1

Preface ..................................................................................................................................3
Scope and Methodology .......................................................................................................3
Revised Edition .....................................................................................................................4
Using This Book ...................................................................................................................5
Organization of Chapters ......................................................................................................5
..............................................................................................................................................5
Computations ........................................................................................................................5
Units of Measurement and Currency ....................................................................................6
Notation ................................................................................................................................6
Technical Terms ...................................................................................................................7
..............................................................................................................................................7
Supporting Materials .............................................................................................................7
1. Projects, The Cutting Edge of Development ....................................................................9
What Is a Project? .................................................................................................................9
Plans and Projects .................................................................................................................11
Advantages of the Project Format ........................................................................................12
Limitations of the Project Format .........................................................................................13
Aspects of Project Preparation and Analysis ........................................................................15
The Project Cycle ..................................................................................................................22
Accuracy of Agricultural Project Analyses ..........................................................................27
Why Agricultural Project Analyses Prove Wrong ................................................................29
Steps in Project Analysis ......................................................................................................36
2. Identifying Project Costs and Benefits .............................................................................38
Objectives, Costs, and Benefits ............................................................................................38
"With" and "Without" Comparisons .....................................................................................41
Direct Transfer Payments .....................................................................................................42
Costs of Agricultural Projects ...............................................................................................44
Tangible Benefits of Agricultural Projects ...........................................................................47
Secondary Costs and Benefits ...............................................................................................50
Intangible Costs and Benefits ...............................................................................................52
3. Pricing Project Costs and Benefits ....................................................................................53
..............................................................................................................................................53
..............................................................................................................................................53
Prices Reflect Value ..............................................................................................................53
Finding Market Prices ...........................................................................................................57
Predicting Future Prices ........................................................................................................61
Prices for Internationally Traded Commodities ....................................................................64
Financial Export and Import Parity Prices ............................................................................65
..............................................................................................................................................70
4. Farm Investment Analysis ................................................................................................71
..............................................................................................................................................71
Objectives of Financial Analysis ..........................................................................................71
Elements of Farm Investment Analysis ................................................................................78
Net Benefit Increase ..............................................................................................................119
..............................................................................................................................................119
5. Financial Analysis of Processing Industries .....................................................................120
2
Balance Sheet ........................................................................................................................122
Income Statement .................................................................................................................126
Sources-and-Uses-of-Funds Statement .................................................................................128
Financial Ratios ....................................................................................................................133
Financial Rate of Return .......................................................................................................138
6. Analyzing Project Effects on Government Receipts and Expenditures ............................142
Government Cash Flow ........................................................................................................143
Foreign Exchange Flow ........................................................................................................147
Cost Recovery .......................................................................................................................151
Joint Cost Allocation ............................................................................................................160
7. Determining Economic Values .........................................................................................168
..............................................................................................................................................168
Determining the Premium on Foreign Exchange .................................................................170
Adjusting Financial Prices to Economic Values ...................................................................173
1
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF AGRICULTURAL PROJECTS
J. Price Gittinger
Economic Development Institute
The World Bank
1984
1
Preface 3
Scope and Methodology 3
Revised Edition 4
Using This Book 5
Organization of Chapters 5
5
Computations 5
Units of Measurement and Currency 6
Notation 6
Technical Terms 7
7
Supporting Materials 7
1. Projects, The Cutting Edge of Development 9
What Is a Project? 9
Plans and Projects 11
Advantages of the Project Format 12
Limitations of the Project Format 13
Aspects of Project Preparation and Analysis 15
The Project Cycle 22
Accuracy of Agricultural Project Analyses 27
Why Agricultural Project Analyses Prove Wrong 29
Steps in Project Analysis 36
2. Identifying Project Costs and Benefits 38
Objectives, Costs, and Benefits 38
"With" and "Without" Comparisons 41
Direct Transfer Payments 42
Costs of Agricultural Projects 44
Tangible Benefits of Agricultural Projects 47
Secondary Costs and Benefits 50
Intangible Costs and Benefits 52
3. Pricing Project Costs and Benefits 53
53
53
Prices Reflect Value 53
Finding Market Prices 57
Predicting Future Prices 61
Prices for Internationally Traded Commodities 64
Financial Export and Import Parity Prices 65
70
4. Farm Investment Analysis 71
71
Objectives of Financial Analysis 71
Elements of Farm Investment Analysis 78
Net Benefit Increase 119
119
5. Financial Analysis of Processing Industries 120
2
Balance Sheet 122
Income Statement 126
Sources-and-Uses-of-Funds Statement 128
Financial Ratios 133
Financial Rate of Return 138
6. Analyzing Project Effects on Government Receipts and Expenditures 142
Government Cash Flow 143
Foreign Exchange Flow 147
Cost Recovery 151
Joint Cost Allocation 160
7. Determining Economic Values 168
168
Determining the Premium on Foreign Exchange 170
Adjusting Financial Prices to Economic Values 173
PREFACE
This book was written to provide those responsible for agricultural investments in developing countries
with sound analytical tools they can apply to estimate the income-generating potential of proposed
projects.
Scope and Methodology
The book has not been written only for a narrow grouping of agricul-tural economists. Rather, it is
intended for all who must share in shaping agricultural projects if these undertakings are to be high-yield-
ing invest-ments: agronomists, livestock specialists, irrigation engineers, and many others. All these peo-
ple are meant when the term "analyst" is used. To the existing resources of these diverse professionals, the
book adds a tool for multidisciplinary use so that many with many skills can work together in applying
their knowledge to analyze proposed projects.
The formal economic theory underlying the analytical system outlined here is not complicated; it certainly
is not so technical as to cause problems for noneconomists. For those not already familiar with it, I have
discussed the necessary economic theory in the course of the pre-sentation and have defined technical
terms both in the text and in the glossary-index at the end of the book. The mathematical techniques used
are also simple; they are limited to addition, subtraction, division, multiplication, and the simplest algebra.
The computations needed for project analysis, however, are too tedious to be done by hand. A simple elec-
tronic calculator is a virtual necessity (see chapter 10 under "Calculator Applications in Project Analysis"),
but there is no need for advanced calculators or computers.
The analytical system outlined in this book is a consistent statement of the general methodology currently
employed by the World Bank for all but a few of its project analyses (Gittinger, Garg, and Thieme 1982).
(The details of World Bank analyses vary somewhat according to the sector and the views of individual
analysts.) With minor variations, the system is also used by most international agencies concerned with
capital trans-fer, including the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the Inter-
American Development Bank. The economic analy-sis in this system is based on "efficiency prices"-prices
that show effects on national income broadly defined. The system enables us to judge which among project
alternatives is most likely to contribute the largest amount to national income. The system underlies mil-
lions of dollars of investment decisions made every year. Thick volumes of economic analy-sis backing up
proposed investments usually involve nothing more com-plicated than what is discussed in the following
pages-although large investments may require much elaboration and may involve intermedi-ate steps to
accommodate all the "ins" and "outs" of a complex agri-cultural project.
In recent years several analytical systems have been proposed that extend the methodology outlined here to
take into account not only the contribution a project makes to national income but also the effect of a
project on income distribution and saving. Most notable are those of Little and Mirrlees (1974), the
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (1972a), and Squire and van der Tak
(1975). These analytical systems, which remain the subject of much professional dis-cussion, are far more
complex than the one I have presented. The system outlined here, however, is compatible with these more
complex systems; in fact, Squire and van der Tak recommend the same methodology for project identifica-
tion and valuation. The difference is that, once Squire and van der Tak have determined economic values
on the basis of efficiency prices, they then proceed to weight those values to account for income distribu-
tion and saving. In the analytical system given here, we will stop with the efficiency price analysis. We will
then suggest making a subjective decision to choose among the high-yielding alternatives the one that has
the most favorable effects on income distribution, saving, and other national objectives. The system out-
lined here is not im-mediately adaptable to the Little and Mirrlees or the UNIDO systems, but there are no
major conceptual differences up to the point we carry the analysis. Both Little and Mirrlees and UNIDO rec-
ommend further refine-ments to allow for the effects on income distribution and saving that are not incor-
porated in the formal analytical scheme recommended here.
Revised Edition
Compared with the first edition, published in 1972, this second, revised edition has an expanded discussion
of the project approach that incorpo-rates more recent experience and provides more detailed and rigorous
treatment of identifying, pricing, and valuing costs and benefits. The basic analytical system, however, is
unchanged. Much additional mate-rial has been added on farm budgets and other aspects of financial anal-
ysis, and a bit more on the methodology of comparing costs and benefits.
In the Economic Development Institute (EDI), the first edition has been extensively used for teaching
project analysis. The sequence of topics taken up in EDI courses on agricultural and rural development,
rural credit, livestock, and irrigation projects generally follows the order found here. Thus, the overall con-
cept of a project is presented first, followed by farm budgets and financial analysis, and then by economic
analysis. (For a more detailed description of the process of project analy-sis, and of the organization of the
chapters in this book, see the last section of chapter 1, "Steps in Project Analysis.") In practice, however,
the methodology of comparing costs and benefits discussed in chapters 9 and 10 is usually taught in paral-
lel with the topics on financial and economic analysis. This both permits a change of pace in the teaching
and gives course participants more time to practice using methodologi-cal tools before proceeding to case
studies in which they are asked to apply their knowledge of financial and economic analysis and their
methodological skills. EDI has prepared a number of case studies and other training materials to teach agri-
cultural and rural development project analysis, and these are available to others teaching these sub-jects.
(See the last page of this book for information about how to obtain these materials.)
Acknowledgments
I could never have written a book such as this without extensive help from many, many people. The
book grows out of lectures and training materials prepared for EDI courses, and its style reflects its ori-
gin. I have benefited enormously from, and this revised edition has been informed by, participants in
these courses both at EM headquarters and in develop-ing countries. Readers will note I have made lib-
eral use of training materials prepared by my colleagues.
It is impossible to acknowledge all the individuals who have helped me, but special appreciation should be
expressed to Hans A. Adler, George B. Baldwin, Maxwell L. Brown, Colin F. M. Bruce, Orlando T.Espa-
das, F. Leslie C. H. Helmers, P. D. Henderson, William I. Jones, Klaus Meyn, Frank H. Lamson-Scribner,
David H. Penny, Walter Schaef-er-Kehnert, Arnold von Ruemker, Jack L. Upper, and William A. Ward, all
presently or formerly with the EDi; to numerous present and former staff working with agricultural
projects in the World Bank, especially Graham Donaldson, Lionel J. C. Evans, John D. Von Pischke, Gor-
don Temple, Willi A. Wapenhans, and A. Robert Whyte; and to Frederick J. Hitzhusen, Ohio State Univer-
sity, and John D. MacArthur, University of Bradford.
5
USING THIS BOOK
The organization, conventions and notation, and special features of this book are briefly explained here at
the outset for the reader's convenience.
Organization of Chapters
Chapters are presented in an order that in general follows the process of preparing an agricultural project
analysis. The sequence of this pro-cess is described in the last section of chapter 1, "Steps in Project Analy-
sis." Because the analytical process is iterative, chapters frequently contain cross-references to appropriate
sections and subsections in other chapters.
Computations
Project analyses rest on many assumptions that by their very nature are only approximate. The final results
of computations, therefore, should be rounded with this limitation in mind and presented appro-priately
with only significant digits included-say, in millions or thousands of currency units, thousands or hundreds
of tons or hectares, or the like. To make methodological points more apparent, however, many illustrative
computations in this book have been carried out much further than called for by such a rule. Hence, they
should not be taken as a model for presentation. (See the section in chapter 9 entitled "How Far to Carry
Out Computations of Discounted Measures" for a discussion of this topic.)
Decimals and commas in numbers
Throughout this book, a decimal is indicated by a point set level with the bottom of the line of type (.). In
numbers of 1,000 or greater (except those designating the year), a comma (,) distinguishes groupings of
thousands. Thus, 1 million would be written 1,000,000.0. Whenever a decimal fraction appears that is less
than 1, a zero appears before the decimal point to avoid misreading the fraction; thus, one-fourth appears in
decimal form as 0.25.
Rounding convention
For all computations in this book, the following rules have been used for rounding:
1. When a value of less than 5 is to be dropped, the digit to the left is unchanged.
2. When a value of more than 5 is to be dropped, the digit to the left is increased by 1.
3. When a value of exactly 5 is to be dropped, the digit to the left, if even, is left unchanged;
if odd, it is raised by 1. Under this rule, all numbers that have been rounded by dropping an
exact value of 5 are reported as even numbers.
Thus, in the first illustrative tabulation in the "Compounding" subsec-tion of chapter 9, the fol-
lowing rounding will be found:
1,050 x 1.05 = 1,102.50 rounded to 1,102 (Rule 3) 1,102 x 1.05 = 1,157. 10 rounded to
1,157 (Rule 1) 1,157 x 1.05 = 1,214.85 rounded to 1,215 (Rule 2).
Calculations
6
Throughout the text, illustrative calculations made in project analysis are given (within parentheses or
brackets) after the explanation of how they are derived. Most of these calculations are done by simple
arithme-tic. (For the sake of completeness, there are many calculations presented in this manner that are
very simple; I hope the reader will be patient with such obvious examples.) More elaborate formulas are
displayed on the page.
Units of Measurement and Currency
Metric units are used for all measurements unless otherwise speci-fied-thus, "tons" refers to metric tons,
not "long" or "short" tons. Special units-for example, "animal units" or "work days"-are defined in the
text and in the glossary-index (see "Supporting Materials," below). To emphasize the worldwide scope
of agricultural development efforts, examples of project accounts give money amounts in the cur-rency
of the country in which the project is located. The standard sym-bols for these currencies are identified
in the text and tables; when appropriate, generic "currency units" are also used.
Notation
An explanation of the conventions used for notation in this book may help in reading the tables, mathemat-
ical formulations, and the six-decimal discount factors.
Tables
In the tables in this book a zero indicates "none" or "no amount," and a dash (-) indicates "not applicable."
In chapters 4, 5, and 6, and in tables 9-7 and 9-8 where financial accounts are discussed, the accounting
con-vention of indicating negative numbers by parentheses has been adopted. In all other tables, negative
numbers are indicated by a minus sign (-).
The tables in this book are of several general kinds: tables that lay out methods of calculation (for example,
tables 3-3 and 7-2); "pattern account" tables that lay out a recommended format for project accounts for
either financial analysis (the tables in chapter 4) or economic analysis (the tables in chapter 7); and the
usual sort of table that simply presents project data.
In some of the pattern account tables additional information for under-standing (for example, the financial
or economic rate of return) is given after the main rows of entries. The reader is reminded that, to arrive at
the total values in the tables of chapters 9 and 10 that include entries for multiyear spans, annual amounts
must be included for the number of years involved.
In tables that illustrate financial accounts, the reader should note that in some cases intervening years have
been omitted (see, for example, table 5-1).
To aid computation, portions of Compounding and Discounting Tables for Project Evaluation (Gittinger
1973) have been reproduced in the seven compounding and discounting tables that appear in this book.
Mathematics
As noted above, standard arithmetical notation has been used through-out the book. When division is indi-
cated in a line of figures, a division sign (=) is used rather than a slash (/).
7
In the section in chapter 10 entitled "Calculator Applications in Project Analysis" the operations that are
indicated on the keys of the simple electronic calculator used are shown in the text in boldface type.
Six-decimal discount factors
When six-decimal discount factors are used in the text or in tables, a notation of inserting a space between
the third and fourth decimal places has been followed to make the factors easier to read.
Technical Terms
Specialized financial, accounting, economic, and project terms (and the few acronyms and abbreviations
used in the book) have been com-piled and defined in the glossary-index (see "Supporting Materials,"
below). The most important of these, of course, are also defined in the text where they apply.As a guide to
understanding the format of project accounts, the prin-cipal headings of the pattern account tables-catego-
ries that are likely to appear in most agricultural project analyses-have been listed in italic type in the text
of chapters 4, 5, 6, and 8.
Supporting Materials
The reader may find supporting materials that are included in this book, or available from the sources indi-
cated, helpful for further study of project analysis.
Appendixes
Chapter appendixes supplement the discussion of topics in chapters 4, 8, and 9. Appendixes to the book
provide general guidelines for preparing an agricultural project analysis report (appendix A); give sum-
mary dis-counting tables for common discount rates and the formulas for comput-ing discount factors
directly using an electronic calculator (appendix B); and discuss the bilateral and multilateral sources of
specialized assist-ance for the preparation of complex agricultural projects (appendix C). The assistance
discussed in appendix C is negotiated and undertaken at the institutional level by the agencies and govern-
ments involved.
Bibliographic sources
Primary sources have been identified in the text by the author's sur-name and the publication date of the
material cited. These sources, and additional references, are listed and annotated in the bibliogra-
phy.Sources of some individual tables and figures are not listed in the bibliography but are cited in full in
the appropriate table or figure legend. Some of these source materials have restricted circulation and are
unavailable to the general public.
I could not have written this book without access to the experience of the Economic Development Institute
(EM) and its parent institution, the World Bank. The record of this experience is predominantly in the pub-
lic domain. Information about how to obtain publications of the EDi and of the World Bank will be found
on the last page of this book.
Glossary-Index
8
As an aid to the reader, the index has been enhanced by incorporating glossary entries that define the prin-
cipal technical terms used in this book. Because interpretation of some of these terms varies among the
specialists involved in preparing agricultural project analyses (these professionals are an inquisitive lot-
they have to be-and the field is a dynamic and changing one), the definitions given cannot be "defini-tive"-
they reflect the use of these terms in this book.
Project examples
Data from actual agricultural project investments assisted by the World Bank or other international devel-
opment agencies or financed by governments have been used to illustrate the analytical methodology pre-
sented here. The adaptation and interpretation of these data are my own. The use of project information in
this book is purely illustrative; it does not represent a judgment by the funding agency or borrowing gov-
ernment about any particular project.
9
1. PROJECTS, THE CUTTING EDGE OF DEVELOPMENT
.Projects are the cutting edge of development. Perhaps the most difficult single problem confronting agri-
cultural administrators in developing countries is implementing development programs. Much of this can
be traced to poor project preparation.
Project preparation is clearly not the only aspect of agricultural development or planning. Identifying
national agricultural development objectives, selecting priority areas for investment, designing effective
price policies, and mobilizing resources are all critical. But for most agricultural development activities,
careful project preparation in advance of expenditure is, if not absolutely essential, at least the best avail-
able means to ensure efficient, economic use of capital funds and to increase the chances of implementa-
tion on schedule. Unless projects are carefully prepared in substantial detail, inefficient or even wasteful
expenditure is almost sure to result-a tragic loss in nations short of capital.
Yet in many countries the capacity to prepare and analyze projects lags. Administrators, even those in
important planning positions, continually underestimate the time and effort needed to prepare suitable
projects. So much attention is paid to policy formulation and planning of a much broader scope that admin-
istrators often overlook the specific
projects on which to spend available money and on which much development depends. Ill-conceived, hast-
ily planned projects, virtually improvised on the spot, are too often the result.
What Is a Project?
In this book we will discuss how to compare the stream of investment and production costs of an agricul-
tural undertaking with the flow of benefits it will produce. The whole complex of activities in the undertak-
ing that uses resources to gain benefits constitutes the agricultural project. If this definition seems broad, it
is intentionally so. As we shall see, the project format can accommodate diverse agricultural endeavors. An
enormous variety of agricultural activities may usefully be cast in project form. The World Bank itself
lends for agricultural projects as different as irrigation, livestock, rural credit, land settlement, tree crops,
agricultural machinery, and agricultural education, as well as for multisectoral rural development projects
with a major agricultural component. In agricultural project planning, form should follow analytical con-
tent.
We generally think of an agricultural project as an investment activity in which financial resources are
expended to create capital assets that produce benefits over an extended period of time. In some projects,
however, costs are incurred for production expenses or maintenance from which benefits can normally be
expected quickly, usually within about a year. The techniques discussed in this book are equally applicable
to estimating the returns from increased current expenditure in both kinds of projects.
Indeed, the dividing line between an "investment" and a "production" expenditure in an agricultural project
is not all that clear. Fertilizers, pesticides, and the like are generally thought of as production expenses used
up within a single crop season or, in any event, within a year. A dam, a tractor, a building, or a breeding
herd is generally thought of as an investment from which a return will be realized over several years. But
the same kind of activity may be considered a production expense in one project and an investment in
another. Transplanting rice is a production expense. Planting rubber trees is an investment. But from the
standpoint of agronomics and economics they are not different kinds of activities at all. In both cases
young plants grown in a nursery are set out in the fields, and from them a benefit is expected when they
mature. The only difference is the time span during which the plants grow.
10
Often projects form a clear and distinct portion of a larger, less precisely identified program. The whole
program might possibly be analyzed as a single project, but by and large it is better to keep projects rather
small, close to the minimum size that is economically, technically, and administratively feasible. Similarly,
it is generally better in planning projects to analyze successive increments or distinct phases of activity; in
this way the return to each relatively small increment can be
judged separately. If a project approaches program size, there is a danger that high returns from one part of
it will mask low returns from another. A 100,000-hectare land settlement program may well be better ana-
lyzed as five 20,000-hectare projects if the soils and slopes in some parts are markedly different from those
in others. Analyzing the whole project may hide the fact that it is economically unwise to develop some
parts of the 100,000-hectare area instead of moving on to an entirely different region. When arranging for
external financing or planning the administrative structure, it is sometimes convenient for planners to
group several closely related projects into a single, larger "package." In these instances it may still be pref-
erable to retain the separate analyses of individual components, in a composite of the whole, rather than to
aggregate them into a single, overall analysis.
Again, all we can say in general about a project is that it is an activity for which money will be spent in
expectation of returns and which logically seems to lend itself to planning, financing, and implementing as
a unit. It is the smallest operational element prepared and implemented as a separate entity in a national
plan or program of agricultural development. It is a specific activity, with a specific starting point and a
specific ending point, intended to accomplish specific objectives. Usually it is a unique activity noticeably
different from preceding, similar investments, and it is likely to be different from succeeding ones, not a
routine segment of an ongoing program.
It will have a well-defined sequence of investment and production activities, and a specific group of bene-
fits, that we can identify, quantify, and, usually in agricultural projects, determine a money value for.
If development can be pictured as a progression with many dimensions-temporal, spatial, sociocultural,
financial, economic-projects can be seen as the temporal and spatial units, each with a financial and eco-
nomic value and a social impact, that make up the continuum. A project is an undertaking an observer can
draw a boundary around-at least a conceptual boundary-and say "this is the project." As well as its time
sequence of investments, production, and benefits, the project normally will have a specific geographic
location or a rather clearly understood geographic area of concentration. Probably there will also be a spe-
cific clientele in the region whom the project is intended to reach and whose traditional social pattern the
project will affect.
Given the usefulness of the project format in the development process, the project has increasingly been
used as a "time slice" of a long-term program for a region, a commodity, or a function such as agricultural
extension. Although such projects normally have a definite beginning and end, the importance of these
starting and finishing points is reduced. Such
,
a use of the project format also makes quantification of ben-
efits more difficult because some benefits may not be realized until subsequent phases of the program that
are not included in the project. Often a project will have a partially or wholly independent administrative
structure and set of accounts and will be funded through a specifically defined financial package. I hope
that, after following the methodology presented
11
here, readers will also subject their projects to an analysis of financial results and economic justification.
People are sometimes concerned that they do not have an academic definition of what a project is. There is
no need to be; in practice, the definition works itself out. There are much more important aspects of project
analysis to grapple with than an academic formulation of a project definition.
Plans and Projects
Virtually every developing country has a systematically elaborated national plan to hasten economic
growth and further a range of social objectives. Projects provide an important means by which investment
and other development expenditures foreseen in plans can be clarified and realized. Sound development
plans require good projects, just as good projects require sound planning. The two are interdependent.
Sound planning rests on the availability of a wide range of information about existing and potential invest-
ments and their likely effects on growth and other national objectives. It is project analysis that provides
this information, and those projects selected for implementation then become the vehicle for using
resources to create new income. Realistic planning involves knowing the amount that can be spent on
development activities each year and the resources that will be required for particular kinds of investment.
Project selection must always be based in part on numerical indicators of the value of costs and returns.
These can often be measured through valuation at the market prices-the prices at which goods or services
are actually traded. Unfortunately, however, market prices may be misleading indicators of the use and
return of real resources, so governments need to look at other aspects of potential investments to judge the
real effects the investments will have. For this, good project analysis is a tremendous asset, since the
investment proposal can be valued to reflect the true scarcity of resources when market prices do not.
(Note that by market prices we refer to the actual prices at which goods and services are traded in a gener-
alized system of exchange, not to the particular place at which the exchange takes place. To talk of a vil-
lage "market" or a wholesale "market" is to use the word in a slightly different sense. This may seem an
obvious distinction, but in project analysis it does make a difference whether the "market price" is col-
lected in the appropriate "market," and we will return to this issue later.)
Well-analyzed projects often become the vehicle for obtaining outside assistance when both the country
and the external financing agency agree on a specific project activity and know the amount of resources
involved, the timing of loan disbursements, and the benefits likely to be realized. But project analysis
should not be confined to only those investments for which external financing will be sought. The more
investments there are that can be analyzed as projects, the more likely it is that the total use of resources for
development will be efficient and effective. To concentrate a high proportion of available analytical skills
on preparing projects for external assistance, and to leave investment of local resources basically
unplanned, is a wasteful allocation of talent. If carefully designed and high-yielding projects are offset by
essentially unplanned investments, then the net contribution to national objectives is substantially under-
mined.
Sound planning requires good projects, but effective project preparation and analysis must be set in the
framework of a broader development plan. Projects are a part of an overall development strategy and a
broader planning process; as such, they must fit appropriately. Governments must allocate their available
financial and administrative resources among many sectors and many competing programs. Project analy-
sis can help improve this allocation, but it alone cannot be relied upon to achieve the optimal balance of
objectives. Within the broad strategy, analysts must identify potential projects that address the policy or
production targets and priorities. Further, to make a realistic estimate about the course of a project, some
idea must be gained of what other development activities will be taking place and what policies are likely
12
to be pursued. Will employment growth make labor relatively more productive and thus more expensive to
use in the project? Will input supplies be available at the time the project needs them? Will quotas be
relaxed? Will food grain prices be allowed to rise? Integration of plans and projects becomes all the more
important as the size of the project grows larger relative to the total economy. If the project alone is likely
to have a significant effect on the availability of resources and on prices in the economy as a whole, then it
must be very carefully planned in coordination with other investments and within an appropriate policy
framework included in the national plan.
For the project itself, some elements used in agricultural project analysis should not be worked out in isola-
tion by the individual analyst. All the projects being prepared and analyzed should use a consistent set of
assumptions about such things as the relative scarcity of investment funds, foreign exchange, and labor. All
project analyses should use the same assumptions about the social policies and objectives to be reflected in
such decisions as the location of the project, the size of the landholding to be established, the amount of
social services to be included, and the like.
Advantages of the Project Format
Projects carefully prepared, within the framework of broader development plans, both advance and assess
the larger development effort. The project format itself is an analytical tool. The advantage of casting pro-
posed investment decisions in the project format lies in establishing the framework for analyzing informa-
tion from a wide range of sources. Because no plan can be better than the data and assumptions about the
future on which it is based, the reality of the analysis to a large degree
depends on information from various sources and the considered judgments of various specialists in differ-
ent areas. The project format facilitates gathering the information and laying it out so that many people can
participate in providing information, defining the assumptions on which it is based, and evaluating how
accurate it is.
The project format gives us an idea of costs year by year so that those responsible for providing the neces-
sary resources can do their own planning. Project analysis tells us something about the effects of a pro-
posed investment on the participants in the project, whether they are farmers, small firms, government
enterprises, or the society as a whole. Looking at the effects on individual participants, we can assess the
possible incentives a proposed project has and judge if farmers and others may successfully be induced to
participate.
Casting a proposed investment in project form enables a better judgment about the administrative and
organizational problems that will be encountered. It enables a strengthening of administrative arrange-
ments if these appear to be weak and tells something of the sensitivity of the return to the investment if
managerial problems arise. Careful project planning should make it more likely that the project will be
manageable and that the inherent managerial difficulties will be minimal. The project format gives both
managers and planners better criteria for monitoring the progress of implementation.
The project format encourages conscious and systematic examination of alternatives. The effects of a pro-
posed project on national income and other objectives can conveniently be compared with the effects of
projects in other sectors, of other projects in the same sector, or-very important-of alternative formulations
of virtually the same project. One alternative can be the effects of no project at all.
13
Another advantage of the project format is that it helps contain the data problem. In many developing
countries, national data are unavailable or are, to a substantial degree, unreliable. It is true that a project
must be seen in a national context, but in many instances the direction that a country's development effort
should take is well known, even if precise figures are not available. Most countries know they must
increase food production even if they cannot cite reliable figures about total production or recent growth
rates. By channeling much of the development effort into projects; the lack of reliable national data can be
mitigated. Once the project area or clientele has been determined-once a conceptual boundary has been
drawn-local information on which to base the analysis can be efficiently gathered, field trials can be under-
taken, and a judgment can be made about social and cultural institutions that might influence the choice of
project design and its pace of implementation. Investment can then proceed with confidence.
Because of the advantages of the project format in development planning, I would recommend that its use
be extended to as many kinds of investment analysis as possible, even when this stretches the form. For
projects of the production type-with clear-cut investments and easily valued costs and benefits, as is so
often the case in agriculture-the project format is of course well suited. But many kinds of activities that
might otherwise be thought of as programs can also be effectively cast in project form. Rural credit activi-
ties and even agricultural education, agricultural extension, and agricultural research can be put in project
form to good effect, although the benefits from these kinds of projects may be impossible to value. In these
instances, the orientation of the analysis may simply be changed to that of least-cost comparisons, and the
other advantages of the project format will continue to be realized. These include systematic contributions
to the preparation and review of the project by a wide range of specialists, carefully specified objectives,
systematic consideration of alternatives, year-by-year estimates of cost, and the opportunity to examine
carefully the organizational and managerial implications.
Limitations of the Project Format
Although the project format has many advantages, the results of project analysis must be inter-
preted with caution. Obviously, the quality of project analysis depends on the quality of the data
used and of the forecasts of costs and benefits made. Here the GIGO principle-"garbage in, gar-
bage out"-works with a vengeance. Unrealistic assumptions about yields, acceptance by farmers,
response to incentives by entrepreneurs, the trend of future prices and the relative effect of infla-
tion upon them, market shares, or the quality of project management can make garbage out of the
project analysis.
To begin with, projects will exist in a changing technical environment. For some projects the possibility of
technological obsolescence will affect judgments about the attractiveness of the investment. Fortunately, in
agriculture this is not often a serious problem, although in other sectors it can be.
Because future circumstances will change, we must judge the risk and uncertainty surrounding a project,
and here techniques of project analysis offer only limited help. It is impossible to quantify completely the
risks of a project. We can, however, note that different kinds of projects or different formulations of essen-
tially the same project may involve different degrees of risk. These differences will affect the choice of
project design. We can also test a project for sensitivity to changes in some specific element, see how the
benefit produced by the project will be affected, and then judge how likely it is that such changes will
occur and whether the changes in benefits will alter our willingness to proceed. We could do such "sensi-
tivity analysis," for example, by assuming that future yields will be less than our best estimate or that
future prices will be lower than the level of our most likely projection, and then decide how probable such
shortfalls will be and whether we still wish to continue with the project. Sensitivity analyses that simply
assume "all costs increased by 10 percent" or "all benefits lowered by 10 percent," which are easy to per-
14
form if machine computation is used, are generally of littleusefulness; tests for specific changes that can
lead to decisions on project design are far superior. Techniques have been developed for more formal anal-
ysis of risk, but they have not been widely applied to agricultural projects. They rest on assigning probabil-
ities to a range of alternative assumptions. These techniques are complex and generally require machine
computation.
Project analysis is a species of what economists call "partial analysis." Normally we assume that the
projects themselves are too small in relation to the whole economy to have a significant effect on prices. In
many instances, however, a proposed project is relatively large in relation to a national or regional econ-
omy. In this event we must adjust our assumptions about future price levels to take account of the impact of
the project itself. At best, such adjustments are approximate and may severely limit the usefulness of the
measures of project worth that will be discussed in chapter 9. Much more elaborate analytical procedures
than those discussed here must then be called into play-generally some form of a programming model.
Such techniques were used by the World Bank to analyze development of the Indus Basin in India and
Pakistan, for instance (Lieftinck, Sadove, and Creyke 1968), and have been applied to regional agricultural
development programs in Mexico (Norton and Solis 1982) and Brazil (Kutcher and Scandizzo 1981),
among other countries. Even in those instances, however, the partiality of the assumptions means that the
results must be interpreted with care.
The greater the differences among alternative projects, the more difficult it is to use formal analytical tech-
niques to compare them. Financial and economic analyses of the sort discussed in this book are quite good
for comparing such close alternatives as two versions of an irrigation project, or even an irrigation project
and a land settlement project. They are relatively good for comparing alternative projects having costs and
benefits that can be valued reasonably well-for instance, a project for a food processing plant and another
for irrigation. But when we wish to compare projects whose benefits can be valued rather well (such as
projects to increase agricultural output, or light manufacturing projects) with projects whose benefits can-
not be valued (such as education or rural domestic water supply projects), then the formal techniques can
hardly be used to determine the best alternative. In such instances, the allocation between different projects
must be done more subjectively and as part of an overall development plan. The usefulness of the project
format in these instances is not so much in facilitating comparison between two projects as in ensuring that
both projects are planned so that they can be carried out efficiently.
