Fruit Tree Productivity 2010-2013
Morocco, 2010 - 2013
Identification
MAR_2010_MCC-FTP_v01_M
Fruit Tree Productivity 2010-2013
Extension Component
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| Morocco | MAR |
Independent Performance Evaluation
The emphasis of this performance evaluation is primarily on the economic and financial assessment of one specific activity of the Fruit Tree Productivity Project, namely the “Extension of fruit tree plantations. The evaluation is commissioned by APP/ MCC to take the outcome of the previous exercises as the starting point; revise the assumption made therein in light of actual situation in terms of outputs achieved and likely outcomes to be realized, and fine-tune the working hypothesis with respect to the key variables such as the yields and production costs.
The approach of the present exercise has focused on three aspects that are of crucial importance to the economic and financial impact assessment of the project. (i) The role and the significance of cereal crops in the livelihood of the smallholders in the project area, (2) the motivation of the stallholder to switch from traditional agricultural practices (TIP) being used in fruit tree husbandry to improved agricultural practices (IAP); and (3) the willingness of the stallholders to internalize wholly or partly the cost associated with the protection of the natural resource base.
The impact of the olive expansion activity is potentially positive on farmers' income, on food security, and on reducing poverty:
The Base constant-price ERR was estimated at 12.2% suggesting favorable outcomes on beneficiaries as a result of the intervention. While the ERR depends on a number of variables associated with fruit production, namely yields of fruit tree, oil content, prices and agricultural practices used by participating farmers, it also depends on the whether intercropping of cereal crops will be practiced during the life of the project and on their yields and prices. Intercropping will remain a critical factor in the economic viability of this project, especially if fruit tree yields are lower and/or production costs are higher than their corresponding basic values. This ERR corresponds to an average intercropping rate of 78%. Without intercropping the project economic viability is questionable.
The ERR was estimated based on the assumption that the contractually required 100% planting success rate is achieved. If this if success rate is reduced by 20% and 30% the corresponding ERR is estimated at 11% and 10% respectively.
Due lack of reliable information regarding the status of the Soil and Water Conservation works, no attempt was made to assess the environmental benefits of these works and their impact on ERR. One important observation is that the ERR would be if the investment cost is reduced by a percentage equivalent to the weight of the in total investment cost.
-At full development and thanks to newly established fruit trees along with intercropping, the food security of the participating households is likely to be enhanced.
-While the available information is not sufficient to confirm that the project interventions have reached the real poor in the project area, one thing is certain is that 80% of the farmers in the selected villages obtained 83% of the areas planted. The average area planted by each beneficiary is about 1.56Ha. The Provinces that have been targeted by the project have high poverty levels.
-During its implementation over 2009-2013, the planting activity generated the equivalent of 5.6 million man-days of employment opportunities. Tree planting activities under the Project are labor intensive and hence expected to generate additional seasonal, but sustained, employment opportunities directly associated with the value chain of fruit trees such as pruning, treatment and harvesting, transportation services and transformation, in addition to casual labor. It is estimated that at full development, an average of 4,700 to 5,000 recurrent seasonal employment opportunities would be created annually.
Other
Individuals
Version
Edited clean data for internal use only
Scope
| Topic | Vocabulary |
|---|---|
| Agriculture and Irrigation | MCC Sector |
Coverage
158 perimeters in 17 provinces covering 5 agro-climatic zones
Subsistence smallholders who practice traditional rain-fed agriculture (mainly cereals)
Producers and sponsors
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Mohammed Ameziane Hassani | Freelance consultant |
| Name |
|---|
| Millennium Challenge Corporation |
Sampling
Given the nature of the assignment, no formal sample survey was used. Instead, Farmers' focus group discussions combined with direct observations of the plantation perimeters and informants interviews were organized.
Focus Groups
There types of focus groups, Beneficiary focus groups, these are farmers from the plantations perimeters, which were completed and handed back to the farmers. , Non beneficiary focus groups composed of farmers who have not benefited from any of the project activities and the third focus groups are from farmers who have benefited from other similar project in the past and who have fully mature and well developed plantations.
Taking into account the time that was allocated to field work, fourteen perimeters were selected using purposeful sampling approach were a number of key parameters were taken into account including: the agro-climatic zones of the project area, the plantation status (planted, maintained and handed over to farmers, completed but still under maintenance, not completed), and the hand-over date, geographic distribution and concentration of these plantation, the biding criteria was that the list selected perimeter were from those that were handed over in 2011 or earlier. This was necessary to ensure that farmers have at least one full season where the operation and maintenance of the parcel was their responsibility.
