2.1 Main findings
2.2 Summary of recommendations
Consolidation
The Mission believes that the three FAO-executed Projects have most capably addressed the needs of the rural communities in their areas, in most cases exceeding the established implementation targets. They have developed and introduced a range of innovative development interventions in resource-poor agricultural communities in Myanmar. There is concern that the relatively short time horizon of thirty months established for Phase III of the HDI Programme will not be sufficient to establish the consolidation and longer term continuity of many of the Projects' interventions. A major expansion of target villages is proposed in Phase III; 51 new villages in the Dry Zone, 141 in the Southern Shan States, and 300 in the Delta. This implies a pressure to deliver inputs which may be at the expense of capacity building and long term development.
The SPPD Mission concludes that the Projects' watershed protection and development approach which is based on area rather than households is correct in terms of protecting the environment and the sustainable use of agricultural resources. Such an approach, however, will benefit all inhabitants, rich and poor alike. But the Mission believes that, in selecting for the need for environmental protection rather than exclusively on the basis of poverty, Project interventions will be able to generate a greater expectation of sustainability. All three Projects have successfully raised awareness of the need for soil and water conservation.
Sustainability
Sustainability implies the need to institutionalise the proven interventions and approaches. National organisations are working with the three Projects as cooperating or facilitating agencies and, indeed, meeting the costs for their own activities. But there is no reason to believe that the relevant national organisations will be in a position to provide the required extension, research or credit services should the projects terminate at the end of Phase III. In terms of human resource development many of the interventions of the three projects will be sustainable, albeit at a local level. Communities which can continue to maintain a vibrant revolving fund, for instance, will be in a position to sustain income generating opportunities developed under the projects.
Farming Systems and Agronomy
Dry Zone
In recent years, annual rainfall has been decreasing, soil fertility is in decline and crop pests are increasing. Crop yields are falling. Agriculture is in decline. Unless this trend can be reversed through large scale water and soil conservation measures and the introduction of improved and sustainable farming technologies, the outlook for the rural communities in the Dry Zone is bleak.
Soil and water conservation measures, undertaken by the project on catchment and watershed bases, are demonstrating effectively that decline in land degradation can be slowed and depleted water tables recharged even in conditions of drought. Such measures are critical to arresting the decline in agricultural production and are the basis on which sustainable development can be built.
The project has assisted food security and income generation through the provision of inputs such as fertilizers, seeds, pesticides and sprayers, small-scale irrigation together with appropriate training to ensure that skills and knowledge are transferred.
Successful income generation has been undertaken through interventions such as goats, pig breeding and fattening, poultry egg production and provision of community stud bulls. A fodder production strategy is being developed which will be further emphasised in the Phase III. The project has also focused on improved organic manure production and composting.
The project has established an effective extension network that is able to deliver agriculture and livestock packages to the rural communities with the appropriate technology transfer. Some initial participatory technology development activities have been implemented and it is proposed to expand these in the Phase III.
Southern Shan State
Farmers report that crop yields are in decline compared with 15 years ago. This decline is attributed to loss of top soil from sheet erosion, decline in soil fertility, and decreasing rainfall. In response the project is providing inputs and training in support of a range of interventions that promote agricultural production through soil and water conservation, improved soil fertility and the introduction of improved varieties of grain crops, vegetables and fruit trees. These interventions include contour soil bunding, agro-forestry, fertilizers, compost making and green manuring, horticultural activities, and transfer of land to landless households.
The project is also providing inputs and training in support of income generation through livestock production. These include pig breeding and fattening, poultry egg production, provision of draught animals, promotion of fodder production, improved FYM quality, and the establishment of a para-vet programme. These interventions have been successful in generating income for participating households.
The project has initiated a participatory technology development programme. It is essential that this project, and the two other projects in the Dry Zone and the Delta, find the resources to properly technically monitor and evaluate all trials and demonstrations.
The project has established an effective extension network that has been able to deliver agricultural and livestock packages to the rural communities with appropriate technology transfer. However, staff are under considerable pressure to be able to service five Townships and many villages. No more than basic training has been provided but there is now a need for more intensive training and transfer of technical skills and knowledge. This should be part of the consolidation which should take place during the coming Phase III.
Ayeyarwady Delta Zone
The project provides inputs and training in support of a range of interventions to promote agricultural production. These interventions include the provision of fertilizers, improved seed and tree seedling distribution, power tillers and irrigation pumps, and compost making.
The project is also supporting income generation through livestock production. These activities have been popular and successful. Included are pigs for breeding and fattening, poultry and ducks for egg and meat production, draught animals and improved FYM through composting.
The project has recently introduced a number of participatory technology development (PTD) trials and demonstrations in its three Townships. PTD is an essential component of sustainable agriculture development and is warmly welcomed by farmers.