By and large, project analysis is more useful when it is applied to unique investment activities. Ongoing
services such as police and fire protection, extension services, export promotion, and even normal educa-
tion services are probably better treated as part of a program than as individual projects. The project form
works best where there is a rather clear investment-return cycle and a rather clear definition of geographi-
cal area or clientele.
Another limitation of the project format is an underlying conceptual problem about valuation based on the
price system. The relative value of items in a price system depends on the relative weights that individuals
participating in the system attach to the satisfaction they can obtain with their incomes. They choose
among alternatives, and thus the prices of goods and services balance with the values attached to these
goods and services by all who participate in the market. Such a system, however, reflects the distribution of
income among its participants; in the end, values trace back to existing income distribution. Project analy-
sis takes as a premise that inequities of income distribution can be corrected by suitable policies imple-
mented over a period of time. If such a premise is not accepted, then the whole basis of the valuation
system in project analysis (and of the underlying price system upon which it rests) is called into question.
15
Although project analysis must consciously be placed in a broader political and social environment, in gen-
eral the effects of a project on this environment can be assessed only subjectively. Often economists refer
to "externalities" or side effects, such as skill creation and the development of managerial abilities, that are
by-products of a project. Projects may also be undertaken to further many objectives-such as regional inte-
gration, job creation, or improving rural living conditions-beyond economic growth alone. The less subject
to valuing these objectives are, the less formal are the project analysis techniques that can be used to com-
pare them, although the project format can still be effectively used to encourage careful planning and effi-
ciency.
Furthermore, projects are not the only development initiatives that governments may undertake. The devel-
opment process calls for such measures as good price policies, carefully designed tariff policies, and par-
ticipation in discussions to obtain wider market access, and none of these lends itself easily to being cast in
project form.
Projects are planned and implemented in a political environment. This is as it must be, since it is the polit-
ical process that enables societies to balance many, often conflicting, objectives. But questions inevitably
arise about the political overtones of project analysis. Is the "national" interest the same as the "social"
interest? In project planning and analysis how do we adequately incorporate such considerations as
national integrity, nation building, or national defense? One objective may be to benefit disadvantaged
groups or regions, but projects in which these objectives are important may not always be the most remu-
nerative. Political leaders must respond to all sorts of pressures, and the way they weigh various tradeoffs
may not lead to the same conclusions a project analyst would reach.
All this is to say that, even though the analytical methods we will discuss can be of great help in identifying
which projects will increase national income most rapidly, they will not make the actual decision of project
investment. That decision is one on which many, many factors other than quantitative or even purely eco-
nomic considerations must be brought to bear. A settlement project and a plantation project may have
roughly similar economic benefits, but the settlement alternative may be chosen because it promises better
income distribution benefits. Or, the analysis may reveal that the plantation project is more profitable and
may give an idea of just how much so. Is the social benefit of the lower-paying project worth forgoing the
probable future income from the higher-paying project? In the final analysis, any national investment deci-
sion must be a political act that embodies the best judgment of those responsible. The function of project
analysis is not to replace this judgment. Rather, it is to provide one more tool (a very effective one, we
hope) by which judgment can be sharpened and the likelihood of error reduced.
Aspects of Project Preparation and Analysis
To design and analyze effective projects, those responsible must consider many aspects that together deter-
mine how remunerative a proposed investment will be. All these aspects are related. Each touches on the
others, and a judgment about one aspect affects judgments about all the others. All must be considered and
reconsidered at every stage in the project planning and implementation cycle. A major responsibility of the
project analyst is to keep questioning all the technical specialists who are contributing to a project plan to
ensure that all relevant aspects have been explicitly considered and allowed for. Here we will divide
project preparation and analysis into six aspects: technical, institutional-organizational-managerial, social,
commercial, financial, and economic. These categories derive from those suggested by Ripman (1964), but
alternative groupings would be equally valid for purposes of discussion.
Technical aspects
16
The technical analysis concerns the project's inputs (supplies) and outputs (production) of real goods and
services. It is extremely important, and the project framework must be defined clearly enough to permit the
technical analysis to be thorough and precise. The other aspects of project analysis can only proceed in
light of the technical analysis, although the technical assumptions of a project plan will most likely need to
be revised as the other aspects are examined in detail. Good technical staff are essential for this work; they
may be drawn from consulting firms or technical assistance agencies abroad. They will be more effective if
they have a good understanding of the various aspects of project analysis, but technical staff, no matter
how competent, cannot work effectively if they are not given adequate time or if they do not have the sym-
pathetic cooperation and informed supervision of planning officials.
The technical analysis will examine the possible technical relations in a proposed agricultural project: the
soils in the region of the project and their potential for agricultural development; the availability of water,
both natural (rainfall, and its distribution) and supplied (the possibilitiesfor developing irrigation, with its
associated drainage works); the crop varieties and livestock species suited to the area; the production sup-
plies and their availability; the potential and desirability of mechanization; and pests endemic in the area
and the kinds of control that will be needed. On the basis of these and similar considerations, the technical
analysis will determine the potential yields in the project area, the coefficients of production, potential
cropping patterns, and the possibilities for multiple cropping. The technical analysis will also examine the
marketing and storage facilities required for the successful operation of the project, and the processing sys-
tems that will be needed.
The technical analysis may identify gaps in information that must be filled either before project planning or
in the early stages of implementation (if allowance is made for the project to be modified as more informa-
tion becomes available). There may need to be soil surveys, groundwater surveys, or collection of hydro-
logical data. More may need to be known about the farmers in the project, their current farming methods,
and their social values to ensure realistic choices about technology. Field trials may be needed to verify
yields and other information locally.
As the technical analysis proceeds, the project analyst must continue to make sure that the technical work
is thorough and appropriate, that the technical estimates and projections relate to realistic conditions, and
that farmers using the proposed technology on their own fields can realize the results projected.
Institutional-organizational-managerial aspects
A whole range of issues in project preparation revolves around the overlapping institutional, organiza-
tional, and managerial aspects of projects, which clearly have an important effect on project implementa-
tion.
One group of questions asks whether the institutional setting of the project is appropriate. The sociocul-
tural patterns and institutions of those the project will serve must be considered. Does the project design
take into account the customs and culture of the farmers who will participate? Will the project involve dis-
ruption of the ways in which farmers are accustomed to working? If it does, what provisions are made to
help them shift to new patterns? What communication systems exist to bring farmers new information and
teach them new skills? Changing customary procedures is usually slow. Has enough time been allowed for
farmers to accept the new procedures, or is the project plan overly optimistic about rates of acceptance?
17
To have a chance of being carried out, a project must relate properly to the institutional structure of the
country and region. What will be the arrangements for land tenure? What size holding will be encouraged?
Does the project incorporate local institutions and use them to further the project? How will the administra-
tive organization of the project relate to existing agencies? Is there to be a separate project authority? What
will be its links to the relevant operating ministries? Will the staff be able to work with existing agencies or
will there be institutional jealousies? Too often a project's organization simply builds up opposition within
other agencies; at the very least, the project analyst must be sure such friction is minimized. He should
arrange for all agencies concerned to have an opportunity to comment on the proposed organization of the
project and ensure that their views enter in the deliberation to the fullest extent possible.
The organizational proposals should be examined to see that the project is manageable. Is the organization
such that lines of authority will be clear? Are authority and responsibility properly linked? Does the orga-
nizational design encourage delegation of authority, or do too many people report directly to the project
director? Does the proposed organization take proper account of the customs and organizational proce-
dures common in the country and region? Or, alternatively, does it introduce enough change in organiza-
tional structure to break out of ineffective traditional organizational forms? Are ample provisions included
for managers and government supervisors to obtain up-to-date information on the progress of the project?
Is a special monitoring group needed? What about training arrangements? Does the project have sufficient
authority to keep its accounts in order and to make disbursements promptly?
Managerial issues are crucial to good project design and implementation. The analyst must examine the
ability of available staff to judge whether they can administer such large-scale public sector activities as a
complex water project, an extension service, or a credit agency. If such skills are scarce or absent, should
this be reflected in a less complex project organization? Perhaps the technical analysis of the project should
be consulted and the project design concentrate on fewer or less complex technological innovations. When
managerial skills are limited, provision may have to be made for training, especially of middle-level per-
sonnel. In some cases expatriate managers may have to be hired, and this may raise other problems, such as
the acceptance of the project manager by the local people and the loss of the experience the expatriate man-
ager gained while working on the project when the manager leaves the country. In many instances it would
be preferable if possible to design the organization of the project to avoid the need for management ser-
vices of expatriates.
In agricultural projects the analyst will also want to consider the managerial skills of the farmers who will
participate. A project design that assumes new and complex managerial skills on the part of participating
farmers has obvious implications for the rate of implementation. If farmers with past experience limited to
crop production are to become dairy farmers, enough time must be allotted for them to gain their new
skills; the project design cannot assume that they will be able to make the shift overnight. There must be
extension agents who can help farmers learn the new skills, and provision must be made for these agents in
the organizational design and in the administrative costs of the project.
In considering the managerial and administrative aspects of project design, not only are we concerned that
managerial and administrative problems will eventually be overcome, but that a realistic assessment is
made of how fast they will be resolved. The contribution an investment makes to creating new income is
very sensitive to delays in project implementation.
Social aspects
18
We have mentioned the need for analysts to consider the social patterns and practices of the clientele a
project will serve. More and more frequently, project analysts are also expected to examine carefully the
broader social implications of proposed investments. We have noted proposals to include weights for
income distribution in the formal analytical framework so that projects benefiting lower-income groups
will be favored. In the analytical system outlined in this book, such weights are not incorporated, so it is all
the more important in the project design that explicit attention be paid to income distribution.
Other social considerations should also be carefully considered to determine if a proposed project is as
responsive to national objectives as it can be. There is a question about creating employment opportunities
that is closely linked to, though not quite the same as, the question of income distribution. For social rea-
sons, many governments want to emphasize growth in particular regions and want projects that can be
implemented in these regions. The project analyst will want to consider carefully the adverse effects a
project may have on particular groups in particular regions. In the past, the introduction of high-yielding
seed varieties and fertilizers, coupled with the easy availability of tractors, has led to displacement of ten-
ant farmers and has forced them into the ranks of the urban unemployed. Can the project be designed to
minimize such effects, or be accompanied by policy changes that will? Changes in technology or cropping
patterns may change the kind of work done by men and women. In some areas the introduction of mechan-
ical equipment or of cash crops has deprived women of work they needed to support their children. Will a
proposed project have such an adverse effect on the income of working women and their families?
There are also considerations concerning the quality of life that should be a part of any project design. A
rural development project may well include provisions for improved rural health services, for better
domestic water supplies, or for increased educational opportunities for rural children. Project analysts will
want to consider the contribution of alternative projects or other designs of essentially the same project in
furthering these objectives.
Those designing or reviewing projects will also want to consider the issue of adverse environmental impact
(Wall 1979; Lee 1982). Irrigation development may reduce fish catches or increase the incidence of schis-
tosomiasis in regions where this snail-transmitted disease is endemic, and waste from industrial plants may
pollute water. Project sites may be selected with an eye to preserving notable scenic attractions or to pre-
serving unique wildlife habitats. It is far better to ensure preservation of the environment by appropriate
project design than to incur the expense of retrofitting technology or reclaiming land after an environmen-
tally unsound project has been implemented.
Commercial aspects
The commercial aspects of a project include the arrangements for marketing the output produced by the
project and the arrangements for the supply of inputs needed to build and operate the project.
On the output side, careful analysis of the proposed market for the project's production is essential to
ensure that there will be an effective demand at a remunerative price. Where will the products be sold? Is
the market large enough to absorb the new production without affecting the price? If the price is likely to
be affected, by how much? Will the project still be financially viable at the new price? What share of the
total market will the proposed project supply? Are there suitable facilities for handling the new produc-
tion? Perhaps provision should be included in the project for processing, or maybe a separate marketing
project for processing and distribution is in order (Austin 1981). Is the product for domestic consumption
19
or for export? Does the proposed project produce the grade or quality that the market demands? What
financing arrangements will be necessary to market the output, and what special provisions need to be
made in the project to finance marketing? Since the product must be sold at market prices, a judgment
about future government price supports or subsidies may be in order.
On the input side, appropriate arrangements must be made for farmers to secure the supplies of fertilizers,
pesticides, and high-yielding seeds they need to adopt new technology or cropping patterns. Do market
channels for inputs exist, and do they have enough capacity to supply new inputs on time? What about
financing for the suppliers of inputs and credit for the farmers to purchase these supplies? Should new
channels be established by the project or should special arrangements be made to provide marketing chan-
nels for new inputs?
Commercial aspects.of a project also include arrangements for the procurement of equipment and supplies.
Are the procurement procedures such that undue delays can be avoided? Are there procedures for compet-
itive bidding to ensure fair prices? Who will draw up the specifications for procurement?
Finally, there are the two aspects of project analysis that are the primary concerns of this book, the finan-
cial and the economic.
Financial aspects
The financial aspects of project preparation and analysis encompass the financial effects of a proposed
project on each of its various participants. In agricultural projects the participants include farmers, private
sector firms, public corporations, project agencies, and perhaps the national treasury. For each of these,
separate budgets must be prepared, along lines suggested in chapters 4 through 6. On the basis of these
budgets, judgments are formed about the project's financial efficiency, incentives, creditworthiness, and
liquidity.
A major objective of the financial analysis of farms is to judge how much farm families participating in the
project will have to live on. The analyst will need budget projections that estimate year by year future gross
receipts and expenditures, including the costs associated with production and the credit repayments farm
families must make, to determine what remains to compensate the family for its own labor, management
skills, and capital. Part of the income the family will receive may be in food that is consumed directly in
the household, so a judgment must be made about this quantity and its value. Even if a family realizes a
considerable increase in income or "net incremental benefit" by participating in the project-as a result, say,
of borrowing to purchase fertilizers to increase rice production-its absolute income may still be so low that
nearly all of the incremental production is consumed in the household. Financial analysis must judge
whether the family will then have sufficient cash to repay the production credit for fertilizer. If not, the ana-
lyst may have to make a policy judgment about how much to subsidize families with very low incomes.
The farm budget becomes the basis for shaping the credit terms to be made available. The analyst must
judge whether farmers will need loans to finance on-farm investment (and if so, what proportion the farm-
ers should invest from their own resources) or to meet some production costs, and whether seasonal short-
term credit should be provided for working capital to finance inputs and pay for hired labor. In tree-crop
projects with long development periods, such as those for oil palm or citrus, the analyst must judge
whether farmers will have adequate income to live on during the period before the trees begin to bear, or
whether special financing arrangements must be made to sustain them. The objective of all these judg-
20
ments is to shape credit terms that will be generous enough to encourage farmers to participate in the
project, yet be stiff enough that the society as a whole can capture fairly promptly a share of the benefit
from the increased production. This benefit can, in turn, be used to hasten growth by relending it to other
farmers or by reinvesting it elsewhere in the economy.
The analysis of farm income will also permit assessment of the incentives for farmers to participate in the
project. What will be the probable change in farm income? What will be the timing of this change? How
likely are price changes or fluctuations that could affect farm income severely enough that farmers will
refuse to run the risk of participating in the project? What will be the effect of subsidy arrangements on
farm income, and what changes in government policy might affect the income earned by farmers? Will
new subsidies be needed to provide sufficient incentive for the project to proceed?
A similar group of considerations applies to the financial analysis of private firms involved in the project.
Will they have capital for expanding facilities? Will they have the working capital needed to carry invento-
ries of farm supplies or stocks of processed goods awaiting sale? What return will the firms realize on their
capital investment, and is this sufficiently attractive?
An analysis of the financial aspects of the project's administration will also be needed. What investment
funds will the project need and when? What will be the operating expenses when the project is under way?
Will these expenses depend on budget allocations or will the project produce sufficient revenue to cover its
administrative costs? Will changes in government policy be needed to finance the project, such as water
charges levied in a new irrigation project? What about salary scales for project personnel? How will
replacement of equipment be financed?
Finally, the fiscal impact of some projects will need to be considered. Will the increased output yield sig-
nificant new tax revenues, perhaps from an export tax? Will new subsidies be needed to encourage farmers
to participate, and how much will subsidies have to grow as project implementation proceeds? If the
administrative costs of the project are not to be met from revenues, how will this affect the national budget
in the future? If the project investment is to be financed by a grant or by borrowing from abroad, while the
operation and maintenance cost is to be financed from domestic resources, how will this affect the trea-
sury?
The methodology of discounted cash flow discussed in chapters 9 and 10 shows the way in which this
financial analysis customarily is set up and the usual elements included in the cost and benefit streams. The
methodology enables an estimate of the return to the equity capital of each of the various project partici-
pants, public or private. It is then a policy decision whether to change that return by income taxes, special
lending terms, price subsidies, or any of the other tools open to society.
Economic aspects
The economic aspects of project preparation and analysis require a determination of the likelihood that a
proposed project will contribute significantly to the development of the total economy and that its contri-
bution will be great enough to justify using the scarce resources it will need. The point of view taken in the
economic analysis is that of the society as a whole.
21
The financial and economic analyses are thus complementary-the financial analysis takes the viewpoint of
the individual participants and the economic analysis that of the society. But, because the same discounted
cash flow measures (discussed in chapter 9) are applied in the financial analysis to estimate returns to a
project participant and in the economic analysis to estimate returns to society, confusion between the two
analyses easily arises. There are three very important distinctions between the two that must be kept in
mind. These qualifications are summarized here and are taken up in greater detail later.
First, in economic analysis taxes and subsidies are treated as transfer payments. The new income generated
by a project includes any taxes the project can bear during production and any sales taxes buyers are will-
ing to pay when they purchase the project's product. These taxes, which are part of the total project benefit,
are transferred to the government, which acts on behalf of the society as a whole, and are not treated as
costs. Conversely, a government subsidy to the project is a cost to the society, since the subsidy is an
expenditure of resources that the economy incurs to operate the project. In financial analysis such adjust-
ments are normally unnecessary; taxes are usually treated as a cost and subsidies as a return.
Second, in financial analysis market prices are normally used. These take into account taxes and subsidies.
From these prices come the data used in the economic analysis. In economic analysis, however, some mar-
ket prices may be changed so that they more accurately reflect social or economic values. These adjusted
prices are called "shadow" or "accounting" prices and in the analytical system recommended here are effi-
ciency prices, as noted earlier. In both financial and economic analysis projected prices are used, so both
rely to a substantial extent on what are, in effect, hypothetical prices.
Third, in economic analysis interest on capital is never separated and deducted from the gross return
because it is part of the total return to the capital available to the society as a whole and because it is that
total return, including interest, that economic analysis is designed to estimate. In financial analysis, interest
paid to external suppliers of money may be deducted to derive the benefit stream available to the owners of
capital. But interest imputed or "paid" to the entity from whose point of view the financial analysis is being
done is not treated as a cost because the interest is part of the total return to the equity capital contributed
by the entity. Hence, it is a part of the financial return that entity receives.
The methodology of comparing costs and benefits discussed in chapters 9 and 10 is the same for either an
economic or a financial measurement of project worth, but what is defined as a cost and what is considered
a benefit are different. For the moment, it is enough to recognize that there is a difference between eco-
nomic and financial analysis; we will discuss the differences in detail later.
Policymakers must be concerned about the investment of scarce capital resources that will best further
national objectives. This is true whether the resources committed are being invested by the government
directly or by individuals within the economy. The techniques of economic analysis presented here help
identify those projects that make the greatest contribution to national income. The economic analysis in
general allows for remuneration to labor and other inputs either at market prices or at shadow prices that
are intended in the system recommended here to better approximate efficiency prices or "opportunity
costs"-the amount we must give up if we transfer a resource from its present use to the project. The remain-
der is then compared with the capital stream necessary for the project. Those projects with the best return
to capital, given the total resources available, are then selected for implementation. Inherent in this
approach is the assumption that capital is the most important limit to faster economic growth. What is not
implicit in the approach is that capital alone causes economic growth. All the productive factors combined
in a project contribute to the new income created, but the methods we will be discussing do not address
themselves to the question of what the proportionate contribution of each factor is.
22
We will apply the methods discussed here in economic (but not financial) analysis in such a way that the
economic analysis does not itself address the issue of income distribution. Although the analysis will deter-
mine the amount of the income stream generated over and above the costs of labor and other inputs, it does
not specify who actually receives it. Part of a project's benefit is usually taken through taxes for purposes
outside the project. Part is generally made available to compensate capital owners (including governments)
for the use of their money. Part may become the basis of an indirect transfer of income, as is the case if
farmers benefiting from a land settlement project are charged less than the full cost of establishing their
holdings. The economic analysis applied in this book is silent about such distribution. Once the analyst
knows what the more economically remunerative alternatives are likely to be, however, he can choose
those that have better effects on income distribution or other social objectives. Although the formal eco-
nomic analysis will not decide issues of income distribution, the final decision on project investment will
be an informed one that is then made in accord with views about income distribution.
Many economists prefer analytical systems that explicitly include income distribution weights. They note
that the system outlined here accepts in its formal structure the income distribution as it exists in a society
and does not distinguish projects that have the most desirable effects on income distribution. They argue
that simply choosing projects subjectively from among the higher-yielding alternatives is not enough. Sys-
tems using income distribution weights are used infrequently, however, and most project investment deci-
sions follow the general practice recommended here. Even economists who prefer using income
distribution weights often recommend applying them only to that small fraction of projects in which there
is reason to believe the weights might change an investment decision. Readers wishing to consult a fuller
treatment of income distribution weights in project analysis may turn to Little and Mirrlees (1974) and
Squire and van der Tak (1975).
Because economic analysis of a project as applied here tells us nothing about income distribution, it also
tells us nothing about capital ownership. The value of a capital asset arises from the right to receive the
future income the asset generates. Since our method of economic analysis does not specify who in the
economy is to receive the income that a project earns, it does not address the question of who owns the
capital. Economic measures of project worth reached by means of the analytical system outlined here help
determine the most attractive alternative from the society's standpoint when the objective of the analysis is
to increase national income. In this analytical frame, projects are equally valid whether the capital is to
come from public revenue or private sources, whether there are income taxes or not, and whether the
project is to be operated by public agencies or by individuals on their own behalf. In a manner analogous to
the approach taken for income distribution, governments may then choose from economically remunera-
tive projects those that lead to higher reinvestment and, hence, faster growth.
Some economists, however, take economic growth generated by investment, not income regardless of
whether it is consumed or invested, as contituting at least part of their formal objective. If that is the case,
then the source of the capital for a project makes a difference, as does who receives the benefits. A project
financed by private sources that will consume all of the benefits will be less economically valuable than
one in which all benefits accrue to a private individual who reinvests everything. Also, both will have val-
ues different from that of an identical project in which the benefit accrues to the government. As with
income distribution weights, systems that weight capital sources or the investment use of benefits become
quite complex. Again, the reader may refer to Little and Mirrlees (1974) and Squire and van der Tak
(1975).
The Project Cycle
23
There tends to be a natural sequence in the way projects are planned and carried out, and this sequence is
often called the "project cycle." As was the case with aspects of project analysis, there are many ways-all
equally valid-in which this cycle may be divided. Here we will divide it into identification, preparation and
analysis, appraisal, implementation, and evaluation. The sequence is adapted from an article by Baum
(1978).
Identification
The first stage in the cycle is to find potential projects. There are many, many sources from which sugges-
tions may come. The most common will be well-informed technical specialists and local leaders. While
performing their professional duties, technical specialists will have identified many areas where they feel
new investment might be profitable. Local leaders will generally have a number of suggestions about
where investment might be carried out. Ideas for new projects also come from proposals to extend existing
programs. A program to develop water resources will probably lead to suggestions of additional areas for
irrigation. An existing land settlement program will probably generate suggestions of new areas for settle-
ment.
Suggestions for new projects usually arise because some agricultural products are in short supply-or will
be in a few years if production is not expanded or imports increased. The analysis may be based on general
knowledge or upon a more systematic examination of market trends and import statistics. In addition,
many countries have development banks intended to encourage growth of domestic industry. Often local
firms will come to these banks with food processing proposals for which they are seeking finance.
Such project-by-project approaches may overlook important potential initiatives in agricultural develop-
ment. Most developing countries have an economic development plan of some formality that identifies
sectors to be given priority and areas where investment is needed. These generalized areas for priority are
too vague to become the basis of investment themselves, but they lead to specific projects in crop or live-
stock production, land settlement, irrigation, food processing, expansion of export crop production, and the
like. In the process of preparing an economic development plan, specific suggestions for projects usually
will have come from the operating agencies responsible for project implementation, and these agencies
may be encouraged to proceed with detailed project preparation.
Frequently, a separate sector survey of the current situation in agriculture will indicate what initiatives are
needed. Such surveys may be undertaken with the help of an international agency or some agency for bilat-
eral assistance. The sector survey will examine the current status of agriculture, project future needs for
agricultural products over the next decade or so, and consider programs to improve the quality of rural life.
It will examine prospects for expanding agricultural exports by considering potential increases in produc-
tion and the outlook for marketing possibilities, and it will identify the gaps in existing plans and pro-
grams. The survey will probably generate suggestions about new areas for investment and the relative
priority to be given different initiatives. It may even identify specific projects, especially larger ones, that
merit consideration for future investment.
Occasionally one hears that there is a lack of projects available for investment in developing countries.
Usually there is no shortage of proposals for projects that have been identified. But there may be a shortage
of projects prepared in sufficient detail to permit implementation.
Preparation and analysis
24
Once projects have been identified, there begins a process of progressively more detailed preparation and
analysis of project plans. This process includes all the work necessary to bring the project to the point at
which a careful review or appraisal can be undertaken, and, if it is determined to be a good project, imple-
mentation can begin. In the preparation and analysis of projects, consideration will be given to each of the
aspects discussed earlier.
The usual first step in project preparation and analysis is to undertake a feasibility study that will provide
enough information for deciding whether to begin more advanced planning. The detail of the feasibility
study will depend on the complexity of the project and on how much is already known about the proposal.
Quite often a succession of increasingly detailed feasibility studies will be needed. The feasibility study
should define the objectives of the project clearly. It should explicitly address the question of whether
alternative ways to achieve the same objectives may be preferable, and it will enable project planners to
exclude poor alternatives. The feasibility study will provide the opportunity to shape the project to fit its
physical and social environment and to ensure that it will be high yielding.
Even at this early stage, the kind of financial and economic analyses discussed in this book should be
brought into play. As projects are planned in greater and greater detail, the investment of time and money
becomes more and more substantial, and the expectations of vested interests continue to grow. Being faced
only at a late stage in the planning process with the decision to accept or reject a project on financial or
economic grounds is obviously an uncomfortable position to be in. Far better that the financial and eco-
nomic analyses enter early in the planning process, so that the feasibility studies introduce these aspects in
the project plan.
The staff needed to work on feasibility studies will depend on how complex the studies are. To start, a sin-
gle staff member may make a preliminary estimate in a relatively short time. Later the services of a small
team, or perhaps outside consultants, may be engaged.
Once the feasibility studies have indicated which proposed project will likely be worthwhile, detailed plan-
ning and analysis may begin. By this time the less promising alternatives will have been eliminated, but
even at this point the selected project will continue to be redefined and shaped as more and more becomes
known. This is the stage at which detailed studies will commence-the carefully done soil surveys, the
detailed hydrological analyses, the thorough examination of cropping patterns, the month-by-month esti-
mates of labor requirements, the detailed farm budgets, and so forth. Again, all the aspects of analysis
noted in the last section must be considered and correlated so that realistic estimates can be made of how
the project might be implemented and of its likely income-generating capacity.
Detailed planning takes time, often a year or two or longer for complex agricultural projects. It may also be
quite expensive. In agriculture, preparing the detailed project plan may well cost 7 to 10 percent of the total
project investment. Yet thorough preparation increases a project's efficiency and helps ensure its smooth
implementation in the future, so that the additional time and money required will probably be returned
many times over by the increased return from the investment. Hastily prepared, superficial analyses will
very likely yield projects that fall behind schedule, have lower returns, and waste scarce resources.
Preparation of the plan should itself be planned so that delays can be avoided and resources conserved. The
timing of special studies needs to be considered, and the services of outside consultants should be sched-
uled so they will be available when needed-but not before the consultants' specialized knowledge can be
used. The project may be prepared by a special team assembled for the purpose and given sufficient time
and resources, or it may be prepared by a consulting firm or a technical assistance agency such as the
Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
25
Appraisal
After a project has been prepared, it is generally appropriate for a critical review or an independent
appraisal to be conducted. This provides an opportunity to reexamine every aspect of the project plan to
assess whether the proposal is appropriate and sound before large sums are committed. The appraisal pro-
cess builds on the project plan, but it may involve new information if the specialists on the appraisal team
feel that some of the data are questionable or some of the assumptions faulty. If the appraisal team con-
cludes that the project plan is sound, the investment may proceed. But if the appraisal team finds serious
flaws, it may be necessary for the analyst to alter the project plan or to develop a new plan altogether.
If a project is to be financed by an international lending institution such as the World Bank or by a bilateral
assistance agency, such an external lender will probably want a rather careful appraisal even if it has been
closely associated with earlier steps in the project cycle. The World Bank, for example, routinely sends a
separate mission to appraise proposed projects for which one of its member governments intends to bor-
row.
Implementation
The objective of any effort in project planning and analysis clearly is to have a project that can be imple-
mented to the benefit of the society. Thus, implementation is perhaps the most important part of the project
cycle. It is also clear, however, that considerations of implementation and project management are far too
extensive for discussion here. Yet there are some aspects of implementation that are of particular relevance
to project planning and analysis. The first, obviously, is that the better and more realistic a project plan is,
the more likely it is that the plan can be carried out and the expected benefit realized. This emphasizes once
again the need for careful attention to each aspect of project planning and analysis.
Second, project implementation must be flexible. Circumstances will change, and project managers must
be able to respond intelligently to these changes. Technical changes are almost inevitable as the project
progresses and more is known about soils, their response to nitrogen applications, susceptibility to water-
logging, and the like. Price changes may necessitate different cropping patterns or adjustments in inputs.
Other changes in the project's economic or political environment will alter the way in which it should be
implemented. The greater the uncertainty of various aspects of the project, or the more innovative and
novel the project is, the greater the likelihood that changes will have to be made. Even as project imple-
mentation is under way, project managers will need to reshape and replan parts of the project, or perhaps
the entire project. All of the general considerations we have discussed, as well as the analytical tools we
will take up in detail in the following chapters, must be brought into play once again. Implementation is a
process of refinement, of learning from experience-in effect, it is a kind of "mini-cycle" within the larger
project cycle we have outlined.
Project analysts generally divide the implementation phase into three different time periods. The first is the
investment period, when the major project investments are undertaken. In agricultural projects this usually
extends three to five years from the start of the project. If the project is to be financed with the assistance of
a loan from an external financing agency, the investment period may coincide with the agency's period for
loan disbursements. Then, as its production builds up, the project is spoken of as being in the development
period. This often takes an additional three to five years, but it may be extended if the project involves cat-
tle herds, tree crops, or other investments with long gestation. The duration of the development period
26
reflects not only physical factors but also the rate of adoption at which farmers take up new techniques.
Once full development is reached, it continues for the life of the project. Usually the project life is keyed to
the normal life of the major asset, although for practical reasons a project life rarely exceeds twenty-five to
thirty years. Both the financial and economic analyses of the project relate to this time horizon.
Evaluation
The final phase in the project cycle is evaluation. The analyst looks systematically at the elements of suc-
cess and failure in the project experience to learn how better to plan for the future. Evaluation is not limited
only to completed projects. It is a most important managerial tool in ongoing projects, and rather formal-
ized evaluation may take place at several times in the life of a project. Evaluation may be undertaken when
the project is in trouble, as the first step in a replanning effort. It may be appropriate when a major capital
investment such as a dam is in place and operating, even though the full implementation of the plan to uti-
lize the water and power is still under way. Careful evaluation should precede any effort to plan follow-up
projects. And, finally, evaluation should be undertaken when a project is terminated or is well into routine
operation.
Evaluation may be done by many different people. Project management will be continuously evaluating its
experience as implementation proceeds. The sponsoring agency-perhaps the operating ministry, the plan-
ning agency, or an external assistance agency-may undertake evaluation. In large and innovative projects,
the project's administrative structure may provide a separate evaluation unit responsible for monitoring the
project's implementation and for bringing problems to the attention of the project's management. Often the
evaluation unit will include persons with planning skills who enable the unit to take part in any necessary
replanning. The evaluation unit may also be responsible for planning follow-up projects.
In many instances, the project's management or the sponsoring agency will want to turn to outside evalua-
tors. University staff may be well suited to undertake the task. Whoever does the evaluation will want to
read the relevant documents carefully and then have extensive conversations with those who have had a
part in the project-planners, project managers, operating staff, farmers participating in the project, or local
people affected by the project.
