NGO managed projects in Lebanon

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NGO managed projects in Lebanon

• “Implementation of a research centre for agricultural dissemination and development in Marjayoun Region” – NGO Movimento Africa ’70 (Movement Africa ’70)

• “Support to local development and creation of an orientation pilot centre at Deir El Ahmar, Bekaa Valley” – NGO Ricerca e Cooperazione (Research and Cooperation)

• “Socio-economic development of the fishermen community of Batroun” – NGO Ricerca e Cooperazione (Research and Cooperation)

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Evaluation ex post of NGO managed projects in Lebanon

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The present evaluation report has been redacted by Dr Serena Saquella and Dr Lydia Fabiana Rossi.

Opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Directorate General for Development Cooperation, of NGO Movimento Africa ’70 (Movement Africa ’70) and of NGO Ricerca e

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF ACRONYMS 5

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6

2. ORIGINS OF THE INITIATIVE 13

3. STRUCTURE OF THE PRESENT REPORT 13

4. INTRODUCTION 14

5. SITUATION IN LEBANON 15

6. METHODOLOGY OF THE EVALUATION 16

Part A

Implementation of a research centre for agricultural dissemination and development in Marjayoun Region - AID No. 7776 -

NGO Movimento Africa ’70 (Movement Africa ’70)

A1. SYNTHESIS OF EVALUATION ... 19

A2. GENERAL FRAMEWORK ... 20

a.2.1 Project synthesis ... 20

a.2.2 Mission synthesis ... 20

a.2.3 Analysis of coherence and quality of the design of the Logical Framework ... 21

A.3 EVALUATION ACCORDING TO THE CRITERIA OF RELEVANCE, EFFICIENCY, EFFECTIVENESS, IMPACT AND SUSTAINABILITY ... 25

a.3.1 RELEVANCE ... 25

a.3.1.1 Identification of needs and of beneficiaries ... 25

a.3.1.2 Identification of the local counterpart ... 25

a.3.1.3 Relationships with central and local authorities ... 26

a.3.2 EFFICIENCY ... 26

a.3.2.1 Funds and time management ... 27

a.3.2.2 Staff management ... 28

a.3.3 EFFECTIVENESS ... 29

A.3.4 IMPACT ... 32

A.3.5 SUSTAINABILITY ... 33

A.4 CONCLUSION ... 34

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Part B

Support to local development and creation of an orientation pilot centre at Deir El Ahmar, Bekaa Valley - AID No. 8650 of NGO Ricerca e Cooperazione (Research and Cooperation); B.1 SYNTHESIS OF EVALUATION……….37 B.2. GENERAL FRAMEWORK……….38 b.2.1 Project synthesis

b.2.2 Mission synthesis

b.2.3 Analysis of coherence and quality of the design of the Logical Framework

B3 EVALUATION ACCORDING TO THE CRITERIA OF REVELANCE, EFFICIENCY, EFFECTIVENESS, IMPACT AND SUSTAINABILITY

b.3.1 RELEVANCE

b.3.1.1 Identification of needs and of beneficiaries b.3.1.2 Identification of the local counterpart b.3.1.3 Relationships with local authorities b.3.2 EFFICIENCY

b.3.2.1 Funds and time management b.3.2.2 Staff management b.3.3 EFFECTIVENESS b.3.4 IMPACT b.3.5 SUSTAINABILITY B.4 CONCLUSION B.5 RECOMMENDATIONS Part C

Socio-economic development of the fishermen community of Batroun - AID No. 8255 of NGO Ricerca e Cooperazione (Research and Cooperation).

C.1 SYNTHESIS OF EVALUATION C.2 GENERAL FRAMEWORK

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c.2.1 Project synthesis c.2.2 Mission synthesis

c.2.3 Analysis of coherence and quality of the design of the Logical Framework

C.3 EVALUATION ACCORDING TO THE CRITERIA OF REVELANCE, EFFICIENCY, EFFECTIVENESS, IMPACT AND SUSTAINABILITY

c.3.1 RELEVANCE

c.3.1.1 Identification of needs and of beneficiaries c.3.1.2 Identification of the local counterpart c.3.1.3 Relationships with local authorities c.3.2 EFFICIENCY

c.3.2.1 Funds and time management c.3.2.2 Staff management c.3.3 EFFECTIVENESS c.3.4 IMPACT c.3.5 SUSTAINABILITY C.4 CONCLUSION C.5 RECOMMENDATIONS

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LIST OF ACRONYMS

APS ODA

Aiuto Pubblico allo Sviluppo Official Development Assistance

CD Comitato Direzionale

Steering Committee

CCIA Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture

CNRS Conseil National de la Recherche Scientifique

National Council of Scientific Research

CORIS Dipartimento di Comunicazione e Ricerca Sociale

Department of Communication and Social Research

DEA Deir El Ahmar

DGCS Direzione Generale per la Cooperazione allo Sviluppo General Directorate for Development Cooperation

GAL Gruppo di Azione Locale

Local Action Group

GO Governmental Organization

IAM Istituto Agronomico del Mediterraneo

Mediterranean Agronomic Institute

ICU Istituto per la Cooperazione Universitaria

Institute for University Cooperation

LARI Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute

MAE Ministero degli Affari Esteri

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

MoA Ministero dell’Agricoltura

Ministry of Agriculture

NCMS National Centre for Marine Science

OCSE/DAC OECD/DAC

Organizzazione per la Cooperazione e lo Sviluppo Economico - Development Assistance Committee

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development – Development Assistance Committee

ODPS Organisation de Développement pour la Paix Sociale Organization of Development for Social Peace ONG

NGO

Organizzazione non Governativa Non-Governmental Organization ONU

UN

Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite United Nations

PM Project Manager

QL Quadro Logico

Logical Framework

RC Ricerca e Cooperazione

Research and Cooperation

SPL Secours Populaire Libanais

Lebanese People’s Rescue

UCB Ufficio Centrale per il Bilancio

Central Account Office

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UTC Unità Tecnica Centrale

Central Technical Unit

UTL Unità Tecnica Locale

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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

During the first trimester of 2013, the General Directorate for Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs entrusted the Department of Communication and Social Research (CORIS) of Sapienza University of Rome, the task to carry out the ex post

evaluation of three projects in Lebanon, financed by Italian Cooperation and managed by NGOs.

a. “Implementation of a research centre for agricultural dissemination and development in Marjayoun Region” of NGO Movimento Africa ’70 (Movement Africa ’70); b. “Support to local development and creation of an orientation pilot centre at Deir El

Ahmar, Bekaa Valley” of NGO Ricerca e Cooperazione (Research and Cooperation); c. “Socio-economic development of the fishermen community of Batroun” of NGO

Ricerca e Cooperazione (Research and Cooperation).