The project has established an effective extension network that reaches from senior project technical staff down to village grass-roots level. However, staffing numbers are low and it is a tribute to their dedication and hard work that they have been able to achieve so much.
Natural Resources Management
Over-exploitation and misuse of forests, farmlands and fisheries has caused severe environmental degradation, reduced land productivity, and declining crop yields, all of which contribute to growing poverty and food insecurity. The three projects target the restoration of land productivity with a view to improving livelihood opportunities for the very poor.
The projects have instilled an environmental awareness among community groups and a general enthusiasm for adopting conservation measures and protecting community forests. Many farmers have adopted on-field measures because they see direct benefits. But off-farm conservation and forestry are much longer term concepts and their benefits accrue to individual families and to groups, and to society as a whole. Subsidising the participants in these activities also largely removes their sense of ownership.
For community forestry specifically:
I. poor people (who depend on subsistence activities or daily labour) have difficulty contributing time and labour;II. no significant return can be expected for several years;
III. restored forests will become increasingly difficult to protect as they grow and gain in value;
IV. the basis for future management is technically weak; and
V. its success and continuity rest on the Forest Department, which has limited staff and resources to survey, collect data, plan, technically advise, monitor and expand the programme.
For these reasons the replicability and sustainability of off-farm conservation and forestry activities is a cause for concern.
The three projects have developed impressive demonstrations of innovative technology, but have been obliged, in the main, to neglect field research and impact monitoring owing to their short thirty month time horizons and lack of qualified staff. The more mature beneficiary groups are now asking for improved technology, which points to a need for stronger field research.
Community Forestry
Resource Management
The priority ranking and selection of villages on the basis of poverty criteria alone is not necessarily compatible with the need to implement a natural resource management strategy based on a watershed and not on village or other administrative boundaries.
Deforestation in most areas of the three projects is a recent phenomenon. Most of the forests have disappeared over the past 25 years. Reasons for deforestation differ from area to area. In the Dry Zone farming and fuelwood production for jaggery making are said to be the main reasons for deforestation. The main causes in Shan State are farming, combined with an increase in population, while In the Delta the main reasons for deforestation are rice cultivation, charcoal production, and fuelwood production for brickmaking. Through their support for community forestry, the establishment of forest plantations, and other tree planting efforts, all three FAO-executed projects are seeking to at least stabilize and sometimes even to reverse the deforestation trend.
Forest Policy
In terms of Myanmar forest policies and policy instruments the past decade has brought several noteworthy developments. The new Forest Law (1992) replaced a Law dating back to 1902. The Government, through the Ministry of Forests, issued in 1995 a Myanmar Forest Policy Statement. Also in 1995, the Forest Department approved a Community Forestry Instruction to facilitate the transfer of forestland to community management. These three instruments are significant steps in the modernisation of forest management. However, a formal recognition of community forestry is still awaited.
Community Based Organisations
The institutional context of community forestry user groups is different in each project area. While the three projects should continue to promote the formation of executive committees of community forestry user groups it is important that they reflect the membership of the groups. This implies more women, landless persons, and representatives of minority villages (in terms of user group membership) in the executive committees.
Status of Community Forestry
Community forestry is only just starting in all the three projects. Immediately after the Community Forestry Instruction was issued in 1995 some community forests, all village woodlots, were handed over in Shan State and the Dry Zone. In the current phase it is only in the Delta, in Laputta Township, that community forestry certificates have been handed over so far. All projects expect that more community forests will be handed over soon. The issue of management plans for community forestry has, with the exception of Shan State, been taken up by the projects only over the last year. Most of the community forests handed over in the past do not have a proper management plan based on a detailed site survey and essentially prepared by the user group members themselves.
Training
Several training activities have been held by all projects concerning subjects related to community forestry including, nursery establishment and management, plantation establishment, improved stove production and distribution. An important next step will be for the projects to define a comprehensive community forestry training programme.
Fuelwood-saving Stoves
Woodfuel is the principal energy source of the rural population in Myanmar. It was estimated that woodfuel represents 78 percent of the total energy consumption in the country. The establishment of community forests (and to some extent tree planting on private lands) and the introduction of fuel-saving cooking stoves are at present the best strategies to address the fuel crisis in rural Myanmar. The types of stoves promoted by the FAO projects include the airtight (mud-clay) stove and rice-husk stove by the Delta project, and the Al-stove by the Dry Zone and Shan projects. The stoves are accepted in all three areas, and the distribution programmes of the projects are well executed.
