Final Evaluation of the - UNEP

dependency on livestock, to improve economic diversification and to contribute to their food
security during droughts. Livestock marketing was seen as having the potential to increase
household income and to reduce pressure on the resources at the same time. Based on these
views, an international consultant was contracted to collaborate with local livestockmarketing
specialists in Mali, Kenya, and Botswana in inventorying policy frameworks and
strategies governing livestock-marketing in these countries. The study concluded that there
were clear opportunities to improve peoples’ wellbeing through livestock and livestock
product marketing in each country. The most promising interventions were listed for each site
separately but only some of them were implemented by the projects It was only IVP-Kenya
that, in collaboration with that country’s MoLF and other development organizations, made a
effort to improve the conditions that allowed collaborating communities to take better
advantage of existing livestock and livestock by-product marketing opportunities.
132. Several income-generating activities proposed by the communities in the community
action plans (CAP) that were developed during the first year of the project, have been
implemented, albeit in some cases with considerable delays. While some of these have been
successful (horticulture and fish farming in Mali, hide and skin processing and marketing in
Kenya), other similar attempts have failed, most notably in Botswana. It is believed that the
extremely long delays between the planning of such activities and their eventual
implementation, insufficient attention to marketing aspects, the generally low level of support
given to the communities - especially following the recommendations of the MTE to deemphasize
these activities, but also a dependency syndrome created by government handouts
in the latter country, have all contributed to these disappointing results.
133. In support of attempts to broaden the economic base of communities, revolving funds
have been operational from an early stage onwards in Mali and later in Botswana where the
start-up of a scheme in the Kgalagadi South site was delayed by administrative hurdles and a
number of requirements imposed by Botswana’s Central Bank. The Marsabit site in Kenya set
aside some project funds as a grant to assist communities in establishing their own revolving
fund. The approach used by the three projects was almost similar in that functioning of the
scheme relied heavily on peer pressure and social support to enforce repayment by individual
members. In Mali, the project contracted a specialized NGO, Kondo Jigima, to run the scheme
on its behalf. Kondo Jigima is an experienced micro-finance institution that has been
operating in Mali for more than 16 years. This experience has undoubtedly contributed to the
success of the scheme in that country.
Component 5 Technology transfer, training and regional comparative learning
134. Several field and exchange visits were organized by the RCU following the annual of
the RPSC, allowing members and invited community representatives to observe project
implementation in the country that hosted the meeting. One such visit was followed by a tour
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