Italian Cooperation has been present in Lebanon from 1983 and is a privileged partner of this country. Following the conflict of 2006, the commitment of Italy has been strongly reinforced, leading to the opening of a Local Technical Unit at the Italian Embassy of Beirut in September 2007. Italy is the second European donor, after France, with another 60 programs in progress. Areas of intervention are multiple: emergency, environmental, local development, sanitarian, social, rural development and cultural and religious tourism.

The three projects, evaluated by the team, have sought to address the issue of employment in agricultural and fisheries sectors, involving Lebanese partners, such as Caritas Lebanon, Secours Populaire Libanais (Lebanese People’s Rescue, SPL), the Organisation de Développement pour la Paix Sociale (Organisation of Development for Social Peace, ODPS) and focusing on the modernization of equipment, on professional updating and on improvement of technical knowledge of farmers and fishermen.

On the level strictly methodological, the exercise has used the following tools.

An evaluation grid was elaborated for each project, which, reflecting OECD/DAC-EU criteria, identified main questions and subordinate ones; identified also appropriate sources to provide answers to questions and their modalities of their use/activation (analysis of documents, bilateral meetings, focus group, semi-structured interviews etc). From the evaluation grids and from the stakeholders’ list of each project (national and local institutions, partners, NGO staff), the team elaborated some guidelines for interviews and for conducting on-site focus group. This will be discussed in more details within the evaluation report.

“REALISATION OF A RESEARCH CENTER FOR AGRICULTURAL DISSEMINATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN MARJAYOUN REGION”

AID No. 7776

The initiative was identified and formulated by the local counterpart SPL (Secours Populaire Libanais, Lebanese People’s Rescue) with the support of NGO Movimento Africa ’70 (Movement Africa ’70).

This project has been implemented in Marjayoun District, Department of Nabatieh (South Lebanon) and involved villages of El Khiam, Ibel El-Saki, Kfar Kila, Deir Mimas, Qlayaa, Bourj Al-Moulouk, with a strong agricultural vocation, with the objective of contributing to

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the improvement of South Lebanon economy, through the creation of an Agricultural Diffusion Center, aiming the transfer of appropriate production techniques among farmers living in the country.

The project proposed to increase revenue of 500 farmers by about 30% in three years through three main axes:

1) Capacity building

2) Providing production services

3) Networking and inter-institutional coordination.

The initiative appeared to be responsive to beneficiaries’ needs, contributing to trigger a development process of the agricultural potential of the plain of Marjayoun, by investing particularly in training activities and technical assistance to farmers. There has been a good collaboration with local authorities and with the reference community, a good consideration of the gender component and an excellent perception of the utility of the initiative among the beneficiaries.

With respect to the counterpart choice, it proved to be totally unsuccessful since SPL appeared to be unsuitable to carry out an operation of agricultural development and unable to comply with donor’s procedures.

On the whole, the financial resources allocated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were used in an efficient manner, despite numerous changes and extensions suffered by the project. There has been, however, a low level of participation from the local counterpart, a staff turn-over (four project managers) and also a low level of participation from the Ministry of Agriculture during the first two years of the project.

The project effectiveness underlines the achievement of the overall number of beneficiaries and the realisation of activities, even in presence of high instability in the political context. Concerning the achievement of the specific objective “Increase revenue by 30% of 500 farmers in 7 villages through a) innovation of cultures and production techniques; b) offer of production services; c) strengthening of management capacities of local institutions”, it must be emphasized that it is an objective difficult to measure and to objectively verify.

For the farmers, the mandatory management of accounting is not planned and Lebanese fiscal system appears to be completely inefficient. There was no achieved result regarding the establishment/strengthening of cooperatives, which are malfunctioning and very politicized. The initiative effects are positive on the slope of social impact (strengthening the sense of belonging to the area and the community, empowerment of women), but are very few on the slope of economic and income-generating activities. The initiative has been very appreciated by beneficiaries and considered as essential in contributing to the improvement of agricultural production.

The results achieved by the project, however, should be strengthened and consolidated in order to fully achieve general and specific objectives. The scarce commercialisation of agricultural products is, for now, the project beneficiaries’ main problem, who expressed the necessity of working in consortia and finding points of sale. From this point of view, the registration and the trademark certification of products and its diffusion through an accurate marketing strategy are of fundamental importance.

Regarding the choice of counterpart, it turned out to be a total failure since SPL was not suitable to implement an intervention of agricultural development and unable to comply with the donor’s procedures.

Regarding other issues encountered during the project implementation (total inefficiency of cooperatives) – it can be said that, although not directly imputable to the proponent NGO and its counterpart, it could have been better planned during the identification phase.

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The main perplexity is the almost absolute lack of sustainability of the project, which was discussed in the previous paragraph. The functioning at full capacities of the Laboratory of the School of Khiam is of fundamental importance, as it offers long-term production services, devoted to guarantee the initiative.

Recommendations for Ministry of Foreign Affairs

There has been detected a long time lag between the project presentation, on January 23, 2003, and its approbation on June 8, 2004. It is suggested to make these times faster and leaner, in order to avoid excessive deviations from the original funding proposal, especially in a country where political and social context changes quickly, since it is characterised by severe political instability and external influences.

It is advised, during the technical and economic phase, to pay more attention in the choice of the counterpart by the NGO proponent.

Moreover, continuous supervision and monitoring from the UTL of projects with particular problems are suggested. The evaluation lack at the project conclusion by the UTL does not allow us to have, as useful it could be, an important element of comparison in the analysis of information collected.

Recommendations for NGO Movimento Africa ’70 (Movement Africa ’70)

Given the important and non-negligible consequences of the choice of an unsuitable partner, it is recommended that the NGO Movimento Africa ’70 (Movement Africa ’70) choose local counterparts having resources and managerial capacities, and which are able to contribute to the initiative management and to assure its sustainability through time.

The NGO Movimento Africa ’70 (Movement Africa ’70) is also invited to take into consideration the lessons learned during this project. This will contribute to a more active and in-depth identification phase and future projects elaboration, focusing on the aspects that have been the most impacted (formation component) and in which the expertise of NGO Movimento Africa ’70 (Movement Africa ’70) has been shown to have an added value.

