Summary Sheet for Result of Evaluation Study after the Project
1. Outline of the ProjectCountry: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

Project title: The National Agricultural Experiment
Stations Rehabilitation Project in the Islamic Republicof AfghanistanIssue/Sector: Agricultural/ Rural
Development

Cooperation scheme: Technical cooperation project

Division in charge: Paddy Field Based
Farming Area Division 2, Rural Development
Department

Total cost (at the time of evaluation):
950 million yen

Period of
Cooperation

Partner Country’s Implementing Organization: Ministryof Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock (MAIL)(R/D): April 20, 2005
(Extension): July 19, 2010 –March 2011
(F/U):(E/N):

Supporting Organization in Japan: Ministry ofAgriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF)/ Japan
Association for International Collaboration ofAgriculture and Forestry (JAICAF)
Related Cooperation:

1-1 Background of the Project
In Afghanistan, irrigated land and agricultural facilities have been destroyed or abandoned as a result of
more than 20 years of conflict. Furthermore, agricultural production has significantly decreased mainly
due to the drought in the last several years. Agricultural restoration/development is positioned as one of
the seven pillars in the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDR) completed in May 2008 andrestoration of agriculture is a key issue in the fight against poverty in this country, where 85% of the
population is engaged in agriculture.
In order to ensure sustainable agriculture, it will be necessary to establish a system for the acquisition
and accumulation of fundamental scientific knowledge for agricultural production, to conduct experimentand researches to disseminate and communicate information, and to establish a system for technology
development and extension support. In the past, 20 national agricultural experiment stations dispersed
across the country, including the 3 Central Agricultural Experiment Stations (CAES) in Kabul and the 2facilities in the premises of the MAIL, were playing such roles but their functions have diminishedconsiderably due to the destruction of facilities and outflow of human resources, which are the direct
effects of the long-standing conflict. Since these experiment stations are under the supervision of theAgricultural Research Institute of Afghanistan (ARIA), it requested a technical cooperation project“National Agricultural Experiment Stations Rehabilitation Project (NARP)” in order to re-establish thesystems for agricultural experiments and researches, technology development, and extension support
services at the level of experiment stations.
1-2 Project Overview
This Project aims to improve the research and technology development capabilities as well as theextension support services in Afghanistan, so that the Agricultural Research Institute of Afghanistan(ARIA) and the National Agricultural Experiment Station can function as core institutions for the
improvement of agricultural productivity.
(1) Overall Goal

Research Department and CAES are able to play a central role for improvement of agricultural
production.
(2) Project Purpose
The research and technology development of Research Department and CAES are strengthened, as wellas their function as extension support services.
(3) Outputs
1. The facilities, equipment and information management system concerning research and technology
development are rehabilitated.
2. The personnel concerning research and technology development are improved in their capacity.
3. The network in and outside the country concerning research and technology development is built.

(4) Inputs (at the time of evaluation): total cost 950 million yen
1) Japanese side:
Long-term Expert: 8 persons
Equipment: 73 million yen
Short-term Expert: 27 persons
Local cost: 236 million yen
Trainees received: 25 persons
Other2) Afghan side:
Counterpart: 34 persons
Land and Facilities:
Local cost: 22.18 million afghani (approximately 41.92 million yen, 1 afghani = 1.89 yen)
Office supplies, utility costs
II. Evaluation Team
Members of
Evaluation Team(Specialized field: name, title)
Team Leader: Mr. Satoru Hagiwara, Senior Advisor, Rural Development
Department, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
Planning and Management: Mr. Hiroyuki Tanaka, Assistant Director, Paddy Field
Based Farming Area Division 2, Rural Development Department, JICA
Evaluation Analysis: Dr. Hideaki Higashino, Senior Consultant, RECS International
Inc.

Period of
Evaluation

November 9 – November 30, 2010

Type of Evaluation: Terminal

III. Results of Evaluation
3-1 Confirmation of Results
3-1-1 Achievement of the Project Purpose
The achievement of the Project Purpose is judged to be moderate to high based on the achievement of
the indicators.
<Indicator 1. Annual Review Meeting (ARM) is conducted by the initiative of the Agricultural ResearchInstitute of Afghanistan (ARIA).>
Since its introduction in January 2008, ARM has been held once every year and ARIA is now able toplan, manage, and review the meeting independently.

