Argentina

Ratings for the Small Farmer Development Project for Argentina were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory; risk to development outcome was moderate; Ban... Show More + k Performance was moderately satisfactory; borrower performance was also moderately satisfactory. Some lessons learned includes: Use of the Additional Financing (AF) instrument, with its maximum three year period, in countries with generic delays in loan effectiveness may need reconsideration. Even with a well-staffed coordinating unit in place, and a pipeline of approved subprojects, an AF with no possibility of extension faces difficulties maintaining the momentum established by the original project and achieving impact, more so when delays curtail that period further. The logistical challenge and cost of providing effective oversight of projects with national scope can be substantial. This may be non-controversial for country counterparts, since most appropriate/candidate executing agencies in Argentina have the budget and the provincial presence/representation to provide adequate oversight nationwide. Mid-Term reviews and AF should be used to address project design weaknesses and ensure that Monitoring and Evaluation (M and E) arrangements are adequate. M and E systems should be designed organized to permit management by results. Vulnerable populations require differentiated strategies and forms of 'affirmative action' to ensure access to project benefits. Despite the likely procedural difficulties, mechanisms need to be developed for linking the federal and provincial governments in Argentina on rural poverty reduction efforts and more fundamentally, to engage provincial authorities and build their commitment. Greater coordination and cooperation between field teams and provincial and municipal institutions and authorities can benefit efforts to develop decentralized rural policy and strategic frameworks. Market insertion should be seen as a process involving a logical sequence of first, second and third level priority investments which position a small farmer to engage with markets. Occasionally, the best attainable outcomes require allowing a project to become overage. Show Less -

Ratings for the Provincial Agricultural Development Project for Argentina were as follows: outcomes were satisfactory; risk to development outcome was: moderate; Ba... Show More + nk performance was moderately satisfactory; borrower performance was also moderately satisfactory. Some lessons learned includes: a pre-defined and well-prepared portfolio of investments ready for implementation remains prudent, and can mitigate the tendency for innovative difficult projects to absorb much time in the early years in 'learning by doing' but not disbursing. Leveraging maximum impact from resources allocated for subprojects requires the identification of investment proposals in a transparent, strategic and participatory manner, promoting competition for support through targeting mechanisms which ensure high quality, sustainable subproject proposals consistent with project development objectives and sector priorities. Capacity-building at the provincial level must be tailored to the unique technical, institutional and financial endowments of each province, avoid standardized training and technical assistance of uneven relevance and utility, and adopt both demand and supply-driven approaches. Complex, difficult operations in the rural sector with long lead times and a high degree of innovation require an extended horizon, continuous support for progressive capacity building and repeat financing to maximize impact, learning and sustainability. Private sector actors in the agro industrial sector and producers should not be assumed capable of responding on their own to public Investments in rural infrastructure and services. Project investments are necessary to stimulate private investment but not sufficient to guarantee further investment especially if financial resources and lines of credit are unavailable or inaccessible. Evaluation results from irrigation subprojects in Mendoza province suggest that further, comprehensive interventions are needed to increase provincial competitiveness in open global markets. Show Less -

Ratings for the Buenos Aires Second Secondary Education Project for Argentina are as follows: outcomes of the project were unsatisfactory, risk to development outco... Show More + me was substantial, bank performance was moderately unsatisfactory, and borrower performance was moderately unsatisfactory. Some lessons learned included: changes at the federal level, which are beyond the control of the borrower, can have a major impact on the outcome of sub-national projects. The project's implementation was severely affected by the unstable macroeconomic conditions that prevailed in the late 1990s and eventually resulted in the country's collapse in December 2001. Likewise, the program was negatively affected by periodic strikes, chronic teacher absenteeism, and many other structural weaknesses of the Province of Buenos Aires (PBA) educational system. The experience of this project indicates that 'vertical' interventions focusing on individual schools need to be complemented with 'horizontal' interventions with a cross-cutting impact throughout the education sector. The project effectiveness and overall impact will have significantly improved if an intensive cross fertilization and systematic learning strategy had been conceived as part of the project's design. Such strategy will have permitted the identification and dissemination of best practices within participating schools and the PBA in general through training, workshops, seminars, technical assistance, demonstration events, conventions, and publications. The project's design and implementation strategy included clear targeting criteria to focus project activities in schools serving primarily high risk students to improve the equity of the basic general education system in then PBA. This helped ensure that the project benefited the intended population. Show Less -