Sustainability
All projects are seeking to improve the prospects for sustainability of community forestry. One constraint relates to the relatively short period of project support that can be provided to community forestry villages. Uncontrolled grazing in the plantation areas is another problem, especially in the Dry Zone and in Shan. In the future, once the forests mature, they will become valuable and attractive to outsiders and will need to be protected against encroachment. The lack of savings and the indebtedness of many project families to moneylenders can adversely affect the sustainability of interventions in community forestry.
Consolidation
At the commencement of Phase III the three Projects should review the village expansion targets with their UNDP partner, taking into account the need to balance expansion into new areas with the benefits of consolidating the achievements already made. The projects have introduced a range of interventions in, for example, community mobilisation and organisation, watershed management and protection, forestry development, income generation, training, participatory planning, and technology development. This is an appropriate time to review progress to date and to use the results of that review to determine the way forward.
Phase III provides an opportunity to complete the previously established working models of direct participatory grassroots intervention. It gives an opportunity to improve the models' capacities for sustainable agricultural development including the rationalizing of staff to beneficiary ratios, fine tuning extension methods used, such as field trials, demonstrations, the identification and build-up of a corps of farmer-researchers, as well as the documentation and popularization of project experiences and appropriate indigenous practices. Phase III also gives an opportunity for replacement service providers to prepare to take over.
Community Based Organisations
In Phase III efforts should be concentrated on strengthening the capacities of CBOs to manage their affairs through strengthening and continuing their in-depth training (both formal and hands-on) including the following:
I. Diagnostic skills for all phases of a project/activity cycle.II. Participatory community mobilization and group dynamics skills.
III. Financial management skills including business management of revolving funds, management of production and marketing, credit and banking, and strategies and management for savings.
The three projects should explore strategies for inter-CBO networking and collaboration including federation or cooperation through CBO participatory forums, and should initiate agreed-upon networking within HDI III. Project initiatives should be expanded in terms of linking CBOs to Government and private sector service providers (other than the HDI projects) including inputs, marketing, credit, finance, banking, extension, information and research providers.
It is recommended that appointments of professional socio-economists (as in the Dry Zone) be considered at NPPP, TSS and Assistant TSS levels for each Township covered in the Shan and the Delta. These officers would assist in the process of empowerment of communities as well as in preparing those communities to take over the management of their own affairs on the conclusion of the HDI Programme. It is also recommended that at least one Credit NPPP be appointed in the Shan and the Delta with similar terms of reference to those designed in the Dry Zone.
The projects should continue their efforts to design and test village performance indicators or ranking processes
Participation
Projects should continue their efforts to ensure the equitable participation of disadvantaged groups and women in the planning and decision-making bodies of all CBOs. In particular this should be achieved in VDCs, FIGGS, LIGGs, and in environment and natural resource management groups.
Revolving Funds
The projects should continue to explore ways to supplement and expand the revolving funds of the various groups. Inflation and poor repayment in bad years will otherwise gradually erode funds available to support activities. Methods are needed by which members can invest their own resources in the fund, by which the groups can trade in agricultural commodities, make loans or otherwise expand their available resources.
Gender Issues
Projects should reiterate their concern for the equitable, rather than the token, participation of women in all planning and decision making bodies and forums, accompanied by appropriate training on how women might constructively use their participation.
Projects should seek to be more gender sensitive in directing their assistance (for instance, by being aware of who does what and of who actually benefits from the proposed assistance). Women should be consulted to determine whether or not they deal with the inputs. Training should be directed to the women who actually implement specific interventions, rather than to other family members who do not.
It is recommended that rice delivered in support of famine alleviation activities should be consolidated into cereal banking, to be owned and operated by women's groups. As the groups develop experience and skill in cereal banking they could branch out to cover other crops such as maize, sesame, groundnuts and chickpeas.
Seasonal Migration Issues
In order to provide information on the extent and implications of seasonal migration it is proposed that UNDP, other donors, and Government undertake a separate but HDI-related study of the entire internal migration phenomenon. This should include a historical documentation of its evolution and a review of its relationship to health, education, agriculture, natural resource degradation, security, and economics.
To address some of the health and education problems imposed on seasonal migrants it is proposed that the HDI Health and AIDS programs be extended to cover the target areas of seasonal migration, including mines, construction projects, urban industrialization projects, tea and sugar cane fields during harvest periods. A study of the chemical/mineral poisoning problems in the mining industry is also recommended.
The HDI Education Project, in cooperation with the Department of Education, should study the possibilities of providing school children of seasonally migrating households with the opportunity to continue their schooling in areas to which they seasonally migrate in order to reduce the incidence of their dropping out of school due to the migration of their parents.
Farming Systems and Agronomy
General
There should be increased emphasis on participatory technology development particularly for agricultural production, taking into account the different agro-ecological conditions within each project.
Links with outside institutes, particularly those in the Indian sub-continent, South-east Asia and Australia should be expanded and strengthened.