<Indicator 2. By January 2010, technologies will be developed from half of the selected researchsubjects at sub-program level.>
Seven out of ten sub-programs reached a satisfactory level. Significant research achievements include
seven wheat varieties and three potato varieties that were newly developed and registered between 2007
and 2010.
<Indicator 3. By January 2010, regular activities, such as seminars/workshops, to disseminate theresearch results will be conducted jointly with the extension department.>
Although some seminars and workshops have been organized by the Project, just a part of them wereplanned or conducted jointly with the extension department, and the institutional framework to conduct
joint activities with the department has not been fully established yet.
3-1-2 Achievement of the Outputs
Expected outputs were achieved as planned.
Output 1.
<Indicator 1-1. Counterpart staffs are able to formulate rehabilitation plan of agricultural experimentstations.>
The Japanese Experts and Afghan counterpart staffs have jointly set up the strategy to rehabilitate the
National Agricultural Experiment Stations.
<Indicator 1-2. Facilities and equipment are properly installed and operated in ARIA and CAES.>
Proper installation of facilities and equipment was confirmed at Terminal Evaluation.
<Indicator 1-3. Information management system is properly installed and effectively used for research
activities. >Information management system has been properly installed but has not yet been used on a full-scalebasis yet for research activities.
Output 2.
<Indicator 2-1. By the end of 2006, relevant research subjects will be selected for technology
development.>
37 relevant research subjects were selected by the end of 2006.
<Indicator 2-2. By January 2010, research results (progress) will be compiled into reports according to
the “Research Guidelines” in terms of sub-sub program level. >It was confirmed that the research results have been compiled based on the Guidelines.
<Indicator 2-3. By January 2010, at least two researchers of each department of ARIA will have thecapability of explaining research results to stakeholders (farmers, extension officers, etc.)>
It has been confirmed that 20 researchers in 11 department of ARIA are capable of explaining research
results to the stakeholders.
Output 3

<Indicator 3-1. At least one joint activity for priority research subjects is conducted by the initiative of
ARIA every year.>Three joint research activities have been conducted since the beginning of the Project in collaboration
with the International Center for Improvement of Maize and Wheat (CIMMYT), International Fertilizer
Development Center (IFDC), and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

3-2 Summary of Evaluation Results(1) Relevance of the Project is high.
Agriculture is a key sector in Afghanistan where about 80% of the population lives in rural areas and itis crucial to strengthen an agriculture sector. In order to improve agricultural productivity in Afghanistan,
it is necessary to develop various technologies in which CAES take an extremely important role.
Development of various technologies also meets the needs of the Afghan farmers. Agriculture and ruraldevelopment are priority issues in the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) which aims
to achieve poverty reduction and livelihood diversification. Improvement of agricultural productivity isalso prioritized in the agricultural strategy of the MAIL. Therefore, the Project is in line with thestrategies of the Afghan government. Moreover, since the Japanese government is providing assistancebased on the diverse development needs of Afghanistan, including agriculture and rural development, theProject is also in alignment with the assistance policy of the Japanese government.
(2) Effectiveness is moderate-high.
The Project Purpose and Outputs are considered to be moderately achieved, based on the degree ofachievement of the indicators. Although some activities were delayed due to the relocation of the soillaboratory which was constructed in the first half of the Project, from Darulaman Experiment Station to
Badam Bagh Experiment Station at the request of the Afghan side, the Afghan side actively made efforts
to recover the delay. However, the overall effectiveness was evaluated as moderate-high because
insufficient achievements have been identified for some indicators (including joint implementation ofworkshops and seminars with the extension department).
(3) Efficiency is low.
Japanese Inputs, namely, allocation of the Experts for transfer of technology, training of counterpart
staffs in Japan and in Iran, rehabilitation of experiment stations, and local cost assistance, wereconsidered effective for the capacity development of Afghan counterpart staffs. However, the transfer ofthe soil laboratory, at the request of the Afghan government, and subsequent delay in the reestablishmentof the facility caused delay of some project activities and also hampered other inputs to be madeappropriately (e.g. facility development costs and dispatch of experts, etc.). But the activities wereaccelerated in the latter half of the cooperation period and the Outputs were accomplished satisfactorily.
While the Afghan side had allocated about 38 counterpart staffs for the implementation of the activities,some inefficient cases were reported, such as resignation of 4 staffs immediately after their return fromthe trainings in Japan.
(4) Impact
Negative impacts of the Project have not been confirmed at the time of the Terminal Evaluation.
Positive impacts leading to the achievement of the Overall Goal have been confirmed as below.
- Some farmers in Balkh province have adopted the newly developed melon fly prevention techniques.

- After the inauguration of the soil laboratory, many neighboring farmers visited the laboratory for
diagnosis of samples or consultation.
- With the support of FAO, breeder seed production plans have been developed for the new wheat
varieties that have been registered as recommended varieties, and production have started for some ofthem.
Although there is a time lag between development of new technologies and their adoption, theabove-mentioned cases suggest that the Project Purpose will be achieved.
(5) Sustainability is moderate.
In terms of institutional sustainability, the MAIL explained that the MAIL had a plan to strengthen thequality and quantity of researchers and obtained financial support commitment from other organizations.
Financial sustainability should be ensured for a certain period of time by above-mentioned financial
support committed from other donors. However, ensuring sustainability based on the country’s own
budget is considered extremely difficult.
From the technical perspective, about 20 researchers have improved their abilities and are currently
capable of conducting their research independently.