Ratings for the Biodiversity Conservation Project for Argentina were as follows: outcomes were satisfactory, the risk to development outcome was low or negligible, ... Show More + the Bank performance was satisfactory, and the Borrower performance was also satisfactory. Some lessons learned included: development is not a linear process, and processes need to be sufficiently flexible to adapt to changes on the ground. Although the project experienced some setbacks, including delays and difficulties during implementation, it managed to produce highly relevant impacts for the protected area sector by closing. The Bank, as an institution, should ensure that its instruments, philosophy and approaches to development are flexible enough to adapt to the changing country conditions, while maintaining focus on the project development objective. The creation of a protected area is a complex process that involves diverse actors and requires substantial coordination. In future projects, sufficient time should be allocated according to the complexity of participatory processed and taking into account the number of actors and decision makers involved. This is especially important in situations where a diverse spectrum of stakeholders are concerned (private land holders, intermediary agents, stakeholders, federal, and provincial governments). Participation is critical at all levels, yet it is time consuming and the outcomes are unpredictable. Show Less -

Ratings for the Native Forests and Protected Areas Project for Argentina were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory, the risk to development outcome was... Show More + low or negligible, the Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and the Borrower performance was satisfactory. Some lessons learned included: tourism can be a positive force and successful investment in flagship protected areas may generate benefits for the entire protected areas system The investments in the four Patagonian parks under the project were highly successful in their outcomes for the individual parks. In addition to the conservation of biodiversity, they saw increases in their fees collected, improved infrastructure and equipment for their personnel, and enhanced visitor experiences. These conditions create a favorable image for decision-makers as sound investments for the national budget and interest is generated at the national level tourism agencies and from local governments in other regions that will like to benefit from similar investments in parks within their localities. Applied research projects are successful when attention is given to stakeholders and producers needs, but weak local capacities may hinder execution and sustainability. The project provided for many research projects that were developed to address real needs of producers facing challenges in regard to degradation of natural resources, sustainable production, and forest management. These experiences are being widely disseminated both nationally and internationally. However, those projects that were located in poorer eco regions where the capacities of beneficiaries, academic institutions, government agencies, and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) was weaker, faced more problems ranging from a lack of consensus regarding thematic approaches, to the rate of disbursement and implementation. Good environmental baseline information is not available in these areas generally, making it more difficult to target research approaches adequately, however participatory approaches and consultation processes may improve the focus and selection of interventions. Show Less -

Ratings for the Second National Communication of Argentine Republic to the Convention on Climate Change Project for Argentina were as follows: outcomes were satisfa... Show More + ctory, the risk to development outcome was low or negligible, the Bank performance was satisfactory, and the Borrower performance was satisfactory. Some lessons learned included: Development of Future Climate Scenarios. In the climate change context, the only methodology accepted by the international community to estimate future climatic conditions is the development of climate scenarios. The methodology most commonly used is the use of global climate model combined with high resolution regional models. Nonetheless, these models have some shortcomings in the simulation of median and extreme precipitation in the Plata river basin. These models do not reproduce adequately the magnitude, the annual cycle and the characteristics of extreme precipitation. The project opted to develop a regional circulation model that reduces the uncertainty found in global climate models when applied at the local scale. The key to develop a high quality SNC rested in obtaining high quality products (i.e. inventory, vulnerability, and mitigation studies). Technical capacity of local consultants in Argentina is high on average; therefore the quality of the products was good. Additionally, the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) worked closely with contracted firms as soon as they were selected, providing feedback on their proposals and early drafts ensuring these would meet their objectives using technically sound methods. Show Less -

