Report No. PID6767
Project Name                     Zimbabwe-Agricultural Services and...
Management Project
Region                           Africa
Sector                           Agriculture
Project ID                       ZWPA3331
Implementing Agency              Ministry of Lands and Agriculture
Date PID Prepared                March 5, 1998 (Revised)
Projected Board Date             May 28, 1998
Background
1.      Although accounting for only 18% of Zimbabwe's gross domestic product
(1996), the agricultural sector remains the backbone of the economy and
society, providing income and employment for some 70% of the population,
accounting for some 45% of the country's merchandise exports, and being the
focus of a large share of the country's domestic trade and transport services.
2.      Zimbabwe's agriculture is characterized by a highly dualistic structure.
Some 4,500 large-scale commercial farms occupy a large proportion of the
country's higher potential agricultural land. They produce a broad range of
crops and livestock products for the market and rely substantially upon
private support services. The other major sub-sector consists of some 1.2
million smallholder households, the majority of which operate in low-to-medium
potential areas. These farmers produce a more limited range of food and other
commodities for household consumption and sale and are largely dependent,
where available, on public support services.
3.      Over the past decade, Zimbabwean agriculture has grown at a very slow
pace (i.e. less than 2% per annum) with most of this growth confined to parts
of the large-scale commercial sub-sector. With the exception of recent gains
in cotton and horticultural production in some locations, smallholder
agriculture has performed relatively poorly over much of the past decade. A
variety of factors have contributed to the stagnation of much of smallholder
agriculture: the periodic incidence of drought; environmental degradation in
some areas; weak smallholder-agribusiness linkages, and the reduced
performance of public agricultural support services.
4.      In recent years the overall enabling environment for the agricultural
sector has shifted under the rubric of the Economic Structural Adjustment
Program. Important changes have included the liberalization of foreign
exchange markets and external trade, the commercialization and privatization
of agricultural parastatals, and the easing of regulations governing private
agribusiness. During much of the ESAP, however, there was very little change
in the policies and approaches governing the provision of agricultural
services, especially research, extension, and veterinary services. Despite
reductions in the budgetary resources available for public agricultural
services, inadequate attention was given to prioritizing such services,
achieving greater efficiencies in their delivery, and generally ensuring most
effective use of available resources. The result, in many instances, has been
a considerable reduction in service quality and outreach and in the financial
sustainability of service functions and units.



Project Objectives
5.      The purpose of the project is to improve the institutional arrangements
and operational capacity for policy formulation and for the sustainable and
efficient management, financing, and delivery of agricultural services. The
project will enhance the capacity of the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture
(MoLA) to make more cost-effective use of the public resources available to
support agricultural development. It will assist in the further redefinition
of MoLA's core functions, in strengthening MoLA's managerial and technical
capacities to perform these core functions, in facilitating pilot efforts to
commercialize or out-source selected services, and in facilitating the
increased participation of private and other non-governmental service
providers. An improvement in the efficiency and effectiveness of services,
together with continued improvements in the policy and regulatory framework
for agriculture will enhance the performance and sustainability of Zimbabwean
agriculture, especially in the smallholder sub-sector.
Project Description
6.      The ASMP will form part of the broader effort within Zimbabwe to better
focus the activities of government institutions on core functions and to
perform such functions in a more cost-effective and client-responsive manner.
MoLA is adopting an institutional approach to priority-setting and
restructuring, emphasizing consultations with key stakeholders. The
institutional reform and capacity building elements of the project are viewed
as the foundation stones for a broader sectoral investment program which would
follow the implementation of the ASMP.
7.      The ASMP would have two broad components: (i) rationalization and
effectiveness of services and policy-making; and (ii) efficient resource
management. The first component would finance: (a) research and consultations
on emerging or outstanding policy and regulatory issues, (b) the preparation
of medium-term strategic institutional plans for MoLA's technical service
departments, (c) agricultural research and advisory services through a
competitive grant system, (d) the resumption of priority on-farm research
programs, (e) equipment and facilities to enhance livestock disease
surveillance/control and veterinary field services, (f) improved mobility and
methods for extension staff, (g) the design, implementation, and evaluation of
pilot and other efforts to contract out or commercialize 'public' services,
and (h) the preparation of a framework for a longer term sectoral investment
program.
8.      The second component would help to: (a) strengthen the skills and
management capabilities of MoLA staff and managers to perform core functions
and interact with stakeholders, (b) bring the number of MoLA staff into line
with core function needs and resource availability, (c) strengthen and
decentralize MoLA's financial management system, and (d) strengthen both
formal and informal arrangements for client feedback and other stakeholder
consultations regarding the quality and priority of Ministry services.
Project Financing
9.      The project costs are estimated at U.S. 33.45 million, including
contingencies. The project would be co-financed by IDA, the European Union,
the U.K. Department for International Development, and the Government of
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Zimbabwe. The IDA credit is expected to be about U.S. $9.4 million.
Implementation Arrangements
10.     The Ministry of Lands and Agriculture will have overall responsibility
for the implementation of the ASMP and reporting to the GOZ and the co-
financing agencies. The management of the ASMP will use and build upon MoLA's
existing organizational and management structure. The Ministry's Agricultural
Management Committee (AMC) will provide overall guidance, review the status of
project implementation, and act to resolve issues and bottlenecks. The
chairman of the AMC, MoLA's Permanent Secretary, will be the ASMP Project
Director. The Ministry's two Deputy Secretaries will provide oversight on the
two major components of the project. On a day-to-day basis the project will be
coordinated by the AMC Secretariat, whose staff will include an ASMP Project
Coordinator.
11.     The implementation of the projects various components and sub-components
will be the responsibility of the Department of Research and Specialist
Services, the Department of Veterinary Services, the Department of
Agricultural Technical and Extension Services, and the Policy and Planning
Division and Finance and Administration Division of MoLA headquarters. The
Agricultural Research Council will manage the competitive research/advisory
service grant fund. Some agricultural research, extension, livestock disease
control, and agricultural policy analysis will be contracted to universities,
private organizations, or other non-governmental agencies. Stakeholder
advisory panels would be created and work closely with the management of the
technical departments.
Environmental Aspects
12.     The environmental impact of the project is expected to be positive.
Research programs financed under the project will include those focused on
improved soil and water management and the application of integrated pest
management. A pilot project to test and spread conservation tillage and other
soil fertility management methods in smallholder areas will be supported. Any
acceleration in the disemmination of yield-enhancing technologies should
relieve pressures on marginal and degraded lands which are currently brought
under cultivation. The tsetse control activities to be supported under the
project will involve the use of baits rather than chemical spraying. Prior to
effectiveness, an environmental risk assessment will be undertaken to mitigate
possible adverse effects (on wildlife) of animal disease control fencing
infrastructure.
Poverty Impacts
13.     Although the project would not form part of the Program of Targeted
Interventions, the improved effectiveness and financial sustainability of
(public) agricultural services should contribute to improved food security for
and commercialization of smallholder farmers.
Contact Point:           The InfoShop
The World Bank
1818 H Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20433
Telephone No. (202)458 5454
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Fax No. (202) 522 1500
Note: This is information on an evolving project. Certain activities and/or
components may not be included in the final project.
Processed by the InfoShop week ending August 21, 1998.
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