The extent to which the objectives of a project are being realized provides the primary criterion for an eval-
uation. The objectives cannot be accepted uncritically, however; the inquiry should consider whether the
objectives themselves were appropriate and suitable. The evaluators will want to know if these goals were
made clear to the planners and to project management.
The project plan should be reviewed to see if it was an appropriate one in light of the objectives set forth.
Each objective should be examined to determine whether it was considered carefully and whether appro-
priate provision for it was made in the project plan. Was the technology proposed appropriate? Were the
institutional, organizational, and managerial arrangements suited to the conditions? Were the commercial
aspects properly considered? Were the financial aspects carefully worked out on the basis of realistic
assumptions, and were the economic implications properly explored? How did the project in practice com-
pare with each aspect of the project analysis?
The evaluation should consider the response of project management and the sponsoring agencies to chang-
ing circumstances. Did management respond quickly enough to changes? Was its response carefully con-
sidered and appropriate? Did the institutional and organizational structure in the project permit a flexible
response? How could the project's structure be altered to make the response to change more flexible and
appropriate in the future?
27
From the evaluation should come carefully considered recommendations about how to improve the appro-
priateness of each aspect of the project design so that plans for project implementation can be revised if the
project is ongoing and so that future projects can be better planned if the project evaluated has been com-
pleted.
Accuracy of Agricultural Project Analyses
Since agricultural project analyses are intended to become the basis for investment decisions, just how
accurately do they foretell project results?
The World Bank systematically reviews the performance of projects for which it lends and pub-
lishes the results annually. These reviews generally are undertaken at the end of the implementa-
tion phase of the project. The most recent report, from which this section draws extensively,
reviewed thirty-two agricultural projects for which performance audits were completed in 1980
(World Bank 1981 a). Although the particular projects reviewed by no means constitute a ran-
dom sample, the results of the review confirm earlier trends and may be taken as generally
indicative of all agricultural projects the World Bank finances. The projects included those for
credit, irrigation, tree crops, fisheries, food crop production, livestock, storage, drought relief,
and technical assistance.
Economic effects
Economic rates of return had been calculated at the time of appraisal for twenty-four of the
projects included in the 1981 review and were reestimated at the time of the performance audit.
(The other eight projects were either canceled before implementation or were of a nature-such
as drought relief-that no rate of return was calculated.) The reestimates, of course, were done at
the end of the implementation phase and so still included projections for the balance of the
project life. Fourteen had rates of return that were within 2 percent of the rate estimated at
appraisal or were greater than the appraisal estimate, and ten fell more than 2 percent below the
rate of return estimated at appraisal. Of the twenty-four projects, nineteen had reestimated rates
of return at the time of the review at or above 10 percent, a minimum acceptable rate in most
developing countries. The rates of return alone, however, can be somewhat misleading. Several
projects varied substantially from what was anticipated at the time of appraisal, but the varia-
tions were offsetting. One project that had an acceptable rate of return when reestimated at the
time of the performance audit, for example, increased food grain output only about half as
much as anticipated, but increases in grain prices offset the production shortfall and gave the
project an acceptable rate of return.
For all projects taken together, the weighted reestimated return was 20 percent, well in line
with the estimates of earlier years. Credit projects performed the best. They had an average rate
of return of 26 percent, the lowest cost overruns and lower than average time overruns, and a
clear advantage in reaching poor farmers. The largest subgroup, irrigation projects, had an aver-
age rate of return of 22 percent. In line with the results of previous surveys, "decentralized,
small-scale groundwater and lift irrigation projects where each farmer develops his own poten-
tial were relatively smoothly implemented, resulted in lower costs per hectare, and proved
extremely profitable. On the other hand, larger, centralized projects supported by detailed stud-
28
ies and designs and implemented by specialized agencies were beset with problems, were com-
pleted late and at much higher costs, resulted in high costs per hectare developed, and proved
modestly profitable" (World Bank 1980, p. 29). The tree-crop projects had reestimated returns
of 17 percent, substantially in line with the consistently good performance noted for this kind of
project in earlier years. In the five projects that had unacceptable rates of return, the failure could
generally be traced to a combination of inappropriate technology and poor management.
Effect on incomes of rural poor
The World Bank has been particularly pleased that performance reviews of the projects it finances demon-
strate that agricultural projects focusing on small farmers and the rural poor perform as well as other
projects in the sector. The 1980 review showed that rural development projects-those specifically designed
to reach large numbers of small farmers and the rural poor-had an average return of 17 percent compared
with the average of 20 percent for all other kinds of agricultural projects. "They have also reached ten
times as many farmers per project, at a fraction of the cost of serving medium and larger farmers. Although
the absolute amount of the income increases obtained through small farmer projects were a fraction of
those received by medium and larger farmers, they were larger in relative terms . . ." Because they were
received by so many farmers, "they had a substantial impact on income distribution" (World Bank 1980, p.
18).
Implementation experience
Of the thirty-two projects reviewed in 1981, only five were completed without delay or with delays of 10
percent or less. (This is much below the experience reported in earlier years, when about a third of the
projects were completed on time.) Of the twenty-seven projects experiencing serious delays, fourteen were
completed within 50 percent more time, six were completed in from 50 to 100 percent more time, and
seven took more than twice as long to complete as scheduled at appraisal.
The experience of cost increases paralleled that of time delays. The average cost increase was 29 percent.
Of the thirty-two projects, only twelve were completed with cost increases of 10 percent or less, five were
within the range of 10 to 59 percent cost overrun, six were in the range of 50 to 100 percent overrun, and
five cost twice or more the appraisal estimate.
The major reason for delay, which affected eight projects, was poor performance by executing agencies or
contractors. The second most common cause, which affected six projects, was delay caused by bidding and
procurement procedures. The third most common cause was delay due to unanticipated technical prob-
lems. As had been the experience in earlier reviews, the most common reasons for cost increases were gen-
eral price inflation.and underestimation of unit costs at appraisal, but other reasons included increases in
the scope of a project and in the total number of input units required. Delays in project implementation
aggravated the effects of inflation.
Among subsector averages for timing of completion, tree-crop projects on the whole were completed on
time or with very little delay, followed by credit projects, with an average time overrun of 31 percent, and
livestock and irrigation projects, with an average delay of about 50 percent. The most serious delays
were encountered in emergency rehabilitation projects, which took about twice as long as anticipated,
and in technical assistance projects, which took 78 percent longer on the average than planned. No
regional concentration of implementation delays was apparent.
29
The incidence of cost increases by subsector showed that the largest increases were in irrigation
projects, which had an average cost overrun of 71 percent, an experience in line with that of
earlier reviews. Time and cost overruns were thus both substantial in irrigation. Agricultural
credit, area development, emergency relief and rehabilitation, and technical assistance projects
were completed without, or with minor, cost increases; livestock projects had moderate
increases; and tree-crop projects had substantial cost increases, on average 57 percent.
Of the thirty-two projects reviewed, twenty-seven were changed, formally or informally, during
implementation. The most important causes were poor or incomplete original design, which
affected fifteen cases; changes in government policies and strategies, which affected eleven cases;
beneficiary preferences different from those anticipated, which affected seven cases; and impend-
ing cost overruns, which affected seven cases. Most projects were affected by a combination of
these factors.
Shortcomings in design appear to have been a result of projects' being approved without suffi-
cient preparation. Not all project changes during implementation, however, are undesirable or
avoidable. Some projects are designed to be of a pilot nature, and in other projects changes in
the price environment lead logically to changes in the mix of products. As the review noted,
"project design should be sufficiently well developed to allow for immediate and straightfor-
ward project implementation but flexible enough to allow for adaptation without causing undue
delay, wasted expenditures, or cost increases, all of which might reduce" the benefit of a project
(World Bank 1981a, p. 34).
Why Agricultural Project Analyses Prove Wrong
When an agricultural project analysis proves to be a poor predictor of the actual outcome of a project, it
may be that the project design or implementation is at fault, or it may be that the project analyst has done a
poor job of incorporating a good project design in an analytical framework.
Problems of project design and implementation
The same World Bank performance audits used in the previous section to judge the accuracy of
agricultural project analyses in estimating economic returns also examine the reasons for poor
performance (World Bank 1980 and 1981a). In the most recent of these reviews and in an earlier
summary of project experience prepared by Olivares (1978), the most common reasons agricul-
tural projects run into problems of implementation may be grouped into five major categories: (1)
inappropriate technology; (2) inadequate support systems and infrastructure; (3) failure to appre-
ciate the social environment; (4) administrative problems, including those of the project itself and
of the overall administration within the country; and (5) the policy environment, of which the
most important aspect is producer price policy.
Inappropriate technology
30
Given the use and availability of land in most developing countries, increased crop production generally must
depend on greater crop yields rather than on area extension. Thus, improved technology is a key element in
most agricultural projects. Among the thirty-two projects in the 1981 review, as many as twenty-two
depended on technological packages substantially new to the farmers in the project area. The introduction of
new technology was concentrated in irrigation, tree-crop, rural development, and fisheries projects.
New technologies included a range of innovations. For irrigation projects, a farm input package with water
as the main input was followed by improved seeds and further complemented by fertilizers and sometimes
other inputs and improved cultural practices. For tree-crop projects, innovations took the form of improved
cultural practices and equipment, early-maturing and high-yielding hybrids, and chemical instead of man-
ual weed control. Rural development projects introduced farm input packages similar to those for irriga-
tion; livestock projects emphasized pasture improvement; fisheries projects introduced improved fishing
techniques and boats and equipment; and the storage project provided for modernized grain storage, pest
control, and transport.
In fifteen of the projects reviewed, information was available about the effect of the technological innova-
tion. In general, new technology was successful; eleven projects achieved or surpassed target yields. The
major success factors appear to have been the appropriateness of the technology proposed for the given
local conditions, the complementarity of recommended inputs, and the strength of the support systems
(including research and extension to adapt the offered technologies to suit changing circumstances; see the
section on infrastructure and support systems, below). In other projects, poor performance could be traced
to inappropriate technology. In one project that failed to achieve the target yield, the failure of small farm-
ers to apply more fertilizer was attributed to their desire to minimize risk by maximizing the return on a
given investment rather than the return per hectare. In another project, farmers were ready to apply selected
low-risk, productivity-raising inputs but not the entire package of recommended cultivation techniques.
High density and early sowing, in particular, were largely rejected. Farmers preferred to avoid risk by stag-
gering sowing dates and planting a larger number of low-density plots. The review concluded that "new
technologies for dry farming should be more risk-reducing than those for irrigated farming where assured
water supply eliminates much of the usual risk" (World Bank 1981a, p. 26).
Infrastructure and Support Systems
Of the thirty-two projects reviewed in 1981, twenty-eight could be viewed as part of an essential
chain of support systems and infrastructure. The links in the chain include the relevant research,
extension services, credit availability, input supply, and product markets; the importance of the chain
lies in the introduction of technical packages, an essential element in most agricultural projects.
These packages must first be developed and tested through research, adapted to the ecological con-
ditions found in the project, and then delivered to the farmers through an adequately staffed, quali-
fied, and motivated extension service that can then provide feedback for further research. In most
cases, farmers do not have sufficient funds to purchase the recommended packages, and credit has to
be made available. The input supply has to be organized, and this includes introduction of improved
high-yielding varieties, provision of better livestock breeds, and the strategic location of stores
where fertilizers, pesticides, and machinery such as pumps and their spare parts are available.
Finally, the marketing of farm produce has to be organized in a manner that provides sufficient
incentives to producers and avoids costly losses.
31
As may be expected, the content and detail of the support systems and infrastructure vary widely
from project to project. In the projects reviewed, marketing systems received the most frequent
attention (twenty out of twenty-eight projects), research support was given significant emphasis
(seventeen projects), and credit and extension support received equal treatment (about one-half of
the twenty-eight projects). Input supply systems received the least attention (one-third of the
projects).
Deficiencies in the back-up research component were noted at appraisal in eight projects; in all
cases a research component was included in the project, or arrangements were made for support-
ing research to be undertaken by an appropriate research group. In six of the eight projects, the
research arrangements proved effective. In two cases, the projects suffered from lack of specific
research, although both of these had included a research component in the original project design.
A major problem in agricultural and rural development projects is organizing farmers efficiently
to provide them services, especially in their adapting new technology. The appropriate organiza-
tion of farmers into self-help schemes is especially difficult, and the record of cooperatives has
not been good. There are no easy solutions to these problems. A critical factor is to recognize at
the project design stage that the small farmer will not take risks that could involve losing his live-
lihood and that some form of organizing farmers into self-help groups is essential to economical
provision of government service.
Extension services were to be provided by the project unit in nine projects included in the 1981
review; in all but one of these the national extension service was judged to be inadequate. In general,
these extension efforts were effective, but in two projects the extension effort failed to reach a
minimum level of performance. In one project centered on grain production, output increased by
only half the amount projected at appraisal. In the other, poor administration, including a failure
to provide adequate extension, combined with poor design and unfavorable government policies
to produce a negative return.
Credit was the major instrument for development in thirteen of the twenty-eight projects. It was
used to promote a technical package in eight projects and other investment expenditures in the
remaining five. The balance of the projects, with one exception, were clearly judged not to require
credit.
Only a single input was supplied through the project in a number of cases, the full complement
being provided in others. For the most part, inputs were supplied by the project units in estate
projects where production was under full control of the project unit, or where small growers
received credit in kind and were expected to follow specified production practices. In other
projects that had an input supply component, the private sector met the needs.
32
Lack of marketing facilities is among the most difficult factors to provide for or change through
projects directed mainly toward production. The principal marketing component in the projects
was for the project unit to purchase the output of small producers. One project provided credit to
market centers and cooperatives so that they could in turn provide advances to farmers for pro-
duction and living expenses. One fisheries project provided cold storage facilities to improve mar-
keting. Of the twenty-eight projects where infrastructure and support systems were central, only
two were judged at audit to have been affected by lack of marketing facilities.
Sometimes the technical aspects of a project may be fairly well foreseen, but the social effects
inadequately assessed. In one West African rice intensification project, progress was initially
much slower than anticipated. A study revealed that in this area rice was produced by women,
but that the credit needed for new inputs was channeled through institutions of which only men
were members-and the men were not about to borrow for a woman's crop. When the national
credit agency set up credit channels that could lend directly to women, implementation acceler-
ated markedly.
In another African project, in an area of traditional extended family groupings a limit was estab-
lished on individual loans for crop intensification. As a result, instead of the head of the family,
who was responsible for allocating land to be cultivated, being able to borrow on behalf of the
whole family, individual cultivators had to seek credit. Borrowing directly for production on their
own account gave the cultivators a new, independent income. The impact of this change-whether
good or bad-on the social structure of the area was not even considered by the analyst when the
project was formulated (Olivares 1978).
The experience of the projects reported in the 1981 review reinforced conclusions about admin-
istrative structures reached in earlier reviews. Among the projects in the 1981 review, the per-
formance level was high in ten of the twenty-two completed projects in which special efforts
had been made to strengthen administrative and technical capabilities; partial success was
achieved in another six; and the results were negligible in four. In line with the experience of
previous years, there was frequently a close association between institutional and project per-
formance. On the one hand, the three worst performers included in the 1981 review-all with
negative rates of return-shared a pattern of weak management that was not corrected as imple-
mentation proceeded. On the other hand, nine of the best-performing projects reviewed in 1981
were implemented by agencies that were noted for good administration or that made special
efforts to improve their administrative effectiveness during the implementation period. In at
least one instance, an effort to improve the effectiveness of implementation paid dividends by
enabling the agency to overcome initial administrative and design difficulties.
Past project performance reviews have led to the conclusion that "specially created project imple-
mentation units [have] an isolated and precarious existence, usually [run] into difficulties, and
should, as far as possible, be avoided as a temporary device to by-pass institutional weaknesses
and to insulate ... projects from the larger institutional environment" (World Bank 1981a, p. 27).
33
Staffing is a major problem in almost all development projects. Difficulties can be institutional-
for example, restrictive governmental salary policies, civil service procedures, and promotion reg-
ulations-or can take the form of shortages of certain kinds of skilled people. One solution is often
the use of consultants. Yet there frequently are difficulties between local project personnel and
external consultants. Other common personnel problems include incompetent staff, ineffective
training, high turnover, and poor matching of specific individuals with specific jobs.
Seven of the projects in the 1981 review made use of coordinating committees as an institutional
instrument. As had been the case in earlier reviews, the experience was less than satisfactory. On
the basis of this experience, the review concluded that "(1) high-level coordinating committees
are generally not effective; (2) if formal coordination is needed, it should be established at the
required technical or administrative level; and (3) a project unit within an existing organization
may usefully undertake coordinating administrative functions" (World Bank 1981a, p. 28).
Delays in procurement will result in shortages of material, especially of foreign equipment.
Sometimes delay is due to inadequate foresight and forward planning and sometimes (particularly
in rural development projects) to unfamiliarity with procurement practices. The importance of
timely procurement must be emphasized from the first stages of the project cycle and should be
prominently included in the detailed implementation schedules.
Government administrative and managerial practices are at least as important to project imple-
mentation as the skills of project managers. If the central or local administrative processes are
inadequate, the projects will encounter delays and, almost always, consequent cost increases.
Common problems include slow and cumbersome decisionmaking, poor systems to authorize dis-
bursement of project funds, ill-defined organizational arrangements, inadequate coordination
among different agencies involved with a project, and, sometimes, government structures that
deny appropriate authority to the project manager.
Policy Environment
Every project must be implemented within a framework of policies set by the government. If
these are such that farmers' incentives are destroyed or other serious impediments are put in the
way of project implementation, then the project cannot be expected to achieve satisfactory
results.
The overriding importance of producer prices in affecting producer income, production levels,
and economic efficiency was confirmed in the 1981 review. Prices contributed to expansion of
production by encouraging farmers to participate in the project, to expand areas devoted to the
project crops, and to use more inputs and thereby increase yields. The 1981 review analyzed
project performance in relation to prices in eighteen projects. Eleven out of thirteen projects
implemented under favorable prices achieved or surpassed their production objectives; all five
under unfavorable prices failed to do so. Projects implemented under favorable prices offered
an average rate of return at reestimate of 22 percent, whereas those under unfavorable prices
averaged 10 percent.
34
The issue of producer prices was developed in more detail in the 1980 review (World Bank
1980). Producer price information was available from twenty-seven projects. Of those in which
producer prices were judged unfavorable, 33 percent reflected low world market prices about
which the individual country could do little, 25 percent had producer prices much below world
market levels because of government decisions about price policy, and in the remaining 42 per-
cent there was no direct link between the producer prices and the world market.
Depressed world market prices for dairy produce affected one agricultural credit project in a
North African country. Local milk production had to compete with reconstituted milk, which
was imported at very low prices. This hampered the dairy farm component of the project
because farmers were unwilling to invest in uncompetitive dairy enterprises. In a large irriga-
tion project in Latin America, about 70 percent of the cropped project area was originally
planted with cotton when the project began operation in 1967 because farmers were encouraged
by very high prices and readily available credit. As international prices declined, the area
planted in cotton dropped to 40,000 hectares in 1973 and climbed back to 62,000 hectares in
1978 when the prices recovered again, but the area remained substantially below the 100,000
hectares projected at appraisal.
Government policy to tax farmers producing groundnuts and cotton kept the producer prices
much below world market levels in two projects in one East African country, and the area under
these crops fell 40 to 50 percent short of appraisal estimates. Another example comes from a
tobacco project in another country in the same region. Producer prices for tobacco in the coun-
try increased 26 percent during the 1972-78 period, while world market prices went up 75 per-
cent and the price of maize, a competing crop, by 226 percent. Government policies to tax
export crops and equalize average returns on labor for all crops caused the farmer's share in the
selling price of processed tobacco to decline from 66 percent in 1965-66 to 37 percent in
1977-78. As a result, tobacco production stagnated, and the project itself became economically
viable only because farmers switched to higher-valued maize production.
Other projects suffering from low producer prices not directly linked to world market prices
included: a commercial farming project in a third East African country in which poor handling of
tobacco resulted in low quality and low prices; a project with a vegetable component in West
Africa in which the project authority limited tomato production by paying low prices to farmers;
and a Central American livestock project in which the freezing of milk prices caused most of the
specialized dairy farms around the capital city to close down permanently.
In contrast, profitable producer prices-prevalent in only about 30 percent of the projects
included in the 1980 review-had strong positive effects. In one livestock project, for instance,
milk production after four years was already 50 percent of the target for full development after
eight years, mainly because of the government's pricing policy for milk relative to beef. A West
African cotton project similarly benefited from higher-than-expected world cotton prices.
Although production targets were not met, farm income objectives were achieved, and cotton
export earnings and targets for economic return were exceeded.
Such experiences, repeated over and over, emphasize the importance of taking price policies into
account as a factor when designing and implementing agricultural projects.
35
Problems of poor project analysis
When a project analysis has failed to anticipate the outcome of a project investment, a common
reason appears to have been simply poor preparation of the analysis. A number of such cases
were analyzed in a review prepared by Olivares (1978), from which this section draws heavily.
Underestimated costs were common, either as a result of the analyst's being systematically opti-
mistic about cost or making an especially poor estimate about the cost of particular components.
Sometimes a component necessary for proper functioning of the project or an activity critical to
the project was omitted from the cost estimates, even though in the same analysis it was noted that
it would be essential to proper execution of the project. In the projects reviewed, components
commonly omitted from the cost estimates (although not necessarily from the project and closely
associated activities planned by the technicians) included agricultural extension to help farmers
adopt new practices, training programs for project technicians, agronomic and livestock trials,
complementary infrastructure such as roads or market facilities, and the expansion of the credit
availability critical to the farmers' ability to adopt new techniques based on purchased inputs.
Excessively optimistic projections frequently were made during project preparation. In the
projects reviewed, overestimates were common in projecting areas to be brought under cultiva-
tion, yields, rates of increase in livestock herds, and total production in the project area. The most
common of these overestimates proved to be in cultivation intensity in irrigation projects and in
the calving rate in cattle production projects. Project analyses frequently were too optimistic
about the rate at which new cultivation practices would be adopted with irrigation, about the rate
at which new areas would be brought under methods of improved cultivation, and about the rate at
which the new technology could be applied under farm conditions.
When analyses of crop or livestock projects in rainfed areas did not predict the outcome well, the
reason was often a failure to consider explicitly the variability of the climate and thus to overesti-
mate returns. The analysis for one project undertaken in the Sahel region of Africa made no
allowance for the variability of the climate, although the same analysis noted the likelihood of one
or two dry years about once every five to seven years. The drought of 1973-75 paralyzed the
project and forced planners to reevaluate and completely redesign the project. One livestock
project in a Mediterranean country assumed that the weather during the project life would be
"normal," despite the fact that in this region almost no year approaches this statistical computa-
tion. Nearly every particular year in the region is either too dry or too rainy, with the rains coming
either too early or too late, and so forth. Naturally, making no allowance for this variability led to
an overestimate of the project's yield and its attractiveness to the farmers involved.
Project evaluations commonly assumed too optimistic a calendar for project implementation. The
analyses often did not test the effect on the project return of delays in getting the project under
way-almost a normal situation in agricultural projects in general-or of delays in project execution
at a later stage.
36
The return from investment in the agricultural projects examined was found to have been overes-
timated sometimes because the analysis failed to account for an adverse effect of the investment
on production, either in the project area or elsewhere. In one project in Latin America, the main
canals were lined to prevent water loss and to increase water delivery to the field. The analyst
failed, however, to account for the irrigation of adjacent areas by wells recharged by seepage from
the canals. The reduced output from these adjacent areas once the project was under way was not
deducted from the benefits in the analysis. Of course, this led to an overestimate of the benefit
from the irrigation project. Several irrigation projects in Asia were found to have reduced the
spawning grounds of commercially important fish. The result was that much of the benefit from
expanded irrigation was offset by a fall in fish production and reduced income for thousands of
fishermen.
Project analysts often made errors when translating technical assumptions into projections of
project performance. In one project it was assumed that 80 percent of the projected increase in
area to be cultivated using more intensive technology would be reached in the first year, with the
remaining 20 percent realized over the succeeding four years. In another project, expansion of the
irrigated area was assumed to take place before the basic irrigation construction was to have been
completed. In yet another case, the analyst assumed that fruit trees would reach full production
the year they were planted. Such obvious errors could have been avoided just by cross-checking
with the technical specialists as the analysis proceeded.
Steps in Project Analysis
Preparing a project analysis is anything but a neat, continuous process with well-defined steps,
each of which is completed before the next and never retraced. Instead, the whole process is itera-
tive; that is, the analyst must continuously go back and adjust earlier decisions in the light of what
is learned from later analysis. In general, the process begins with an idea about the broad nature
and objectives of a proposed project that has been supplied by the political or planning process.
We will know, for example, that we are expected to prepare an irrigation project in a particular
area, or a marketing project to reduce seasonal fluctuations in the price of an agricultural product,
or an extension of an existing land settlement project. The next step is to examine carefully the
pertinent technical relations on which to base the technical planning. We then begin to price these
technical requirements and to develop some projections of inputs and outputs as the basis for the
financial analysis. These financial prices are then adjusted to give economic values on which to
base the economic analysis and to judge the project's contribution to the national income. At each
step we must consider the institutional, organizational, and managerial aspects and the social
effects. And, of course, at each step we may want to go back and revise earlier parts of the plan.
The flow chart in figure 1-1 depicts this process schematically.
The sequence of topics in this book generally follows the order of the analytical process in prepar-
ing a financial, and then an economic, analysis of an agricultural project. We will not consider in
detail the technical, institutional-organizational-managerial, social, or commercial aspects of pre-
paring a project. Instead, we will assume that such preparations are already well in hand and that
specialists knowledgeable in these matters can be easily consulted in the course of the analytical
process.
37
We will turn first to what constitute costs and benefits in agricultural projects (chapter 2). Then
we will proceed to how one can find market prices on which to base the project analysis (chapter
3). From these topics we will move on to discuss how these market prices can be transformed into
accounts, which become the basis for the financial analysis, first by laying out and projecting
model farm budgets (chapter 4). These projected farm budgets form the basis of an idea about
how much a farm family participating in a project will have to live on as the project proceeds.
This amount with the project, compared with what would be the amount without the project,
yields an estimate about the incremental income that will accrue to the farm family. On the basis
of this estimate, a judgment can be formed about the incentive effect of a proposed project on
farmers who might participate. One can also estimate the rate of return to the farmer's own capital
investment and to all capital invested on the farm.
By preparing and projecting budgets for agricultural processing indus'~ tries such as sugar mills
or cotton gins that may be included in a project ii (chapter 5), one can make similar judgments
about the incremental net benefit arising from investment in these firms, whether they are in the
public or the private sector, and about the incentives for participation by the private sector if this
is to be the vehicle for investment. A separate set of accounts for government agencies (chapter 6)
will permit an estimate of the effect of the project on government revenue.
With these budgets in hand, the various market prices used in each are adjusted, if need be, to
reflect economic values from the standpoint of the society as a whole (chapter 7). These economic
values are then totaled or "aggregated," as it is more often termed (chapter 8). This is done for the
incremental farm production from the project (either by aggregating according to model types for
the total number of farms in the project or by aggregating the total area devoted to the various
crops in the project), for all the revenueearning entities, and for the various government agencies.
The aggregation gives the total incremental net benefit the society will realize from the project.
From this and from earlier budgets, we can estimate the return that individuals and the society will
realize from their investment in the project (chapters 9 and 10). Of course, at each stage in this
sequence we will want to review our earlier work and revise it in light of later analysis.
The book concludes with a set of generalized guidelines for preparing reports of agricultural and
rural development project analyses (appendix A), two discounting tables (appendix B), and a brief
discussion about institutional sources of assistance for the preparation of agricultural projects
(appendix C). An annotated bibliography and a glossary-index are included as references for the
reader.
38
2. IDENTIFYING PROJECT COSTS AND BENEFITS
We undertake economic analyses of agricultural projects to compare costs with benefits and determine
which among alternative projects have an acceptable return. The costs and benefits of a proposed
project therefore must be identified. Furthermore, once costs and benefits are known, they must be
priced, and their economic values determined. All of this is obvious enough, but frequently it is tricky
business.
What costs and benefits in agricultural projects are, and how we can define them in a consistent
manner, are the topics of this chapter. In chapter 3 we will examine how we can obtain market
prices. After the financial analyses are discussed in chapters 4-6, the economic analysis is
addressed in chapter 7 with a discussion of how to adjust market prices to reflect the real resource
flows.
Objectives, Costs, and Benefits
In project analysis, the objectives of the analysis provide the standard against which costs and
benefits are defined. Simply put, a cost is anything that reduces an objective, and a benefit is any-
thing that contributes to an objective.
The problem with such simplicity, however, is that each participant in a project has many objec-
tives. For a farmer, a major objective of participating is to maximize the amount his family has to
live on. But this is only one of the farmer's interests. He may also want his children to be edu-
cated; as a result, they may not be available to work full time in the fields. He may also value his
time away from the fields: a farmer will not adopt a cropping pattern, however remunerative, that
requires him to work ten hours a day 365 days a year. Taste preference may lead a farmer to con-
tinue to grow a traditional variety of rice for home consumption even though a new, high-yielding
variety might increase his family income more. A farmer may wish to avoid risk, and so may plan
his cropping pattern to limit the risk of crop failure to an acceptable level or to reduce the risk of
his depending solely on the market for the food grains his family will consume. As a result,
although he may be able to increase his income over time if he grows cotton instead of wheat or
maize, he would rather continue growing food grains to forestall the possibility that in any one
year the cotton crop might fail or that food grains might be available for purchase in the market
only at a very high price. All these considerations affect a farmer's choice of cropping pattern and
thus the income-generating capacity of the project. Yet all are sensible decisions in the farmer's
view. In the analytical system presented here, we will try to identify the cropping pattern that we
think the farmer will most probably select, and then we will judge the effects of that pattern on his
incremental income and, thus, on the new income generated by the project.
For private business firms or government corporations, a major objective is to maximize net
income, yet both have significant objectives other than simply making the highest profit possible.
Both will want to diversify their activities to reduce risk. The private store owner may have a pref-
erence for leisure, which leads him to hire a manager to help operate his store, especially during
late hours. This reduces the income-since the manager must be paid a salary-but it is a sensible
choice. For policy reasons, a public bus corporation may decide to maintain services even in less
39
densely populated areas or at off-peak hours and thereby reduce its net income. In the analytical
system here, we first identify the operating pattern that the firms in the project will most likely
follow and then build the accounts to assess the effects of that pattern on the income-generating
capacity of the project.
A society as a whole will have as a major objective increased national income, but it clearly will
have many significant, additional objectives. One of the most important of these is income distri-
bution. Another is simply to increase the number of productive job opportunities so that unem-
ployment may be reduced-which may be different from the objective of income distribution itself.
Yet another objective may be to increase the proportion of savings in any given period so there
will be more to invest, faster growth, and, hence, more income in the future. Or, there may be
issues to address broader than narrow economic considerations-such as the desire to increase
regional integration, to upgrade the general level of education, to improve rural health, or to safe-
guard national security. Any of these objectives might lead to the choice of a project (or a form of
a project) that is not the alternative that would contribute most to national income narrowly
defined.
No formal analytical system for project analysis could possibly take into account all the various
objectives of every participant in a project. Some selection will have to be made. In the analytical
system here, we will take as formal criteria very straightforward objectives of income maximiza-
tion and accommodate other objectives at other points in the process of project selection. The jus-
tification for this is that in most developing countries increased income is probably the single
most important objective of individual economic effort, and increased national income is proba-
bly the most important objective of national economic policy.
For farms, we will take as the objective maximizing the incremental net benefit-the increased
amount the farm family has to live on as a result of participating in the project-derived as outlined in
chapter 4. For a private business firm or corporation in the public sector, we will take as the objec-
tive maximizing the incremental net income, to which we will return in chapter 5. And for the eco-
nomic analysis conducted from the standpoint of the society as a whole, we will take as the objective
maximizing the contribution the project makes to the national income-the value of all final goods
and services produced during a particular period, generally a year. This is virtually the same objec-
tive, except for minor formal variations in definition, as maximizing gross domestic product (GDP).
It is important to emphasize that taking the income a project will contribute to a society as the formal
analytical criterion in economic, analysis does not downgrade other objectives or preclude our con-
sidering them. Rather, we will simply treat consideration of other objectives as separate decisions.
Using our analytical system, we can judge which among alternative projects or alternative forms of
a particular project will make an acceptable contribution to national income. This will enable us to
recommend to those who must make the investment decision a project that has a high income-gener-
ating potential and also will make a significant contribution to other social objectives. For example,
from among those projects that make generally the same contribution to increased income, we can
choose the one that has the most favorable effects on income distribution, or the one that creates the
most jobs, or the one that is the most attractive among those in a disadvantaged region.