Focus groups were selected from the same selected perimeters. This choice was purposefully used to reflect, to the extent possible, the post-project completion situation in terms of adjustment of farmers to new environment, appreciation of the project interventions, degree of commitment to perform periodic maintenance of the SWC works and adoption of improved practices intercropping practices. The farmers association. Of each selected perimeter was asked to select between 8 and 10 famers who satisfy the following:
·Farmers should be form the perimeters that were planted and maintained in 2008, and 2009 and handed over on 2011 or earlier
·Farmers' land holdings should be between 3 and 5 Ha.
·Farmers should neither be from the same village nor from the same family
Fourteen focus groups meeting were organized, involving 110 farmers from 14 perimeters. The number of questions discussed was around 6, each of which was allocated 25 minutes discussion time each. Non-beneficiary focus groups were selected from farmers living the same area as the beneficiary farmers. Farmers for the third focus group type were selected from similar projects that were completed in the past and where plantations were fully developed. Farmers
Direct Observation
The purpose of this part is to provide a different perspective to the evaluation exercise, and to supplement and or validate collected /existing data. The visits were carried out to the farmers' parcels to be visited will be selected from among the selected perimeters 4. These parcels fall into four categories:
-Parcels that have been ceded to farmers and in which works (development and maintenance) have been completed in line with the agreed technical specification;
-Parcels in which all the development works have been completed but have not been handed over to farmers as yet;
-Parcels of non-participant farmers that share common characteristics (before project) with project participants;
-Fully developed tree plantation parcels that were developed by other projects.
Informants
Informant's discussions involved series of consultations and interviews of t the project staff, CT (Centers de Travaux) supervisors, contractors, TA representatives, research and specialized institution, ministry of agriculture, specialists in tree plantation and soil and water conservation. The purpose was for:
-Clarification of issues that have been identified during focus groups discussion and from direct observation visits;
-Validation of information collected through different process, particularly quantitative data.
Participation was very good, a total of 14 focus groups were convened involving 110 farmers from 14 perimeters. The average time spent in each focus group was about 120 minutes, and an average of 10 farmers per group.
Data collection
| Start | End | Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2010 | Baseline |
| 2011 | 2011 | Follow-up 1 |
| 2012 | 2012 | Follow-up 2 |
| 2013 | 2013 | Follow-up 3 |
| Name |
|---|
| Mohammed Ameziane Hassani |
The impact of the olive expansion activity is potentially positive on farmers' income, on food security, and on reducing poverty:
-At full development and thanks to newly established fruit trees along with intercropping, the food security of the participating households is likely to be enhanced.
-While the available information is not sufficient to confirm that the project interventions have reached the real poor in the project area, one thing is certain is that 80% of the farmers in the selected villages obtained 83% of the areas planted. The average area planted by each beneficiary is about 1.56Ha. The Provinces that have been targeted by the project have high poverty levels.
Data processing
The process was iterative concentrating on triangulation and logical editing technique. 1-farmers were consulted to provide initial inputs with respect to key parameters and variables. Followed, by direct observation , informants interview. and consultation of published data. The Data editing focused on the following aspects in order to:
a. Fine tune the yields estimates of olives and almonds, labor requirements and input use;
b. Elaborate cropping patterns, crop and typical farm budgets;
c. Postulate educated hypotheses regarding the adoption rate, family consumption of olive products (food security) and sales as table olive and or/as olive oil;
d. Assemble the actual direct and indirect investment costs by year, by perimeter by agro climatic zones and by type of plantations. “With” and “Without” soil and water conservation costs and “With” and “Without” indirect investment costs;
e. Specify different scenarios for calculations of Financial and Economic IRRs.
Access policy
Millennium Challenge Corporation
Millennium Challenge Corporation
http://data.mcc.gov/evaluations/index.php/catalog/144
Cost: None
Data Access
| Is signing of a confidentiality declaration required? |
|---|
| no |
Hassani, M. (2013). Final Report: Fruit Tree Productivity, Extension Component.
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Monitoring & Evaluation Division | Millennium Challenge Corporation | impact-eval@mcc.gov |
Metadata production
DDI_MAR_2010_MCC-FTP_v01_M
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Millennium Challenge Corporation | Metadata Producer |
2015-01-23
Metadata version
Version 1.0 (January 2015)
Version 2.0 (June 2015). Edited version based on Version 01 (DDI-MCC-MAR-ME5Q-IND-2013-v1) that was done by Millennium Challenge Corporation.
Rural farmers who practice traditional rain-fed agriculture