“SUPPORT TO LOCAL DEVELOPMENT AND CREATION OF AN ORIENTATION PILOT CENTER AT DEIR EL AHMAR, BEKAA VALLEY”

AID No. 8650

The initiative was implemented by the NGO Ricerca e Cooperazione (Research and Cooperation) with the participation of the local counterpart Caritas Lebanon.

The project offered to trigger a socio-economic development process and the diffusion of alternative crops to those illegal in the region of Deir El Ahmar (Baalbeck Caza, Lebanon), through the creation of an Orientation Pilot Center to Development aiming to the formation and the aggregation of local population.

In order to strengthen local capacities, the project provided functional activities to encourage the formation of Local Action Groups (GAL).

Regarding the relevance criterion, we can say that there has been an excellent collaboration with the chosen local counterpart, as well as a good collaboration with national authorities, in particular with the Ministry of Agriculture, and a good consideration in the gender component aiming to support women involvement in the activities.

The allocated resources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs appear to have been used rather

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36 months planned. The funds have not been completely used in a consequent economy of expenditures in relation to the total value of the project. Good performance of the local counterpart who played a fundamental role in the activities realization and in the staff management.

The rejection of a variant should be noted, which implied the interruption of some activities left incomplete on the field (the NGO, without waiting for the outcome of the variation, in fact negative, had already initiated some activities it had to stop).

In terms of effectiveness, not all results have been completely reached (there has been few requests from beneficiaries of the rotating funds at the end of the project).

There has not been sufficient evidence to evaluate the impact. Caritas Lebanon declares that around 80% of beneficiaries have increased their revenues and that the project strengthened the regional socio-economic processes and promoted also new entrepreneurial activities. At the end of the evaluation mission we did not get sufficient evidence to fully comprehend the project sustainability. However we can affirm that the documentation center is functioning and active and there is a good performance of GAL (Local Action Groups).

Recommendations for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

It is recommended to the donor, during technical and economic evaluation, to analyse the whole project document, including the logical framework which, for the purpose of evaluating, represents a tool of great importance. The logical framework identifies some indicators which cannot be found before 2021 and 2026, some indicators are not specified or unrealistic and others are not quantifiable and not objectively verifiable.

Concerning the administrative documentation provided, a certain confusion can be noticed: as reported in the paragraph related to the efficiency, the project has undergone changes in the term of expenditures after its approval. The documentation provided does not always show the same amount. If possible, a revision of this documentation is suggested.

A greater coordination with the Local Technical Unit or with other offices of the headquarters is suggested, for the verification of projects in progress or concluded, in order to avoid duplication or overlap, and thus making more effective the Official Development Assistance (ODA).

A final point regards the relatively long period concerning the disbursements of payment, resulting in the NGO and the counterpart advancing them.

Recommendations for NGO Ricerca e Cooperazione (Research and Cooperation)

The NGO Ricerca e Cooperazione (Research and Cooperation) is invited to take into consideration lessons learned during this project, such as developing in a better way the identification phase and considering risks of implementing activities non-predicted in the project document, which are not part of Italian Cooperation priority. Here we can mention a particular reference to the rejection of the variation, which caused problems in terms of effectiveness and efficiency.

A better coordination between project partners is suggested, for the implementation of project activities, some of them (as the GAL constitution) being already realized within another project financed by Italian cooperation and implemented by IAM from Bari, in order to ensure the effectiveness of the operation and avoid duplication and overlap.

A more accurate redaction of the Logical Framework is also recommended, this tool being useful to define clearly the different elements of the project intervention.

Finally, NGO Ricerca e Cooperazione (Research and Cooperation) is invited to facilitate the eventual future work of evaluators by providing timely contacts and documents.

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11 “SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE FISHERMEN COMMUNITY OF

BATROUN” AID No. 8255

The project was realized by the NGO Ricerca e Cooperazione (Research and Cooperation), in collaboration with the local counterpart Organisation de Développement pour la Paix Sociale

(Organisation of Development for Social Peace, ODPS).

The project, lasting three years, aimed to revitalise the fishing industry in the coastal town of Batroun, with the objective to improve the fishermen’s quality of work (specific objective) and to contribute to the improvement of life quality of fishermen and their family, as well as the development of economic activities related to the sea (general objective).

The main project activities were directed to people of the sea (informal education, introduction of new techniques and/or technologies, establishment of a loan fund, management of natural resources, raising awareness on workplace safety and improvement of embarkation safety) in order to encourage an increase in fishing profitability and, at the same time, reduce the risks while working.

From the focus group, formed by a sample of beneficiaries, it emerged that the initiative has

not met fully their needs. If the conditions on safety at sea (Expected Result A) have

definitely improved, no result has been achieved concerning the increase of their revenues (Expected Result B) due to the fish resources scarcity of sea.

The chosen local counterpart, ODPS, being newly established (founded in 2004) did not

present guarantees of solid experience in cooperation activities, in particular in the proposed

sector of operation. Today, the local counterpart no longer exists (ceased activities at the end of the project, in 2010).

The role of the local Fishermen’s Cooperative, bearer of the fishermen’s interests inside the community and in the Lebanese context, is not really clear (perhaps because of the difficulties encountered during the first year in the relations with the Cooperative president against the project). Nevertheless, the project created a strong sense of collaboration with local

authorities, in particular with the Municipality of Batroun, and the other enterprises involved

in the project, including the Institute of Oceanography and Fishery of Batroun of the Ministry of Agriculture, which supported the project through all its phases.

Thanks to the excellent interaction with the beneficiaries, the project contributed to unite the community, by creating a common objective, which was the rehabilitation of fishery sector. Despite the strong instabilities of the Lebanese context, a realization fairly precise and respecting the timing are found (just one extension was requested due to inclement meteorological conditions for the practical demonstration at sea, and two non-onerous variations with the consequent changes on certain items of expenditure).

The main perplexity regards the collapse of the local counterpart and in consequence the collapse of the rotating loan fund (managed by ODPS), which represent important elements to affirm that, in this specific case, the use of the provided funds has been inefficient.

As the rotating fund collapsed, the fishermen, who had to return the installments, have suspended their own payments. They have, however, expressed the will to reactivate them, as soon as the fund is reconstituted and assigned to another entity (such as the fishermen cooperative), in favor to other beneficiaries.

Partial achievement of the expected results and of general and specific objectives for the

following motivations:

• The first expected result “Improvement of safety conditions at sea at Batroun” has been achieved through a series of activities which have been regularly realised, including the implementation of a training/update on boat maintenance, which was not included in the

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Logical Framework but was present inside narrative and reporting documents. This implementation was logically continuous with the expected result and coherent with the project finalities. The main perplexity regards the activity relative to the loan fund, for aforementioned reasons.

