPPO and SAAO) following the principle of an FFS. Season-long Training of Trainers The curriculum of SL- TOT has been designed to develop all the qualities of a good FFS facilitator. The 84 day course is divided into 7 spells with a break of 2 weeks between spells allowing participants to see all stages of growth of a rice crop and other activities of other modules. The 50 participants of a typical SL-TOT are divided into two groups for effective training purposes. It is a residential training where minimum of six highly qualified Master Facilitators are assigned as the facilitator of the course. The curriculum of SL-TOT has been developed in such a way that the participants can spend 60% time in the field and 40% in the class room. The class room training is developed to be participatory and engage the participants fully, avoiding lecturing and encouraging experience sharing. Participants visit and observe FFS in the vicinity of the training centre and practice acting as facilitators. In the curriculum of the course there is provision for evaluation of the participants at various stages and the evaluation system includes not only technical matters but also practical and facilitation skills. Only the successful participants are given certificates of completion of course and can act as facilitator of an FFS. In the SL-TOT, the participants get thorough field oriented, participatory and discovery based training on the entire process of running an FFS effectively which include facilitation skills, field observation techniques, discussion process, analyzing data and how to make decisions for themselves based on observation/data. Besides, the participants get training on backstopping and monitoring the FFS. The curriculum also includes a study trip (2-3 days) for the participants to see the ongoing FFS of IFMC in the field, and visit farmers organisations. This gives participants an opportunity to understand IFMC s programme more fully and to encourage them for future engagement in these activities. Therefore, the SL-TOT course is not only for the development of facilitators for FFS but also it is considered as a part of human recourses development and capacity building of DAE s field level officers more widely. 24