TNAG-0592-FCO40-725-Inspection-of-Hong-Kong-and-Indian-Ocean-Department-1976 — Page 36

PC(76) Minutes 14

MINISTRY OF OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT

PROJECTS COMMITTEE

Minutes of a meeting held on 14 July 1976

Present:

In attendance:

Mr D Williams (Chairman)

Mr R S Porter

Mr D J Kirkness

Mr E Burr

Mr M P J Lynch

Mr CRA Rae

Mr P J Burton (Secretary)

PC(76)27

Mr I H Harris

Mr G A Williams

Mr M Elgey

Mr A Davis

Mr B G Little

Mr JE Whitelegg

PC(76)29

Mr A M Trick

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Mr CJ White

Mr P Tuley

Mr G Lowe

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PC(76)27

1. Mr Harris regretted that it had taken 5 years to find a suitable project to utilise a £2.5m capital aid offer made in May 1971 and that it would be up to a further five years before it would all be disbursed. However this project, although the only one in prospect, would use the full amount and was felt to be fully satisfactory and in line with both our aid strategy and the Thai's wishes. SEAD endorsed it fully, as did SEADD in their comprehensive submission.

2.

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The Chairman praised the presentation of the project submission and the attempt to set out the beneficiaries (Section 7); Mr Porter agreed although he thought it was not necessarily the way EPS would have tackled the subject. Further thought was being given to this in EPS (and, said the Chairman, in Development Coordination Department) before any conclusions on its general usage could be reached. Rural Development Department would be involved in the discussion.

3. Mr Burr pointed out that the farmers who would largely benefit were not amongst the poorest but the Chairman felt that it was inevitable in some cases that the benefits should 'trickle upwards' from the poorest of the poor even in rural development projects.

4. Mr Porter said that, perhaps understandably with agricultural development projects, the economic analysis tried to put values on projected increased outputs and not withstanding a sensitivity analysis became totally dependent upon those outputs being achieved. He could see nothing basically wrong with this but he wondered to what extent success depended upon farmers adopting radically different practices from those in use today and how confident we were that they would change. Mr Davis replied that all should be well as the crops would be the same, though irrigation would require quite different methods. A two year pilot project was envisaged and this should stimulate the farmers if it produced the expected better results. The Development Division were confident of the Thai's ability in extension services, although some more highly skilled expatriates would be supplied under technical cooperation. Mr Harris added that, should the pilot project give unsatisfactory results, clearly the project's future would have to be reconsidered with the consultants, who would be responsible for monitoring as well as advising, and the Thai Government, who had a large input Mr Burr feared and were unlikely to be willing to allow their money to be wasted.

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