40
Thus, in the system of economic analysis discussed here, anything that reduces national income is
a cost and anything that increases national income is a benefit. Since our objective is to increase
the sum of all final goods and services, anything that directly reduces the total final goods and ser-
vices is obviously a cost, and anything that directly increases them is clearly a benefit. But recall,
also, the intricate workings of the economic system. When the project analyzed uses some inter-
mediate good or service-something that is used to produce something else-by a chain of events it
eventually reduces the total final goods and services available elsewhere in the economy. On the
one hand, if we divert an orange that can be used for direct consumption-and thus is a final good-
to the production of orange juice, also a final good, we are reducing the total available final goods
and services, or national income, by the value of the orange and increasing it by the value of the
orange juice. On the other hand, if we use cement to line an irrigation canal, we are not directly
reducing the final goods and services available; instead, we are simply reducing the availability of
an intermediate good. But the consequence of using the cement in the irrigation project is to shift
the cement away from some other use in the economy. This, in turn, reduces production of some
other good, and so on through the chain of events until, finally, the production of final goods and
services, the national income, is reduced. Thus, using cement in the project is a cost to the econ-
omy. How much the national income will be reduced by using the cement for the project is part of
what we must estimate when we turn, in chapter 7, to deriving economic values. On the benefit
side, we have a similar pattern. Lining a canal increases available water that, in turn, may increase
wheat production, and so on through a chain of events until in the end the total amount of bread is
increased.
By this mechanism, the project leads to an increase in the total amount of final goods and ser-
vices, which is to say it increases the national income. Again, part of the analyst's task in the eco-
nomic analysis is to estimate the amount of this increase in national income available to the
society; that is, to determine whether, and by how much, the benefits exceed the costs in terms of
national income. If this rather simple definition of economic costs and benefits is kept in mind,
possible confusion will be avoided when shadow prices are used to value resource flows, a matter
taken up in chapter 7.
Note that, by defining our objective for economic analysis in terms of change in national income,
we are defining it in real terms. (Real terms, as opposed to money terms, refer to the physical, tan-
gible characteristics of goods and services.) To an important degree, economic analysis, in con-
trast to financial analysis, consists in tracing the real resource flows induced by an investment
rather than the investment's monetary effects.
With these objectives defined, we may then say that in financial analysis our numeraire-the com-
mon measurement used as the unit of account-is a unit of currency, generally domestic currency,
whereas in economic analysis our numeraire is a unit of national income, generally also expressed
in domestic currency. We will return to this topic in our discussion of determining economic val-
ues in chapter 7.
In the economic analysis we will assume that all financing for a project comes from domestic
sources and that all returns from the project go to domestic residents. [This is one reason why we
identify our social objective with the gross domestic product (GDP) instead of the more familiar
gross national product (GNP).] This convention-almost universally accepted by project analysts-
41
separates the decision of how good a project is in its income-generating potential from the deci-
sion of how to finance it. The actual terms of financing available for a particular project will not
influence the evaluation. Instead, we will assume that the proposed project is the best investment
possible and that financing will then be sought for it at the best terms obtainable. This convention
serves well whenever financing can be used for a range of projects or even versions of roughly the
same project. The only case in which it does not hold well is the rather extreme case in which for-
eign financing is very narrowly tied to a particular project and will be lost if the project is not
implemented. Then the analyst may be faced with the decision of implementing a lower-yielding
project with foreign financing or choosing a higher-yielding alternative but losing the foreign
loan.
"With" and "Without" Comparisons
Project analysis tries to identify and value the costs and benefits that will arise with the proposed
project and to compare them with the situation as it would be without the project. The difference is
the incremental net benefit arising from the project investment. This approach is not the same as
comparing the situation "before" and "after" the project. The before-and-after comparison fails to
account for changes in production that would occur without the project and thus leads to an errone-
ous statement of the benefit attributable to the project investment.
A change in output without the project can take place in two kinds of situations. The most com-
mon is when production in the area is already growing, if only slowly, and will probably continue
to grow during the life of the project. The objective of the project is to increase growth by intensi-
fying production. In Syria at the time the First Livestock Development Project was appraised, for
example, production in the national sheep flock was projected to grow at about 1 percent a year
without the project. The project was to increase and stabilize sheep production and the incomes of
seminomadic flock owners and sheep fatteners by stabilizing the availability of feed and improv-
ing veterinary services. With the project, national flock production was projected to grow at the
rate of 3 percent a year. In this case, if the project analyst had simply compared the output before
and after the project, he would have erroneously attributed the total increase in sheep production
to the project investment. Actually, what can be attributed to the project investment is only the 2
percent incremental increase in production in excess of the 1 percent that would have occurred
anyway (see figure 2-1).
A change in output can also occur without the project if production would actually fall in the
absence of new investment. In Guyana, on the north coast of South America, rice and sugarcane
are produced on a strip of clay and silt soil edging the sea. The coast was subject to erosion from
wave action. Under the Sea Defense Project, the government of Guyana has built seawalls to pre-
vent the erosion. The benefit from this project, then, is not increased production but avoiding the
loss of agricultural output and sites for housing. A simple before-and-after comparison would fail
to identify this benefit (figure 2-2).
In some cases, an investment to avoid a loss might also lead to an increase in production, so that
the total benefit would arise partly from the loss avoided and partly from increased production. In
Pakistan, many areas are subject to progressive salinization as a result of heavy irrigation and the
waterlogging that is in part attributable to seepage from irrigation canals. Capillary action brings
42
the water to the surface where evaporation occurs, leaving the salt on the soil. If nothing is done to
halt the process, crop production will fall. A project is proposed to line some of the canals, thus to
reduce the seepage and permit better drainage between irrigations. The proposed project is
expected to arrest salinization, to save for profitable use the irrigation water otherwise lost to
seepage, and to help farmers increase their use of modern inputs. The combination of measures
would not only avoid a loss but also lead to an increase in production. Again, a simple before-and-
after comparison would fail to identify the benefit realized by avoiding the loss (figure 2-3).
Of course, if no change in output is expected in the project area without the project, then the dis-
tinction between the before-and-after comparison and the with-and-without comparison is less
crucial. In some projects the prospects for increasing production without new investment are min-
imal. In the Kemubu Irrigation Project in northeastern Malaysia, a pump irrigation scheme was
built that permitted farmers to produce a second rice crop during the dry season. Without the
project, most of the area was used for grazing, and with the help of residual moisture or small
pumps some was used to produce tobacco and other cash crops. Production was not likely to
increase because of the limited amount of water available. With the project now in operation, rice
is grown in the dry season. Of course, the value of the second rice crop could not be taken as the
total benefit from the project. From this value must be deducted the value forgone from the graz-
ing and the production of cash crops. Only the incremental value could be attributed to the new
investment in pumps and canals (figure 2-4).
Another instance where there may be no change in output without the project is the obvious one
found in some settlement projects. Without the project there may be no economic use of the area
at all. In the Alto Turi Land Settlement Project in northeastern Brazil, settlers established their
holdings by clearing the forest, planting upland rice, and then establishing pasture for production
of beef cattle. At the time the settlers took up their holdings the forest had not been economically
exploited-nor was it likely to be, at least for many years, in the absence of the project. In this case,
the output without the project would be the same as the output before the project (figure 2-5).
Direct Transfer Payments
Some entries in financial accounts really represent shifts in claims to goods and services from one
entity in the society to another and do not reflect changes in national income. These are the so-
called direct transfer payments, which are much easier to identify if our definition of costs and
benefits is kept in mind. In agricultural project analysis four kinds of direct transfer payments are
common: taxes, subsidies, loans, and debt service (the payment of interest and repayment of prin-
cipal).
Take taxes, for example. In financial analysis a tax payment is clearly a cost. When a farmer pays
a tax, his net benefit is reduced. But the farmer's payment of tax does not reduce the national
income. Rather, it transfers income from the farmer to the government so that this income can be
used for social purposes presumed to be more important to the society than the increased individ-
ual consumption (or investment) had the farmer retained the amount of the tax. Because payment
43
of tax does not reduce national income, it is not a cost from the standpoint of the society as a
whole. Thus, in economic analysis we would not treat the payment of taxes as a cost in project
accounts. Taxes remain a part of the overall benefit stream of the project that contributes to the
increase in national income.
Of course, no matter what form a tax takes, it is still a transfer payment-whether a direct tax on
income or an indirect tax such as a sales tax, an excise tax, or a tariff or duty on an imported input
for production. But some caution is advisable here. Taxes that are treated as a direct transfer pay-
ment are those representing a diversion of net benefit to the society. Quite often, however, govern-
ment charges for goods supplied or services rendered may be called taxes. Water rates, for
example, may be considered a tax by the farmer, but from the standpoint of the society as a whole
they are a payment by the farmer to the irrigation authority in exchange for water supplied. Since
building the irrigation system reduces national income, the farmer's payment for the water is part
of the cost of producing the crop, the same as any other payment for a production input. Other
payments called taxes may also be payments for goods and services rendered rather than transfers
to the government. A stevedoring charge at the port is not a tax but a payment for services and so
would not be treated as a duty would be. Whether a tax should be treated as a transfer payment or
as a payment for goods and services depends on whether the payment is a compensation for goods
and services needed to carry out the project or merely a transfer, to be used for general social pur-
poses, of some part of the benefit from the project to the society as a whole.
Subsidies are simply direct transfer payments that flow in the opposite direction from taxes. If a
farmer is able to purchase fertilizer at a subsidized price, that will reduce his costs and thereby
increase his net benefit, but the cost of the fertilizer in the use of the society's real resources
remains the same. The resources needed to produce the fertilizer (or import it from abroad) reduce
the national income available to the society. Hence, for economic analysis of a project we must
enter the full cost of the fertilizer.
Again, it makes no difference what form the subsidy takes. One form is that which lowers the sell-
ing price of inputs below what otherwise would be their market price. But a subsidy can also oper-
ate to increase the amount the farmer receives for what he sells in the market, as in the case of a
direct subsidy paid by the government that is added to what the farmer receives in the market. A
more common means to achieve the same result does not involve direct subsidy. The market price
may be maintained at a level higher than it otherwise would be by, say, levying an import duty on
competing imports or forbidding competing imports altogether. Although it is not a direct subsidy,
the difference between the higher controlled price set by such measures and the lower price for
competing imports that would prevail without such measures does represent an indirect transfer
from the consumer to the farmer.
Credit transactions are the other major form of direct transfer payment in agricultural projects. From
the standpoint of the farmer, receipt of a loan increases the production resources he has available;
payment of interest and repayment of principal reduce them. But from the stand-point of the econ-
omy, things look different. Does the loan reduce the national income available? No, it merely trans-
fers the control over resources from the lender to the borrower. Perhaps one farmer makes the loan
to his neighbor. The lending farmer cannot use the money he lends to buy fertilizer, but the borrow-
ing farmer can. The use of the fertilizer, of course, is a cost to the society because it uses up
44
resources and thus reduces the national income. But the loan transaction does not itself reduce the
national income; it is, rather, a direct transfer payment. In reverse, the same thing happens when the
farmer repays his loan. The farmer who borrowed cannot buy fertilizer with the money he uses to
repay the loan his neighbor made, but his neighbor can. Thus, the repayment is also a direct transfer
payment.
Some people find the concept of transfer payments easier to understand if it is stated in terms of real
resource flows. Taking this approach in economic analysis, we see that a tax does not represent a real
resource flow; it represents only the transfer of a claim to real resource flows. The same holds true
for a direct subsidy that represents the transfer of a claim to real resources from, say, an urban con-
sumer to a farmer. This line of reasoning also applies to credit transactions. A loan represents the
transfer of a claim to real resources from the lender to the borrower. When the borrower pays interest
or repays the principal, he is transferring the claim to the real resources back to the lender-but neither
the loan nor the repayment represents, in itself, use of the resources.
Costs of Agricultural Projects
in almost all project analyses, costs are easier to identify (and value) than benefits. In every
instance of examining costs, we will be asking ourselves if the item reduces the net benefit of a
farm or the net income of a firm (our objectives in financial analysis), or the national income (our
objective in economic analysis).
Physical goods
Rarely will physical goods used in an agricultural project be difficult to identify. For such goods
as concrete for irrigation canals, fertilizer and pesticides for increasing production, or materials
for the construction of homes in land settlement projects, it is not the identification that is difficult
but the technical problems in planning and design associated with finding out how much will be
needed and when.
Labor
Neither will the labor component of agricultural projects be difficult to identify. From the highly
skilled project manager to the farmer maintaining his orchard while it is coming into production,
the labor inputs raise less a question of what than of how much and when. Labor may, however,
raise special valuation problems that call for the use of a shadow price. Confusion may also arise
on occasion in valuing family labor. Valuing family labor will be discussed with farm budgets in
chapter 4, and the overall question of valuing unskilled labor will be taken up in chapter 7.
Land
45
By the same reasoning, the land to be used for an agricultural project will not be difficult to iden-
tify. It generally is not difficult to determine where the land necessary for the project will be
located and how much will be used. Yet problems may arise in valuing land because of the very
special kind of market conditions that exist when land is transferred from one owner to another.
These valuation problems will also be considered with farm budgets in chapter 4 and with deter-
mining economic values in chapter 7.
Contingency allowances
In projects that involve a significant initial investment in civil works, the construction costs are
generally estimated on the initial assumption that there will be no modifications in design that
would necessitate changes in the physical work; no exceptional conditions such as unanticipated
geological formations; and no adverse phenomena such as floods, landslides, or unusually bad
weather. In general, project cost estimates also assume that there will be no relative changes in
domestic or international prices and no inflation during the investment period. It would clearly be
unrealistic to rest project cost estimates only on these assumptions of perfect knowledge and com-
plete price stability. Sound project planning requires that provision be made in advance for possi-
ble adverse changes in physical conditions or prices that would add to the baseline costs.
Contingency allowances are thus included as a regular part of the project cost estimates.
Contingency allowances may be divided into those that provide for physical contingencies and
those for price contingencies. In turn, price contingency allowances comprise two categories,
those for relative changes in price and those for general inflation. Physical contingencies and
price contingencies that provide for increases in relative costs underlie our expectation that physi-
cal changes and relative price changes are likely to occur, even though we cannot forecast with
confidence just how their influence will be felt. The increase in the use of real goods and services
represented by the physical contingency allowance is a real cost and will reduce the final goods
and services available for other purposes; that is, it will reduce the national income and, hence, is
a cost to the society. Similarly, a rise in the relative cost of an item implies that its productivity
elsewhere in the society has increased; that is, its potential contribution to national income has
risen. A greater value is forgone by using the item for our project; hence, there is a larger reduc-
tion in national income. Physical contingency allowances and price contingency allowances for
relative changes in price, then, are expected-if unallocated-project costs, and they properly form
part of the cost base when measures of project worth are calculated.
General inflation, however, poses a different problem. As we will note in chapter 3 in discussing
future prices, in project analysis the most common means of dealing with inflation is to work in
constant prices, on the assumption that all prices will be affected equally by any rise in the general
price level. This permits valid comparisons among alternative projects. If inflation is expected to
be significant, however, provision for its effects on project costs needs to be made in the project
financing plan so that an adequate budget is obtained. Contingency allowances for inflation would
not, however, be included among the costs in project accounts other than the financing plan.
Taxes
46
Recall that the payment of taxes, including duties and tariffs, is customarily treated as a cost in
financial analysis but as a transfer payment in economic analysis (since such payment does not
reduce the national income). The amount that would be deducted for taxes in the financial
accounts remains in the economic accounts as part of the incremental net benefit and, thus, part of
the new income generated by the project.
Debt service
The same approach applies to debt service-the payment of interest and the repayment of capital.
Both are treated as an outflow in financial analysis. In economic analysis, however, they are con-
sidered transfer payments and are omitted from the economic accounts.
Treatment of interest during construction can give rise to confusion. Lending institutions some-
times add the value of interest during construction to the principal of the loan and do not require
any interest payment until the project begins to operate and its revenues are flowing. This process
is known as "capitalizing" interest. The amount added to the principal as a result of capitalizing
interest during construction is similar to an additional loan. Capitalizing interest defers interest
cost, but when the interest payments are actually due, they will, of course, be larger because the
amount of the loan has been increased. From the standpoint of economic analysis, the treatment of
interest during construction is clear. It is a direct transfer payment the same as any other interest
payment, and it should be omitted from the economic accounts. Often interest during construction
is simply added to the capital cost of the project. To obtain the economic value of the capital cost,
the amount of the interest during construction must be subtracted from the capital cost and omit-
ted from the economic account.
In economic analysis, debt service is treated as a transfer within the economy even if the project
will actually be financed by a foreign loan and debt service will be paid abroad. This is because of
the convention of assuming that all financing for a project will come from domestic sources and
all returns from the project will go to domestic residents. This convention, as noted earlier, sepa-
rates the decision of how good a project is from the decision of how to finance it. Hence, even if it
were expected that a project would be financed, say, by a World Bank loan, the debt service on
that loan would not appear as a cost in the economic accounts of the project analysis.
Sunk costs
Sunk costs are those costs incurred in the past upon which a proposed new investment will be
based. Such costs cannot be avoided, however poorly advised they may have been. When we ana-
lyze a proposed investment, we consider only future returns to future costs; expenditures in the
past, or sunk costs, do not appear in our accounts.
In practice, if a considerable amount has already been spent on a project, the future returns to the
future costs of completing the project would probably be quite attractive even if it is clear in retro-
spect that the project should never have been begun. The ridiculous extreme is when only one dol-
lar is needed to complete a project, even a rather poor one, and when no benefit can be realized
until the project is completed. The "return" to that last dollar may well be extremely high, and it
47
would be clearly worthwhile to spend it. But the argument that because much has already been
spent on a project it therefore must be continued is not a valid criterion for decision. There are
cases in which it would be preferable simply to stop a project midway or to draw it to an early
conclusion so that future resources might be freed for higher-yielding alternatives.
For evaluating past investment decisions, it is often desirable to do an economic and financial
analysis of a completed project. Here, of course, the analyst would compare the return from all
expenditures over the past life of the project with all returns. But this kind of analysis is useful
only for determining the yield of past projects in the hope that judgments about future projects
may be better informed. It does not help us decide what to do in the present. Money spent in the
past is already gone; we do not have as one of our alternatives not to implement a completed
project.
Tangible Benefits of Agricultural Projects
Tangible benefits of agricultural projects can arise either from an increased value of production or
from reduced costs. The specific forms in which tangible benefits appear, however, are not always
obvious, and valuing them may be quite difficult.
Increased production
Increased physical production is the most common benefit of agricultural projects. An irrigation
project permits better water control so that farmers can obtain higher yields. Young trees are
planted on cleared jungle land to increase the area devoted to growing oil palm. A credit project
makes resources available for farmers to increase both their operating expenditures for current
production-for fertilizers, seeds, or pesticides-and their investment-for a tubewell or a power
thresher. The benefit is the increased production from the farm.
In a large proportion of agricultural projects the increased production will be marketed through
commercial channels. In that case identifying the benefit and finding a market price will probably
not prove too difficult, although there may be a problem in determining the correct value to use in
the economic analysis.
In many agricultural projects, however, the benefits may well include increased production con-
sumed by the farm family itself. Such is the case in irrigation rehabilitation projects along the
north coast of Java. The home-consumed production from the projects increased the farm fami-
lies' net benefit and the national income just as much as if it had been sold in the market. Indeed,
we could think of the hypothetical case of a farmer selling his output and then buying it back.
Since home-consumed production contributes to project objectives in the same way as marketed
production, it is clearly part of the project benefits in both financial and economic analysis. Omit-
ting home-consumed production will tend to make projects that produce commercial crops seem
relatively high-yielding, and it could lead to a poor choice among alternative projects. Failure to
include home-consumed production will also mean underestimating the return to agricultural
investments relative to investments in other sectors of the economy.
48
When home-consumed crops will figure prominently in a project, the importance of careful finan-
cial analysis is increased. In this case, it is necessary to estimate not only the incremental net ben-
efit-including the value of home-consumed production and money from off-farm sales-but also
the cash available to the farmer. From the analysis of cash income and costs, one can determine if
farmers will have the cash in hand to purchase modern inputs or to pay their credit obligations. It
is possible to have a project in which home-consumed output increases enough for the return to
the economy as a whole to be quite attractive, but in which so little of the increased production is
sold that farmers will not have the cash to repay their loans.
Quality improvement
In some instances, the benefit from an agricultural project may take the form of an improvement
in the quality of the product. For example, the analysis for the Livestock Development Project in
Ecuador, which was to extend loans to producers of beef cattle, assumed that ranchers would be
able not only to increase their cattle production but also to improve the quality of their animals so
that the average live price of steers per kilogram would rise from S/5.20 to S/6.40 in constant
value terms over the twelve-year development period. (The symbol for Ecuadorian sucres is S/.)
Loans to small dairy farmers in the Rajasthan Smallholder Dairy Improvement Project in India
are intended to enable farmers not only to increase output but also to improve the quality of their
product. Instead of selling their milk to make ghee (cooking oil from clarified butter), farmers will
be able to sell it for a higher price in the Jaipur fluid milk market. As in these examples, both
increased production and quality improvement are most often expected in agricultural projects,
although both may not always be expected. One word of warning: both the rate and the extent of
the benefit from quality improvement can easily be overestimated.
Change in time of sale
In some agricultural projects, benefits will arise from improved marketing facilities that allow the
product to be sold at a time when prices are more favorable. A grain storage project may make it
possible to hold grain from the harvest period, when the price is at its seasonal low, until later in
the year when the price has risen. The benefit of the storage investment arises out of this change in
"temporal value."
Change in location of sale
Other projects may include investment in trucks and other transport equipment to carry products
from the local area where prices are low to distant markets where prices are higher. For example,
the Fruit and Vegetable Export Project in Turkey included provision for trucks and ferries to trans-
port fresh produce from southeastern Turkey to outlets in the European Common Market. The
benefits of such projects arise from the change in "locational value."
In most cases the increased value arising from marketing projects will be split between farmers
and marketing firms as the forces of supply and demand increase the price at which the farmer can
sell in the harvest season and reduce the monopolistic power of the marketing firm or agency.
Many projects are structured to ensure that farmers receive a larger part of the benefit by making
it possible for them to build storage
49
facilities on their farms or to band together into cooperatives, but an agricultural project could
also involve a private marketing firm or a government agency, in which case much of the benefit
could accrue to someone other than farmers.
Changes in product form (grading and processing)
Projects involving agricultural processing industries expect benefits to arise from a change in the
form of the agricultural product. Farmers sell paddy rice to millers who, in turn, sell polished rice.
The benefit to the millers arises from the change in form. Canners preserve fruit, changing its
form and making it possible at a lower cost to change its time or location of sale. Even a simple
processing facility such as a grading shed gives rise to a benefit through changing the form of the
product from run-of-the-orchard to sorted fruit. In the Himachal Pradesh Apple Marketing Project
in northern India, the value of the apples farmers produce is increased by sorting; the best fruit is
sold for fresh consumption while fruit of poorer quality is used to make a soft drink concentrate.
In the process, the total value of the apples is increased.
Cost reduction through mechanization
The classic example of a benefit arising from cost reduction in agricultural projects is that gained
by investment in agricultural machinery to reduce labor costs. Examples are tubewells substitut-
ing for hand-drawn or animal-drawn water, pedal threshers replacing hand threshing, or (that
favorite example) tractors replacing draft animals. Total production may not increase, but a bene-
fit arises because the costs have been trimmed (provided, of course, that the gain is not offset by
displaced labor that cannot be productively employed elsewhere).
Reduced transport costs
Cost reduction is a common source of benefit wherever transport is a factor. Better feeder roads or
highways may reduce the cost of moving produce from the farm to the consumer. The benefit
realized may be distributed among farmers, truckers, and consumers.
Losses avoided
In discussing with-and-without comparisons in project analyses earlier in this chapter, we noted
that in some projects the benefit may arise not from increased production but from a loss avoided.
This kind of benefit stream is not always obvious, but it is one that the with-and-without test tends
to point out clearly. In Jamaica, lethal yellowing is attacking the Jamaica Tall variety of coconut.
The government has undertaken a large investment to enable farmers to plant Malayan Dwarf
coconuts, which are resistant to the disease. Total production will change very little as a result of
the investment, yet both the farmers and the economy will realize a real benefit because the new
investment prevents loss of income. The Lower Egypt Drainage Project involves the largest single
tile drainage system in the world. The benefit will arise not from increasing production in the
already highly productive Nile delta, but from avoiding losses due to the waterlogging caused by
year-round irrigation from the Aswan High Dam.
50
Sometimes a project increases output through avoiding loss-a kind of double classification, but
one that in practice causes no problem. Proposals to eradicate foot-and-mouth disease in Latin
America envision projects by which the poor physical condition or outright death of animals will
be avoided. At the same time, of course, beef production would be increased.
Other kinds of tangible benefits
Although we have touched on the most common kinds of benefits from agricultural projects,
those concerned with agricultural development will find other kinds of tangible, direct benefits
most often in sectors other than agriculture. Transport projects are often very important for agri-
cultural development. Benefits may arise not only from cost reduction, as noted earlier, but also
from time savings, accident reduction, or development activities in areas newly accessible to mar-
kets. If new housing for farmers has been included among the costs of a project, as is often the
case in land settlement and irrigation projects, then among the benefits will be an allowance for
the rental value of the housing. Since this is an imputed value, there are valuation problems that
will be noted later.
Secondary Costs and Benefits
Projects can lead to benefits created or costs incurred outside the project itself. Economic analysis
must take account of these external, or secondary, costs and benefits so they can be properly
attributed to the project investment. (Of course, this applies only in economic analysis; the prob-
lem does not arise in financial analysis.)
When market prices are used in economic analysis, as has been the custom in the United States for
water resource and other public works projects, it is necessary to estimate the secondary costs and
benefits and then add them to the direct costs and benefits. This is a theoretically difficult process,
and one easily subject to abuse. There is an extensive and complex literature on secondary costs
and benefits that specifically addresses this analytical approach. For those who would like to
review this literature, a good place to begin is the article by Prest and Turvey (1966), which out-
lines the historical development of the discussion. A highly technical review of the arguments can
be found in Mishan (1971).
Instead of adding on secondary costs and benefits, one can either adjust the values used in eco-
nomic analysis or incorporate the secondary costs and benefits in the analysis, thereby in effect
converting them to direct costs and benefits. This is the approach taken in most project analyses
carried out by international agencies, in the systems based on shadow prices proposed in more
recent literature on project analysis, and in the analytical system presented here.
Incorporating secondary costs or benefits in project analysis can be viewed as an analytical device
to account for the value added that arises outside the project but is a result of the project invest-
ment. In the analytical system here, as will be explained in more detail in chapter 7, every item is
valued either at its opportunity cost or at a value determined by a consumer's willingness to pay
for the item. The effect is to eliminate all transfers-both the direct transfers discussed earlier in
51
this chapter and the indirect transfers that arise because prices differ from opportunity costs. By
this means we attribute to the project investment all the value added that arises from it anywhere
in the society. Hence, it is not necessary to add on the secondary costs and benefits separately; to
do so would constitute double counting.
One qualification must be made. If a project has a substantial effect on the quantity other produc-
ers are able to sell in imperfect markets-and most markets are imperfect-there may be gains or
losses not accurately accounted for. Squire and van der Tak (1975, p. 23) cite the example of an
improved road that diverts traffic from a railway that charges rates below marginal cost. This
diversion entails a social gain from reduced rail traffic (in avoiding the social losses previously
incurred on this traffic) in addition to the benefits to the road users measured directly. In agricul-
tural projects, this is a rather infrequent case because prices generally are more flexible than in
other sectors of the economy. In any event, in the practice of contemporary project analysis the
size of these gains or losses is generally assumed to be insignificant, and no provision is made for
them in the analysis.
Although using shadow prices based on opportunity costs or willingness to pay greatly reduces
the difficulty of dealing with secondary costs and benefits, there still remain many valuation prob-
lems related to goods and services not commonly traded in competitive markets. One way to
avoid some of these problems is to treat a group of closely related investments as a single project.
For example, it is common to consider the output of irrigation projects as the increased farm pro-
duction, since valuing irrigation water is difficult. Another example is found in development
roads built into inaccessible areas. It is argued that the production arising from the induced invest-
ment activities of otherwise unemployed new settlers should be considered a secondary benefit of
the road investment. One way of avoiding the problem is to view this case as a land settlement
project in which the road is a component. New production is then properly included among the
direct benefits of the project and can be included in the project accounts at market or shadow
prices, and no attempt need be made to allocate the benefits between road investment and the
other kinds of investment that must be made by settlers and government if settlement is to suc-
ceed.
Another group of secondary costs and benefits has been called "technological spillover" or "tech-
nological externalities." Adverse ecological effects are a common example, and the side effects of
irrigation development are often cited as an illustration. A dam may reduce river flow and lead to
increased costs for dredging downstream. New tubewell development may have adverse effects
on the flow of existing wells. Irrigation development may reduce the catch of fish or may lead to
the spread of schistosomiasis. When these technological externalities are significant and can be
identified and valued, they should be treated as a direct cost of the project (as might be the case
for reduced fish catches), or the cost of avoiding them should be included among the project costs
(as would be the case for increased dredging or for investment to avoid pollution).
It is sometimes suggested that project investments may give rise to secondary benefits through a
"multiplier effect." The concept of the multiplier is generally thought of in connection with econ-
omies having excess capacity. If excess capacity exists, an initial investment might cause addi-
tional increases in income as successive rounds of spending reduce excess capacity. In developing
countries, however, it is shortage of capacity that is characteristic. Thus, there is little likelihood
52
of excess capacity giving rise to additional benefits through the multiplier. In any event, most of
the multiplier effect is accounted for if we shadow-price at opportunity cost. Since the opportunity
cost of using excess capacity is only the cost of the raw materials and labor involved, only vari-
able costs will enter the project accounts until existing excess capacity is used up.
It is also sometimes suggested that there is a "consumption multiplier effect" as project benefits
are received by consumers. Consumption multipliers are very difficult to identify and value. In
any case, they presumably would be much the same for alternative investments, so omitting them
from a project analysis would not affect the relative ranking of projects.
Intangible Costs and Benefits
Almost every agricultural project has costs and benefits that are intangible. These may include
creation of new job opportunities, better health and reduced infant mortality as a result of more
rural clinics, better nutrition, reduced incidence of waterborne disease as a result of improved
rural water supplies, national integration, or even national defense. Such intangible benefits are
real and reflect true values. They do not, however, lend themselves to valuation. How does one
derive a figure for the long-term value of a child's life saved, or for the increased comfort of a
population spared preventable, debilitating disease? Benefits of this kind may require a modifica-
tion of the normal benefit-cost analysis to a least-cost type of analysis, a topic we will take up
when we discuss valuation. Because intangible benefits are a factor in project selection, it
is important that they be carefully identified and, where at all possible, quantified, even though
valuation is impossible. For example, how many children will enroll in new schools? How many
homes will benefit from a better system of water supply? How many infants will be saved because
of more rural clinics?
In most cases of intangible benefits arising from an agricultural project, the costs are tangible
enough: construction costs for schools, salaries for nurses in a public health system, pipes for
rural water supplies, and the like. Intangible costs, however, do exist in projects. Such costs might
be incurred if new projects disrupt traditional patterns of family life, if development leads to
increased pollution, if the ecological balance is upset, or if scenic values are lost. Again, although
valuation is impossible, intangible costs should be carefully identified and if possible quantified.
In the end, every project decision will have to take intangible factors into account through a sub-
jective evaluation because intangible costs can be significant and because intangible benefits can
make an important contribution to many of the objectives of rural development.
53
3. PRICING PROJECT COSTS AND BENEFITS
Once costs and benefits have been identified, if they are to be compared they must be valued.
Since the only practical way to compare differing goods and services directly is to give each a
money value, we must find the proper prices for the costs and benefits in our analysis.
Prices Reflect Value
Underlying all financial and economic analysis is an assumption that prices reflect value-or can
be adjusted to do so. In this chapter we will discuss how to find these prices. Before proceeding,
however, it is necessary to define two economic concepts crucial to project analysis: marginal
value product and opportunity cost.
