(2 June to 11 July 1996)
(second version)
A. BACKGROUND
The ALCOM Programme was approved to start in October 1986, with funding from SIDA and under project symbol GCP/INT/436/SWE, and field work commenced in March 1987. The ALCOM Programme has been executed by FAO since its inception. Sweden initially allocated funding for the preparatory phase October 1986 – September 1989, followed by an interim phase, October 1989 – September 1990. A five-year implementation phase was initiated in October 1990, for which Sweden allocated funds for the first two years (the 1st phase). A second phase was started in October 1992, with funding for three years from Sweden (later revised to two years and three months), and funding of a project on the utilization of small water bodies by Belgium (GCP/RAF/277/BEL) for five years. A five-year third phase started in January 1995 with funding from Sweden for the first two years only, to December 1996, and Belgian funding for the small water bodies project to August 1997. The introduction of extension methods in Mozambique and Zambia received financial support for an amount of US$ 315 000 from the FAO/TCP Programme (TCP/RAF/2380) from 1 January 1994 to December 1995.
Sweden contributed to the Programme a total of US$ 3 826 159 under GCP/INT/436/SWE and has contributed/committed a total of US$ 3 231 016 under GCP/INT/555/SWE through 31 December 1996 (Budget Revision D).
Belgium has committed US$ 2 581 573 (Budget Revision E) for a duration of five years through August 1997 under GCP/RAF/277/BEL.
Funding from Sweden falls under SIDA's Special Programme to identify, evaluate, document and disseminate experiences of new development approaches and technologies. From July 1996, funding for four Special Programmes, including ALCOM, will be reallocated to a new FAO-executed programme for small-holder farmer development.
Although the Swedish core element was originally conceived as an interregional programme, ALCOM has in fact covered only countries in Southern Africa, and more specifically those which are members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), i.e. Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Republic of South Africa and Mauritius have recently joined SADC, but the Programme has not yet implemented significant activities in those countries. More recently, programme activities have been mainly concentrated in the following countries: Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Programme Headquarters have been based in the latter country since 1990 (c/o Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management, Harare).
An ALCOM Programme Steering Committee composed of representatives of all participating countries, the donors and FAO, meets yearly and provides guidance in the implementation of the Programme, reviews annual work plans and advises on priorities for implementation. SADC and other institutions attend the meetings of the Steering Committee as observers.
The development objective of the ALCOM Programme is to increase cash income and/or annual protein component in the diet of rural communities, achieved through increased production of fish from small-scale aquaculture integrated with suitable farming systems and from improved management of small water bodies.
The immediate objectives of the Programme are:
the provision of fish culture methods and systems which have been tested and demonstrated in pilot projects to be technically, economically and socially appropriate for the target communities identified;
reinforcement of national and local development institutions for sustained promotion among small-holder farmers of the fish culture methods and systems developed under the Programme; and
the adoption in rural communities of appropriate fish culture practices, introduced, promoted and supported through nationally or internationally funded local institutions concerned with rural development and integrated into local farming systems.
The immediate objectives of the Small Water Bodies Project are:
to develop methods for evaluation of small water body fisheries potential;
to assess resources of small water bodies in the region and their fishery potential for local communities; and
to provide feasible methods and guidelines for enhancement and management of fish production in small water bodies by local communities.
A joint FAO/SIDA/BADC/SADC evaluation was carried out in May 1994. The mission recommendations are given in Appendix 2 to these TORs and its full report will be made available to the mission. The Project Document of the Phase III of the ALCOM core programme specifically indicates that "there will be a final evaluation of the whole Programme prior to its completion as a joint exercise by the SADC Organization, governments, donors and the Executing Agency". (A similar statement exists in the GCP/RAF/277/BEL Project Document.) The present evaluation is required in view of the preparation of the proposed SADC/ALCOM Programme, which will be a follow-up to the present Programme.
