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Lesson
Successful introduction of a new crop may require support from both private sector and government. Through the project, PRAN has introduced cassava in Bangladesh at commercial scale. Its first approaches to farmers were in 2014. PRAN has accessed support from multilateral development banks and nongovernment organizations to develop the crop but interaction with the government appears to have been limited.

Project Number: 46904-014
Project Name: Sylvan Agriculture Limited PRAN Agribusiness Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Additional studies to confirm project impacts are important when ADB is delivering first-time projects. This project was ADB’s first private sector agriculture project since 1985 and at the time of appraisal very few recent private sector approvals had been made in Bangladesh. The gender and poverty impact studies were undertaken at ADB’s request to identify the importance of the project for women, factory workers, and contract farmers. These were high-quality assessments and provided recommendations, some of which were incorporated into the second ADB loan to SAL.

Project Number: 46904-014
Project Name: Sylvan Agriculture Limited PRAN Agribusiness Project
Report Date:
Lesson
To confirm development outcomes, both clear definitions identifying the target beneficiaries and clear detailed records of participation are required. The project design did not provide a clear definition of contract farmers. It was therefore unclear whether only the lead contract farmer should be counted toward the outcome target number of farmers, or whether the group of farmers represented by the lead farmer should be included, or whether the entire cohort of lead farmers, lead farmer groups, and seasonal workers was covered by the term.

Project Number: 46904-014
Project Name: Sylvan Agriculture Limited PRAN Agribusiness Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Project outcome targets must be set at appropriate levels and risks must be recognized and appropriately mitigated. The evaluation recognized that this was the first agribusiness project done by ADB private sector operations since 1985 and that familiarity with contract farming may have been limited at the time of appraisal. The target of 25,000 contract farmers for SAL’s operations appears to have been formulated based solely on the starch plant’s capacity, rather than on specific analysis of likely farmer participation.

Project Number: 46904-014
Project Name: Sylvan Agriculture Limited PRAN Agribusiness Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Selecting a strong sponsor with alignment on development targets is critical to achieving results. PRAN is a flagship company in Bangladesh with sufficient corporate experience, resources, and knowledge to develop and deliver agribusiness projects. Through its newly established group company, SAL, the project was constructed to appropriate standards on time and under budget. All the required permissions were obtained, and the project complied with government regulations and ADB requirements. Contract farmers and factory staff benefited from the project.

Project Number: 46904-014
Project Name: Sylvan Agriculture Limited PRAN Agribusiness Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The riverbank erosion management system can play a crucial role in sustaining the adaptive approach beyond the life of the project. Greater clarity is needed on what a riverbank erosion management system (REMS) consists of and what institutional setting is required to make it sustainable. Effective operation of a REMS needs to be based on a crystal-clear consensus on the roles of local stakeholders, implementation arrangements, and Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) coordination and financial commitment.

Project Number: 34038-013
Project Name: Jamuna-Meghna River Erosion Mitigation Project
Report Date:
Lesson
An adaptive approach can work effectively to mitigate riverbank erosion if it is executed to its full extent. Such riverbank protection work requires persistent commitment and continuous effort, unlike a one-time physical investment. Effective mitigation measures using geo-bags along riverbanks requires the implementation of an adaptive approach. O&M activities, including routine maintenance, need to be continuously implemented in parallel.

Project Number: 34038-013
Project Name: Jamuna-Meghna River Erosion Mitigation Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Agreement of all project stakeholders on the use of an adaptive approach and on O&M at the design stage is crucial for achieving project results. More time should have been spent during project design to ensure there was a common understanding on the following questions: What activities are required for the adaptive approach? What is the difference between the adaptive approach and O&M? Who is responsible for the implementation of the adaptive approach and O&M? How is the adaptive approach to be implemented after the project?

Project Number: 34038-013
Project Name: Jamuna-Meghna River Erosion Mitigation Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Data collection, especially of baseline data, is critical. Greater priority should have been given to ensuring that socioeconomic and baseline data were collected and reported, especially during the appraisal period.

Project Number: 36105-013
Project Name: Chittagong Port Trade Facilitation Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Periodic reviews of a port’s IT systems are imperative. The container cargo volume currently being handled is already well above the capacity of the CTMS. Although a prolonged operational standstill has not occurred, the risk of a system breakdown will grow as increased usage strains CTMS capacity.

Project Number: 36105-013
Project Name: Chittagong Port Trade Facilitation Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Urban areas adjacent to port developments should anticipate the growth of port traffic in their urban plans. City development efforts should consider the impact of likely growth in port traffic on both intra- and inter-city traffic. Port and city authorities should draw up coordinated short- and medium-term infrastructure plans to accommodate urban and port growth. Chittagong City has been experiencing growth in its population, the number of commercial establishments and industries, and vehicular city traffic.

Project Number: 36105-013
Project Name: Chittagong Port Trade Facilitation Project
Report Date:
Lesson
One mode cannot serve all the transport services, so multimodal transport needs to be considered for cargo movements. In the case of Chittagong Port, connector and port access roads were built under the project. Other projects involving double tracking of the Dhaka–Chittagong rail route and a capacity expansion of the Dhaka–Chittagong Highway, are being undertaken to improve port connectivity.

Project Number: 36105-013
Project Name: Chittagong Port Trade Facilitation Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Future port project designs should consider intermodal connectivity. Ingress and egress to the port area are critical to the efficiency of transport infrastructure and services. Most of the major ports in Asian countries are located in major urban centers, which initially did not pose any problem since cargo volumes were still small. As cargo volumes have increased because of economic and population growth, port areas have expanded while local transport networks have failed to keep pace.

Project Number: 36105-013
Project Name: Chittagong Port Trade Facilitation Project
Report Date:
Lesson
A greater level of upfront efforts in project preparation, particularly in the areas of preparing credible traffic forecasts and identifying road alignments, could pay large dividends. Mitigation measures identified in the RRP to address project risks were largely unsuccessful, and the project was subject to long time delays, problems with land acquisition and procurement, shortfalls in demand, and insufficient funding for maintenance.

Project Number: 33243-013
Project Name: Road Maintenance and Improvement Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Baseline data collection is a priority. At appraisal and during implementation, greater attention should have been given to the design and monitoring framework, especially in establishing measurable indicators and their baseline values, and target values with a realistic time frame to achieve these goals. Higher priority should have been given to ensure that baseline data were collected prior to project implementation, and updated during project implementation and at completion. The absence of baseline data has made this independent evaluation of the project difficult.

Project Number: 33243-013
Project Name: Road Maintenance and Improvement Project
Report Date: