Final Evaluation of the project Hydroponic Green Forage – a Fodder Solution for livestock in Regions with Land and Water Scarcity

Project Description and Background to Evaluation

This pilot project aims to test the economic and technical feasibility of introducing a technology that allows the production of forage with a minimum of water and land. Hydroponic Green Forage (HGF) is the production of grass from grain seeds (barley, oats, wheat, corn, etc.) in a greenhouse, without soil.

The process takes 8-15 days, capturing the energy from the sun and using the nutrients present in the same seeds. Instead of soil, the seeds are “sown” in trays that are placed vertically in racks.

The hydroponic system does not need land (except for the greenhouse), nor long production periods, nor storage or conservation facilities. The end product is highly nutritious forage that is 100% edible, with a digestibility of 85-90% (compared to 60-70% in the case of alfalfa grass) and is free of contaminants.

When the HGF reaches a height of 25-30 cm, it is harvested and fed entirely (incl. roots) to the animals. The productivity per m2 of HGF compared to natural grass is hundreds of times higher, while the water use per kg of forage compared to irrigated pastures is a fraction.

The technique allows the production of fresh forage during the dry season when natural forage is scarce. It also limits the need to move animals around, which is highly (child) labor-intensive and a common cause for conflicts over grazing grounds.

Two important changes were made to the original design during the implementation phase. The first is related to the animals used: in the initial setup HGF was to be fed to both sheep and guinea pigs. However, sheep appeared to be a loss-giving activity, no matter what feeding system was used.

The focus therefore shifted to only guinea pigs which is highly profitable and has a fast growing market. The second change is related to the business model: originally the setup of a community-based enterprise was foreseen.

However, due to organizational problems, the enterprise was not able to reach sufficient production to become sustainable before the project ended. Therefore, the focus shifted to household based enterprises that with their low fixed costs where much easier to make sustainable during the short duration of the project (2 years).

The evaluation was implemented at the end of the operational phase to comply with donor requirements (incl. USAID) and to identify the main lessons from this pilot experience. A (more thorough) SF report about the same experience will be produced in 2016.

Purpose/objective

The purpose of the evaluation is to improve the effectiveness of similar future interventions.

Methodology

The document compares the assumptions and original planning of the project with the realization on the ground and analyzes the reasons of any significant deviations.

Sources of information include the original project proposal (incl. Logical Framework), technical progress reports produced by SF, TDN and the external consultant that advised the project, external literature, field visits to beneficiaries, and interviews with farmers, project staff, program staff of SF and TDN.

A focus group session with the farmers involved formed also part of the methodology. The evaluation took place in August and September 2015.

Key findings

1. As expected, the introduction of new technologies caused some initial resistance but the flexibility of the project was sufficient to gain progressively acceptance among the target population, resulting in a flexible technology package and business model that facilitates adaptation and replication.
2. The change of strategy from community enterprise to household enterprises and from sheep to guinea pigs, definitely helped to improve project results.
3. The change in values in the indicators is positive except for associative production units. The implementation of the project has managed to raise the level of household income of the target group with more than 15 %. Most households had no income from this activity prior to the pilot project, showing the great potential of the project to improve economic conditions.
4. Of the 46 household trained and equipped, 36 can be considered functioning as businesses. This suggests that this aspect was not fully successful. However, the association created by the 46 households is still in development, which increases the level of cohesion among its members and management capacity. This capacity building would ensure the sustainability of the project.
5. The HGF production is behind target, which can be explained by a lack of technical follow up. Of 36 household enterprises, 26 are producing HGF. However, the adoption of the technology and growth of guinea pig population is evident, which is an indication of sustainability with economic impact.
6. The number of guinea pigs sold every month increases, which is an important success factor of the project. However, there is not yet any evidence of collective marketing managed by the producer organization, which shows the initial difficulty of management and weak organizational cohesion of the participants.
7. The pilot project met the objectives, despite having eliminated sheep raising component. The pilot implementation is an experience worth replicating.

Recommendations

• Further strengthening of the producers’ association.
• Longer monitoring and training of households that have adopted the new technologies.
• Introduce the HGF component in other projects that promote guinea pig breeding.
• Strengthen the capacity of the permanent technical team that gives follow up to producers. 
• Apply for national funding to replicate the project at a larger scale.

Comments from the organisation

• The community enterprise had both a demonstration/training and a production function. Setting up a new enterprise is probably not the most efficient way of realizing these functions. In a new phase, we would probably prefer to strengthen an existing producer to play this role. This is cheaper and more sustainable.
• With data deriving from the project, SF has calculated the feasibility of the household “HGF-plus-guinea-pig” production model and concludes it is highly profitable and worthwhile replicating.
• In order to scale up, it is necessary to organise and develop the guinea pig value chain so that many thousands of guinea pig producers can connect to the fast growing urban markets. This may be subject of a second phase.