• The second expected result, “increase of fishermen’s revenues of Batroun”, despite the realization of all activities, cannot be considered as achieved for several reasons, primarily because it is difficult to make a comparison between the revenues recorded at the beginning of the project and the revenues recorded at its conclusion.

The meeting held with fishermen pointed out that one of the main current problems is the absence of fish resources, caused by the lack of an adequate protection legislation of maritime ecosystem, the non-application of the closed season to allow the reproduction of fish stock, the illegal fishery (with the use of poisons and explosives) and the water pollution (problems already identified at the project beginning), which resulted in a worsening of their revenues in 2007.

In view of the above, the specific objective “Improvement of the fishermen’s quality of work of Batroun” can be considered as partially achieved.

Among the planned activities, we notice a great participation of students and of the project beneficiaries in environmental awareness campaigns and in community building activities (over 100%).

We do not have sufficient and reliable information to express an opinion concerning the impact criterion (for example the difficulty in meetings organization with key stakeholders). The project contributed to strengthen the sector and to create a strong sense of sharing

common problems and also supported the fishermen community empowerment, by

suggesting new participatory approaches and new representative and local development dynamics. However, from the focus group emerged that since 2007, there has not been substantial change in terms of economic or social development of the beneficiary community (therefore, very scarce impact mainly due to the absence of fishery resources).

The partial achievement of expected results and therefore of general and specific objectives, such as the collapse of the counterpart and of the rotating fund and all the encountered problems with the Fishermen Cooperative, are important and significant elements to say that there are no elements ensuring the project sustainability.

Recommendations for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

It is recommended to make the approval and financing times of the initiative faster, in order to avoid excessive differences between the initial financing proposal and the needs of the referential context, which are continuously changing, above all in a country such as Lebanon (project presented to the DGCS on 28/10/2004, approved with resolution No. 142 on 25/10/2005, order of commitment on 14/12/2006).

When a period longer than a year is spent between the initiative submission and its approval, it would be appropriate to require the proponent to update the financial plan submitted before the approval.

It is suggested that where some initiative show particular problems, the supervision from the UTL should be more constant and in-depth, in order to ensure a greater efficiency in official development assistance.

It is recommended to the donor, in phase of technical and economic evaluation, to analyse the whole project document including the logical framework. It is particularly advised in phase of submission of the project proposal to require the formulation of objectively verifiable in time indicators. The lack of such indicators reduces the possibility to evaluate, through precise

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data, the effects the initiative would have generated with respect to those it actually produced in the operation area.

Recommendations for the NGO Ricerca e Cooperazione (Research and Cooperation)

It is recommended to the NGO to choose more carefully the local counterpart, especially for this kind of initiative requiring experience and expertise.

Its collapse at the end of the project had negative repercussions in terms of initiative sustainability and, therefore, in the lack of access to loans by the beneficiaries.

A more accurate redaction of the Logical Framework is also recommended, this being a useful working tool to define clearly the different elements of the project operation and of the whole Project Cycle.

It is suggested to involve in a better manner the local enterprises and other institutional subjects in the sustainability strategy of the project initiative.

The NGO Ricerca e Cooperazione (Research and Cooperation) is finally invited to facilitate the future work of evaluators by providing contacts and documents in time.

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2. ORIGINS OF THE INITIATIVE

In the first trimester of 2013, the General Directorate for Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs entrusted the Department of Communication and Social Research (CORIS) of Sapienza University of Rome the task of carrying out the evaluation of three projects managed by NGOs in Lebanon, relying on the Terms of Reference attached hereto. This Department is particularly qualified since it established as part of its educational offer a complete and articulated course of study (Bachelor degree, Master and postgraduate specialisation in “Sciences of Cooperation and Development”), in which the issue of initiative monitoring and evaluation in development cooperation is present and treated by qualified teachers from Faculties of Political Science, Economics, Literature, Communication Science and Humanistic Sciences as well as external industry experts.

While the respective administrative structures provided contractually relevant documents, the office IX of the DGCS made the documentation available, the Scientific Director Prof. Marcello Fedele, assisted by Prof. Marco Cilento responsible for institutional relations with offices of the DGCS of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, selected three consultant experts in development cooperation programmes in the persons of Maria Giuseppina Loretta Peschi, Serena Saquella and Lyda Fabiana Rossi.

Dr Maria Giuseppina Loretta Peschi, assisted by Dr Serena Saquella, has participated in the launch of the evaluation operation (inception meetings, documentation analysis, interviews with staff at headquarters and on the field), while Dr Serena Saquella and Dr Lyda Fabiana Rossi have completed the work through a mission in Lebanon and the preparation of this report.

Dr Serena Saquella carried out particularly the evaluation operation of the following projects: a. “Implementation of a research center for agricultural dissemination and development

in Marjayoun Region” by NGO Movimento Africa ’70 (Movement Africa ’70);

b. •“Support to local development and creation of an orientation pilot center at Deir El

Ahmar, Bekaa Valley” by NGO Ricerca e Cooperazione (Research and Cooperation).

In the meantime, Dr Lyda Fabiana Rossi took care of the project “Socio-economic development of the fishermen community of Batroun” by the NGO Ricerca e Cooperazione

(Research and Cooperation).

3. STRUCTURE OF THE PRESENT REPORT

The present evaluation report was prepared in two distinct phases: the first part was drawn up on the basis of the analysis of the available documentation, provided by DGCS and by NGOs Movimento Africa ’70 (Movement Africa ’70) and Ricerca e Cooperazione (Research and Cooperation) and following to the mission field, a provisional outline was complied (Draft Report). Following the workshop, which will take place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome, in which comments and feedback from stakeholders will be collected, a draft of the final report and its translation in English will be drawn up, as required in the Terms of Reference (Final Report).

The Evaluation Report is structured as follow:

- Executive summary;

- An introductive part in which are described the socio-economic context of the beneficiary country, the stages of the evaluation and the methodology adopted by the evaluation team;

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- The qualitative and quantitative analysis of the consulted documentation and of the collected information in accordance with the canonical criteria adopted by OECD/DAC-EU;

- Conclusions and recommendations for each project.

The Final Report concludes with a series of attachments documenting the most important stages of the evaluation exercise.

4. INTRODUCTION

The present ex post evaluation took into consideration three projects implemented by Italian NGOs in Lebanon and co-financed by Italian Cooperation in a period from 2006 and 2011.

