1. Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project (BRLP) – Baseline Survey

World Bank is assisting the Government of Bihar in reducing the incidence of poverty through the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project which is being implemented by Bihar Rural Livelihood Promotion Society, Patna, Bihar. The objective is to enhance social and economic empowerment of rural poor, especially women, by developing organizations of rural poor and producers and enabling these to access and negotiate better services, credit and assets from public and private agencies and financial institutions. The project will invest in building capacity of public and private service providers and promote development of microfinance and agri-business sectors.

AFC is conducting the Baseline Survey in six project districts of Bihar by interviewing 14000 households and conducting 440 Focus Group Discussions in 400 villages spread over in 20 blocks project districts to establish bench-mark for measuring the impact of the project at a later stage.




2. Andhra Pradesh Community Based Tank Mangement Project – Consultancy services for External Monitoring and Evaluation

The Andhra Pradesh Community Based Tank Management Project (APCBTMP) is being implemented by Government of Andhra Pradesh to rehabilitate about 4 lakh ha of command area under Minor Irrigation tank systems in a project mode. The dual objectives of the project are to initiate reforms in the existing programmes and to scale up the new approach of reviving traditional Minor Irrigation Tanks on a sustainable basis.

Under the project, it is proposed to rehabilitate about 3000 Minor Irrigation Tanks covering a command area of about 2.5 lakh ha in 21 districts of the state and also to undertake the rehabilitation work in three batches over five year project period. The four main components of the project are: i) Institutional Strengthening; ii) Irrigation Systems Improvement; iii) Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Support Services ; and Project Management and M & L

As indicated in the Terms of Reference ( TOR), the Project Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation (MLE) framework had been designed to facilitate results – based management, learning for process enhancement and impact evaluation. It is proposed that the three sets of entities will undertake the bulk of the data collection and analysis work and include the following: i) The implementing departments / agencies at state, district and project levels ; ii) An independent external MLE agency; and iii) Beneficiaries , primarily WUAs and various project supported farmer interest groups.

AFC with its vast past experience in the area of Irrigation and Water Management submitted an EOI for long term external Monitoring and Evaluation consultancy of the project. AFC which was shortlisted by the CADA, GOAP has been awarded the assignment.




3. Maharashtra Water Sector Improvement Project (MWSIP) - Consultancy Services for Monitoring & Evaluation of the Project

The Government of Maharashtra is implementing the World Bank Assisted Maharashtra Water Sector Improvement Project at a total cost of $394 million effective from September 2005 with a duration of six years which is scheduled to close on September 2011.

The development objectives of the project are: i) to strengthen the State’s capacity for multi-sectoral planning, development and sustainable management of the water resources; and ii) to improve irrigation service delivery and productivity of irrigated agriculture. The main project components are: i) Water Sector Institutional Restructuring and Capacity Building; ii) Improving Irrigation Water Service Delivery and Management; iii) Innovative Pilots - Piloting of user centered aquifer level ground water management; and Innovative agriculture; in four pilot areas; and iv) Project Management. MWSIP is an integrated water resources development and utilization project jointly implemented by several departments of the Govt of Maharashtra viz. Water Resources (WR); Agriculture and Groundwater Departments.

AFC, in collaboration with M/s.Sheladia Associates, Inc, USA, was selected for the Monitoring and Evaluation of Maharashtra Water Sector Improvement Project by the Department of Water Resources, Government of Maharashtra, on a competitive bidding, against other international and reputed national organizations.

The basic objective of the assignment is to carry out the task of monitoring and evaluation of progress of the project as an independent agency which includes the following major activities: i) Tracking progress in the implementation of various project components; ii) Identifying problems as they arise and suggesting remedial actions to help and ensure that the project achieves its intended objectives.

The assignment focuses on two priority areas: a) Monitoring and Evaluating the progress in the provision of critical project inputs, including financial and physical inputs and implementation of institutional reforms; b) Monitoring and Evaluating progress in achieving the project outputs and outcomes.

The contract was signed on June 18,2007 and the consultants are looking forward to provide all necessary valuable input jointly.