MEL – 452.AGRICULTURAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT (2+0) UNIT – IV

MEL – 452.AGRICULTURAL  PROJECT  MANAGEMENT (2+0)

UNIT – IV

MONITORING

Definition:

                        A Continuous/ Periodic review and surveillance by the project management, at every level of the implementation of an activity to ensure that input deliveries, work schedules, targeted outputs and other required action are proceeding according to plan.

                        It is a process of measuring, recording, collection, processing, and communicating information to assist project management decision making.

Elements in monitoring:

                        Purpose of a project is to convert a set of RESOURCES into desired RESULTS.

Resources are Inputs Results are outcome:

Inputs  :           Goods, Funds, Services, Manpower, Technology.

Results :           1. Output (Immediate results)

                        2. Effect (Intermediate results)

                        3. Impact (Ultimate results)

Participatory monitoring:

                        The beneficiaries themselves are made partners in monitoring. Project staff and beneficiaries discuss and assess the performance together, in order to understand how they have performed, what the problems are and what the problems are and what the future holds for them.

Monitoring and progress reporting:

                        Progress reports is a statement of facts giving the extent of achievements of any given point of time.

Difference between Reporting and Monitoring:

Reporting	Monitoring
1.      Regular/ ad-hoc	1.      Regular/ continuous
2.      Suitable to smaller projects	2.    Required in bigger and complex projects
3.      Comprehensive and covers all aspects (Physical and Financial)	3.     Selective
4.    Collection and reporting function. It does not ask ‘Why’ and ‘How’	4.      Collection, reporting, identifying shortfalls/ bottlenecks and their causes.
5.     Required by programme administrator	5.       Programme formulation controlling authority (managers) & community.
6.      Emanates from primary level	6.       Carried out at multiple level (from primary, central apex)
7. Reporting of falt accomplishment and therefore passive	7.      Regulates the pace of development not merely recorded it.

Monitoring Techniques:

1.  Regular progress report

                        Progress reports and records submitted by field staff at district and block levels should contain physical and financial progress, targets, coverage, composition of groups and activities.

2.  Monitoring staff performance (Review)

                        It can ensure that individuals are effectively employed to fulfill given tasks. All those employed in a project should meet regularly, to discuss their progress and match with progress and objectives and discuss problems and possible changes.

3.  Tour reports by field staff

                        The most useful information about qualitative aspects of  a programme are obtained from the tour reports submitted by field staff.

4.  Participant observation

                        The field staff may stay in the villages and observe the groups closely so as to obtain sensitive, first-land insights.

5.  Reports from visitors

                        The project staff ensures that all visitors to the project area (Project Director, State level officials, Researchers etc.,) provide a short report on their impression of the schemes.

6.  Interviews

                        Group members and community leaders should be interviewed on their attitude towards the scheme and resultant behavioural changes.

7.  Participatory monitoring

                        The project staff mainly plays a guiding role to formulate appropriate questions and eliciting answers.

8.  Key informants

                        In addition to regular contacts, we must try to interact with other people who may be useful sources of information. Ex. Teacher, postmaster, women, SHGs, etc.,

9.  Complaints/ grievances positions

                        Received from people in general and target group in particular may throw some light on the actual performance of the scheme.

Indicators of monitoring

                        Indicators are measure of change. They help us to substantiate the achievements of the development work, through meaningful and trustworthy statements about what has been done and the benefits of that.

                        Indicators are simplified approximation of achievements or phenomena that are examined. Date(2004).

                        Developing indicators is a necessary pre-condition for effective monitoring.

Types of Indicators

1.  Quantitative indicators

                        Provide numeric information about a change in a situation. Ex : Number of social organizations, No. of farmers using improved variety of wheat.

2.  Direct indicators

                        Provide information which expressly relates to what is being measured. Ex : Information on crop yield.

3.  Indirect indicators

                        Essential information, chosen from among many types of information to serve as substitutes for answering questions or responding to statements that are difficult to measure. Ex: level of poverty in a community.

4.  Process indicators

                        Steps involved in planning, design, collecting funds, construction of a water supply scheme. The processes involved in developing water supply infrastructure.

Ex: Level of participation, and inputs of community during planning.

5.  Progress indicators

                        Seek to measure or monitor changes against stated targets. PI are usually but not always expressed in quantitative terms.

6.  Qualitative indicators

                        Are largely descriptive statements about processes and outcomes?

Ex: What is the level of participation in village organization meetings?

        How are decisions made by the village organization?

        How are community needs assessed?

Types of monitoring

I.Beneficiary contact monitoring

                                    BCM is the key to successful overall project monitoring.

a. Physical                               b. Financial

Objectives:

1.  To maintain records of each participant and to analyse these periodically to monitor the penetration of the service and the establishment of a clientele.

2.    To establish a regular schedule of surveys to enable managers to measure the progress of a project and the responses of its beneficiaries.

3.    To use informal interviews to alert managers to outstanding success stories or problems.

Beneficiary contact indicators

1.    Proportion of the target population known of the project’s services or inputs.

2.    Proportion of the target population has access to particular project services or inputs.

3.    Proportion of the target population adopted elements of the project.

4.    Proportion of the exposed population adopted elements of the project.

5.    Proportion of the adopting population repeated their use of project services.

6.    Proportion of the adopted population continued practices promoted by the project.

7.    Reasons for not using project services or stopped participating.

 II.   Process monitoring

                        PM is an approach that ensures that processes are steered to achieve the desired results and that quality is maintained throughout.

Need for PM

1.    To understand how we are implementing activities and attaining milestones.

2.    To keep an eye on the changing context of the project environment that could affect the project.

3.    To ensure the best possible outcomes for communities.

4.    To ensure that certain quality standards are maintained.

5.    To ensure that processes are observed at a project level.

6.    To learn from similar processes available to the group at large.

Monitoring Risks and Uncertainties

·         Fluctuation in prices of inputs and outputs

·         Delay in implementation. Time over runs

·         Escalation of costs. Cost over runs

·         Yields

Sensitivity analysis

                        The risks and uncertainties and the magnitude should be anticipated at the project formulation stage itself and the project economics (Profitability: Cost and returns) should be worked out for different levels of risks and uncertainties. This is called sensitivity analysis.

Time overruns

                        Delay in implementation and also realizing the outputs. Planned activities include,

Ø  Rephrase the project period.

Ø  Cut down the initial target and reallocate resources.

Ø  Recast the target and outputs.

Ø  Intensify extension and technical support initiatives.

Ø  Concentrate in ‘critical’ activities

Cost overruns

                        If the cost of the project exceeds the originally planned and sanctioned budget, this will affect the projects output and outcomes as well as profitability/ sustainability.

Yields

                        It is necessary to work out the economics and profitability when the actual yield is lower than expected quantity.

Contingency allowances as a remedy

                        Sound project planning requires provision be made in advance for possible adverse physical or price changes that are likely to add to the original cost and time. This is called contingency allowances.