PROJECTS NGOs LEBANON

Title: Implementation of a research center for agricultural dissemination and development in Marjayoun Region AID No. 7776

Resolution of the Steering Committee No. 55 of 08/06/2004

Executive Agency: NGO Movimento Africa ’70 (Movement Africa ’70)

Local counterpart: Secours Populaire Libanais – SPL (Lebanese People’s Rescue)

Expected duration: 36 months

Implementation period: 20/01/2006 – 27/05/2010

Total value: € 1.292.411,19

Title: Support to local development and creation of an orientation pilot center at Deir El Ahmar, Bekaa Valley AID No. 8650

Executive Agency: NGO RC – Ricerca e Cooperazione (Research and Cooperation)

Local counterpart: Caritas Libano (Caritas Lebanon)

Total value: € 1.640.174,58

Title: Socio-economic development of the fishermen community of Batroun AID No. 8255

Executive Agency: ONG RC – Ricerca e Cooperazione (Research and Cooperation)

Local counterpart: Organisation de Développement pour la Paix Sociale - ODPS (Organisation of Development for Social Peace)

Total value: € 1.423.780,28

The three projects, evaluated by the team, have sought to tackle the issue of employment in agricultural and fishery sectors, in three different locations in Lebanon, involving Lebanese partners such as Caritas Libano (Caritas Lebanon), the Secours Populaire Libanais (Lebanese People’s Rescue, SPL), the Organisation de Développement pour la Paix Sociale (Organisation of Development for Social Peace, ODPS), by focusing on the modernisation of equipment, professional updating and improvement of technical knowledge of farmers and fishermen.

The expected duration for each project was 36 months, but all three have required more time, this resulting in a number of “non-onerous extensions” and respective adjustments of expenditure specifications; the reasons of these decisions, their management modalities and their impact on the cost/benefit ratio will be discussed in more details in the following paragraphs.

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5. SITUATION IN LEBANON

Lebanon is a little Middle-East country with an estimated population of 4.2 million of people, a per capita income equal to $ 47.60 and a life expectancy at birth equal to 72 years.

In July 2005, Lebanese government outlined a broad program of political, social and economic reforms and also started to organize a donor conference in Beirut to request international support for the reforms and for a public debt of almost 180% of GDP. The process suddenly stopped in the summer 2006 because of the conflict between the Israeli Army and Hezbollah militias. The consequences were extremely serious: one quarter of the population was displaced, 1,100 casualties, property damages for more than $ 3.6 billion and incalculable damages to economy, tourism and fragile social balance. Today Lebanon presents a high rate of youth unemployment, a low participation of women in economic and productive life (22.3% of female labour force and 71.5% of male labour force), a massive influx of foreign workers into the labour market (for example Palestinian refugees) and a large number of qualified Lebanese people looking for a job abroad1. The characteristics of the labour market in Lebanon are difficult to analyse because of the poor quality of statistics, however the rate of unemployment is estimated between 15% and 20% among young people and women (45% of unemployed are between 15 and 24 years old and the majority is looking for a first job)2. Unemployment significantly contributes to the growth of poverty indexes. According to the UNDP, around 28.5% of Lebanese population is poor and around 300,000 people live in conditions of extreme poverty3_.

Ranked in 2012 as 72nd on 186 countries in UN statistics on Human Development Index, Lebanon is one of the main recipient countries of Italian Official Development Assistance. Italian Cooperation is present in Lebanon since 1983 and is one of the most privileged partners of the country. Following the conflict of 2006, Italian commitment was greatly strengthened leading to the opening of a Local Technical Unit at the Embassy of Italy at Beirut in September 2007.

Italy is the second European donor, after France, with over 60 ongoing programmes. Sectors of intervention are many: emergency, environment, local development, health, social services, rural development and religious and cultural tourism.

In February 2007, the first projects financed through the Emergency Programme ROSS started. With this programme, Italian Cooperation reached a wide territory, assisting about one hundred Lebanese villages and municipalities and focusing particularly in the areas most affected by the conflict. The main issues addressed, in line with the “Country Strategy Paper” 2007-2013 of the European Commission, were: economic rehabilitation and restart of productive activities; restoration of damaged structures; local development; strengthening of the social fabric; development of the socio-economic role of women and environmental sanitation. In this process, the contribution of the twenty Italian NGOs present in the country, which managed over 90% of financial intervention of the Emergency Programme, was essential.

Today Lebanon has to reconstruct, facing at the same time a heavy public debt, a reform process many time started but never finished, a stagnant economic growth, a political and institutional crisis which worsens tensions and internal security.

1_{Country Strategy Paper 2007-2013 and National Indicative Programme 2007-2010} 2_{ETF, 2009-2011}

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6. METHODOLOGY OF THE EVALUATION

The evaluation team conducted the operation in accordance with the instructions provided by the Terms of Reference which, in their turn, respect the evaluation criteria of OECD/DAC-EU, which are the measurement of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and of the sustainability of each project. As regards with the projects which, as mentioned, intended to upgrade and raise the technical and economic capacities of the beneficiaries, the evaluation analysed the impact and sustainability aspects, and highlighted the lessons learned (both by the beneficiaries and by the implementing agencies), by formulating some useful recommendations for possible analogous initiatives.

On a strictly methodological level, the exercise used the following tools.

For each project an evaluation grid was elaborated, which, respecting OECD/DAC-EU criteria, identified the main questions and the subordinate ones; identified adequate sources to provide answers to questions and how to use/activate them (documents analysis, bilateral meetings, focus group, semi-structured interviews also by phone, etc.). These attached grids were submitted to the leaders of the executive NGOs.

From evaluation grids and the list of stakeholders of each project (national and local institutions, partners, NGO staff), the team elaborated:

a. Some guidelines for interviews with headquarters and project manager staff and interviews with administrative staff;

b. The list of people to hear/meet;

c. Some guidelines for interviews performed during on-site meetings with representative of local institutions;

d. The list of people to interview on-site;

e. Some guidelines to conduct focus groups with the beneficiaries taking place on-site.

The selection of people to be involved by phone and/or on-site was prepared in consultation with the leaders of executive NGOs and with the UTL in Beirut.

The evaluation was articulated in the following phases:

1. Preliminary phase, in which the reference documentation was examined, the main stakeholders of the two NGOs were interviewed and the mission programme was planned;

2. Field phase, in which interviews were conducted, as well as meetings with representative of different involved institutions and meetings with the project beneficiaries;

3. Phase of qualitative and quantitative analysis of collected information;

4. Elaboration of the report and presentation of the results through the organisation of a workshop at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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Parte A

IMPLEMENTATION OF A RESEARCH CENTER FOR AGRICULTURAL DISSEMINATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN MARJAYOUN REGION

AID No. 7776

NGO Movimento Africa ’70 (Movement Africa ’70)

Resolution of Steering Committee No. 55 of 08/06/2004

Local counterpart Secours Populaire Libanais (Lebanese People’s Rescue)

Total value € 1.292.411,19

BORNE BY DGCS: € 773.800,26 equivalent to 9,87%

(plus € 72.000,00 to cover the cost of social security and insurance for Italian personnel cooperating)

BORNE BY NGO: € 193.461,49 equivalent to 14,97%

BORNE BY COUNTERPART: € 325.149,44 equivalent to 25,16%

Intervention sector Agricultural development Implementation period 20/01/2006 – 27/05/2010

Type of evaluation INDEPENDENT EX POST EVALUATION Period of evaluation mission 28/11/2013 – 06/12/2013

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A1. SYNTHESIS OF EVALUATION

CRITERIA STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

Relevance

- Good identification of the needs and of the area for its agricultural potential

- Good collaboration with local authorities and with the community of reference

- Good consideration of gender component

- Excellent perception of the initiative utility among beneficiaries

- Project identified and formulated in 2000 by the local counterpart. Launched in 2006 without any substantial modification

- Unsuitable counterpart

Efficiency - Good use of Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ resources, thanks to its flexible instruments, such as variations and non-onerous extensions

- The intervention was characterised by the submission of numerous variations and extensions

- Staff turnover (four project managers in total)

- Low participation of the counterpart

- Low participation of the Ministry of Agriculture during the first two years of the project

Effectiveness - Achievement of the total number of beneficiaries and implementation of activities in the project, despite the presence of high instability of the political context

- Specific objective difficult to verify objectively, as it relates to the income declared by the beneficiaries

- No result achieved regarding the constitution/strengthening of cooperatives Impact

- Acquisition by the beneficiaries of new productive techniques - Acquisition of an « agricultural identity » by the beneficiaries

in the area of Marjayoun, not previously entered in the economic mapping

- Very low commercialisation of the agricultural products

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A2. GENERAL FRAMEWORK a.2.1 Project synthesis

The project “Implementation of a research center for agricultural dissemination and development in Marjayoun region” has been presented to the DGCS on January 23, 2003 and approved by the Steering Committee with resolution No. 55 on June 8, 2004.

The initiative identified and solicited in 2000, formulated in 2002 by the local counterpart SPL (Secours Populaire Libanais, Lebanese People’s Rescue), a socialist institution very “strong” in these years and well established on the territory, with the support of the NGO Movimento Africa ’70 (Movement Africa ’70).

This project was implemented in Marjayoun District, Department of Nabatieh (South Lebanon) and involved the villages of El Khiam, Ibel El-Saki, Kfar Kila, Deir Mimas, Qlayaa, Bourj Al-Moulouk, with a strong agricultural vocation, with the objective of contributing to the improvement of South Lebanon economy, through the creation of an Agricultural Diffusion Centre aiming to transfer appropriate production techniques among farmers living in the country.

The project proposed to increase revenue of 500 farmers by about 30% in three years through three main axes:

1) Capacity building

2) Providing production services

3) Networking and inter-institutional coordination

The project was the subject of numerous non-onerous variations and extensions, mainly related to external factors among which, primarily, the outbreak of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel in July 2006.

Its activities officially started on January 28, 2006 with the activation of formative processes in favor of the project manager, were operationally launched on site on July 7, 2007 (date on which he assumed the duties as the project manager) and ended on May 27, 2010, with an effective duration of 52 months (22 for the first annuity, 12 for the second and 18 for the third) against the expected 36, following the request of 3 extensions (2 in the first annuity, respectively of 6 and 4 months and 1 in the third annuity of 6 months) and variations of up to 7 (3 during the first annuity, 2 in the second and 2 in the third).

In reference to its total duration and the difficulties encountered, due to external factors, there was also a staff project turnover (4 project managers in total) quite significant, albeit it did not affect the normal pursuit of activities.

a.2.2 Mission synthesis

Before and during the evaluation mission, an extensive documentation has been consulted including:

- Financing proposal of the NGO and the relative technical and economic evaluation of the UTC;

- Requests for non-onerous variations and requests for extensions and relative technical advices;

- Reports on the state of progress relative to the three project annuities;

- Correspondences Ministry of Foreign Affairs/NGO Movimento Africa ’70 (Movement Africa ’70)

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During the mission, the team performed a series of meetings and interviews. Meetings were conducted on the base of the availability of local stakeholders and of beneficiaries verified by UTL:

- UTL;

- Former representative of SPL, local counterpart of the initiative; - Dean of the Technical School of Agriculture of Khiam;

- Beneficiaries (individuals and representative of cooperatives);

- Laboratory technician currently employed by the Ministry of Agriculture; - Local agronomist.

The following structures have been visited:

- The Technical School of Agriculture of Khiam, the analysis laboratory and the teaching vivarium;

- Demonstration Plot (orchard).

a.2.3 Analysis of coherence and quality of the design of the Logical Framework

To make easier to understand what will be illustrated in the following pages, we should quickly remind the consistency of the project. It pursued the general objective of “Improving the socio-economic conditions of South Lebanon population, affected by Israeli occupation” and the specific objective of “Increasing revenue by 30% of 500 farmers in 7 villages through: a) innovation of cultures and productive techniques; b) offer of production services; c) strengthening of management capacities of local institutions”.

To this end, the project had identified 3 levels of results and a significant number of actions to achieve them, according to the outline of the Logical Framework below.

