Evaluating rural development projects – a case study of the Biriwa project

One of the rural development projects that have been initiated in the country in an attempt to improve the lot of the rural populace is the Biriwa Project in the Central Region. Started in 1965, the Project has embarked upon a number of sub-projects with the overall goal of raising the standard of living of the people of Biriwa and its environs. This thesis is an evaluation which aims at matching the objectives or intentions of the Biriwa Project against its achievements, with emphasis on manpower developments, 3nd the fishing industry. The main tools of analysis used in this work are Impact Assessment Techniques and Cost-Benefit Analysis, supplemented by statistical tools like Chi’-squared test and flank Correlation. The study revealed that the Biriwa Project has misfired in several instances. The conception, design and execution of the entire Project was not done in strict accordance with the stages or steps in the planning process: for example there was no local or grassroots participation in project identification and design; sub-projects were conceived and designed in isolation and were not preceded by effective feasibility studies. It was also discovered that local politics has adversely affected the project. An Impact Assessment conducted to determine how the people of Biriwa have felt the impact of the entire Project revealed that the strongest impact of the Project have been on income generation, education, employment generation and sanitation while Rural Housing, industrialisation and Recreation/Leisure have bad the least impact. A detailed analysis of the fishing components of the Project revealed that the Project has had the greatest impact on income and employment generation but has failed to achieve one of its main objectives, is the modernisation of the industry. The marketing mechanism, preservation and storage problems which faced the fisherfolk before the Project in 1964 still hold sway. Dugout canoes and outboard motors are the most sophisticated equipment, though inboard motors and motorized deep-sea going vessels are more efficient alternatives. An analysis of the manpower development component of the Project - the Vocational Training and Rehabilitation Centre (VTRC) - revealed that though the basic goal of the Centre is to train manpower for rural development, this goal is not being achieved because of the content and structure of the courses of the Centre, the technology being imparted and the orientation of the trainees. The Centre has also failed to integrate the training of the able and disabled and the Rehabilitation section appears to be receiving insufficient attention. Following these analyses a number of proposals were made. A fishing company is to be set up by the Biriwa Project which will be the major source of finance for the entire Project and an agent of modernisation in the fishing industry. The modernisation process is to be quickened with the gradual reintroduction of inboard motors and, in the long run, motorised vessels. The setting up of a fish marketing complex complete with storage facilities, ans modernised fish smoking ovens, and a change in the sharing system to favour the non-capital owning fishermen have also been proposed among others. The role of the Vocational Training and Rehabilitation Centre in man -power development is also to be strengthened through the implementation of a number of proposals. These include the inclusion of a course in fishing at the Centre. Also to be introduced are courses in canoe/boat building techniques, repair of outboard and inboard motors, to complement the proposals made under the fishing project to help strengthen the economic base of Biriwa. The disabled are to be allowed to take courses open to the able, like catering and dressmaking, and they are to be offered sheltered employment through the establishment of a factory for them and other disabled persons. In order that the proposals could be effectively implemented, and to strengthen the general performance of the Biriwa Project, the study recommended that a management committee be set up which will be charged with the responsibility of setting broad guidelines and appointing the top management of the Project’s administration.

Source: KNUST