In Phase III there should be emphasis on consolidating the work already being undertaken, rather than on a rapid and wide scale expansion into new areas. This consolidation should include further training of farmers to increase technical skills, knowledge and understanding in such areas as soil fertility management, IPM, seed multiplication, produce storage, fodder production, livestock management, farm equipment maintenance and participatory technology development.
The services already being provided by FIGGs and LIGGs in the sourcing and buying of inputs should continue to be supported. Training and support should be continued to enable them to become more self sufficient in handling all aspects of group management. This would be an element of the consolidation process.
Detailed economic analyses should be undertaken for a wide range of interventions in all three projects, as soon as sufficient data comes available, under different input and seasonal conditions.
In the Dry Zone:
The project should establish a series of simple fertilizer trials on farmers' fields to generate information on optimum fertilizer rates for different soils and different crops and under different moisture conditions.
Work already started by the Project on the sourcing and evaluation of improved crop varieties adapted to local conditions should continue during Phase III.
In the Southern Shan:
The wider use of legumes (green manures, food crops and fodders) relay cropped into main crops such as wheat, maize, upland rice and potatoes should be researched.
Research should be initiated into the value of fallow periods as practised in the project area in the maintenance of soil fertility. Alternatives such as legume cover crops (in addition to rice bean) should be explored in greater depth.
The planting of different fodders on contour bunds, in fodder plots and around the homestead could be expanded from the work already started.
Para-vets who are being trained in veterinary medicine should also receive training in fodder production and utilization, and in animal nutrition.
In the Delta:
There is scope for further development and diversification of ornamental foliage and flower production and marketing.
Home garden cultivation requires increased attention, particularly regarding the transfer of increased knowledge and skills in vegetable production, fruit tree pruning, and the dynamic management of multi-layered gardens to increase the range and productivity of plants grown.
The project should examine the results of urea-molasses nutrient block demonstration of the Dry Zone project with a view to introducing these to the Delta. The treatment of rice straw with urea to enhance digestibility and protein content for livestock would also be worth evaluating.
Natural Resources Management
In Phase III it is recommended that the projects give greater attention to:
I. monitoring and documenting the environmental impacts of community forestry and of conservation measures undertaken by the projects;II. carrying out field research in the silviculture of planted community forests;
III. using the results of field research to develop guidelines for the sustainable management of these forests.
Despite the apparent short-term nature of the three projects and the weak institutionalisation it is, nevertheless, important to at least begin the process of establishing field research and impact monitoring, especially for forestry. Given the projects' limited capacity to take on extra tasks, additional resources would have to be tapped to minimize interference with normal project delivery. It is recommended that projects investigate the possibility of contracting the work to national or regional institutions or to capable NGOs.
Community Forestry
Consolidation
The SPPD mission strongly recommends that in Phase III forestry development activities be consolidated in areas where the projects have been operating in previous phases. Any expansion to new areas as far as forestry is concerned should be justified in terms of the communal use of lands adjacent to lands already supported by the projects under either the community forestry or soil conservation programme, or in order to protect the remaining patches of natural forests preserved by villages close to these natural forests.
Forest Policy
Community forestry should be formally recognised through an amendment of the Forest Law, and Forest Rules (or separate Community Forestry Rules) should be drafted, endorsed and promulgated. Community forestry should be defined in the Forest Law. The creation of a third category of forest land in addition to Reserve Forest and Protected Public Forest, to be called Community Forest, should be considered.
National community Forestry Workshop
Early in Phase III the projects should jointly organize a National Community Forestry Workshop to take stock of progress made, to discuss common issues, to define operational procedures and implementation strategies and to discuss desirable changes of the forestry legislation. It should also provide the forum to define training needs and priorities. The Workshop should be technically backstopped by FAO.
Community Based Organisations
The projects should continue to promote the formation of executive committees of community forestry user groups that are a better reflection of their membership than at present is the case. This implies more women, landless persons, and representatives of minority villages (in terms of user group membership) in executive committees.
Management Plans
The projects should explore the possibilities (as the Dry Zone is doing) of introducing the concept of integrated village landuse planning to take into account the use of all common lands such as potential community forestry areas (including Reserve Forest and unprotected public forestland), grazing areas and other waste lands.
In the first year of Phase III the projects should outline their approaches for management plan preparation as well as the format of management plans, to be undertaken in close consultation with the Forest Department.
Fuelwood-saving Stoves
The projects should continue with the introduction of improved and fuelwood saving cooking stoves and, where needed, strengthen quality control and close monitoring of the use of the stoves.
Monitoring and Evaluation
Provisions to monitor growth of community forestry plantations need to be made, so that the financial and economic feasibility of community plantations can be better assessed. Monitoring of tree survival should be continued by all three projects.