Consider a Filipino farmer who applies nitrogenous fertilizer to his rice. In the 1979-80 season
this fertilizer cost him P3.98 per kilogram of elemental nitrogen (N), and he received P1.050 for
every kilogram of paddy rice he sold. (The symbol for Philippine pesos is P.) Table 3-1 shows the
responsiveness of his rice to fertilizer. At low levels of application, fertilizer has a great effect on
rice yield. Increasing the application from no fertilizer to 10 kilograms of elemental nitrogen
increased the farmer's
Table 3-1. Crop Response to Nitrogen Fertilizer in the Philippines
Paddy rice Shelled maize
Nitrogen
(kgs/ha)
Yield (kgs/ha) Value MVP Yield (kgs/ha) Value MVP
0 3,442 3,614 2,600 2,688
10 3,723 3,909 29.50 2,830 2,926 23.80
20 3,971 4,170 26.10 3,040 3,143 21.70
30 4,187 4,396 22.60 3,230 3,340 19.70
40 4,370 4,588 19.20 3,400 3,516 17.60
50 4,520 4,746 15.80 3,550 3,671 15.50
60 4,637 4,869 12.30 3,680 3,805 13.40
70 4,721 4,957 8.80 3,790 3,919 11.40
80 4,772 5,011 5.40 3,880 4,012 9.30
90 4,791 5,031 2.00 3,950 4,084 7.20
100 4,777 5,016 -1.50 4,000 4,136 5.20
110 4,030 4,167 3.10
54
Personal communication from Pedro R. Sandoval, University of the Philippines at Los Banos, September 1980. Rice
responses are based on Changes in Rice Farming in Selected Areas of Asia (Manila: International Rice Research Institute,
1978), p. 61. Maize responses are based on University of the Philippines at Los Banos Experiment Station records. Prices are
from the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, Ministry of Agriculture, Republic of the Philippines.
a. The farm-gate price of elemental nitrogen (N) in 1979-80 was F3.98 per kilogram
b. The farmgate price of paddy rice in 1979-80 was F1.050 per kilogram.
c. The marginal value product is the extra revenue that comes from increasing the quantity of an input used by one unit, all other
quantities remaining constant. In this instance, the marginal value product is the increased value of paddy rice or shelled maize
from using 1 additional kilogram of elemental nitrogen. Note that in this table the interval between levels of elemental nitrogen is
10 kilograms. Thus, the marginal value product of elemental nitrogen applied to rice between the 60- and 70-kilogram levels of
application is the difference in value of output between the two levels divided by 10, or P8.80 [(4,957 - 4,869) - 10 = 8.80].
d. The farm-gate price of shelled yellow maize in 1979-80 was P1.034 per kilogram.
e. Beyond application of 100 kilograms of elemental nitrogen, all marginal value products for paddy rice are negative; therefore,
figures for these applications of nitrogen to rice are not reported.
yield from 3,442 kilograms to 3,723 kilograms per hectare and increased the value of his output by
P295, from P3,614 to P3,909. Thus, for every additional kilogram of elemental nitrogen the farmer
applied at this level, he received P29.50 in return [(3,909 - 3,614) _ 10 = 29.50]. The extra revenue
from increasing the quantity of an input used, all other quantities remaining constant, is the marginal
value product of the input. In this case, then, the marginal value product of a kilogram of fertilizer is
P29.50.
If the farmer could buy fertilizer for P3.98 a kilogram and use it to increase output by PP9.50, it
obviously would have paid him to apply more. But as the intensity of application increases, each
additional kilogram of fertilizer has less and less effect on production. If the farmer had increased his
application from 80 to 90 kilograms per hectare, he would have increased the value of his produc-
tion by only P20, from P5,011 to P5,031, and the marginal value product of a kilogram of fertilizer
would have fallen to only P2.00 [(5,031 - 5,011) - 10 = 2.00]. Since he would have had to pay P3.98
per kilogram, it clearly would not have been worthwhile to apply fertilizer at this rate. In fact, it
would only have paid the farmer to apply fertilizer up to the rate at which the marginal value product
just equaled the price. For this Filipino farmer, it would have paid him to apply approximately 80
kilograms of nitrogen: between 70 and 80 kilograms the marginal value product of each additional
kilogram was some P5.40, whereas between 80 and 90 kilograms it fell to P2.00. Thus, the farmer
would have expanded his fertilizer use until he reduced the marginal value product of the fertilizer to
its market price, and the market price, therefore, is an estimate of the marginal value product of the
fertilizer.
120 4,040 4,177 1.00
130 4,030 4,167 -1.00
Table 3-1. Crop Response to Nitrogen Fertilizer in the Philippines
Paddy rice Shelled maize
55
The optimal amount of fertilizer to use will change, of course, when the price of fertilizer changes
relative to the price of rice. If the relative price of fertilizer were to rise, the farmer would respond by
reducing the amount of fertilizer he applies, increasing the marginal value product of the fertilizer
(but reducing the total amount and value of production) until the marginal value product of the fertil-
izer again just equals its price. Suppose fertilizer were to double in price to P8.00 per kilogram of
elemental nitrogen, and rice prices remained unchanged. Then, table 3-1 indicates the farmer should
reduce the amount of fertilizer applied to a hectare from 80 kilograms to 70 kilograms, since
between 60 and 70 kilograms the marginal value product was some P8.80 but between 70 and 80
kilograms it was only some P5.40.
In practice, because of risk and limited resources, the farmer would probably not have applied the
amounts indicated here. We may consider that the farmer reduces his expected return by some
"risk discount." Even so, the principle we are illustrating remains the same: the farmer equates the
expected marginal value product less some risk discount to the price of fertilizer.
If this farmer also grew maize, for which in 1979-80 he would have received P1.034 per kilogram of
shelled grain, table 3-1 indicates it would have paid him (in the absence of risk) to apply some 100
kilograms of elemental nitrogen to each hectare, because between 90 and 100 kilograms the mar-
ginal value product of a kilogram of nitrogen applied to maize was P5.20, whereas between 100 and
110 kilograms the marginal value product fell to P3.10, below the price of fertilizer.
Now, suppose the farmer had limited resources and could not obtain sufficient credit to increase his
fertilizer application on both rice and maize to where the marginal value product equaled the price.
Suppose the farmer had only 2 hectares, 1 planted in rice and 1 in maize, and resources sufficient to
purchase just 80 kilograms of nitrogen. How should he have used it? Should he have put it all on rice
and none on maize? If he did, he would have applied fertilizer to his rice at the level where the
marginal value product was just about equal to its market price. But suppose he had shifted some
fertilizer, instead, to maize. If he had shifted 10 kilograms, he would have reduced the value of his
rice production by P54- from P5,011 to P4,957, or by P5.40 for each kilogram shifted-but he
could have obtained some P238 for the 10 kilograms applied to maize, since the marginal value
product between 0 and 10 kilograms was some P23.80 per kilogram. In other words, at these lev-
els each kilogram of nitrogen shifted would reduce the rice value by P5.40 but increase the value
of maize output by some P23.80. In the language of economics, the opportunity cost of fertilizer
shifted from rice to maize was P5.40. Opportunity cost, thus, is the benefit forgone by using a
scarce resource for one purpose-in this case applying fertilizer to maize-instead of for its best
alternative use-in this case using the fertilizer to produce rice. Said another way, the opportunity
cost is the return a resource can bring in its next best alternative use. What would be the opportu-
nity cost if the farmer were to move a kilogram of fertilizer in the other direction, back from
maize to rice? He would have given up P23.80 to gain only P5.40-not a very attractive proposi-
tion-and the opportunity cost, obviously, would be some P23.80.
56
Given his limited resources, it would pay the farmer to shift fertilizer from rice to maize until the
marginal value product of fertilizer applied to both crops is the same. In the case of the Filipino
farmer who could buy only 80 kilograms of fertilizer, if on the one hand he were to move 40 kilo-
grams to maize, reducing his application on rice from 80 kilograms to 40 kilograms, he would
have increased the marginal value product of the fertilizer on his rice to some P15. On the other
hand, the 40 kilograms shifted away from rice and put on maize would have decreased the mar-
ginal value product of nitrogen applied to maize also to about P15. At these levels, there would be
no advantage in shifting fertilizer between the two crops-the opportunity cost of shifting more fer-
tilizer from rice to maize would be about P15, but the gain would also be only about P15-and the
farmer would have reached the optimal level of application to both crops.
Note, however, that if the farmer could somehow have bought as much fertilizer as he wanted at
the market price of P3.98 per kilogram-perhaps through a credit program-then the market price of
fertilizer would have become its opportunity cost, and (in the absence of a risk discount) he
should have increased his application to 80 kilograms on rice and 100 kilograms on maize.
From a single farmer to the economy as a whole, the same principles apply. In a "perfect" market-
one that is highly competitive, with many buyers and sellers, all of whom have perfect knowledge
about the market-every economic commodity would be priced at its marginal value product, since
every farmer will have expanded his fertilizer use to where its marginal value product equals its
price, and the same will have happened for every other item in the economy. That is, the price of
every good and service would exactly equal the value that the last unit utilized contributes to pro-
duction, or the value in use of the item for consumption would exactly balance the value it could
contribute to additional production. If a unit of goods or services could produce more or bring
greater satisfaction in some activity other than its present use, someone would have been willing
to bid up its price, and it would have been attracted to the new use. When this price system is in
"equilibrium," the marginal value product, the opportunity cost, and the price will all be equal.
Resources will then have been allocated through the price mechanism so that the last unit of every
good and service in the economy is in its most productive use or best consumption use. No trans-
fer of resources could result in greater output or more satisfaction.
Without moving further into price theory, we can consider some direct implications for agricul-
tural projects of the assumption that prices reflect value.
First, as everyone knows, markets are not perfect and are never in complete equilibrium. Hence,
prices may reflect values only imperfectly. Even so, there is a great deal of truth in this price the-
ory based on the model of perfect markets. In general, the best approximation of the "true value"
of a good or service that is fairly widely bought and sold is its market price. Somebody in the
economy is willing to pay this price. One can presume that this buyer will use the item to increase
output by at least as much as its price, or that he is willing to exchange something of value equal
to the price to gain the satisfaction of consuming the item. Hence, the market price of an item is
normally the best estimate of its marginal value product and of its opportunity cost, and most
often it will be the best price to use in valuing either a cost or a benefit. In financial analysis, as we
57
have noted, the market price is always used. But in economic analysis some other price-a "shadow
price"-may be a better indicator of the value of a good or service; that is, a better estimate of its
true opportunity cost to the economy. When prices other than market prices are used in economic
analysis, however, the burden of proof is on the analyst.
Finding Market Prices
Project analyses characteristically are built first by identifying the technical inputs and outputs for
a proposed investment, then by valuing the inputs and outputs at market prices to construct the
financial accounts, and finally by adjusting the financial prices so they better reflect economic
values. Thus, the first step in valuing costs and benefits is finding the market prices for the inputs
and outputs, often a difficult task for the economist.
To find prices, the analyst must go into the market. He must inquire about actual prices in recent
transactions and consult many sources-farmers, small merchants, importers and exporters, exten-
sion officers, technical service personnel, government market specialists and statisticians, and
published or privately held statistics about prices for both national and international markets.
From these sources the analyst must come up with a figure that adequately reflects the going price
for each input or output in the project.
Point of first sale and farm-gate price
In project analysis, a good rule for determining a market price for agricultural commodities pro-
duced in the project is to seek the price at the "point of first sale." If the point of first sale is in a
relatively competitive market, then the price at which the commodity is sold in this market is
probably a relatively good estimate of its value in economic as well as financial terms. If the mar-
ket is not reasonably competitive, in economic analysis the financial price may have to be
adjusted better to reflect the opportunity cost or value in use of the commodity.
For many agricultural projects in which the objective is increased production of a commodity, the
best point of first sale to use is generally the boundary of the farm. We are after what the farmer
receives when he sells his product-the "farm-gate" price. The increased value added of the prod-
uct as it is processed and delivered to a market arises as a payment for marketing services. This
value added is not properly attributed to the investment to produce the commodity. Rather, it
arises from the labor and capital engaged in the marketing service. Usually the price at point of
first sale can be accepted as the farm-gate price; even if this point is in a nearby village market,
the farmer sells his output there and thus earns for himself any fee that might be involved in trans-
porting the commodity from the farm to the point of first sale. But if any new equipment is neces-
sary to enable the farmer to do this-say, a new bullock cart or a new truck-then that new
equipment must be shown as a cost incurred to realize the marketing benefit in the project.
58
In projects producing commodities for well-organized markets, the farm-gate price may not be
too difficult to determine. This would be true for most food grains traded domestically in substan-
tial quantities. One may think of wheat in most countries of the Middle East and South Asia, of
rice in South and Southeast Asia, and of maize in much of Latin America. It would also be true of
farm products for which the processor is generally the first buyer (such as fresh fruit bunches for
palm oil in Malaysia or milk in Jamaica), where the price quoted to the farmer is the price on his
farm, and the firm responsible for the marketing comes to the farm to pick up the product.
In many cases, however, the prices in a reasonably competitive market or in the price records kept
by the government statistical service will include services not properly attributable to the invest-
ment in the project itself. This may happen, for instance, when the only price series available for a
product records the prices at which it has been sold in a central market-such as the price for eggs
in Madras, for melons in Tehran, or for vegetables in Bogota. In that case, the project analyst will
have to dig deeper to find out how to value the marketing services. Then he can adjust the central
market price to reduce it to the farm-gate price.
The farm-gate price is generally the best price at which to value home-consumed production. In
some cases it may be extremely difficult to determine just what a realistic farm-gate price is for a
crop produced primarily for home consumption because so little of the crop appears on markets.
This is the case, for example, for manioc and cocoyam in Africa. On the one hand, some argue that
the true value of the crop is overstated if the market price is used as a basis for valuation because
such a small proportion of the product is actually sold. On the other hand, the same crop in different
situations may not be so difficult to value. Manioc is sold extensively in Nigeria to make gari flour,
and it is commonly traded in local markets in tropical Latin America and the Caribbean.
The farm-gate price may be a poor indicator of the true opportunity cost we want to use in economic
analysis. In Ghana the Marketing Board takes some proportion of the cocoa price as a tax for devel-
opment purposes. In Thailand, a rice "premium"-that is, a tax on rice exports-effectively keeps the
domestic price well below what the international market would pay. In these cases, when the com-
modity is traded its economic value would have to be considered higher than the actual farm-gate
price, and this price distortion will have to be corrected in the economic analysis. In other cases, just
the opposite happens. In Mexico the price of maize is maintained at a high level to transfer income
to ejidatarios, the small farmers. In Malaysia, the price of rice is supported above world market lev-
els to encourage local production and to reduce imports. In these cases, part of the price does not
really reflect the economic value of the product-its cost if it could be imported-but rather an indirect
income transfer to small farmers. Again, this price distortion will have to be corrected in the eco-
nomic analysis.
Pricing intermediate goods
59
By emphasizing the point of first sale as a starting point for valuing the output of our projects, we
are also implying that imputed prices should be avoided for intermediate goods in our analysis.
An intermediate good is an item produced primarily as an input in the production of another good.
If an intermediate good is not freely traded in a competitive market, we cannot expect to obtain a
price established by a range of competitive transactions. Fodder produced on a farm and then fed
to the dairy animals on the farm is an example of such an intermediate product. If increased fod-
der production is an element in the proposed agricultural project, the analyst would avoid valuing
it. Instead, the analyst would treat the whole farm as a unit and value the milk produced at its
point of first sale or value the calves sold as feeder cattle. Treatment of intermediate products will
vary from project to project depending on the particular marketing structures. In some countries it
would hardly make sense in an egg production project to value the pullets produced in a pullet
production enterprise and then "sell" these pullets to the egg production enterprise on the same
farm. But in other countries there might be an active market in pullets, which would mean that we
could expect to find a reasonably competitive price to use in the economic analysis. To avoid most
of the problems that might be introduced by trying to impute values for intermediate products, the
financial accounts in agricultural projects are based on budgets for the whole farm instead of on
budgets for individual activities on the farm; that is, on the budget for the egg farm as a whole
rather than on the budget for a pullet production activity.
A frequently encountered intermediate good in agricultural projects is irrigation water. The "prod-
uct" of an irrigation system-water-is, of course, really intended to produce agricultural commodi-
ties. The price farmers are charged for the water is generally determined administratively, not by
any play of competitive market forces. If the analyst were to try to separate the irrigation system
from the production it makes possible, he would be faced with a nearly impossible task of deter-
mining the value of irrigation water. Hence, it is not surprising that the economic analyses of most
irrigation projects take as the basis for the benefit stream the value of the agricultural products
that are offered in a relatively free market at the point of first sale.
Other problems in finding market prices
Considerable confusion often arises in determining the values for two important inputs in agricul-
tural projects, land and labor. This happens primarily when the analysis moves from the financial
project accounts to the economic analysis (to which we will turn in chapter 7). In the accounts
prepared for the financial analysis, the treatment of prices for land and labor is quite straightfor-
ward: the price used is the price actually paid. Thus, if the farmers in a settlement project are
expected to pay the project authority a price for the land they acquire, perhaps through a series of
installments, then the actual price in the year it is paid is entered in the project accounts. In the
financial analysis, we do not question whether this is a "good" price in economic terms. Similarly,
if land must be bought for the right-of-way for canals in an irrigation project, the actual price to be
paid is entered in the project accounts in the financial analysis. Or, if the project includes tenant
farmers who will receive help in increasing wheat production, then in the financial accounts for
these tenant farmers the analyst will enter the rent paid each year at the amount actually paid, or at
the farm-gate value of the wheat delivered to the landowner if the tenants pay rent in kind.
60
If farm accounts are laid out on a with-and-without basis following the format suggested in chap-
ter 4, in those instances where the project involves only changing the cropping pattern (say, a shift
from pasture to irrigated sorghum), the cost of the land (in this instance an opportunity cost) need
not be separately entered because of the form of the account. When the net benefit without the
project is subtracted from the net benefit with the project, the contribution of the land to the old
cropping pattern is also subtracted and only the incremental value remains.
In valuing labor for the financial analysis accounts, again, the problems arise when the financial
accounts are adjusted to reflect economic values. For financial analysis, the analyst enters the
amounts actually paid to hired labor, either in wages or in kind, in the farm budgets or project
accounts. Family labor is treated differently. It is not entered as a cost; instead, the "wages" for the
family become a part of the net benefit. Thus, if our project increases the net benefit, it also in
effect increases the family's income or "wages" for its labor. Again, if we follow the format sug-
gested in chapter 4, the account will automatically value the family labor at its opportunity cost,
and the incremental net benefit will reflect any increased return the family may receive for its
labor.
Prices for agricultural commodities generally are subject to substantial seasonal fluctuation. If this
is the case, some decision must be made about the point in the seasonal cycle at which to choose
the price to be used for the analysis. A good starting point is the farm-gate price at the peak of the
harvest season. This is probably close to the lowest price in the cycle. The line of reasoning here
is that as prices rise during the cycle at least some part of that rise is a result not of the production
activities of the farmer but of the marketing services embodied in storing the crop until consumers
want it. But, markets being what they are, there may be an element of imperfection in the harvest
price level. Market channels may become so glutted that merchants try actively to discourage
farmers from immediately bringing their crop to the market by offering a price that even the mer-
chants themselves would admit is too low. Even so, the need to sell immediately to meet debt
obligations may force farmers to offer their crops despite these artificially low, penalty prices. In
some cases, therefore, a price higher than the farm-gate price in the harvest season may be
selected. But there is an obligation here to justify the price chosen as more valid than the lowest
seasonal price. One way to resolve this problem may be to include an element of credit in the
project design. This would permit farmers to withhold their product from the market until prices
have had a chance to rise from their seasonal lows but at the same time to have enough money to
meet their cash obligations and family living expenses. The credit element may also include credit
for building on-farm storage so that farmers will have a safe place to store their production until
they decide to market it at a better price.
Prices vary among grades of product, of course, and picking the proper price for project analysis
may involve making some decisions about quality of the product. In general, it can be assumed
that farmers will produce in the future much the same quality as they have in the past and will
market their product ungraded. In many agricultural projects, however, one objective is to
upgrade the quality of production as well as to increase the total output. Small dairy farmers, for
61
instance, may be able with the help of the project investment to meet the sanitation standards of
the fluid milk market and to command a higher price; or reduced time for delivery may hold down
sucrose inversion in sugarcane; or better pruning will increase the average size of the oranges
Moroccan farmers can offer European buyers. In such cases, the proper price to select is the aver-
age price expected for the quality to be produced.
A special problem occurs in pricing housing. If project investment includes housing construction,
as would be the case for a settlement project, then one benefit arising from the investment is the
rental value of the house. Since the rental value will usually be an imputed value rather than a real
market price, care must be exercised in determining it. No more should be allowed for the rental
value than would normally be paid by a prospective tenant family. Nor should more rental value
be allowed than the family would be expected to pay for a comparable house in the vicinity or in a
similar area elsewhere (if the new settlement is in a distant locale). In particular, the temptation
should be avoided to take as a rental value some arbitrary proportion of the housing cost. Other-
wise, overly elaborated housing construction might be justified simply by assigning it an unrealis-
tically high imputed value.
Project boundary price
Prices used in analyzing agricultural projects are not necessarily farm-gate prices. The concept of
a farm-gate price may be expanded to a "project boundary" price if a project has a marketing com-
ponent or if it is a purely marketing project. Many projects have a marketing component, perhaps
because there is no competitive channel reaching down to the farm-gate level for the unprocessed
product. Of concern in these projects are both the farm-gate price (on which to base the estimates
of the net benefit to the farmer) and the price at which the processed product is sold in the market
(after being handled in the facilities financed by the project). Such a case is found in the Rahad
project in the Sudan. There the Roseires dam on the Blue Nile will provide irrigation water for the
production of cotton, which will be ginned in new facilities financed by the project. The analyst,
of course, is interested in the price of cotton paid to the farmers so that their incomes can be esti-
mated. But, since this price is set administratively, it could not be used directly in the economic
analysis of the project. The analyst is also interested in the price of ginned cotton because that is
the first product the project will actually sell in a reasonably competitive market. In this case, the
point of first sale is f.o.b. (free on board) Port Sudan, and the price there becomes the basis for the
benefit stream.
Predicting Future Prices
Since project analysis is about judging future returns from future investment, as analysts we are
immediately involved in judging just what future prices may be. This is a matter of judgment, not
mechanics. No esoteric mathematical model exists to come to the aid of the project analyst; like
everyone else he must take into consideration all the facts he can find, seek judgments from those
62
he respects, and then come to a conclusion himself. It tends to be a rather unsettling process. The
only consolation is that careful, considered judgment about the course of future prices is better
than giving the matter no thought at all and wasting scarce resources on incompletely planned
projects.
We have been discussing how to find market prices, and it is from these current prices that we
begin. The best initial guess about future prices is that they will retain the present relationships, or
perhaps the average relationship they have borne to each other over the past few years. We must
consider, however, whether these average relationships will change in the future and how we will
deal with a general increase in the level of prices owing to inflation.
Changes in relative prices
We may first raise the question of whether relative prices will change. Will some inputs become
more expensive over time in relation to other commodities? Will some prices fall relatively as
supplies become more plentiful? Not easy questions to deal with, but some approaches to answers
can be made. In financial analysis, of course, a change in a relative price means a change in the
market price structure that producers face either for inputs or for outputs. A change in a relative
price, then, is reflected directly in the project's financial accounts. A rise in the relative price of
fertilizer reduces the incremental net benefit-the amount the farm family has to live on. It is thus
clearly a cost in the farm account. The same line of reasoning can be applied in the financial anal-
ysis for any other group participating in the project.
A change in the relative price of an item implies a change in its marginal productivity-that is, a
change in its marginal value product-or a change in the satisfaction it contributes when it is con-
sumed. In economic analysis, where maximizing national income is the objective, a change in the
relative price of an input implies a change in the amount that must be forgone by using the item in
the project instead of elsewhere in the economy; it is therefore a change in the contribution the
output of the project makes to the national income. Thus, changes in relative prices have a real
effect on the project objective and must be reflected in project accounts in the years when such
changes are expected.
There are several kinds of commodities subject to future changes in relative prices. Most agricul-
tural project analysts would probably agree that the relative price of energy-intensive agricultural
inputs is likely to continue to rise over the next several years, just as it has done over the past few
years. Thus, on the input side the project accounts might show an annual increase, at least for the
first decade or so, in the cost of fuel for tractors, for transporting the harvested crop, for drying
grain, and for such petroleum-based inputs as fertilizers and chemical pesticides. On the output
side, there may be some commodities that will probably continue to be in short supply and whose
prices will rise as incomes increase-one might think of mutton from fat-tailed sheep in Iran, or, for
63
that matter, of most meat products worldwide. How much will prices increase relative to those of
other products? Certainly a difficult question, but one the project analyst must confront. For a
range of products-from industrial crops such as fibers or oilseeds to food grains and vegetables-
judgments will have to be made on the best possible basis.
In some countries, relative wages of rural labor may rise as economic development proceeds dur-
ing the life of a project. This will have implications not only for the prices assumed for hired
labor, but also for the incentive effect exerted by a given change in net benefit and for the technol-
ogy assumed as a basis for projections in the farm budgets and project accounts.
Inflation
In the past few years, virtually every country has experienced inflation, and the only realistic
assessment is that this will continue. No project analyst can escape deciding how to deal with
inflation in his analysis.
The approach most often taken is to work the project analysis in constant prices. That is, the
analyst assumes that the current price level (or some future price level-say, for the first year of
project implementation) will continue to apply. It is assumed that inflation will affect most
prices to the same extent so that prices retain their same general relations. The analyst then
need only adjust future price estimates for anticipated relative changes, not for any change in
the general price level. By comparing these estimates of costs and benefits with the constant
prices, he is able to judge the effects of the project on the incomes of participants and its
income-generating potential for the society as a whole. Although the absolute (or money) val-
ues of the costs and benefits in both the financial and the economic analyses will be incorrect,
the general relations will remain valid, and so the measures of project worth discussed in chap-
ter 9 may be applied directly. Working in constant prices is simpler and involves less calcula-
tion than working in current prices; for the latter, every entry has to be adjusted for anticipated
changes in the general price level.
It is quite possible, however, to work the whole project analysis in current prices. This has the
advantage that all costs and benefits shown would be estimates of what the real prices will be in
each year of the project. Furthermore, estimates of investment costs will be in current terms for
the year in which they are expected to occur, so that the finance ministry can more easily antic-
ipate these needs and budget the amounts necessary to finance the project on schedule. The
problem in this approach is that it involves predicting inflation rates. For items to be imported,
some help is available in the World Bank report on Price Prospects for Major Primary Commod-
ities (1982a), which is published biennially and updated in six-month intervals and includes an
estimate of inflation in developed countries. For domestic inflation rates in developing coun-
tries, other sources will have to be consulted, but obtaining an estimate in which one can place
64
even minimal confidence will be difficult, to say the least. Even casting the project analysis in
current terms may raise problems for the project analyst. Many governments have policy goals
that call for greatly reduced inflation, and they cannot permit the circulation of official documents
that assume rapid inflation will continue.
The mere mechanics of using current prices presents no analytical problem in project analysis,
although it does complicate the computations. When we consider measures of project worth,
some means of deflating future prices must be adopted for comparing future cost and benefit
streams in terms that are free from the effects of general price increases. We will illustrate the
methodology in chapter 10 in the section "Calculating Measures of Project Worth Using Current
Prices."
Even when constant prices are used in the more conventional approach to project analysis, a table
estimating the budgetary effects of the project in current terms that will prevail at least during the
investment phase should be included either in the analysis or as a separate memorandum. It would
list in current prices domestic currency needs, foreign exchange requirements, and subsidies. The
finance ministry would then have better estimates to work with, and delays because of budgetary
shortfalls could more easily be avoided.
Prices for Internationally Traded Commodities
For commodities that enter significantly in international trade, whether inputs or outputs, project
analysts usually obtain price information from various groups of specialists who follow price
trends and make projections about relative prices in the future. In many countries where agricul-
tural exports are important, there are groups in the agriculture ministry or the finance ministry
whose help may be sought.
There are also several international organizations and trade groups to which the analyst may turn.
The World Bank, for instance, publishes its projections under the title Price Prospects forMa-
jorPrimary Commodities. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) sponsors intergovern-
mental groups that publish price information on rice; grains (other than rice); citrus; hard fibers;
fibers (other than hard fibers); oilseeds, oils and fats; bananas; wine and wine products; tea; meat;
and cocoa. Information may be obtained from the secretary of the relevant intergovernmental
group at the FAo headquarters in Rome or from the FAo representative in individual countries.
Several international commodity organizations keep detailed price information for the products of
their interest. These include the International Tea Committee, the International Cocoa Organiza-
tion, the International Wool Secretariat, the International Coffee Organization, the International
Association of Seed Crushers, the International Rubber Study Group, and the International Sugar
Organization, all with headquarters in London; the International Olive Oil Council in Madrid; and
the International Cotton Advisory Committee in Washington.
65
Some individual nations systematically collect production and price information for crops and
livestock products of interest to them, and they often are willing to share this information with
analysts in other countries without charge or restriction. The United States Department of Agri-
culture-probably the most important of these-publishes detailed studies about most major crops
traded in international markets. Information may be obtained from agricultural attaches in Ameri-
can embassies, or directly from the department's Foreign Agriculture Service. The Common-
wealth Secretariat in London publishes information about price trends for commodities of interest
to its member nations. A detailed list of "Sources of Information on World Prices" is available
from the World Bank (Woo 1982).
Financial Export and Import Parity Prices
In projects that produce a commodity significant in international trade, the price estimates are
often based on projections of prices at some distant foreign point. The analyst must then calculate
the appropriate price to use in the project accounts, either at the farm gate or at the project bound-
ary.
If the farm-gate or project boundary prices for the internationally traded commodities in the
project are already known, and the prices in the particular country tend to follow world market
prices, the farm-gate prices may be adjusted by the same relative amount as indicated, say, by the
medium trend projected in the future relative prices supplied by one or another international orga-
nization. Also, in financial analysis, if the farm-gate price is set administratively and is not
allowed to adjust freely to world prices, the relevant price to use is the administratively set price.
Simply adjusting domestic prices by the same relative amount as foreign prices often arrives at
figures too rough for project analysis. The approach ignores the fact that marketing margins in
commodity trade tend to be less flexible than the commodity prices themselves. There are also
many instances in estimating the economic value of a traded commodity that involve deriving a
shadow price based on international prices. In such instances it is necessary to calculate export or
import parity prices. (See chapter 7, the subsection "Economic export and import parity values.")
These are the estimated prices at the farm gate or project boundary, which are derived by adjust-
ing the c.i.f. (cost, insurance, and freight) or f.o.b. prices by all the relevant charges between the
farm gate and the project boundary and the point where the c.i.f. or f.o.b. price is quoted. The ele-
ments commonly included in c.i.f. and f.o.b. are given in table 3-2.
Table 3-2. Elements of C.i.f. (Cost, Insurance, Freight) and F.o.b. (Free on Board)
Item Element
C.i.f. Includes:
66
Source: William A. Ward, Calculating Import and Export Parity Prices, training materials of the Economic Development Insti-
tute, CN-3 (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1977), p.8.
One common case for which an export parity price has to be calculated is that of a commodity
produced for a foreign market. Table 3-3 gives an example based on the Rahad project in the
Sudan. It shows the generalized elements for calculating export parity prices so that the same
methodology can be applied in other cases. As noted earlier, the Rahad project included cotton
gins. Since the gins produce lint and cottonseed for export and scarto, a by-product of very short
fibers not suitable for export and sold locally, the analyst needed three prices. For the lint and seed
estimates, he began with forecasts of the 1980 c.i.f. prices in current terms at Liverpool, which
were available from World Bank publications. From these c.i.f. prices, he then deoucted insur-
ance, ocean freight, export duties, port handling costs, and rail freight from the cotton gin at the
project site to Port Sudan, thus obtaining the export parity prices at the project boundary: LSd
178.650 for lint and LSd18.097 for seed. (The symbol for Sudanese pounds is LSd.) The price for
scarto, which was not exported, was based on the prevailing domestic price.
To illustrate, we may continue to calculate the export parity price at the farm gate, although in the
Rahad example, where the farm-gate price was set administratively, this calculation was not made.
The computations are laid out in the part of table 3-3 that continues from the entry for "Equals
export parity price at project boundary." Here a new issue arises. The three products that the gin pro-
duces-lint, seed, and scarto-must be converted into their seed cotton equivalents, since it is seed cot-
ton that the farmer sells. Similar conversions have to be made in many other instances-for example,
F.o.b. cost at point of export
Freight charges to point of import
Insurance charges
Unloading from ship to pier at port
Excludes:
Import duties and subsidies
Port charges at port of entry for taxes, handling, storage, agents fees and
the like
F.o.b. Includes:
All costs to get goods on board-but still in harbor of exporting country:
Local marketing and transport costs
Local port charges including taxes, storage, loading, fumigation, agents
fees and the like
Export taxes and subsidies
Project boundary price
Farm-gate price
Table 3-2. Elements of C.i.f. (Cost, Insurance, Freight) and F.o.b. (Free on Board)
Item Element
67
,
Table 3-3. Financial Export Parity Price for Cotton, Rahad
Irrigation Project, Sudan (1980 forecast prices)
Step in the calculation Relevant step in the
Sudanese example
Value per ton
Lint Seed Scarto
C.i.f. at point of import C.i.f. Liverpool (taken as
estimate for all European
ports)
US$639.33 US$103.39
Deduct unloading at point of
import
Deduct freight to point of
import
Deduct insurance
Freight and insurance
F.o.b. Port Sudan
39.63 24.73
Equals f.o.b. at point of
export
F.o.b. Port Sudan US 599.70 US$ 78.66
Convert foreign currency to
domestic currency at official
exchange rate
Converted at official
exchange rate of LSd
1.000=US$2.872
LSd 208.809 LSd 27.389
Deduct tariffs Export duties 17.813 1.000
Add subsidies (None)
Deduct local port charges Port handling cost
Lint: LSd 5.564 per ton
Seed: LSd 1.510 per ton
5.564 1.510
Deduct local transport and
marketing costs from project
to point of export (if not part
of the project cost)
Freight to Port Sudan at
LSd 6.782 per ton
6.782 6.782
Equals export parity price at
project boundary
Export parity price at gin at
project site
LSd 178.650 LSd 18.097
Conversion allowance (if
necessary)
Convert ot seed cotton (LSd
178.650 x 0.4 + LSd 18.097
x 0.59 + LSd 110.200 x
0.01)
71.460 10.677 1.102
Deduct local storage, trans-
port, and marketing costs (if
not part of project cost)
Ginning, baling, and storage
(LSd 15.229 per ton)
15.229
Collection and internal
transfer (LSd 1.064 per ton)
1.064
68
LSd Sudanese pounds. US$ U.S. dollars
Source: Adapted from World Bank, Appraisal of the Rahad Irrigation Project, PA-139b (Washington, D.C., 1973; restricted cir-
culaton) annex 16, table 6. The format of the table is adapted from Ward, Calculating Import and Export Parity Prices, p.9
a. Scarto is a by-product of very short, soiled fibers not suitable for export and is sold locally at a price of LSd 110.200 per ton.
b. Seedcotton is converted into lint, seed, and scarto assuming 1 ton of seed cotton yields 400 kilograms seed, and 10 kilograms
scarto.
rice milling or groundnut decortication. For the Rahad project, a weighted price of LSd83.239
forthe seed cotton was calculated using a ginning outturn of 40 percent lint, 59 percent seed, and 1
percent scarto. From this weighted price were deducted the ginning, baling, and storage charges and
the costs of collection and transport from the farm gate to the gin, thus arriving at the farm-gate
export parity price of LSd66.946.