B. SCOPE OF THE EVALUATION
Assess the effectiveness of the overall ALCOM Programme and of its individual projects in realizing their immediate objectives and the extent to which their progress has contributed to achieving their long-term development objectives;
assess efficiency in the implementation and management of the Programme and the individual projects;
identify major factors that have facilitated or impeded the progress of the Programme in achieving the intended outputs, effects and, if possible, impact;
based on the above, make specific recommendations for follow-up measures in view of the completion by the end of 1996 of the core project of the Programme, and of the SWB project in August 1997.
In particular, the mission will pay special attention to the following aspects:
the validity of the present development objectives of the Programme and its individual projects, taking into account inter alia the technical and institutional capabilities available in participating countries;
the new immediate objectives to be assigned to the follow-up SADC/ALCOM Programme after the completion of the current phase of the Swedish-funded core project;
the adequacy of the project design in the light of the prevailing situation in the rural sectors in the region;
the extent to which the project is supported by the participating governments and integrated into the national development programmes and with other related projects;
adequacy in the formulation and implementation of the work plans of the overall Programme and the individual projects and the realization of expected targeted outputs (including quality of outputs);
factors which have promoted or impeded the implementation of the projects;
achievements of results in terms of:
development and testing of fish culture methods and systems appropriate for the target communities;
assessment of fishery potential in small water bodies for use by local communities;
strengthening the capacity of the national and local development institutions for sustained promotion of fish culture methods and systems among smallholder farmers;
training of national staff;
use of output (effects), including the adoption by rural communities of appropriate fish culture practices and of methods for the enhancement and management of fish production in small water bodies;
any indication about the prospective impact of the Programme and the individual projects, including the increase in cash income and/or in the diet of rural communities of the region;
identification of any potential areas which require further technical support from external sources.
C. MISSION COMPOSITION
The mission will be composed of an FAO representative (aquaculture/extensionist), one representative from each of the donor countries (Sweden and Belgium), with experience in the evaluation of technical cooperation projects, and one member appointed by SADC as representative of participating countries. The Mission Leader will be designated among them by the FAO Chief, Fisheries Operations Service, after consulting the donors and the FAO Evaluation Service (PBEE).
The Chief, Fisheries Operations Service will assign to the mission a junior staff of the ALCOM Programme who will accompany and provide logistical support to the mission during its field visits by road to Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia. However, this individual is not part of the Mission Team.
D. TIMETABLE AND ITINERARY OF THE MISSION
The evaluation will take place during the months of June and July 1996 with a duration of approximately five weeks. The FAO and donor representatives will be briefed and debriefed in FAO Headquarters. A substantial part of the time will be devoted to an intensive briefing/debriefing and consultation of documents in the Programme Headquarters in Harare, where the recipient countries' representative will join the mission.
The mission will finalize the report during their last stay in the Programme Headquarters in Harare before departure for debriefing in Rome. The Mission Leader will submit the report formally to the Chief, Fisheries Operations Service (TCO4), upon arrival for debriefing in Rome.
REMARKS
The Mission Leader and the other mission members should be aware that:
they should maintain close liaison with the Programme staff, the FAO Representatives, local governments, SADC and, if required, with donor representatives on all aspects of the mission's work;
the mission is not authorized to make any commitment on behalf of FAO or the donors;
at the end of the field visit, and before its debriefing in FAO Headquarters, the mission should discuss its findings and recommendations in Harare with the FAO Sub-regional Representative, the SADC Inland Fisheries Coordination Unit and the ALCOM Programme Management;
the Mission Leader is responsible for the submission to FAO (Chief, Fisheries Operations Service (TCO4)) of the mission report in final form at his/her debriefing in FAO Headquarters and, to this end, he/she should ensure the timely production in adequate form of their own contributions in order to have the whole report completed by the time of the mission's departure from Harare;
the report will be immediately processed and submitted by the FAO Fisheries Operations Service to:
the donors (via the FAO Unit for Cooperation with Multilateral and Bilateral Agencies, TCDM);
SADC (Inland Fisheries Coordination Unit);
the relevant technical ministry in each of the participating countries (through the FAO Representatives, where applicable);
the FAO Fisheries Department and the FAO Evaluation Service;
the FAO team member will complete the FAO Project Evaluation Summary Sheet.