Intervention Logic Indicators Sources of Verification Conditions

GENERAL OBJECTIVE

Improve the socio-economic conditions of South Lebanon population, affected by Israeli occupation

a) overall net migration b) % of young people emigrating

c) No. years of life expectancy at birth d) GDP per capita

Statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and of Health

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE

Increase revenue by 30% of 500 farmers in 7 villages through: a) innovation of cultures and productive techniques; b) offer of production services; c)

strengthening of management capacities of local institutions

70% of farmers who modernised their business have increased their income by 30% on average in 3 years, taking as a reference per capita

income of 1999 estimated by Ministry of Agriculture at US$ 200 per month

Sample survey ad hoc in the 7 villages indicated in the project

The competition of regional agricultural products is not favoured by some forms of public subsidy that would damage internal market prices

EXPECTED RESULTS Capacity Building

1.1 500 agricultural businesses modernised with the introduction of new cultivation systems and new cultures that have increased their productivity a) 80% of farmers have introduced new cultivation systems b) 80% have introduced new cultures c) 80% have increased traditional productions by 30% on average in the three years of project, with respect to the production of 1999

a) LARI annual reports b) Agronomic surveys on samples of farmers

Availability of credit and agricultural inputs to economic conditions appropriate to farmers’ potential

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associations constituted, integrating the majority of agricultural producers and coordinating productive and commercial activities

gathered in 7 first-level associations of producers b) 5 first-level

associations are associated in 2 consortia of second-level

and second-level associations

do not assume a character of conflict and adversity among the farmers groups

1.3 The 7 local associations (municipality + caza) and 10 organisations (NGOs + associations) promote a more cautious management of natural resources, in particular water resources, through the specific training of their staff (32 members of public local and regional institutions and 30 members of organisations acquire the specific skills to administrate and manage local natural resources)

a) All course participants pass the final test verification

b) 75% of participants is satisfied of the course contents

c) 50% of participants use in their work the tools acquired during the training

a) Final reports and records of internships

b) Final satisfaction test c) Surveys of working procedures after one year, with trained persons

Presence of a regulatory framework defining clear responsibilities of institutions called up to manage natural resources

Providing production services

2.1 The Centre of agricultural diffusion for research helps 500 local agricultural businesses to improve production

a) 70% of farmers receive support from the Centre b) 90% of new

cultivations were launched in collaboration with the Centre

a) field notebooks of Centre technicians b) field notebooks for sorting culture

LARI and the Ministry of Agriculture define an agreement for the management of the Centre of agricultural diffusion in Khiam

2.2 Image and quality of local products improved through the constitution of a trademark of geographical origin of products

a) 70% of the 500 agricultural businesses produce and

commercialise their own products according to the trademark protocol b) the trademark is recognised by 5 consumers on 10 in big cities a) sample analysis on products

b) survey in some cities of Lebanon

Quality standards are accepted and respected by the farmers

Networking and inter-institutional coordination

3.1 Set up a local coordination (CAZA), composed by

representatives from institutions, agricultural and financial

organisations and research centres, to elaborate and coordinate agricultural development policies

a) the Commission gathers regularly once a month b) No. of agreements bilaterally signed between the different institutions and organisations

a) minutes of the Commission

b) evaluation of the staff on its role

ACTIVITIES

Capacity building Means (see budget) Costs (see budget)

1.1.1 Implementation of 35 demonstrating businesses (5 per village) differentiated by agro-ecological area, availability of water resources and productive techniques (intensive,

agroforestry)

The identification process of parcels is successfully allowed.

Successful completion of the programme

a) Written profile of each selected parcel

b) Monitoring report

1.1.2 315 days of agricultural training (pre-seeding, on-going and field day) in 3 years in 7 villages 400 farmers on 500 participate to at least 70% of training days a) Participants list b) Trainers’ reports c) Evaluation form 1.1.3 Supply of agricultural inputs

to extend demonstrating cultures

400 farmers on 500 use selected material (seeds) produced by the Centre

a) Vivarium notebooks b) Receipts and sales ledger 1.1.4 Weekly technical assistance

to each village (two technicians from the Centre of agricultural diffusion)

No. of farmers who received assistance No. of updating meetings carried out in the villages

Field notebooks of agricultural technicians 1.2.1 12 annual meetings in the 7

villages to promote the project and

No. of participants of monthly meetings

a) Workshop reports b) List of subscribers

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to create pre-associative groups of farmers

No. of pre-associative groups constituted 1.2.2 120 days (4x10 months) of

administrative, accounting and organisational training in 3 years for the managers of

cooperatives/consortia/associations of producers

a) A programmatic document for the 8 associations;

b) Lobbying promotions for the 8 associations; c) Networking coordination;

d) Consultation process among the associations

a) List of workshop participants

b) Evaluation reports from trainers

c) Reports of workshop participants

1.2.3 Constitution and legalisation of 7 cooperatives/associations of producers and 2 second-level organisations

All the associations are officially registered and operating

a) Establishment minutes of the associations

b) Meetings minutes 1.3.1 15 days of training per year

for administrative staff of

institutions/companies/local NGOs responsible of natural resources management

a) All the persons participate to at least 70% of the training modules; b) The contents and the methodology of the training modules are satisfying

a) Attendance records b) Final evaluation form

1.3.2 15 days of training per year for technicians in charge of the implementation of actions of environmental remediation (forestry, sewage management…)

a) All the 30 operators participate to at least 70% of training modules b) The contents and the methodology of the training modules are satisfying

a) Attendance records b) Final evaluation form

1.3.3 7 courses of 7 days each of technical training for management and maintenance of irrigation equipment At least 20 farmers participate to at least 70% of meetings Attendance records Providing services 2.1.1 Equipment of a centre of agricultural diffusion to carry out researches and production services

Centre equipped and operating

At least 150 each year receive assistance from the Centre

a) Equipment inventory of the Centre

b) Activity log 2.1.2 5 courses of 5 days each of

training/updating for internal staff

Courses take place regularly. At least 3 experimental activities are evaluated

Programming frameworks of Centre activities; report on the research project of the Centre

2.1.3 Agronomic data collection system in the 7 villages at determined time intervals and preparation of cultivation plans

Sufficient number of thematic maps produced; at least 70% of collected information are in the form of database

a) Verification of the existence of the maps in question

b) Reports of information brochures produced by the Centre

2.1.4 Definition of quality protocols and test of control quality (for organoleptic quality parameters and for residues of fungicide treatments)

Number of quality analysis in one year

Programming frameworks of Centre activities

2.2.1 Equipment of 7 centres, one per village, of collecting and elaboration of products according to the protocols of the trademark of geographical origin

Number of meetings carried out in one year. At least 50 farmers per village take part in the meetings.