A parallel computation leads to the import parity price. Here the issue is the price at which an
import substitute can be sold domestically if it must compete with imports. Table 3-4 illustrates
this issue with the example of maize production in Nigeria. The same example is presented dia-
grammatically in figure 3-1. Nigeria is a net maize importer, and the project is to produce maize
for domestic consumption to replace imported maize.
Equals export parity price at
farm gate
Export parity price at the
farm gate
LSd 66.946
Table 3-4. Financial Import Parity Price of Early-crop Maize, Central
Agricultural Development Projects, Nigeria
Steps in the calculation Relevant steps in the Nigerian example Value
per ton
F.o.b. at point of export F.o.b. U.S. Gulf ports, No. 2 U.S. yellow
corn in bulk
US$116
Freight and insurance 31
Add freight to point of import
Add unloading at point of import
Add insurance
Equals c.i.f. at point of import
C.i.f. Lagos or Apapa US$147
Convert foreign currency to domestic
currency at official exchange rate
Add tariffs
Deduct subsidies
Add local port charges
Converted at official exchange rate of N1 =
US$1.62
none
none
Landing and port charges (including the
cost of bags)
N91
22
Table 3-3. Financial Export Parity Price for Cotton, Rahad
Irrigation Project, Sudan (1980 forecast prices)
Step in the calculation Relevant step in the
Sudanese example
Value per ton
69
N = Nigerian naira
Source: Adapted from World Bank, Supplementary Annexes to Central Agricultural Development Projects, 1370-UNI (Wash-
ington, D.C., 1976; restricted circulsation), supplement 11, appendix 2, table 4. The format of the table is adpated from Ward,
Calculating Import and Export Parity Prices, p. 10.
a. Forecast from World Bank, Price Prospects for Major Primary commodities, 814/76 (Washington, D.C., 1976), annex 1, p. 12.
We begin with the f.o.b. price at the point of export-in this case U.S. ports on the Gulf of Mexico-
derived from World Bank commodity estimates. To this we add freight and insurance to obtain the
c.i.f. price at either Lagos or Apapa, the two Nigerian ports concerned. Then we would add any
tariffs and subsidies (in this case there are none); add local port charges for harbor dues, fumiga-
tion, handling, and the like; and add local transport to the relevant inland market. The result is the
wholesale price of imported maize. It is this wholesale price of maize in the inland market that is
the focal point of our calculation. The alternative to project production is not to import the maize
and transport it to the project area. Rather, the alternative is to import it and market it directly on
the inland market. Thus the price the farmer can expect to receive in the absence of tariffs, subsi-
dies, or an import ban is the wholesale price less the cost of moving his maize to the market. If the
project had included processing facilities, then the relevant project boundary price would have
been this wholesale price less handling costs from the processing facility to the wholesale market.
In the Nigerian project, no processing facilities were included, so the relevant import parity price
is the farm-gate price. As we move back from the wholesale market to the farm gate, we would
have to provide for any conversion allowance. In this case none is necessary, since it is assumed
that the farmer will sell shelled maize. From the wholesale price, then, we deduct local marketing
costs including assembly, bags, and intermediary margins, transport from the farm to the market,
and storage losses, thus obtaining the import parity price at the farm gate of N90. (The symbol for
Nigerian naira is N.) This is the maximum price the farmer could expect to receive, again in the
absence of tariffs, subsidies, or an import ban.
Add local transport and marketing
costs to relevant markets
Transport (based on a 350-kilometer aver-
age)
18
Equals price at market Wholesale price N 131
Conversion allowance if necessary (Not necessary)
Deduct transport and marketing costs
to relevant market
Primary marketing (includes assembly, cost
of bags, and intermediary margins)
-14
Transport (based on a 350-kilometer aver-
age)
- 18
Deduct local storage, transport, and
marketing costs (if not part of the
project costs)
Storage loss (10 percent of harvested
weight
- 9
Equals import parity price at farm gate Imported parity price at farm gate N 90
Table 3-4. Financial Import Parity Price of Early-crop Maize, Central
Agricultural Development Projects, Nigeria
Steps in the calculation Relevant steps in the Nigerian example Value
per ton
70
71
4. FARM INVESTMENT ANALYSIS
Once market prices have been determined for those items that enter the cost and benefit streams, this infor-
mation must be arranged in "pattern" accounts to begin the assessment of the effects a proposed project will
have on the farmers, public and private enterprises, and government agencies that will participate in project
implementation. These accounts are central to the financial analysis of agricultural projects; they are always
based on market prices.
Although we will touch on the essential elements of financial analysis, much more could be taken up here.
Just how elaborate the financial analysis must be for a particular project will depend on the complexity of
the project. Most agricultural projects will call for a financial projection based on at least one pattern farm
plan that is assumed for participating farmers. This pattern (or model) farm plan projects resource use and
income flows for a group of similar farms participating in the project. The financial projections for the pri-
vate and public firms or project entities may be quite summary in nature for a simply organized project, but
a project in which several different firms and project entities are concerned or one that poses special finan-
cial problems may involve a much more complex analysis. The major accounts needed will be outlined in
this chapter and in chapters 5 and 6, and pattern formats suggested. This will enable the project analyst to
proceed with the confidence that he is preparing an acceptable financial analysis. For more complex
projects, especially those projects involving more complex public or private firms with specialized cost,
revenue, or financing situations, the project analyst will have to move beyond what is discussed here. Agri-
cultural project analysts may want to turn for more technical help to financial analysts or accountants, just
as they would turn to agriculturalists or livestock technicians for their particular expertise. Many financial
analysts and accountants, however, will not be familiar with methodologies of agricultural project analysis
or with the particular analytical needs of the financial aspects of these projects, so even financial analysts
and accountants may find that the following discussion may help them respond to a request for assistance.
Objectives of Financial Analysis
Six major objectives for financial analysis occur in analyzing agricultural projects.
Assessment of financial impact
The most important objective of financial analysis is to assess the financial effects the project will have on
farmers, public and private firms, government operating agencies, and any others who may be participating
in it. This assessment is based on an analysis of each participant's current financial status and on a projec-
tion of his future financial performance as the project is implemented. Detailed financial projections are
needed for this analysis.
Judgment of efficient resource use
The overall return of the project and the repayment of loans extended to individual enterprises are impor-
tant indicators of the efficiency of resource use. For management especially, overall return is important
because managers must work within the market price framework they face. Farm investment analysis and
financial ratio analysis provide the tools for this review. Project analysts and others concerned with deci-
72
sions on policies for national economic growth and development will have to look beyond the financial
analysis-at market prices-and form a judgment about the effects of the project on real resources for the
economy as a whole. In chapter 7 we take up this issue in the discussion of how to determine economic
values.
Assessment of incentives
The financial analysis is of critical importance in assessing the incentives for farmers, managers, and own-
ers (including governments) who
will participate in the project. Will farm families have an incremental income large enough to compensate
them for the additional effort and risk they will incur? Will private sector firms earn a sufficient return on
their equity investment and borrowed resources to justify making the investment the project requires? For
semipublic enterprises, will the return be sufficient for the enterprises to maintain a self-financing capabil-
ity and to meet the financial objectives set out by the society?
Provision of a sound financing plan
A principal objective of the financial analysis is to work out a plan that projects the financial situation and
sources of funds of the various project participants and of the project itself. The financial plan provides a
basis for determining the amount and timing of investment by farmers and for setting repayment terms and
conditions for the credit extended to support the investment. It provides the same basis for an assessment
of the investment plans and debt repayment capacities of public and private firms participating in the
project. Finally, for the project as a whole, the financial plan is the basis for determining the amount and
timing of outside financing-whether from the national treasury or from international sources-and for estab-
lishing how rapidly the borrowed resources should be repaid. The estimated effect of inflation on both rev-
enues and costs should be taken into account in making this assessment.
Coordination of financial contributions
The financial plan allows the coordination of the financial contributions of the various project participants.
The coordination is made on the basis of an overall financial projection for the project as a whole. It
addresses itself to such questions as whether the availability of resources from the treasury or international
agency is matched with farmers' investment capacities and available funds for investment and operating
expenses as well as with the timing of expenditures for project investments such as feeder roads and irriga-
tion structures and for working capital needed for stocks in processing industries and the like.
Assessment of financial management competence
On the basis of a projection of the pattern financial accounts, especially for the larger firms and project
entities, the analyst can form a judgment about the complexity of the financial management the project will
require and about the capability of those who will manage the project's implementation. And from this
assessment, the analyst can then judge what changes in organization and management may be necessary if
the project is to proceed on schedule and what specialized training may be advisable.
73
Source: Schaefer-Kehnert (1980).
a. Also called sources-and-uses-of-funds analysis.
b. Benefit-cost analysis of on-farm investments.
Preparing the Farm Investment Analysis
The starting point for both the financial and the economic analysis of an agricultural project is generally
a group of investment analyses of pattern or model farms, based on budgets for individual pattern farms.
These pattern farm budgets compare the situation with the project to that anticipated without the project
for the duration of the project. They enable the analyst to form a sound judgment about the likely benefit
to farmers of participating in an agricultural project and about the incentives for farmers to do so.
Farm investment analysis is the topic of this chapter. This analysis is similar to, and sometimes confused
with, farm management analyses done by agricultural economists, which may be distinguished as farm
income analysis and funds flow analysis. The differences are summarized in table 4-1.
Table 4-l. Differences between Farm Income Analysis, Funds Flow Analysis, and Farm
Investment Analysis
Item Farm income analysis Funds flow analysis Farm investment
analysis
General objective Check currentperfor-
mance of farm
Check farmer's liquid-
ity
Check attractivenes-
sof additional invest-
ment
Period usually ana-
lyzed
Individual years Loan repayment
period
Useful life of invest-
ment
Prices used Current prices Current prices Constant prices
Treatment of capital Annual depreciation
charge
Cash purchasesand
sales
Initial investment,
residual and sales
Off-farm income Excluded Cash portion included Cash and noncash
included
Home consumed farm
production
Included Excluded Included
Performance criteria Return to capital and
labor engaged on farm
Cash available to
farmfamily
Return to additional
resources engaged
Time value Undiscounted Undiscounted Discounted
Performance indica-
tors
Profit as a percentageof
net worth, family
income
Cash surplus or deficit Net present worth,
internal rate of
return, benefit-cost
ratio,net benefit-
investment ratio,net
benefit increase
74
Farm income analysis is generally used to evaluate the performance of a farm in a particular year. Its
objective is to help improve the management of the farm. Current prices are used, and a depreciation
allowance is included to account for that portion of longer-term capital investment used up in the year
being considered. Noncash items such as home-consumed production and payments in kind are
included. Off-farm income and expenditure are excluded because the analysis is intended to evaluate the
performance only of the farm itself. The analysis provides an estimate of the return to capital invested
and to the farmer's labor, and this may then be compared with the return to alternative cropping patterns
or to off-farm opportunities.
Funds flow analysis, also called sources-and-uses-of-funds analysis, is used to determine a farmer's
liquidity in an analysis of his credit situation. Only cash items, including purchase and sale of capital
goods, enter the analysis. Off-farm cash income and expenditure are included, but home-consumed pro-
duction is not. The analysis shows the cash available to the family over a period of time.
Farm investment analysis, in contrast, is undertaken to determine the attractiveness of a proposed invest-
ment to farmers and to other participants, including the society as a whole. It projects the effect on farm
income of a particular investment and estimates the return to the capital engaged. It follows the princi-
ples of discounted cash flow analysis (discussed in detail in chapters 9 and 10). The analysis is projected
over the useful life of the investment. The initial investment is shown at the beginning of the projection,
and a residual value at the end. In general, the analysis is cast in constant prices, although allowance
may have to be made for inflation. Off-farm income is included. Even though we use the term "cash
flow," noncash elements enter the projection, including home-consumed production and payments and
receipts in kind. (The term was first applied to industrial investments, in which noncash elements are
less common.) When doing farm investment analysis, some elements of funds flow analysis are often
incorporated to enable the analyst to assess the farmer's liquidity and his credit use. Those who wish to
pursue farm income analysis or funds flow analysis in relation to project analysis may refer to standard
farm management texts such as Harsh, Connor, and Schwab (1981) and Kay (1981). Those who want
more detail about the application of farm budgets to project analysis may consult Brown (1979).
Pattern farm investment analysis that includes farm budgets should be prepared for almost every agri-
cultural project. Although agricultural project analyses that do not have farm budgets are used, it is
increasingly accepted that farm budgets are an extremely desirable, if not essential, part of project anal-
ysis. The benefit stream of an agricultural project may be built up simply by multiplying the total area to
be planted by the expected yield, essentially treating the whole area as one undifferentiated farm. If this
is all that is done, it may hide crucial information about the effects of the project on individual farmers
and obscure underlying unrealistic assumptions. Even when the project involves only a public sector
undertaking, a farm budget is likely to be necessary to test the feasibility of the cropping pattern and the
financial viability of the enterprise.
The purpose in preparing farm investment analyses for a project is not to take a sample of the farms in
the project area. Rather, it is to select major farm types expected to participate and to look at the impact
of the project on them. These farm investment analyses are usually projections for the life of the project,
often twenty to twenty-five years, not for just a single year. The analyst will want to examine the crop-
ping pattern and perhaps to diagram it; to determine the labor that will be required if farmers are to par-
ticipate in the project and perhaps to prepare a month-by-month labor budget showing requirements and
the availability of family labor; to look at production and inputs; and, finally, to prepare a farm budget in
the detail needed for understanding and evaluating the effects of the project on the income of participat-
ing farmers. From these, the analyst can assess the financial effect of the proposed project on typical
farms-both to judge incentives for participation and to determine whether national policies on minimum
incomes for project participants are being met.
75
Farm investment analyses and farm budgets can of course be prepared for farms of any size. The prob-
lems of analyses for smaller farms are the focus here, since many, if not most, agricultural projects in
developing countries will be directed toward smallholders whose families consume a large part of the
food they produce.
Large commercial farms and plantations, however, whether publicly or privately held, are more like
other business enterprises than they are like small, family-operated farms. Projected accounts for these
large agricultural undertakings are probably more appropriately cast in formal financial statements such
as those of the agricultural processing industries discussed in chapter 5.
In considering small farms, the analyst will be particularly concerned with the effect of the project on
the total income of the farm family. The aspects of the small farm as a family unit and as a business firm
must be clearly understood and appreciated. These will differ from society to society, and the project
analyst should either know the society well enough to anticipate the farmers' response or be advised by
others who do. One must assess the attitude of the family to proposed cropping patterns that involve
more days of labor, to patterns that increase cash crop output and reduce food crop production below
household requirements, to patterns that change the work responsibilities of men and women, and to pat-
terns that require the family to run a considerable market risk. Farmers are price responsive, of course;
the extensive research has amply confirmed this (Krishna 1967). But farmers live in a particular cultural
and risk environment, and project analysts must take this environment into account when they project
their pattern farm investment analyses.
Backed by this understanding of the particular cultural environment, the analyst will prepare the farm
investment analyses as realistically as possible to determine what the family gains by participating in the
project. The projection must be based on a specific package of technological innovation. The effective-
ness of the proposed new technology on small farms must be realistically assessed, and the technologi-
cal assumptions must be checked to ensure that they reflect on-farm conditions and not those of an
experiment station. The analyst must form a judgment about how rapidly farmers will be willing to
adopt new practices. The farm investment analysis should confirm that adoption of a new technology
will really be financially worthwhile, for farmers can respond to financial incentives only when it is
truly remunerative for them to do so. The analyst must determine how much credit will stimulate farm-
ers to adopt new practices and must assess how risky a new technology is and how variable the farm
income may be under the project. The analyst will want to test the effect of risk on family income by
determining what happens if yields fall below expectations or if prices are lower than anticipated and by
undertaking similar sensitivity tests. Through such tests a margin to allow for bad years can be built into
the farm plan.
Although in agricultural projects the analyst generally looks at budgets for entire farms, partial budget-
ing techniques can be used for undertakings that involve only a relatively minor change in the farm
organization. To do this, one looks at the marginal cost (including opportunity cost) of adding a produc-
tion activity and compares it with the marginal increase in benefit that the new activity will bring. Partial
budgets are an effective tool for helping to search out the best combination of production activities.
Brown (1979) discusses their use in some detail. In most projects, however, we expect rather substantial
changes over a prolonged period, and under these circumstances it is better to project whole farm bud-
gets. Then the total effect of the project on family income can be better assessed.
76
The information on which the project analyst will base his farm investment analysis will come from
many sources. Project analysts will have to rely heavily on their professional colleagues to determine a
sensible cropping pattern and livestock activity for a proposed project, the output that may be expected,
the inputs that will be required, and the relevant prices for products. The project analyst will want to pay
particular attention to the realism of the estimates provided by the agriculturalists and livestock special-
ists he consults. Unrealistic assumptions about yields, input levels, or rates of farmer acceptance and,
hence, of buildup in project benefits will negate the best of project analyses.
The analyst will certainly want to visit the site of the proposed project and typical farms that will be
included. Nothing substitutes for the firsthand knowledge that being there brings.
A crucial source of information in every agricultural project is the farmers themselves. Only through
interviews with farmers can a project analyst reach a valid conclusion about the realism of his farm
investment analysis. The project analyst will want to interview farmers about their present cropping pat-
terns, labor requirements, use of inputs, and the market prices actually received and paid. He will want
to gain a sense about the farmers' willingness to participate in the project were it to proceed. In a project
area or on a similar site some farmers often are already using a proposed new technology. It is most
important that these farmers be interviewed to tap their experience. The analyst will want to know the
yields the farmers actually have realized with the new technology, the inputs they actually must employ,
and their general comments on the new technology and cropping pattern proposed for the project. The
analyst will want to assess the labor requirements farmers have found necessary to use the new technol-
ogy.
Interviewing farmers is an art in itself, and only a few comments can be made here. The information
farmers give will usually be contradictory, but out of a group of interviews the project analyst can gain a
sense of feasible technological and financial relations. Farmers will have to be interviewed in the field,
not in the office. The analyst will have to know the local measurements and not expect everything to be
reported neatly on a unit basis. The analyst or one of his staff should probably conduct the interviews
alone or with very few other people around. Great care should be taken to establish a good atmosphere
in the interview so that farmers are not overawed by the analyst's presence; farmers should also know
that the information they give will not be used for tax purposes. A formal questionnaire may be helpful,
especially if much information is to be collected by assistants, but any questionnaire should be carefully
pretested in the field before use. It may be better for the analyst or his assistants to fill in the question-
naire only after the interview is complete and the interviewer has left the farmer. In any event, before the
interviews the analyst should have formed a clear idea about the information he needs, perhaps in the
form of a list of questions, so that critical information will not be overlooked. Questions put to farmers
should be as specific as possible. Most information gathered should relate to actual experience, perhaps
in the last cropping season. Questions about hypothetical situations should be avoided to the extent pos-
sible. The very nature of seeking information about a proposed project will, however, of necessity
involve many "what if" kinds of questions. Cropping patterns are usually based on the judgment of the
agriculturalists and livestock specialists working with the project analyst. Their judgment, in turn, will
be based on their familiarity with the agriculture of the area, on research results and the results of pilot
projects-perhaps undertaken especially as part of the project preparation-and on their knowledge of the
farmers who will participate in the project. In most instances, experienced technicians can propose real-
istic patterns close to the optimum, but sometimes linear programming may be used as a more formal
methodology to optimize cropping patterns. Linear programming has been applied in preparing agricul-
tural project analyses but is not regularly used either in national planning agencies or in international
lending agencies. It is a complex methodology that requires more formal input-output data than does
simple budgeting, and in practice it requires computers. There are serious methodological limitations to
the use of linear programming for agricultural project analysis: problems of dealing with risk, farmers'
77
cultural traditions, variability of soils within farms, water availability in different areas of a farm, and
other farm-level variations. Even so, when preparing a project for an area where there is inadequate
experience to rely on in forming subjectively determined cropping patterns or when dealing with very
complex patterns, the project analyst may want to consult specialists in linear programming for assis-
tance. In these cases, the project preparation takes on some of the character of a research effort. Because
it is a well-known methodology widely used in farm management research, many agricultural colleges
have staff familiar with linear programming.
In most agricultural projects, about half a dozen or so pattern farm investment analyses will suffice, but
generalization about this is dangerous. The number of pattern farm analyses depends entirely on the
complexity of the project. The analyst will want a pattern farm investment analysis for each major group
of soil and water conditions in the project area and for each major difference in the size of holdings. Of
course, each major cropping pattern or livestock activity will require a separate farm investment analy-
sis. Remember that the objective is an indication of the effect of the project, not some kind of rigorously
drawn, random sample. In practice, the number of farm budgets prepared for any given project analysis
is a tradeoff between the complexity of the proposed project and the availability of staff to prepare the
investment analyses.
Each farm investment analysis will be the result of careful consultation with technical specialists and
interviews with farmers. Just as it is not possible to generalize about how many pattern farm budgets
will be necessary, neither is it possible to generalize about how many interviews with farmers will be
needed. Thorough preparation of a complex project may require twenty-five to fifty or even more inter-
views to provide the information for each farm analysis. But a simpler project that will use a better-
known technology may require only half a dozen to a dozen interviews for each pattern farm budget. A
group doing an appraisal of a proposed project would probably interview fewer farmers than was neces-
sary in the initial project preparation. Each situation will have to be judged by itself in the light of how
confident the analyst needs to be about the project analysis, how complex the project is, how well
known the technology is, and how available are staff for project preparation.
Similar considerations apply in deciding the level of detail necessary in a farm investment analysis. Any
farm investment analysis is intended to improve the decisionmaking for a project. It is, of necessity, an
abstraction. This imprecision is forced on us by the very fact that we must predict future events, but it
also arises from the question of just how much detail is necessary. In every farm investment analysis, the
project analyst will reach a point at which further elaboration or further detail would make such a mar-
ginal contribution to the investment decision that it is not worth the time. Just when that point is reached
will vary from project to project according to the circumstances of the project and the circumstances of
the decisionmaking process.
It is easy to conceive of a set of pattern farm investment analyses that would be so enormously detailed
and have so many different budgets that the process would quickly become bogged down in detail.
Because of staff limitations and because of the approximate nature of the underlying data, it is better to
hold both the number of pattern farms and the level of detail to the minimum that will serve to lay out
clearly the major points about the project.
The project analyst will have to determine how best to present his information so that those who must
review his work and make decisions about the project can work efficiently and yet have the information
they need. The major entries, the level of detail, and the like will vary from project to project. Some of
the elements given in separate tables in the illustrative examples in this chapter may be better combined
in the tables that present a particular project. In many project reports, only a summary of background
information, plus a detailed farm budget, will be needed. Other, more detailed tables can be included in
78
annexes or in a separate volume of background information reproduced in limited quantities and circu-
lated only to those most interested in the project. This kind of additional data can even be kept in a sep-
arate project information file that can be made available to anyone seriously interested. (In the Paraguay
report used as an example in this chapter, the analyst presented his farm investment analysis in four
annex tables and collected the supporting information in a separate project information file.)
What we will present here is a pattern format that includes the features most commonly of significance
in agricultural project analysis. This pattern format uses a terminology generally accepted by both farm
management specialists and accountants. In using the format, the analyst will have to determine for him-
self, for each project in his charge, exactly how much detail is necessary to support the analysis and
exactly how this detail is best reported to facilitate decisions about the particular project.
Elements of Farm Investment Analysis
The principal elements of farm investment analysis are outlined in this subsection and are listed in table
4-2. A flow chart for preparing the analysis is given in figure 4-1. Not every element will be necessary in
every analysis, and the means of presenting the elements will vary from project to project according to
circumstances.
The most important elements of a farm investment analysis can be illustrated by an example adapted
from the Paraguay Livestock and Agricultural Development Project. (Tables that illustrate particular
elements of the analysis are noted in table 4-2.) The project is to increase agricultural production, pro-
ductivity, and income on some 940 livestock farms and some 3,000 mixed farms, mostly small, through
on-farm investments supported by credit, technical assistance, feeder roads, and market improvement.
Most of the important aspects of preparing a farm investment analysis are touched on in this example,
but it is clear that no single example can cover every possibility. Each project analyst will want to build
on the illustrative tables that outline this one example for the purposes of his own project analysis. As in
all accounts, the objectives of the farm investment account determine its content and format.
Accounting convention for farm investment analysis
Because farm investment analysis follows the principles of discounted cash flow, it is convenient to
adopt an accounting convention that is congruent with those principles. [This convention has been called
"time-adjusted" by Schaefer-Kehnert (1980), who has elaborated its use.] The discounting process used
in discounted cash flow analysis implicitly assumes that every transaction falls at the end of the account-
ing period. It is desirable that the farm investment analysis match this assumption. This is simply
accomplished if we consider the initial investment to take place at the end of year 1 of the project,
regardless of whether it will actually take a full year or only a few weeks. Year 2, then, is the first
accounting period in which increases in operating cost and incremental benefits occur. Thus, the divid-
ing line between the end of the initial investment period and the beginning of the incremental production
operations coincides exactly with the dividing line between years 1 and 2 of the project. (Some analysts
accomplish much the same result by considering investment to fall in year 0, but this gives rise to prob-
lems when cash flows are aggregated.) Considering that preparing a farm plan, making a loan, construct-
ing or purchasing investment items, and purchasing new inputs can take at least several months to a
year, reserving year 1 for investment is not unrealistic. Doing so, however, is not dictated by real events
but by the accounting convention.
If all transactions are considered to fall at the end of the accounting period, then we must allow for the
availability of the needed operating
79
Table 4-2. Principal Elements of Farm Investment Analysis
Element Illustrative table
Farm resource use
Land use 4-4
(Land use calendar) (Figure 4-2) Labor use
Annual labor requirement by crop
operation, by crop for I hectare
4-5
Labor distribution by crop and
month, per hectare
4-6
(Labor use diagram) (Figure 4-3)
Labor requirement by crop and month 4-7
Hired labor by crop and month 4-8
Off-farm labor Not illustrated
Farm production
Crops and pasture
Yield and carrying capacity 4-9
Crop and pasture production 4-10 Livestock
Herd projection 4-27
Herd composition, purchases, sales 4-11
Herd productivity 4-28
Feeding period and daily ration 4-29
Feed requirement and production 4-30
Yield per animal Not illustrated Valuation
Farm-gate prices 4-12 Value of production
Crops 4-13
Livestock
Incremental residual value 4-14
Farm inputs
Investment
Physical 4-15
Foreign exchange component Not illustrated
80
Figure 4-1. Flow Chart for Farm Investment Analysis
expenditure at the beginning of the cropping season. This is accomplished by incorporating in the analy-
sis an entry for incremental working capital at the end of the preceding year. The amount of the working
capital needed is related to the farming system being analyzed. If a single annual crop is produced, then
nearly all the operating expenditure will be needed at the beginning of the crop year. But if two crops are
to be produced in succession, only the operating expenditure for the first crop need be on hand at the
beginning of the crop year, since there will be a harvest during the year that will provide proceeds to
replace the input supplies needed before the second crop is harvested. Thus, only half the total annual
operating expenditure need be on hand at the beginning of the year. The incremental working capital
needed (either an increase or a decrease) at the beginning of the year, then, is entered at the end of the
year preceding the year when it will be expended for production. A set of recommended adjustments in
incremental operating expenditure to obtain incremental working capital is given in table 4-3. Introduc-
ing an incremental working capital stream reflects real resource use. When an investment is undertaken,
short-term inputs such as seed, fertilizer, feed, and the like must be on hand. They are replaced from the
proceeds of the harvest or livestock sales during the year and are again on hand for production in the fol-
lowing year. If operations are to expand the next year, then stocks of inputs for production must be
increased, and this will be reflected in another incremental working capital entry. Since the incremental
working capital is entered separately, it will easily be included in the total investment shown when the
farm budget is prepared and will not be inadvertently overlooked. At the end of the project, the incre-
mental working capital for each year is added together algebraically and taken out of the project as part
of the residual value. Thus, including incremental working capital in the accounts does not result in dou-
ble counting.
One practical outcome of this accounting convention is that operating expenditures and benefits in year 1
generally remain the same as they were without the project. In some cases new investment might require
an increase in operating expenditure in year 1, even though production
Value of investment 4-15 Operating expenditure
Crop 4-16 Livestock
Incremental working capital 4-17
Farm budget
Without project 4-18 With project
Net benefit before financing 4-19
Debt service 4-24
Net benefit after financing 4-19
Cash position 4-19
Table 4-2. Principal Elements of Farm Investment Analysis
Element Illustrative table
81
Source: Schaefer-Kehnert (1980).
would not be affected until year 2. In other instances, both operating expenditures and production might
actually decrease-as might happen if new irrigation canals were to be constructed, disrupting farming oper-
ations. In laying out the farm investment analysis, however, it is usually considered that working capital is
not freed as a result of the investment so that the layout of the farm budget can be simplified. If this were
not done, both data for the case without the project and data for a "preproject" year or "year 1" would be
needed to accommodate the decision rule that working capital be a proportion of the increase or decrease in
the operating expenditure for the following year.
Showing working capital as a separate entry facilitates determining how much short-term credit may be
needed by the farmer. A judgment may be made about whether the farmer will have savings from which to
finance increased working capital or whether some proportion or all will have to be covered by extending
the farmer a short-term loan, which then can be incorporated into the financing section of the farm budget.
The accounting convention adopted here is not much different from that most commonly used by project
analysts. The most important difference is the rule of reserving year 1 for investment only and assuming
the investment to fall at the end of the year. It is more common to include investment in year 1 but to
assume that it will occur at the beginning of the year, even though the discounting process assumes it falls
at the end of the year. Production is then assumed to be increased in year 1, an assumption that leads to an
overestimate of the rate of return on the capital used. It also leads to a considerable overestimate of the
farmer's income in the early years of the project and, hence, to an underestimate of his need for both long-
term and short-term credit. The other difference between the accounting convention adopted here and that
most commonly used by project analysts is only a matter of completeness. It is easy inadvertently to omit
or underestimate working capital unless such capital is included in the convention. This convention for
working capital leaves the crop year intact and therefore facilitates the supporting technical projections.
Farm resource use
Once the agronomists, livestock technicians, and other technical specialists have determined the compo-
nents of a proposed farming system for a pattern farm, the analyst may proceed to prepare the farm invest-
ment analysis.
LAND USE.
Table 4-3. Incremental Working Capital as a Percentage of Incremental Operating
Expenditure
Item Percent
Tree crops (slowly maturing,one harvest season) 100
Annual crops
One season 80-100
Two seasons 40-60
Continuous cropping and continuously producing
livestock enterprises
20-40
82
The first step is to determine what the land use on the farm will be. The land use for the Paraguay project
is given in table 4-4. Note that the crop year is taken to extend from July of one calendar year to June of the
next, since this arrangement makes the break in the year come during the Paraguayan winter season, when
there are the fewest crops in the ground. The total farm area is 20.0 hectares, divided into cultivated area,
pasture, forest, and a house plot. (Throughout the text of this chapter,
Source: Adapted from World Bank, "Staff Appraisal Report: Paraguay-Livestock and Agricultural Development Project," 2272-
PP. (Washington, D.C., 1979; restricted circulation), annex 1, table 17.
a. Operated by one family with six members and a work potential of 70 work days a month. A work day is the time (generally eight
hours) devoted by one person during one day.
b. Maize and manioc are intercropped.