3-3 Factors that Promoted Realization of Effects(1) Factors Concerning Planning
1) Development of research plan, provision of facilities, materials and equipment to experimentstations, technical trainings for researchers, guidance by Japanese experts, and other inputs haveresulted in a significant increase of experiments and researches.
2) Conducting experiments and researches by implementing the necessary activities in a sequential
process (development of a research strategy→decision of the experiment and research theme→
implementation of the experiment and research →verification of the results→reporting) has
contributed to the achievement of the Project Purpose.
(2) Factors Concerning the Implementation Process
Although functional improvement of the agricultural experiment stations will require capacity buildingof many researchers, it will be difficult to target all of them for technical transfer. Therefore, the Project
employed the method of developing the capacity of key researchers (including trainings in Japan), whowill then be expected to transfer the technology to the other researchers. This method was effective andresulted in an increased number of researchers who can independently conduct experiments andresearches. In addition, the method of teaching routine procedures of experiments and researches throughOJT was also established.
At the time of the mid-term review, it was pointed out that the prolonged transfer of the MAIL and theexperiment stations were becoming an impediment in securing sufficient time for researches. This
problem was initially considered unsolvable by the Afghan side, but weekly meetings started to be held
and research reports were produced after adopting the alternative proposal of improving the laboratories.
It had also been pointed out that the English skills of the researchers needed improvement. After
addressing this issue, the test results were improved by 20 points compared with the result obtained
immediately after the mid-term review.

3-4 Factors that Impeded Realization of Effects(1) Factors Concerning Planning
Due to the relocation of the Darulaman Experiment Station during the project period, development of
infrastructure and equipment installation was partially delayed, hampering the trainings and research
activities which required those facilities. Furthermore, local security situation prevented appropriate
dispatch of Japanese experts and the Project plan had to be partially modified. Apart from these incidents,
the activities were generally implemented according to the plan.
(2) Factors Concerning the Implementation Process
Project management was troubled by slow responses of the MAIL, frequent organizational changes, andincreasing complexity of the roles played by the Afghan side in the implementation of the Project.
However, the effects on the achievement of the Project Purpose were minimized by making efforts tostrengthen mutual understanding through daily communication.

3-5 Conclusion
By assessing the activity achievements and the current progress, it was judged that the initial Project
Purpose is achievable. Therefore, the evaluation team concluded that it is appropriate to terminate theProject in March 2011, as planned.

3-6 Recommendations(1) Actions to be taken before the termination of the Project1) Regarding the power supply for the soil laboratory (Badam Bagh Experimental Station), a
switchboard should be installed urgently to ensure stable power supply.
2) From the perspective of sustainability, it is recommended to make efforts on preparation of
appropriate proposals to secure budget allocation from the MAIL and/or other fund resources.
3) Regarding the Information Management System introduced by NARP, the contents of the databaseshould be improved to promote the effectiveness of research and experiment works.
4) The status of application and propagation of the technologies introduced under the Project should
be monitored. It will be necessary to collaborate with the Extension Department to collect thefollowing information.
(i) Status of seed production/distribution of the newly developed wheat varieties.
(ii) Status of application of bagging technology for a melon fly prevention.
(iii) Farmers’ evaluation of the disseminated technologies.
(2) Actions to be taken by the Afghan side after the termination of the Project1) Most of the researchers currently belong to the Research Department (MAIL) and are commuting
from the MAIL to the experiment stations by bus. Therefore, their actual working hours isapproximately 4 to 5 hours. It will be necessary to secure sufficient working hours for experiments
and researches so the MAIL is recommended to re-examine the current attendance management
system as well as the transportation service system.
2) In order to improve the productivity of the farmers, it is important to disseminate the research
results to the farmers. For future dissemination of research results, it will be necessary for the

3)4)

Research Department and Extension Department to work in close collaboration to strengthen
extension support services.
The function of the existing 14 provincial experiment stations should be strengthened, so that
researches can be conducted by taking local needs into consideration.
ARIA should continue to offer English courses in order to make further improvement of theresearchers’ command of English.

3-7 Lessons Learned<Utilization of Local Human Resources>
In countries where security is not ensured, such as Afghanistan, timely dispatch of Japanese experts
may be difficult; therefore, it will be necessary to consider the employment of locally available humanresources as one of the core members of projects, for example as a project facilitator.

3-8 Follow-up status
Nothing in particular.