Field notebooks of technicians advisers

2.2.2 Market research and creation of a database for the collecting of data on demand and supply of local, domestic and international market

Sufficient number of market analysis carried out

Meeting minutes

2.2.3 Cultivations programming and sorting in the 7 villages

Number of programming meetings carried out in

Field notebooks of technicians advisers

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according to the market requirements

one year. At least 50 farmers take part in each meeting

2.2.4 Creation of the trademark of geographical origin

No. of promoting meetings carried out

Meetings calendar 2.2.5 Launch of 3 television

advertising and billboard campaigns for the promotion of the trademark of geographical origin and related products

No. of projected spots and published posters

TV contracts and contracts with promotion agencies

Networking and inter-institutional coordination

3.1.1 Creation of a working group to define joint actions in favour of local agricultural development

The committee carries out efficiently the functions

Periodic reports on meetings. Staff evaluation on its role

3.1.2 Convocation of bilateral negotiating tables to define framework agreements in the agricultural sector (amendment of legislative provisions, definition of guidelines, access to credit, circulation of agricultural inputs, commercial agreements)

PRECONDITIONS

Security and access guaranteed in the project area

The peace process between Lebanon and Israel continues

For the purposes of this evaluation, the Logical Framework was an analysis tool quite useful in that it was sufficiently described and well structured.

Regarding the general objective “Improve the socio-economic conditions of South Lebanon population, affected by Israeli occupation”, if the indicators a), b), d) appear to be too generic, the indicator c) does not seem reliable for both the expected results and the objectives, but especially for its duration. The sources of verification are also pretty generic.

The specific objective “Increase revenue by 30% of 500 farmers in 7 villages through: a) innovation of cultures and productive techniques; b) offer of production services; c) strengthening of management capacities of local institutions” is in line with the general objective and is clear, well described and detailed. The chosen indicator, although being relevant, appears to be difficult to measure objectively, as it relates to the income declared by the beneficiaries. The verification sources are accessible and reliable.

The expected results, with respect to the three components 1. Level of capacity building 2. Providing services 3. Networking and inter-institutional coordination are well described and contribute to the achievement of general and specific objectives. The indicators are well formulated, reliable, measurable and objectively verifiable. The verification sources are accessible and reliable.

The activities are well detailed, the sequence and its mutual interdependence, including the time sequence and the duration, are well defined.

The indicators are objectively verifiable and the verification sources are reliable and accessible.

The necessary external conditions and pre-conditions have been well evaluated and made explicit, some of them occurred.

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A.3 EVALUATION ACCORDING TO THE CRITERIA OF RELEVANCE, EFFICIENCY, EFFECTIVENESS, IMPACT AND SUSTAINABILITY

a.3.1 RELEVANCE

a.3.1.1 Identification of needs and of beneficiaries

The needs of farmers of the Plain of Marjayoun, predominantly of formative character, have been identified in 2000 by the local counterpart through an analysis work and a study of the local reality as well as a comparison with other local stakeholders, including the LARI and the Ministry of Agriculture, institutions deeply involved during the implementation phase of the project.

In those years, the needs identified by the project appeared to be basically correct and responsive to the needs of the beneficiaries.

It should be recalled, however, that the project activities started only in 2006, without making any substantial change to the document of the original project, in a moment of particular fragility of political and social context, leading to a change in needs and different priorities from those planned. The excessive amount of time which elapsed between the project presentation, its approval and its beginning has certainly had an important influence.

To reorient and remodel the project activities and priorities, it is necessary to mention the active involvement and direct support from the Ministry of Agriculture and LARI, which have had a decisive role contributing to improve the project implementation by identifying the real needs of the moment.

The identification of beneficiaries, carried out mainly by local municipalities, was very precise and took into consideration the gender component aiming to sustain women involvement in the activities.

The meetings with a group of beneficiaries confirm the above said, as they consider the initiative was very useful and responsive to their needs.

The intervention modality used, above all regarding the components of the capacity building and providing services, was very appropriate to facilitate economic development process in an area considered as rich in potential. As for the component of Inter-institutional coordination and its implementation, although the necessary activities started with periodic informal meetings during the first and second annuities, they were suspended during the third annuity because of the difficulties met in the project implementation and were consigned to UNDP which, in all countries where it intervenes, generally covers the role of institutional coordinator.

a.3.1.2 Identification of the local counterpart

The relationship with the local counterpart, the Scours Populaire Libanais (Lebanese People’s Rescue, SPL) was developed from 1999, with the planning of an intervention in the sector of transformation of agricultural products in South Lebanon.

SPL reveals itself to be a very weak institution with respect to the expectations and unsuitable to the role of local counterpart for two fundamental reasons: first of all, because it lacks experience in the sector of agricultural development, since it is a NGO specialized in emergency interventions and in “Water and Sanitation”; secondly, because it has proven to be very deficient in terms of management, especially for what concerns the application of the rigorous procedures of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs/DGCS.

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Therefore, despite having participated actively in the initiative drafting, it failed to provide the proper support during the implementation phase, revealing itself little sensible to the activities. Its role was substantially materialised in the coordination of training activities and staff selection in the first period of project implementation.

To overcome this problem, the NGO Movimento Africa ’70 (Movement Africa ’70) decided to involve more actively and directly the School of Khiam and the Ministry of Agriculture, which became the main partners of the project.

a.3.1.3 Relationships with central and local authorities

The Ministry of Agriculture was very weak during the first two years4 because of the complexity and the political situation at that time. The work with the aforementioned Minister was instead very positive in the third year, thanks to his strong presence and support.

The local authorities also had a very important support role by allowing to integrate the project activities with the agricultural policies at that time.

a.3.2 EFFICIENCY

The outbreak of hostilities and the destabilisation of Lebanese internal politics have heavily conditioned and slowed down the first two annuities of the project. In the first two years of activity, the instability of Lebanese internal politics caused many managerial and logistical problems to a project which activities were located just 10 km from the border with Israeli territories. The extension of the project timelines led to the necessity to reorganise and actualise the project activities in order to keep up with a fast changing environment.

Reassuming, the project timelines were the following:

First annuity (22 months)

January 28, 2006 – November 27, 2007

First request of slipping extension of six months on 16/01/2007 Second request of slipping extension of four months on 04/072007 Second annuity

(12 months) November 28, 2007 –November 27, 2008 Third annuity

(18 months)

November 28, 2008 –May 27, 2010

Request of slipping extension of six months on 05/10/2009

Below are the variations requested during the project implementation:

First annuity January 28, 2006 – November 27, 2007 I Variation non-onerous dated on 4/11/2006 II Variation non-onerous dated on 18/04/2007 III Variation to the budget dated on 04/07/2007 Second annuity November 28, 2007 – November 27, 2008

I Variation non-onerous dated on 31/10/2007 II Variation non-onerous dated on 30/04/2007

4_{The agricultural sector, primary component of the project, underwent the passivity of the previous Ministry of}

Agriculture and of its officials, in charge until the beginning of 2009. With the election of the new Minister a new impulse however occurred.