Table 4-4. Land Use, 20-Hectare Mixed Farm, Livestock and Agricultural Development
Project Model IV, Paraguay (hectares)
Without
project
With project
Type of use and crops Year 1 2 3 4 5 6-20
Cultivated area
Maize
0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
Manioc
1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.5 0.5 0.5
Beans 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.0
Cotton 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.2 2.5 3.0
Soybeans 0.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 2.2 2.5 3.0
Sunflower` 0.0 0.0 2.0 2.0 2.2 2.5 3.0
Total 4.0 4.0 7.0 7.0 8.1 9.0 10.0
Total croplands 4.0 4.0 5.0 5.0 5.9 6.5 7.0
Cropping intensity' 1.0 1.0 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4
Pasture
Natural 10.5 7.0 3.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Improved 0.0 3.5 7.0 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.5
Total 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.5
Forest 5.0 5.0 4.0 4.0 3.1 2.5 2.0
House plot 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
Total farm area 20.0 20.0 20.0 20.0 20.0 20.0 20.0
83
c. Double-cropped after cotton or soybeans. The area given is the area planted in the year shown.
d. Does not include second crop area, in this case the area planted in sunflower.
e. Cropping intensity is determined by dividing the total cultivated area by the total cropland.
the most common or generalized categories from the pattern tables will be shown in italic type. These
items would be considered in any farm investment analysis. In all tables the generalized analytical
framework applies, but in some the categories are all specific to the project analyzed.)
The land use, in accord with the accounting convention adopted, would remain unchanged in year 1,
except for establishment of improved pasture that is part of the investment. In year 2, in which the pro-
posed cropping pattern calls for sunflower to be introduced and to be double-cropped after either cotton
or soybeans (depending on the year), both the total cultivated area and the total cropland are shown. The
total cultivated area is the total area planted in crops, whereas the total cropland is the area available to
cultivate. When the total cultivated area is divided by the total cropland, the cropping intensity is
obtained. In year 2, for example, the cropping intensity is 1.4 (7.0 - 5.0 = 1.4). Many analysts prefer to
report cropping intensity in percentages, so this would be reported as 140 percent. One check of the fea-
sibility of the cropping pattern is the intensity. The analyst should be cautious about accepting a crop-
ping pattern that has a very high cropping intensity or one that is markedly different from the pattern
existing in the area. Farmers may well have good reasons for not driving up the intensity.
Many analysts also like to devise a cropping diagram, such as that given in figure 4-2, and this should be
subdivided to indicate any existing farm plots. Such a diagram is usually drawn up only for the full-
development situation. The diagram indicates the area to be devoted to each category of land use and
each crop. In the case of our example, it extends over two years to show that the seasonal timing of the
cotton-sunflower-soybean rotation occurs on one plot in one year and on another in the next. Checking
vertically at any one time, we can be sure the cropping pattern does not call for more area than the farm
has. Checking horizontally, we can determine when each crop must be planted and whether enough land
will be available at the proper season. The left and right sides of the boxes showing the area to be
planted in each crop are slanted to indicate the planting and harvest time necessary for each crop. Exam-
ining the cropping diagram can help determine if there will be adequate time between crops to prepare
the land.
Figure 4-2. Land Use Calendar for Project Years 6-20, 20-Hectare Mixed Farm, Livestock and Agri-
cultural Development Project, Paraguay
LABOR USE

A second aspect of the farm resource use is labor. To determine the labor the farm will require, we need to
know the labor used to cultivate a hectare of each crop in each project year. It is desirable to be able to see
this in two forms, by operation and by month. Table 4-5 shows the annual labor requirements for 1 hectare
by crop and operation for the Paraguay project example. It includes the labor required not only for the var-
ious crops to be produced, but also for the pasture. The labor unit is a work day, the time (generally eight
hours) devoted by one person during one day. The labor requirement for crops drops sharply between years
1 and 2 because of the introduction of draft animal power. In the case of pasture, the labor requirement for
fencing and seeding is included in years 1 through 3. In the Paraguay model, other activities of pasture
establishment are to be undertaken by a contractor, so there will be no call for labor from the farmer. If,
however, labor for establishing some other kind of improvement were expected, such as farmers' digging
their own tertiary canals in an irrigation project, then this should be included in the labor requirement.
84
Table 4-5. Annual Labor Requirement per Hectare by Crop and Operation, 20-Hectare
Mixed Farm, Paraguay Project
Crop and operation Without-
project
With Project
Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7-20
Crops
Maize
Land preparation and planting 22 22 11 11 11 11 11 11
Cultivation' 9 9 2 2 2 2 2 2
Harvesting 28 28 28 31 31 33 33 36
Total 59 59 41 44 44 46 46 49
Manioc
Land preparation and planting 14 14 10 10 10 10 10 10
Cultivation' 27 27 15 15 15 15 15 15
Harvesting 19 19 19 21 21 23 23 25
Total 60 60 44 46 46 48 48 50
Beans
Land preparation and planting 24 24 19 19 19 19 19 19
Cultivation 10 10 4 4 4 4 4 4
Harvesting 20 20 20 22 22 22 22 22
Total 54 54 43 45 45 45 45 45
Cotton
Clearing 8 8 8 8 8 8
Plowing 18 18 3 3 3 3 3 3
Harrowing (2 times) 2 2 2 2 2 2
Seeding 4 4 1 1 1 1 1 1
Thinning 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
Cultivation (3 times) 30 30 3 3 3 3 3 3
Spraying (5 times) 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Harvesting 37 37 43 43 46 46 49 49
Drying, packing, marketing 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
85
Total 109 109 80 80 83 83 86 86
Soybeans
Clearing - - 8 8 8 8 8 8
Plowing - - 3 3 3 3 3 3
Harrowing (2 times) - - 2 2 2 2 2 2
Seeding - - 1 1 1 1 1 1
Thinning - - 6 6 6 6 6 6
Cultivation (2 times) - - 2 2 2 2 2 2
Spraying (2 times) - - 4 4 4 4 4 4
Harvesting - - 18 18 20 20 22 22
Transport - - 3 3 3 3 4 4
Total - - 47 47 49 49 52 52
Sunflower
Clearing - - 6 6 6 6 6 6
Plowing - - 3 3 3 3 3 3
Harrowing (2 times) - - 2 2 2 2 2 2
Sowing - - 1 1 1 1 1 1
Thinning - - 6 6 6 6 6 6
Cultivation (2 times) - - 2 2 2 2 2 2
Spraying (2 times) - - 4 4 4 4 4 4
Harvesting - - 13 14 14 15 15 15
Drying, packing, marketing - - 4 4 4 5 5 5
Total - - 41 42 42 44 44 44
Pasture
Improved establishment
Fencing - 7 7 7 0 0 0 0
Seeding - 2 2 2 0 0 0 0
Table 4-5. Annual Labor Requirement per Hectare by Crop and Operation, 20-Hectare
Mixed Farm, Paraguay Project
Crop and operation Without-
project
With Project
Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7-20
86
Note: For the area in various crops, see table 4-4.
Source: Adapted from A. O. Ballantyne, "Paraguay-Small Farmer Credit Component, Livestock and Agricultural Develop-
ment Project," working papers on file (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1978; restricted circulation).
a. Maize and manioc are intercropped. Hence, during the period when both are growing, the allocation of cultivation time between
the two crops has an arbitrary element.
The total labor requirement per hectare for each crop is distributed by month in table 4-6. The monthly dis-
tribution is most important because we must determine not only the total annual labor requirement on the
farm but also its timing to assess whether sufficient family labor will be available and, if there is not
enough, how much hired labor will be needed. Although some farm management analysts break down the
labor requirement by week or fortnight, for purposes of project analysis the monthly distribution is suffi-
cient.
On a mixed farm, livestock will also require labor. This may be calculated by determining how much time
will be needed per animal unit in the livestock herd. An animal unit is a measurement of feed demand by a
particular class of animal. (This is discussed in more detail in the appendix to this chapter. The total animal
units for each year are reported in table 4-11. They are given in that table for the livestock herd that could
exist on 100 model farms to avoid the problem of divisibility that arises when the increase in large live-
stock on a small farm is projected. Thus, to obtain the animal units on one farm, the total reported in table
4-11 must be divided by 100. We will return to a discussion of this convention in the next subsection, when
we discuss the herd composition.) In the Paraguay example, it is assumed that each animal unit will require
five minutes of care a day and that the requirement will be the same each month throughout the year. The
labor requirement is determined on the basis of the animal units at the beginning of the year. Using animal
units rather
Maintenance - - 3 3 3 3 3 3
Table 4-6. Labor Distribution by Crop and Month, 20-Hectare Mixed Farm, Paraguay
Project(work days per hectare)
Crop J A S O N D J F M A M J Total
Maize
Without project,
year 1 14
14 8 0 5 4 28 0 0 0 0 0 0 59
Year 2 9 9 2 0 1 1 28 0 0 0 0 0 0 41
Years 3-4 9 9 2 0 1 1 31 0 0 0 0 0 0 44
Years 5-6 9 9 2 0 1 1 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 46
Table 4-5. Annual Labor Requirement per Hectare by Crop and Operation, 20-Hectare
Mixed Farm, Paraguay Project
Crop and operation Without-
project
With Project
Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7-20
87
Years 7-20 9 9 2 0 1 1 36 0 0 0 0 0 0 49
Manioca
Without project,
year 1 0
0 0 14 3 3 3 4 3 5 3 3 19 60
Year 2 0 0 0 10 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 19 44
Years 3-4 0 0 0 10 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 21 46
Years 5-6 0 0 0 10 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 23 48
Years 7-20 0 0 0 10 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 25 50
Beans
Without project,
year 1 0
0 0 0 0 24 5 5 20 0 0 0 0 54
Year 2 0 0 0 0 0 19 2 2 20 0 0 0 0 43
Years 3-5 0 0 0 0 0 19 2 2 22 0 0 0 0 45
Cotton
Without project,
year 1 0
0 0 8 14 8 19 19 7 20 14 0 0 109
Years 2-3 0 0 0 8 6 8 6 5 8 25 14 0 0 80
Years 4-5 0 0 0 8 6 8 6 5 8 27 15 0 0 83
Years 6-20 0 0 0 8 6 8 6 5 9 28 16 0 0 86
Soybeans
Years 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 13 8 3 2 10 8 3 0 47
Years 4-5 0 0 0 0 0 13 8 3 2 10 10 3 0 49
Years 6-20 0 0 0 0 0 13 8 3 2 11 11 4 0 52
Sunflower
Year 2 2 9 3 13 4 0 0 0 0 0 6 4 41
Years 3-4 2 9 3 14 4 0 0 0 0 0 6 4 42
Years 5-20 2 9 3 15 5 0 0 0 0 0 6 4 44
Pasture
Table 4-6. Labor Distribution by Crop and Month, 20-Hectare Mixed Farm, Paraguay
Project(work days per hectare)
Crop J A S O N D J F M A M J Total
88
Note: Same as table 4-5. Source: Same as table 4-5.
a. See note a, table 4-5.
b. Labor requirements for sunflower apply to the year of planting. Thus, in year 2 the labor requirement is for the crop planted in
May of year 2 and harvested in October of year 3.
than each individual class of animal as the basis for estimating the labor requirement considerably
simplifies the computation and is not unrealistic. In the convention recommended here, for example,
closing livestock figures do not include heifers two to three years old or steers sold during the year, in
this case steers three to four years old. Opening livestock figures, however, omit calves. In reality,
closing and opening figures tend to balance each other, since heifers will be transferred to the breed-
ing herd throughout the year and surplus heifers and steers will be sold throughout the year, whereas
calves will be born throughout the year. Attempting a more precise estimate would only lead to super-
ficial precision because the error in estimating the daily requirement for labor considerably exceeds
any gain in accuracy.
Having determined the labor requirement for each crop or animal unit by month, we proceed to calculate
the labor requirement for the pattern farm. This is given for the Paraguay example in table 4-7. Here the
labor required for each crop during each project year is given. The total by month and the amount to be
provided by family labor and by hired labor are determined. In the Paraguay example, it is assumed
that the family on the pattern farm will have available 70 work days of labor a month and that any labor
requirement in excess of this amount will be supplied by hired labor. This is a very mechanistic assump-
tion, of course. Not only will families vary widely in the labor they have available-even on farms of
quite comparable size and cropping pattern-but families will also tend to work longer hours in busy sea-
sons and rest in the off-season. For purposes of the farm investment analysis, however, this approxima-
tion is quite sufficient, given the wide margin of error in the estimates of the labor requirement in
general. In the Paraguay example, table 4-7 shows that hired labor will be needed on the farm from year
4 onward. By year 7, in the peak month of March, about 44 percent of the total labor required for cotton
and soybeans will have to be hired.
When a labor budget shows a need for hired labor, as this example does, the project analyst must con-
sider carefully whether the labor will be available in the project area. Totaling the hired labor require-
ment for the project as a whole is one of the real advantages of including the labor budget in the farm
investment analysis, since the analyst must then consider the realism of the proposed pattern in light
of the added hired labor that can reasonably be expected to be available in the project area. Postulat-
ing 56 additional work days of hired labor in March is one thing; whether such additional labor would
Improved establish-
ment
Fencing 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7
Seeding 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Maintenance 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 3
Table 4-6. Labor Distribution by Crop and Month, 20-Hectare Mixed Farm, Paraguay
Project(work days per hectare)
Crop J A S O N D J F M A M J Total
89
be available for an entire proposed project is another. It may be that a proposed cropping pattern will
prove unrealistic in its requirements of additional hired labor, and a less labor-intensive cropping pat-
tern must be proposed. Furthermore, if the project will call for substantial amounts of additional hired
labor in relation to the supply available in the region, this may have implications about the sources
from which the labor must be drawn and, hence, about the opportunity cost of the hired labor. In turn,
this opportunity cost will have to be considered when making the estimates of the economic value of
the labor (see chapter 7).
Table 4-7. Labor Requirements by Crop and Month, 20-Hectare Mixed Farm, Paraguay
Project
Unit J A S O N D J F M A M J Total
Without project
Maize 0.5 ha 7 4 0 2 2 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 29
Manioc 1.0 ha 0 0 14 3 3 3 4 3 5 3 3 19 60
Beans 0.5 ha 0 0 0 0 12 2 2 10 0 0 0 0 26
Cotton 2.0 ha 0 0 16 28 16 38 38 14 40 28 0 0 218
Livestock 13.6 a.u. 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 48
Total 11 8 34 37 37 61 48 31 49 35 7 23 381
Family labor b
11 8 34 37 37 61 48 31 49 35 7 23 381
Hired labor 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Year 1
Maize 0.5 ha 7 4 0 2 2 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 29
Manioc 1.0 ha 0 0 14 3 3 3 4 3 5 3 3 19 60
Beans 0.5 ha 0 0 0 0 12 2 2 10 0 0 0 0 26
Cotton 2.0 ha 0 0 16 28 16 38 38 14 40 28 0 0 218
Livestock 13.6 a.u. 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 48
Improved pasture
Fencing and seeding 3.5 ha 7 18 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 32
Total 18 26 34 37 44 61 48 31 49 35 7 23 413
Family labor 18 26 34 37 44 61 48 31 49 35 7 23 413
Hired labor 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Year 2
Maize 0.5 ha 4 1 0 0 0 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 19
90
Manioc 1.0 ha 0 0 10 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 19 44
Beans 0.5 ha 0 0 0 0 10 1 1 10 0 0 0 0 22
Cotton 2.0 ha 0 0 16 12 16 12 10 16 50 28 0 0 160
Soybeans 1.0 ha 0 0 0 0 13 8 3 2 10 8 3 0 47
Sunflower` 2.0 ha 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 8 20
Livestock 17.2 a.u. 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 60
Improved pasture
Fencing and seeding 3.5 ha 7 18 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 32
Maintenance 3.5 ha 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 4 4 12
Total 16 24 31 19 53 41 21 39 67 43 26 36 416
Family labor 16 24 31 19 53 41 21 39 67 43 26 36 416
Hired labor 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Year 3
Maize 0.5 ha 4 1 0 0 0 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 21
Manioc 1.0 ha 0 0 10 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 21 46
Beans 0.5 ha 0 0 0 0 10 1 1 11 0 0 0 0 23
Cotton 2.0 ha 0 0 16 12 16 12 10 16 50 28 0 0 160
Soybeans 1.0 ha 0 0 0 0 13 8 3 2 10 8 3 0 47
Sunflower 2.0 ha 4 18 6 26 8 0 0 0 0 0 12 8 82
Livestock 19.9 a.u. 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 72
Improved pasture
Fencing and seeding 3.5 ha 7 18 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 32
Year 4
Maize 0.5 ha 4 1 0 0 0 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 21
Manioc 0.5 ha 0 0 5 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 10 22
Beans 0.5 ha 0 0 0 0 10 1 1 11 0 0 0 0 23
Cotton 2.2 ha 0 0 18 13 18 13 11 18 59 33 0 0 183
Soybeans 2.2 ha 0 0 0 0 29 18 7 4 22 22 7 0 109
Table 4-7. Labor Requirements by Crop and Month, 20-Hectare Mixed Farm, Paraguay
Project
Unit J A S O N D J F M A M J Total
91
Sunflower 2.2 ha 4 18 6 28 8 0 0 0 0 0 13 9 86
Livestock 22.7 a.u. 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 84
Improved pasture
Maintenance 10.5 ha 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 10 10 30
Total 15 26 36 49 73 55 27 51 89 63 38 36 558
Family labor 15 26 36 49 70 55 27 51 70 63 38 36 536
Hired labor 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 19 0 0 0 22
Year 5
Maize 0.5 ha 4 1 0 0 0 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 21
Manioc 0.5 ha 0 0 5 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 12 24
Beans 0.5 ha 0 0 0 0 10 1 1 11 0 0 0 0 23
Cotton 2.5 ha 0 0 20 15 20 15 12 20 68 38 0 0 208
Soybeans 2.5 ha 0 0 0 0 32 20 8 5 25 25 8 0 123
Sunflower 2.5 ha 4 20 7 31 9 0 0 0 0 0 15 10 96
Livestock 24.6 a.u. 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 96
Improved pasture
Maintenance 10.5 ha 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 10 10 30
Total 16 29 40 55 80 60 30 55 102 72 42 40 621
Family labor 16 29 40 55 70 60 30 55 70 70 42 40 577
Hired labor 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 32 2 0 0 44
Year 6
Maize 0.5 ha 4 1 0 0 0 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 21
Manioc 0.5 ha 0 0 5 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 12 24
Cotton 3.0 ha 0 0 24 18 24 18 15 27 84 48 0 0 258
Soybeans 3.0 ha 0 0 0 0 39 24 9 6 33 33 12 0 156
Sunflower 3.0 ha 5 22 8 38 12 0 0 0 0 0 18 12 115
Livestock 25.1 a.u. 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 96
Improved pasture
Table 4-7. Labor Requirements by Crop and Month, 20-Hectare Mixed Farm, Paraguay
Project
Unit J A S O N D J F M A M J Total
92
ha = Hectares; a.u.= animal units.
Source: Calculated from tables 4-4 and 4-6.
a. Assumes five minutes a day per animal unit, eight hours a day, and thirty days a month. The labor requirement is based on the
animal units at the beginning of the year (as given in table 4-11) divided by 100 to give the labor requirement for a single farm. See
text (the subsection "Farm production. Livestock") for a discussion of this convention.
b. Assumes 70 work days per month of available family labor.
c. Area and labor requirement for sunflower apply to the year of planting. Thus, the area assumed in the first five months of project
year 5 is the 2.2 hectares planted in May of project year 4.
d. Calculated on the basis of improved pasture established in previous years (as shown in table 4-4). Thus, in year 2 it is based on
3.5 hectares and in year 3 on 7.0 hectares.
Some analysts like to work out a labor use diagram such as the one shown in figure 4-3. This usually
is done only for the full-development situation. The graphic presentation makes the problem of peak
labor requirements readily apparent.
Maintenance 10.5 ha 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 10 10 30
Total 17 31 45 65 84 66 33 52 126 90 49 42 700
Family labor 17 31 45 65 70 66 33 52 70 70 49 42 610
Hired labor 0 0 0 0 14 0 0 0 56 20 0 0 90
Years 7-20
Maize 0.5 ha 4 1 0 0 0 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 23
Manioc 0.5 ha 0 0 5 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 12 24
Cotton 3.0 ha 0 0 24 18 24 18 15 27 84 48 0 0 258
Soybeans 3.0 ha 0 0 0 0 39 24 9 6 33 33 12 0 156
Sunflower 3.0 ha 6 27 9 45 15 0 0 0 0 0 18 12 132
Livestock 25.0 a.u. 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 96
Improved pasture
Maintenance 10.5 ha 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 10 10 30
Total 18 36 46 72 87 68 33 52 126 90 49 42 719
Family labor 18 36 46 70 70 68 33 52 70 70 49 42 624
Hired labor 0 0 0 2 17 0 0 0 56 20 0 0 95
Table 4-7. Labor Requirements by Crop and Month, 20-Hectare Mixed Farm, Paraguay
Project
Unit J A S O N D J F M A M J Total
93
Once the total hired labor has been determined, it must be allocated among the various crops so that it
may be included in the proper category of operating expenditure. This is done in table 4-8. In the Par-
aguay example the allocation is made in proportion to the total work days
Figure 4-3. Labor Use Diagram for Project Years 7-20, 20-Hectare Mixed Farm, Paraguay Project
Source: Table 4-7.
required for each cash crop in each month for which hired labor would be needed. In other circum-
stances, such a mechanistic allocation would be inappropriate. In many areas, certain crop opera-
tions are done by hired labor and not by family labor, even if family labor is available. Thus, in
Southeast Asia, transplanting rice is done in many areas entirely by hired labor; the only family
labor engaged is that of the farmer himself, who supervises the work. Both the amount of hired
labor and its allocation among crops should be closely related to the expected cultural practices of
people in the project area.
Farm production
Having determined the use of land and labor resources for the pattern farm, the analyst next
assesses the projected farm production. The investment analysis of crop and pasture and livestock
production is discussed in this subsection, and issues of valuation (both of farm production and
incremental residual value on the farm) are addressed.
94
Source: Calculated from table 4-7.
a. Hired labor is allocated to cash crops-cotton, soybeans, and sunflower-in proportion to their total labor requirements in that
month. In November of year 4, for example, 55 work days are required for cash crops, of which 3 work days are to be hired. Eigh-
teen work days are required for cotton. To determine the hired labor for cotton, the proportion of total labor required for cash crops
that is to be applied to cotton is multiplied by the total hired labor requirement for the month; this gives the hired labor to be
applied to cotton, or 1 work day {[18 _ (18 + 29 + 8)] x 3 = i}.
b. Does not equal the total in table 4-7 because of rounding.
CROPS AND PASTURE.
Table 4-8. Hired Labor by Crop and Month, 20-Hectare Mixed Farm, Paraguay
Project (work days)
Year and crop J A S O N D J F M A M J Total
Year 4
Cotton 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 14 0 0 0 15
Soybeans 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 7
Total 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 19 0 0 0 22
Year 5
Cotton 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 23 1 0 0 27
Soybeans 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 9 1 0 0 15
Sunflower 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Total 0 0 0 0
9
b
0 0 0 32 2 0 0
43
6
Year 6
Cotton 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 40 12 0 0 56
Soybeans 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 16 8 0 0 31
Sunflower 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Total 0 0 0 0 13
b
0 0 0 56 20 0 0
89
6
Years 7-20
Cotton 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 40 12 0 0 58
Soybeans 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 16 8 0 0 32
Sunflower 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
Total 0 0 0 2 16
b
0 0 0 56 20 0 0 94
95
For crops and pasture, the yield and carrying capacity are tabulated as illustrated in table 4-9. In the table,
yields are shown only for crops and pasture actually in the cropping pattern in the year reported. Thus, no
without-project yield is reported for soybeans, whereas for sunflower, which will be planted following cotton
in year 2, yield is reported only beginning in year 3 since the first crop is not harvested until that time.
Multiplying the production per hectare by the number of hectares of each of the crops and of pasture in the
land use pattern shown in table 4-4, we obtain the crop and pasture production illustrated in table 4-10.
Again, since sunflower is first planted in year 2 but first harvested in year 3, the production from the first
planting of 1.8 tons is shown in year 3. Similarly, sunflower planted each year produces in the following year.
Because all the feed for the livestock to be produced on the pattern farm in the Paraguay project is assumed to
come from pasture, no deduction is made in table 4-10 for crops to be used for feed. Should the production
pattern of a model farm call for the use of crops and crop by-products for feed, table 4-10 would then be
adjusted to show that use. Total production of crops would be shown and expanded to include crop by-prod-
ucts if these were to be fed or if they have a sale value. From this total would be deducted the feed consump-
tion taken from an estimate of feed requirement and production such as that illustrated in table 4-30. The
result would be the net production available for sale or household consumption.
LIVESTOCK.

Herd composition, purchases, and sales are given in table 4-11. Projecting the herd (or flock) composi-
tion, purchases, and sales in a farm investment analysis that involves livestock introduces a computational
process that can become quite complex.
Source: Same as table 4-4.
Table 4-9. Yield and Carrying Capacity, 20-Hectare Mixed Farm, Paraguay Project
Without-
project
With project
Product 1 2 3 4 5 6 7-20
Crops (tons/ha)
Maize 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.4
Manioc 18.0 18.0 18.0 20.0 20.0 22.0 22.0 24.0
Beans 0.9 0.9 0.9 1.0 1.0 1.0 - -
Cotton 1.3 1.3 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.7 1.7
Soybeans - - 1.4 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.8 1.8
Sunflower - - - 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.2
Pasture (a.u./ha)
Natural 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2
Improved - 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5
96
Table 4-10. Crop and Pasture Production, 20-Hectare Mixed Farm, Paraguay
Project
Product Without
project
With project
1 2 3 4 5 6 7-20
Crops
Total production
Maize 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7
Manioc 18.0 18.0 18.0 20.0 10.0 11.0 11.0 12.0
Beans 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.5 - -
Cotton 2.6 2.6 3.0 3.0 3.5 4.0 5.1 5.1
Soybeans - - 1.4 1.4 3.5 4.0 5.4 5.4
Sunflower a
- - - 1.8 2.0 2.4 3.0 3.6
Feed consumption
Maize - - - - - - - -
Manioc - - - - - - - -
Soybeans - - - - - - - -
Sunflower - - - - - - - -
Net production
available for
sale or house-
hold consumption
Maize 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7
Manioc 18.0 18.0 18.0 20.0 10.0 11.0 11.0 12.0
Beans 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.5 - -
Cotton 2.6 2.6 3.0 3.0 3.5 4.0 5.1 5.1
Soybeans - - 1.4 1.4 3.5 4.0 5.4 5.4
Sunflower - - - 1.8 2.0 2.4 3.0 3.6
Pasture
Carrying capacity
(animal units) 12.6 17.2 21.7 26.2 26.2 26.2 26.2 26.2
97
Source: Calculated from tables 4-4 and 4-9.
a. Sunflower is harvested in the year following planting. Thus, the production in year 2 is zero, and in year 3 it is 1.8 tons, which is
determined by multiplying the 2.0 hectares planted in year 2 by the yield of 0.9 tons per hectare harvested in year 3 (2.0 x 0.9 =
1.8).
b. If there were a substantial livestock production activity on the farm that used crops for feed, the amounts would be estimated in
a feed requirement and production table such as table 4-30 and tabulated here. The table would be expanded to include crop by-
products used for feed. As indicated, the use of crops for feed would be deducted from the total production, and the result would be
the net production available for sale or household consumption.
Herd projections are done to forecast use of future facilities, pasture, or feed by applying technical
coefficients, such as those shown at the bottom of table 4-11, to trace the changes in the size and com-
position of the herd.
For poultry, stall feeding, or feedlot projections, it is usually assumed that enough young animals can be
purchased in a given year to bring the numbers up to the level of feed availability or of proposed produc-
tion facilities. Brown (1979, pp. 76-85) gives a methodology for broiler and egg production. For pigs,
a projection is made applying the technical coefficients; since the gestation period of swine is short, the
projection is simplified and uncomplicated.
Table 4-11. Herd Composition, Purchases, and Sales, 100 20-Hectare Mixed
Farms, Paraguay Project (head)
With Project
Item Without
Project
1 2 3 4 5 6 7-20
Herd composition at beginning of year
Bulls 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Breeding cows 500 500 655 800 800 800 800 800
Heifers 1-2 years 157 157 157 221 294 285 285 285
Heifers 2-3 years 152 152 152 152 217 288 279 279
Steers 1-2 years 157 157 157 221 294 285 285 285
Steers 2-3 years 152 152 152 152 217 288 279 279
Steers 3-4 years 147 147 147 147 149 213 282 273
Work oxen 0 200 200 200 200 200 200
Total 1365 1365 1,720 1,99
3
2,27
1
2,45
9
2,510 2,501
98
Animal units 1365 1365 1,720 1,99
3
2,27
1
2,45
9
2,510 2,501
Carrying capacity
(beginning of
year)'
1260 1260 1,720 2,17
0
2,62
0
2,62
0
2,620 2,620
Purchases
Bulls 18 33 20 20 20 20 20 20
Heifers 2-3 years 0 91 131 2 0 0 0 0
Steers 1-2 years 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Work oxen 0 200 38 36 36 36 36 36
Total 18 324 189 58 56 56 56 56
Sales (including culls)
Culled bulls 15 30 17 18 18 18 18 18
Culled cows 60 60 98 120 112 112 112 112
Culled heifers 8 8 15 15 22 29 28 28
Surplus heifers 2-
3 years
64 0 0 0 63 125 117 117
Steers 1-2 years 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Steers 3-4 years 143 143 143 144 146 209 276 268
Culled work oxen 0 32 32 32 32 32 32
Total 290 241 305 329 393 525 583 575
Herd productivity
(percent)' 20 23
Technical coefficients (percent)
Calving rate 70 70 75 80 75 75 75 75
Calf mortality 10 10 10 8 5 5 5 5
Adult mortality 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2
Culling rate
(bulls)
15 30 17 18 18 18 18 18
Culling rate
(cows)
12 12 15 15 14 14 14 14
Culling rate (heif-
ers)
5 5 10 10 10 10 10 10
99
Source: Same as table 4-4 (annex 1, table 18). See computations in table 4-27.
a. In animal units. The carrying capacity at the beginning of the year is determined by multiplying the animal units per farm at the
end of the previous year (given in table 4-10) by the 100 farms in the model. The carrying capacity per hectare at the end of the
year is determined by dividing the animal units per farm by the 10.5 hectares of pasture on each farm; it is thus a weighted average
of natural and improved pasture.
b. Herd productivity is the sum of the off-take rate and the herd growth rate. Only the values for a stable herd are given.
c. Represents a weighted average between the calving rate of breeding cows in the existing herd, which is 70 percent, and that of
purchased in-calf heifers, which is nearly 100 percent.
d. Note that in this project a minimum of one bull per farm is assumed, or a minimum of 100 bulls on 100 farms. Normally the
number of bulls per 100 breeding females would be three or four for all years.
The projection can become computationally quite complicated, however, for larger animals fed mainly
pasture, such as sheep or cattle used for dairy or beef production. The project analyst often relies on the
livestock technician for these projections and simply incorporates them into his farm investment analy-
sis. But livestock technicians themselves may be unfamiliar with the details of how to make these com-
putations-and especially with how to make them so they conform to the accounting convention adopted
here for the farm investment analysis. For this reason, the computation for the herd projection in the Par-
aguay example is discussed in considerable detail in the appendix to this chapter (where definitions of
the specialized livestock terms may also be found). This methodology can be adapted, with only minor
variations, to projections for dairy animals. As in the treatment here, the details of the projection need
not form part of the main body of most project reports; only a summary need be given (as in table 4-11
from the Paraguay example), with the details laid out in an annex or in the project file.
Projecting the herd composition on a small farm when larger animals are to be produced introduces the
difficult problems of divisibility. As noted, herd projections for animals that are mainly grazed on pas-
ture are based on the estimated feed availability. Technical coefficients, such as mortality and calving
rates, are often directly influenced by the amount of available feed, but in cattle production changes do
not happen immediately. For example, an increase in feed availability in one season will improve the
calving rate and decrease calf losses only during the next season.
The projected coefficients are applied to the herd at the beginning of the project. The result begins to
appear in the herd composition at the beginning of year 2. Often, the projected coefficients indicate that
the herd's composition and its overall size will not change fast enough to utilize the increased feed avail-
able. As a solution, in-calf heifers can be purchased to increase the reproductive component of the herd,
or feeder steers can be purchased for fattening until the herd can utilize the forage resources.
Culling rate
(work oxen)
0 16 16 16 16 16 16
Bulls/breeding
femalesd
Carrying capacity
(per hectare; end
of year)'
1.2 1.6 2.1 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5
100
This use of technical coefficients raises few problems of interpretation for larger farms or ranches with
herds of 100 or more animals. For small farms, however, the technical coefficients lead to many "frac-
tional animals." In the Paraguay example, for instance, at full development from years 7 through 20 the
farm is expected to have eight breeding cows. The adult mortality is expected to be 2 percent, so do we
report that 0.16 cows die each year (8 x 0.02 = 0.16)? Such nonsensical results have led project analysts
to seek means to overcome the divisibility problem. Some have simply ignored technical coefficients,
such as mortality, that result in very small, fractional animal figures. This omission, however, consider-
ably distorts the pattern farm investment analysis. To avoid such distortion, other analysts have devised
systems that carry fractional animals in the computation until the fractions add up to a whole animal,
which is then reported. In the Paraguay example, for instance, the calving rate at full development is 75
percent. Thus, six calves are born, of which half may be expected to be female. Calf mortality is 5 per-
cent, and this gives a figure of 2.8 to be carried over to the next year as heifers 1-2 years old [8 x 0.75
- 2 - (8 x 0.75 - 2 x 0.05) = 2.8]. Of these, 2 percent are reported and 0.8 is carried over to the fol-
lowing year, which then will show a figure of 3.6 (0.8 + 2.8 = 3.6). Of these, 3 are reported and 0.6 is
carried forward, and so forth.