The ratings for the Argentina Jefes de Hogar Program Project were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory, the risk to development outcome was satisfactor... Show More + y, the Bank performance was satisfactory, and the Borrower performance was satisfactory. Some lessons learned included: (1) The Program, building on previously available foundations, was effective to confront poverty in an emergency situation. Despite the implementation issues it faced, the Program did prevent beneficiaries from falling into extreme poverty and successfully reached the poor. Its dynamic targeting approach, through self-selection, was probably more efficient to reach the poor during the crisis than a static measure such as a proxy-means test. (2) During times of crisis, a trade-off between orderly expansion of a safety net and rapid coverage of the poor might arise. It is unclear whether the decision to strengthen cash programs, can result in a better crisis response that an integrated strategy that relies on investments in social service delivery. On the other hand, the reform of the latter may take time to produce results and may thus not be a viable strategy during the crisis. (2) Maintaining the nominal level of the transfer is difficult politically but effective to promote the transition to employment. As the economy recovered and employment opportunities improved, the transfer lost value and the widening gap between its level and wages was an incentive for households to find other income-generating activities, especially in the formal labor market. Show Less -

Ratings for the Argentina Public Investment Strengthening Technical Assistance Project were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory, the risk to developme... Show More + nt outcome was moderate, the Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and the Borrower performance was moderately satisfactory. Some lessons learned included: 1) sound public investment decisions require effective institutions for investment planning and project evaluation; 2) the decentralized conceptualization of the National Public Investment System (SNIP) was critical to its successful insertion within Argentina's public sector and the operation itself; 3) it is important to ensure the institutionalization of capacity building efforts; and 4) losing focus becomes a challenge in institutional development projects with a longer life span. Show Less -

Ratings for the Provincial Reform Adjustment Loan Project - Catamarca, Argentina were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory, the risk to development out... Show More + come was moderate, the Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and the Borrower performance was moderately satisfactory. Lessons learned included: 1) Provincial policy development operations such as Catamarca's Provincial Reform Loan (PRL) are only appropriate under stable macroeconomic conditions; 2) Under stable macroeconomic conditions, policy-based operations supporting a well-defined set of reforms can be effective tools in promoting structural adjustment at the sub-national level; 3) Provincial operations can be effective complements of sector reforms and operations at the national level; 4) For reforms to be successful, they have to follow the right sequence, take into consideration interrelationship of needed reforms, and be supported by a sound incentive system; 5) For provinces to be fiscally responsible over the long term, a consistent system of incentives must be in place at the national level; 6) The Bank's continuous engagement during critical periods can help sustain ongoing reforms and protect previous achievements; 7) Within a difficult lending and operational environment, focusing on the consolidation of more mature reforms appears to have been an effective strategy; 8) The success of SAL loans depends on a combination of factors, the most important of which is strong political support; 9) Loan conditionality should focus on results, going beyond the enactment of legislation or executive decrees; 10) Overly complex operations with a large number of conditionalities that lack a clear hierarchy are difficult to implement and supervise; 11) Cross-sector operations at the provincial level require strong coordination during both preparation and implementation; and 12) Key impact and monitoring indicators have to be developed during appraisal, including baselines and targets. Show Less -

Ratings for the Cordoba provincial reform adjustment loan project (PRL) were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory, the risk to development outcome was ... Show More + moderate, the Bank performance was satisfactory, and the borrower performance was satisfactory. Lessons learned from the project were as follows: 1) Provincial policy development operations such as Cordoba's PRL are only appropriate under stable macroeconomic conditions; 2) Under stable macroeconomic conditions, policy-based operations supporting a well-defined set of reforms can be effective tools in promoting structural adjustment at the sub-national level; 3) Provincial operations can be effective complements of sector reforms and operations at the national level; 4) For reforms to be successful, they have to follow the right sequence, take into consideration interrelationship of intermediate steps, and be supported by a sound incentive system; 5) For provinces to be fiscally responsible over the long term, a consistent system of incentives must be in place at the national level; 6) The Bank's continuous engagement during critical periods can help sustain ongoing reforms and protect previous achievements; 7) Uncertain macroeconomic conditions can undermine reforms focusing on privatization and concession, even when they have the full commitment of the authorities; 8) The success of SAL loans depends on a combination of factors, the most important of which is strong political support; 9) Loan conditionality should focus on results, going beyond the enactment of legislation; 10) Overly complex operations with a large number of conditionalities that lack a clear hierarchy are difficult to implement and supervise; and 11) Cross-sector operations at the provincial level require strong coordination during both preparation and implementation. Show Less -