Agroindustrial project analysi

AN OVERVIEW 25an interactive process whereby the effect of one decision can betraced through the whole system to reveal consequences that, attimes, necessitate modifying the original project design.Each chapter identifies problem areas common to agroindustrialprojects. To guide the analyst in performing project analysis, centralissues are reduced to question form within each chapter, andthese lists are compiled in full in appendix B. The questions indicatethe information needed to thoroughly analyze each particularactivity. All the relevant data are seldom available to the analyst,however, and the cost of collecting data relative to the size of theproject or capabilities of the personnel may not be justified. Thus,not all questions can or need be answered to carry out effectiveproject analysis. Project decisions are always made with imperfectinformation; nevertheless, it is crucial for the analyst to recognizewhat information is desirable so that data gaps can be recognizedand, if not remedied through new data collection, overcome byexplicit assumptions. It is better to know what questions have goneunanswered than never to have asked-risks can be better judgedthis way.The goal of this book is to provide agroindustrial project analystswith practical guidelines from actual experience and to distill theoreticalconcepts and translate them into a form useful to practitioners.Examples of actual agroindustrial projects have beenincluded but, given the diverse characteristics of each project, noanalytical framework can be detailed enough to encompass everyproject. Because a framework is ultimately only a guide, the analystmust adapt its analytical concepts to the specific project's peculiarities.The critical judgment required of project analysts in usingthe framework for analysis presented here is intended to heightentheir decision orientation when examining projects and thus tominimize the effort spent on the marginal aspects of projects. Manyof the examples given are from ongoing agroindustries rather thanproposed enterprises. It is useful for project analysts to be familiarwith problems that mature enterprises encounter so that they mayanticipate operational difficulties in a proposed project's design.Because of its position in the food system, an agroindustry affectsthe nutritional status of a nation's population. Malnutrition hascaused massive human suffering and the severe erosion of humancapital in many countries. Although a viable food-and-fiber systemis fundamental to dealing with the problem of malnutrition, project