Mortality may sometimes be treated by incorporating a more formal probability assumption. Such sys-
tems become quite complex and in the end do not satisfactorily project an individual small herd.
Another approach that is increasingly used-and that is adopted and recommended here-is to do the herd
projection for a number of farms, say 100, that will contain or eliminate the divisibility problem. Pur-
chases and sales are then valued, and only the values are entered in the farm investment analysis for a
single pattern farm. In effect, this says that on the average a farm will have a certain level of purchases
and sales. This, too, is not a fully satisfactory convention. Its results do not state, for example, how
many animals are actually on the farm at any given time. It does have the virtue, however, of being sim-
pler than other systems-even if it is still quite complex-and of generating somewhat less distortion.
Project designers may want to introduce an insurance scheme to protect project participants from, say,
the loss of a bull. Then, in effect, the values in the farm investment analysis for a single farm for the pur-
chase of bulls include an insurance premium that insures that the farmer will be reimbursed in the event
of the death of a bull. Such insurance schemes are found in developing countries, but they give rise to
possibilities of abuse and to difficult administrative problems, and they often are not very effective.
In the Paraguay example summarized in table 4-11, the herd composition is given for each major
class of animals without the project and for each project year. (The table is drawn from the worksheet
reproduced in table 4-27.) Note that the analyst assumed that each farm would have a bull, so that the
number of bulls remains 100, many more than would be needed if the analysis were, indeed, for a single
herd rather than for 100 small farms. Note, also, the purchase of draft animals at the end of the first year.
It is assumed that each farm will purchase two work oxen. The total animal units for the herd are
shown, and for convenience this figure is compared with the carrying capacity. As noted in the appen-
dix to this chapter, the number of breeding cows has been rounded to an even multiple of the number of
farms in the model so that each farm has five breeding cows without the project and increases its herd to
eight breeding cows at full development. As a result, the total of animal units does not very closely
approximate the carrying capacity. Since estimates of carrying capacity are quite approximate, however,
overstocking of up to 10 percent would probably be acceptable.
Purchases of each class of animal are treated next in the investment analysis; these will form the basis for the
investment and operating expenditure for the livestock aspect of the 20-hectare mixed farm. The sales give
the basis for the inflow for the farm. The herd productivity, a measure of the efficiency of the herd, is also
given; it relates the number of head sold plus the increase in herd size to the number of head carried at the
beginning of the year. Only the figures for the stable herd without the project and at full development are
101
given. The dynamics of herd growth tend to distort the measure during the period when the herd is increasing
in size. (The details of the computation are given in table 4-28.) Finally, the technical coefficients for the
herd are given. These are crucial parameters of the herd growth and are indicators of management effective-
ness, animal health care, and feed availability.
When feed concentrates are important in the farm production pattern, it may be desirable to project the feed
requirements the livestock activity will involve. (An illustrative example is included in tables 4-29 and 4-30
in the appendix to this chapter in connection with the discussion of herd projections.)
In some instances it may be desirable to report yield per animal if the valuation system is based, say, on
kilograms. In the Paraguay example the prices are based on individual animals without regard to weight,
so yield per animal is not needed and is therefore not illustrated.
VALUATION
To begin the valuation of the farm production, the farm-gate prices for items entering the farm investment
analysis are listed as shown in table 4-12. (The symbol for Paraguayan guaranis is 0.) If a farm-gate price is
used in only one table of the investment analysis, it may not be included in the farm-gate price table but may
appear in the appropriate table. (Such is the case, for example, of the prices for land improvement, which are
included in table 4-15, devoted to investment, and not in the table of farm-gate prices.) Some farm-gate prices
were collected and projected by the project analyst on the basis of field observation. Other prices were col-
lected in the field but forecast using the projections of the World Bank. Prices and their derivation were dis-
cussed in more detail in chapter 3.
The value of production for the farm is given in table 4-13. For crops, values are determined by multiplying
the production in table 4-10 by the price per ton in table 4-12. For livestock, the value is obtained by multi-
plying sales from table 4-11 by the price per animal given in table 4-12. The product is then divided by 100 to
give the value for a single farm, in line with the convention recommended to avoid the divisibility problem.
INCREMENTAL RESIDUAL VALUE
In the last year of the farm investment analysis, the incremental residual (or terminal) value on the farm is
Table 4-12. Farm-Gate Prices, 20-Hectare Mixed Farm, Paraguay Project
Project year
I tem 1 2 3-5 6-20
Farm labor (per work day) 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3
Crops (per ton)
Maize 12.0 12.0 12.0 12.0
Manioc 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0
Beans 28.0 28.0 28.0 28.0
Cotton 44.4 45.1 45.1 44.9
102
Source: Same as table 4-4.
a. Prices of maize, soybeans, and livestock are adjusted for the real price changes projected by the Commodities and Export Pro-
jections division of the World Bank. Other prices are assumed to remain constant in real terms.
included among the inflows in the farm budget and "credited" to the project investment. This is done because
not all the utility of an investment may be exhausted in the course of a project. Note that it is the incremental
value that is sought, not the total value. In some instances there is no distinction, since the value of an item
such as construction may be entirely incremental. But for items such as land, livestock, and working capital,
there may have been values existing at the beginning of the project, and only the incremental residual value
may properly be credited to the project investment. Since the incremental residual value enters the farm
investment analysis in the final year, it bears relatively little weight in the discounting process. As a result,
rather broad estimates of residual values are acceptable in project analysis.
Three kinds of residual value may be noted. The first is the salvage value of capital assets that have been
largely consumed by the end of the project and that, for the most part, can only be salvaged for their
scrap value or have only a short portion of their normal life expectancy remaining at the end of the
project period. Buildings and other construction or machinery such as irrigation pumps or tractors are
common examples. A second kind of residual value is the working capital. This is automatically allowed
Soybeans 23.6 20.9 26.2 28.9
Sunflower 20.0 20.0 20.0 20.0
Livestock (per head)
Bulls 30.0 30.0 32.4 33.6
Culled bulls 23.0 23.0 24.8 25.8
Breeding cows 18.7 18.7 20.2 20.9
Culled cows 17.0 17.0 18.4 19.0
Heifers 1-2 years 12.5 12.5 13.5 14.0
Heifers 2-3 years 18.7 18.7 20.2 20.9
Culled heifers 2-3 years 17.0 17.0 18.4 19.0
Steers 1-2 years 12.5 12.5 13.5 14.0
Steers 2-3 years 18.7 18.7 20.2 20.9
Steers 3-4 years 23.0 23.0 24.8 25.8
Work oxen 35.0 35.0 37.8 39.2
Table 4-12. Farm-Gate Prices, 20-Hectare Mixed Farm, Paraguay Project
Project year
I tem 1 2 3-5 6-20
103
for under the accounting convention we have adopted for the farm investment analysis. The third kind of
residual value is the value of items that have a substantial useful life remaining at the end of the project
and may even have increased in value as a result of the project investment; land with associated
improvements and a livestock herd are examples.
All three kinds of residual value are illustrated for the Paraguay example in table 4-14. In a land
improvement project such as this one, there usually would be an entry for the incremental value of land,
although in this instance the analyst chose not to include it because the site in Paraguay is a frontier area
and the land market is not very active. In more crowded societies where a project involves land improve-
ment such as better irrigation and drainage, the incremental value of the land might be quite substantial.
Next for consideration would be the incremental residual value of construction. In the Paraguay exam-
ple, the construction is all incremental, so the incremental residual value is quite simply obtained by tak-
ing a proportion of the initial construction, in this case 10 percent. The incremental residual value of
equipment is assumed to be negligible, although that would not necessarily be the case in other projects.
Then the analyst considers the incremental value of livestock. In this case, care must be taken to distin-
guish between the total residual value of the livestock herd and the incremental residual value. There
was, of course, a livestock herd at the beginning of the project, so only the increased value of the herd at
the end of the project can be attributed to the project investment itself. Hence, each class of animals is
valued at the beginning of the project and at the end of the project, and only the difference-or incremen-
tis carried forward as the incremental residual value. Finally, there is the total incremental working cap-
ital. The reader will recall that, in the discussion of the accounting convention for farm investment
analysis, considerable attention was devoted to estimating the incremental working capital year by year.
Once this is done, all that is needed to obtain the total incremental working capital is simply to add the
incremental working capital for each year algebraically-that is, adding the increases and subtracting
decreases-to obtain the incremental residual value entered in the final year.
Farm inputs
When the estimates of production are complete, the estimates of the necessary inputs may be prepared.
Inputs comprise the investment, operating expenditure, and incremental working capital for the project.
INVESTMENT
Investment for the project is a crucial element. The investment contemplated for the Paraguay pattern
farm is given in table 4-15. It is convenient to show the unit and unit cost in the investment table; for
convenience, items appearing only in the investment table may be omitted from the farm-gate price
table. As in this presentation, the total physical investment may be incorporated in the investment cost
Table 4-13. Value of Production, 20-Hectare Mixed Farm, Paraguay Project
Without project With project
Item Year 1 2 3-5 6-20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7-20
Crops
Maize 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.2 8.4
Manioc 54.0 54.0 54.0 54.0 54.0 54.0 60.0 30.0 33.0 33.0 36.0
Beans 11.2 11.2 11.2 11.2 11.2 11.2 14.0 14.0 14.0 - -
104
Source: Calculated from tables 4-10, 4-11, and 4-12.
a. Production from table 4-10 multiplied by the price per ton from table 4-12. For year 2 without the project, for example, the value
of cotton is the without-project production from table 4-10 times the price in year 2 in table 4-12.
b. Sales from table 4-11 multiplied by the price per animal from table 4-12; product is then divided by 100 to give the value for a
single farm. See text for a discussion of this convention.
Table 4-14. Incremental Residual Value, 20-Hectare Mixed Farm, Paraguay Project
Cotton 115.4 117.3 117.3 116.7 115.4 135.3 135.3 157.8 180.4 229.0 229.0
Soybeans - - - - - 29.3 36.7 91.7 104.8 156.1 156.1
Sunflower - - - - - - 36.0 40.0 48.0 60.0 72.0
Total 187.8 189.7 189.7 189.1 187.8 237.0 289.2 340.7 387.4 485.3 501.5
Livestock
b
Culled bulls 3.4 3.4 3.7 3.9 6.9 3.9 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.6 4.6
Culled cows 10.2 10.2 11.0 11.4 10.2 16.7 22.1 20.6 20.6 21.3 21.3
Culled heifers 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.4 2.6 2.8 4.0 5.3 5.3 5.3
Surplus heif-
ers
12.0 12.0 12.9 13.4 0 0 0 12.7 25.2 24.5 24.5
Steers 3-4
years
32.9 32.9 35.5 36.9 32.9 32.9 35.7 36.2 51.8 71.2 69.1
Culled work
oxen
- - - - - 7.4 7.9 7.9 7.9 8.3 8.3
Total 59.9 59.9 64.6 67.1 51.4 63.5 73.0 85.9 115.3 135.2 133.1
Total value 247.7 249.6 254.3 256.2 239.2 300.5 362.2 426.6 502.7 620.5 634.6
Item At beginningof
project
Value at end of
project
Incremental
Land a a a
Construction
b
0 18.0 18.0
Equipment` 0 0 0
Livestock
d
Bulls 30.0 33.6
Breeding cows 93.5 167.2
Heifers 1-2 years 19.6 39.9
105
Source: Calculated from other tables as noted.
a. In the Paraguay example, the analyst chose not to include an incremental value of land improvements in his computation of
residual value. This amount usually is included if there has been substantial land improvement.
b. The residual value of construction is taken as 10 percent of the total construction investment given in table 4-15.
c. The residual value of equipment is assumed to be negligible. Only equipment purchased for the project is included in the com-
putation, not the equipment existing on the farm at the beginning of the project.
d. The value of the livestock at the beginning of the project is calculated from the herd composition at the beginning of the year in
table 4-11 multiplied by the year-1 prices in table 4-12. The value of the livestock at the end of the project is calculated from the
year-20 herd composition in table 4-11 multiplied by the year-20 prices in table 4-12.
e. From table 4-17.
table; in other instances, a separate table may be needed. Although it is not shown for the Paraguay
example, including the foreign exchange component of the investment cost is often desirable. It is
important that an agricultural project report detail the foreign exchange needed for the project because
the availability of foreign exchange may be a major constraint.
Investment for the Paraguay example is divided into land improvement, construction, equipment, and
livestock, the major categories likely to be found in an agricultural project. Within each category the
major items are noted, and the investment for them is tabulated by project year. The total investment by
year and for the pattern as a whole is given. Note how the analyst accommodated the existing equipment
found on project farms in this pattern by listing equipment totaling 0206 thousand, but then subtracting
050 thousand as an average of existing equipment.
For livestock, it is assumed that all heifer purchases and culling in excess of that normally done with-
out the project are an investment.
Table 4-15. Investment, 20-Hectare Mixed Farm, Paraguay Project
Heifers 2-3 years 28.4 58.3
Steers 1-2 years 19.6 39.9
Steers 2-3 years 28.4 58.3
Steers 3-4 years 33.8 70.4
Work oxen - 78.4
Total 253.3 546.0 292.7
Working capital' - - 119.9
Total 430.6
Unit
Cost
Project year Total
Item 1 2 3
106
Land improvement (per hectare)
Clear, cut and burn
forestb 15.0 52.5 52.5 52.5 157.5
Destumping` 20.0 100.0 0 40.0 140.0
Pasture
establishment
d
1.0 3.5 3.5 3.5 10.5
Total 156.0 56.0 96.0 308.0
Construction (per single unit)
Storage 40.0 40.0 0 0 40.0
Welle 50.0 50.0 0 0 50.0
Fencing wire (for 1 ha) 8.6 30.1 30.1 30.1 90.3
Total 120.1 30.1 30.1 180.3
Equipment (per single unit)
Plow 18.0 18.0 0 0 18.0
Disc harrow 65.0 65.0 0 0 65.0
Seeder 30.0 30.0 0 0 30.0
Cultivator 17.0 17.0 0 0 17.0
Ox cart 50.0 50.0 0 0 50.0
Sprayer 11.0 11.0 0 0 11.0
Hand tools 15.0 15.0 0 0 15.0
Subtotal 206.0 0 0 206.0
Less existing
equipmentf ( 50.0) 0 0 ( 50.0)
Total 156.0 0 0 156.0
Livestock (per head)
9
Heifers 2-3 years
h
- 17.0 24.5 0.4 41.9
Bulls' 30.0 4.5 0 0 4.5
Work oxen' 35.0 70.0 0 0 70.0
Total 91.5 24.5 0.4 116.4
Total investment 523.6 110.6 126.5 760.7
107
Note: Parentheses indicate negative numbers. Source: Same as table 4-4 (annex 1, table 16).
a. Family labor is valued at its opportunity cost (see the discussion of the farm budget). The number of work days required is given
in table 4-7.
b. Clearing is done by a contractor. It is assumed that forest will be cleared to establish improved pasture and that clearing proceeds
at the pace given for incremental improved pasture in table 4-4.
c. Destumping is done by a contractor. Following the land use given in table 4-4, it is assumed that 5 hectares, consisting of the 4
hectares of existing cropland plus the additional hectare to be cultivated in year 2, will be destumped in year 1 and the remaining 2
hectares in year 3.
d. The cost of pasture establishment includes only the purchase of colonial variety grass (Panicum maximum).
e. An open well of 20 meters at 02.5 thousand a meter.
f. It is assumed that, of the equipment listed, farmers will already own items of a total value amounting to 050 thousand (in paren-
theses).
g. From the purchases in table 4-11 multiplied by the prices in table 4-12, the product then divided by 100 to give the value for a
single farm. See text for a discussion of this convention. Normal replacement of death loss and culls is considered an operating
cost. h. All heifer purchases are considered investment. The prices are taken from table 4-12. i. The excess over normal death loss
and without-project culling for bulls in year 1 is considered investment. For the 100-farm herd, table 4-27 shows 33 replacement
bulls will
Thus, the heifers purchased are included in the investment tabulation, as are the excess bulls culled
in year 1. The work oxen purchased in year 1 are clearly an investment. In years 2 through 20, oxen
purchased are to replace animals lost through death and culling; thus, these purchases are consid-
ered as operating expenditure. The amounts for the livestock investment are obtained by taking the
numbers of animals given in table 4-11, multiplying by the prices in table 4-12, and then dividing
by 100 to obtain the amount from a single farm. This is in line with the convention recommended in
the discussion of the herd composition, purchases, and sales. (The sale of replaced livestock, such
as indigenous cows sold because improved cows are purchased, is better treated as a "negative
investment" and not as a benefit.)
In the investment cost tabulation, allowance would be made for any hired labor used for investment
purposes. In the Paraguay example, none is used because the clearing and destumping are assumed
to be done by contractors. No allowance is made for family labor devoted to investment. This is
because the farm family is the recipient of the incremental net benefit as shown in the farm budget.
Thus, the family remuneration is the net income stream. Including it under investment cost would
constitute double counting. Note, however, that the family does contribute some investment in the
Paraguayan example. The fencing and pasture establishment, for instance, are done by family labor.
The demand for family labor for investment is accounted for under the labor requirement in tables
4-6 and 4-7.
OPERATING EXPENDITURE
The operating expenditure is given for crops, livestock, and equipment for the Paraguay pattern farm
in table 4-16. (The term "expenditure," rather than the more common "cost," is used here because
operating cost implies an element of depreciation not included when the farm investment analysis is
laid out in accord with the principles of discounted cash flow analysis.) Although unit expenditure
per hectare is given in the table, it could have been tabulated instead from the farm-gate prices in
table 4-12 on a price-per-unit basis, with the amounts needed for a hectare listed in the table for
operating expenditure. This would have been less convenient but more revealing.
108
For livestock, replacement of normal death loss and without-project culling are considered operat-
ing expenditures. As with the investment cost, they are obtained by taking the purchases from table
4-11, multiplying by the farm-gate prices in table 4-12, then dividing by 100 to obtain the value for
a single farm. The operating expenditure for minerals, vaccines, and the like is based on the animal
units in the herd at the beginning of the year. The cost of pasture maintenance is estimated on be
purchased in year 1. Of these, 3 are to replace death loss, and 15 represent the normal culling as
practiced without the project. The additional 15 bulls culled in year 1 are considered investment.
Their value is divided by 100 to give the value for a single farm of ^4.5 thousand {[(33 - 3 - 15) x
30] - 100= 4.5}.
j. Work oxen purchased in year 1 are considered investment.
Table 4-16. Operating Expenditure, 20-Hectare Mixed Farm, Paraguay Project
Product
and operations
Expendi-
ture/
hectare
Without project With project
1-2 3-5 6-20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7-20
Crops
Maize
b
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Manioc
b
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Beans
b
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Cotton
Hired labor` - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.5 8.1 16.8 17.4
Seed
d
0.8 1.6
1.6
1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.4 2.4
Pesticides
d
4.6 9.2
9.2
9.2 9.2 9.2 9.2 9.2 10.1 11.5 13.8 13.8
Total cotton 10.8
10.8
10.8 10.8 10.8 10.8 10.8 16.4 21.6 33.0 33.6
Soybeans
Hired labor` - - - - - - 0 0 2.1 4.5 9.3 9.6
Seed
d
2.8 - - - - - 2.8 2.8 6.2 7.0 8.4 8.4
Pesticides
d
1.5 - - - - - 1.5 1.5 3.3 3.8 4.5 4.5
Fertilizer
d
8.0 - - - - - 8.0 8.0 17.6 20.0 24.0 24.0
Threshing' - - - - - - 2.8 2.8 7.0 8.0 10.8 10.8
Total soybeans - - - - - 15.1 15.1 36.2 43.3 57.0 57.3
109
Source: Calculated from other tables as noted.
a. Family labor is valued at its opportunity cost (see the discussion of the farm budget). The number of work days required is given
in table 4-7.
b. Assumes no cash expenditure needed for production.
c. From table 4-8 multiplied by the 0300 a day shown in table 4-12. For sunflower, table 4-8 allocates labor according to the labor
requirement in table 4-7 for the year of planting. See note c in table 4-7.
d. From the areas in table 4-4 times the unit cost given. For sunflower, seed and pesticide costs are based on the year of planting.
e. From production in table 4-10 multiplied by a threshing cost of 02 thousand per ton.
f. At 0500 an animal unit multiplied by the animal units of herd pasture requirement in table 4-11 at the beginning of the year, the
product then divided by 100 to give the value for a single farm.
g. Maintenance; calculated on the basis of improved pasture established in previous years as shown in table 4-4.
Sunflower
Hired labor` - - - - - - 0 0 0 0.3 0.6 1.2
Seed
d
0.6 - - - - - 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.5 1.8 1.8
Pesticides
d
1.2 - - - - - 2.4 2.4 2.6 3.0 3.6 3.6
Threshing' - - - - - - 0 3.6 4.0 4.8 6.0 7.2
Total sunflower - - - - - 3.6 7.2 7.9 9.6 12.0 13.8
Total crops 10.8 10.8 10.8 10.8 29.5 33.1 60.5 74.5 102.0 104.7
Livestock
Minerals, vaccines, etc r - 6.8 6.8 6.8 6.8 8.6 10.0 11.4 12.3 12.6 12.5
Improved pasturee 1.0 - - - 0 3.5 7.0 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.5
Replacement purchases
h
Bulls' - 5.4 5.8 6.0 5.4 6.0 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.7 6.7
Work oxen' - - - - 0 13.3 13.6 13.6 13.6 14.1 14.1
Total livestock 12.2 12.6 12.8 12.2 31.4 37.1 42.0 42.9 43.9 43.8
Equipment
Operation and mainte-
nance
k
- 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 10.3 10.3 10.3 10.3 10.3 10.3
Total equipment 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 10.3 10.3 10.3 10.3 10.3 10.3
Total operating expendi-
ture
25.5 25.9 26.1 25.5 71.2 80.5 112.
8
127.
7
156.2 158.8
110
h. From the purchases in table 4-11 multiplied by the prices in table 4-12, the product then divided by 100 to give the value for a
single farm. See text for a discussion of this convention. Normal replacement of death loss and culls is considered an operating
cost.
i. The normal death loss and without-project culling for bulls in year 1 is considered operating expenditure. For the 100-farm herd,
table 4-27 shows that 33 replacement bulls will be purchased in year 1. Of these, 3 are to replace death loss, and 15 represent the
normal culling as practiced without the project, so all may be considered an operating expenditure. The value of the 18 replace-
ment animals is divided by 100 to give the value for a single farm of 05.4 thousand (18 x 30 - 100 = 5.4). The additional 15 bulls
culled in year 1 are considered investment. For years 2 through 20, all bull purchases are considered replacements and thus operat-
ing expenditure.
j. Work oxen purchased to replace death loss and culls from years 2 through 20 are considered operating expenditure. Work oxen
purchased in year 1 are considered investment.
k. Operation and maintenance cost of equipment is taken to be 5 percent of the investment cost beginning the year after acquisi-
tion. It is assumed that without the project the farm has 050 thousand of equipment and thus an annual equipment, operation, and
maintenance expense of 02.5 thousand (50 x 0.05 = 2.5). With the project, this expense continues, plus the maintenance of the
incremental 0 156 thousand worth of equipment purchased in year 1 as shown in table 4-15, giving a total of 010.3 thousand [2.5 +
(156 x 0.05) _ 10.3].
the basis of improved pasture established as of the end of the previous year.
Expenditure for operation and maintenance of equipment is taken to be 5 percent of the initial invest-
ment cost beginning the year after acquisition. Expenditure for operation and maintenance of equip-
ment, such as that for pumps, is often included in the operating expenditure of the crop for which the
equipment is used. When it is not, as in this example, then it must be shown separately.
The operating expenditure does not include a separate entry for family labor or for land. Rather, these
are valued at their opportunity cost by the approach taken in designing the farm budget. (Opportunity
cost was defined early in chapter 3, in the section "Prices Reflect Value.") We will return to a discussion
of how this is accomplished after we have discussed the farm budget, below.
INCREMENTAL WORKING CAPITAL
. The incremental working capital for the Paraguay pattern farm is given in table 4-17. As noted in
the discussion of the accounting convention adopted for farm investment analysis and in table 4-3, the
incremental working capital is derived from the information on total operating expenditure in table 4-
16 by taking some proportion of the incremental operating expenditure for the following year. To
simplify the calculation, it is assumed that the Paraguay pattern farm is predominantly a one-season,
annual crop farm. Referring to table 4-3, we note the incremental working capital as a percentage of
incremental operating expenditure for one season annual crops ranges between 80 and 100 percent. The
incremental working capital needed, then, may be taken at the midpoint of the range, or 90 percent of
the incremental operating expenditure in the following year. In year 2, for example, the
Table 4-17. Incremental Working Capital, 20-Hectare Mixed Farm, Paraguay Project
Project year
Item 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8-20 Total
111
Source: Calculated from tables 4-3 and 4-16.
a. From table 4-16.
b. Taken to be 90 percent of the incremental operating expenditure in the following year. For year 1, for example, this comes to
041.1 thousand [(71 - 25.2) x 0.9 = 41.1]. This is based on the recommendation that incremental working capital be a percentage of
incremental operating expenditure as given in table 4-3. For purposes of this calculation, it is taken that the model farm is domi-
nantly a one-season, annual crop farm, even though there is a second crop of sunflower and there is a livestock enterprise. Accept-
ing this assumption somewhat overstates the incremental working capital needed.
incremental operating expenditure is 045.7 thousand (71.2 - 25.5 = 45.7) and the incremental working cap-
ital in year 1, which is 90 percent of the incremental operating expenditure in the following year, is thus
041.1 thousand (45.7 x 0.9 = 41.1). This simplification somewhat overstates the working capital needed.
Note that by totaling the incremental working capital year by year we obtain the 0119.9 thousand residual
incremental working capital shown in table 4-14.
Had we wished to make a more precise estimate of the incremental working capital, we could have calculated
the amount needed for each category of operating expenditure as given in table 4-16. For crops, we could
have taken from table 4-3 the same 90 percent estimate we accepted in our simplification. Taking year 5 as
an illustration, the incremental working capital for crops would have been 024.8 thousand [(102.0 - 74.5) x
0.9 = 24.8]. For livestock, we might have accepted 30 percent from the recommended range of 20 to 40
percent in table 4-3. Since the without-project working capital will also increase during the life of the project,
the computation of the incremental working capital is somewhat more complicated for livestock than for
crops. The without-project incremental operating expenditure must be subtracted from the with-project incre-
mental operating expenditure. This is a minor adjustment and might have been ignored. Taking year 5 as an
illustration again, the incremental working capital for livestock would be 00.2 thousand ([(43.9 - 42.9) -
(12.8 - 12.6)] x 0.3 = 0.2}. For equipment, we would have taken the full incremental operating expendi-
ture; this, however, does not increase between years 5 and 6 and so is zero (10.3 - 10.3 = 0). Adding the
combined incremental working capital for all three categories, we reach an incremental working capital for
the farm in year 5 of 025.0 thousand (24.8 + 0.2 + 0 = 25.0). This compares with the estimate of incremen-
tal working capital of 025.6 thousand that our simplified calculation in table 4-17 gave us for year 5.
Farm Budget
With the pattern farm resource use, production, and inputs known, the analyst may proceed to draw up the farm budget.
When a farm budget for project analysis is prepared, the objective is an estimate of the incremental net benefit arising on
the farm as a result of the project. Clear layout of the incremental net benefit is the main reason for the particular format
adopted here and illustrated in tables 4-18 through 4-20 for the farm budget of the Paraguay project.
Total operating
expenditure' 25.5 71.2 80.5 112.8 127.7 156.2 158.8 158.8 -
Incremental operating
expenditure - 45.7 9.3 32.3 14.9 28.5 2.6 0 133.3
Incremental working
capital' 41.1 8.4 29.1 13.4 25.6 2.3 0 0 119.9
112
The analyst first calculates the net benefit without the project as shown in table 4-18. The overall format of the pattern
farm budget can be seen in the with-project farm budget shown in table 4-19. If we take the inflow received on the farm
year by year and subtract the outflow, we have the stream for net benefit before financing. This entry tells what the farm
will earn without consideration of any effects of financing. It includes both the value of the crop and livestock produc-
tion sold off the farm and the value of home-consumed production. Next we subtract the without-
Table 4-18. Without-Project Farm Budget, 20-Hectare Mixed Farm, Paraguay Project (thousands of G)
Item 1 Projectyear6-20
2 3-5
Inflow
Gross value of production a247.7249.6254.3256.2
Total 247.7 249.6254.3256.2
Outflow
Operating expenditure b25.525.525.926.1
Other
Tax on cattle sale`2.32.32.32.3
Total 27.8 27.828.228.4
Net benefit before financing d219.9221.8226.1227.8
Source: Calculated from other tables as noted. a. From table 4-13.
b. From table 4-16.
c. A tax of 0800 is paid on each animal sold. The amount is calculated by multiplying the total sales given in table 4-11 by the
tax and dividing the result by 100 to obtain the amount for each farm.
d. No financing would be received without the project.
project net benefit (table 4-18) to obtain the incremental net benefit before financing. In many projects, the
without-project incremental net benefit is assumed to remain constant throughout the life of the project,
and a without-project column is inserted before the columns for the project years. This constant without-
project amount is then subtracted from the net benefit before financing in each project year to obtain the
incremental net benefit before financing. In the Paraguay example, the without-project net benefit before
financing changes during the life of the project, so this approach cannot be used. Instead, a separate figure
for without-project net benefit before financing is calculated as shown in table 4-18; this figure has been
entered in the with-project farm budget in table 4-19.
Note that in the early years of the with-project farm budget the in-cremental net benefit before financing
will generally be negative as investment is undertaken. Later, when the stream turns positive, it is a mea-
surement of the additional amount that the farm will produce as a result of the project. The stream of the
incremental net benefit before financing is the cash flow as defined in chapter 9. When it is discounted,
again as discussed in chapter 9, it becomes the basis for such measure-ments of project worth as the net
present worth o f all resources engaged, the financial rate of return to all resources engaged, or the net benefit-invest-
ment ratio of all resources engaged. Deriving measurements of project worth based on all resources engaged,
whether the resources come from the farmer's own contribution or a lending institution, is commonly done
to
judge the financial viability of the investment on the farm. It is especially favored by analysts who have
accounting experience.
If we eliminate transfer payments and value entries at efficiency prices as discussed in chapter 7, the incre-
mental net benefit before financing is the incremental contribution to the national income. Aggregated to
the project level, it becomes the basis for the benefit stream for the project and for calculating the net
present worth, the economic rate of return, or the net benefit-investment ratio for the project-that is, the
return which the project contributes to the economy as a whole.
113
If we proceed to look at the financing available with the project-after we allow for loan receipts and debt ser-
vice including interest payments and repayment of principal, which together give the net financing-we reach
the net benefit after financing. This is also called the farm family net benefit, since it is the amount that the
family has to live on for the year. Maximizing the, net benefit after financing is taken to be the objective of
the farm family; it is thus defined consistently with the objectives laid out in chapter 2. This is a most impor-
tant estimate because, obviously, it directly affects the incentive to the farm family to participate in the
project.
The difference between what the family would receive without the project and the net benefit after financ-
ing is the incremental net benefit a fter financing. This is the additional amount the family would receive by
participating in the proposed project over and above what it would receive without the project. Note that, as
in the Paraguayan example, the incremental net benefit generally will be negative in the first few years if the
farmer must invest some of his own resources to participate in the project. The incremental net benefit (or
incremental farm family net benefit) is, in effect, the direct incentive to the family to participate in the
project. It is the cash flow seen from the point of view of the farmer, as defined in chapter 9. Discounted, it
will give the financial rate of return to the farmer's own resources if he has invested any of his own capital in the
project. Discounting the net benefit after financing and dividing by the discounted net benefit after financ-
ing without the project yields the net benefit increase, a measure of farmer incentive discussed in more detail
in the section devoted to that topic later in this chapter.
It is extremely convenient to separate the financing transactions in the farm budget, as is illustrated in the
Paraguay example. By leaving financ-ing to a later part of the table, we can concentrate on what the farm
will produce in arriving at the incremental net benefit before financing. This gives a direct estimate of how
much total investment will be needed from all sources for the pattern farm. The incremental net benefit
before financing is derived directly, and this makes it convenient to calculate the measures of project worth
based on all resources engaged. This format directly provides a basis for aggregation and is also the starting
point for the economic analysis discussed in chapter 7. Grouping the financing transactions is convenient if
there is a credit element in the project, as there so often is, because it permits looking at the credit
Table 4-19. Farm Budget, 20-Hectare Mixed Farm, Paraguay Project (thousands of 0)
Item 1 2 3 4 5 Project year 8-11 12 13 14-19
20
6 7
Inflow
Gross value of production'
Crops 187.8 237.0 289.2 340.7 387.4 485.3 501.5 501.5 501.5 501.5 501.5
501.5
Livestock51.4 63.5 73.0 85.9 115.3 135.2 133.1 133.1 133.1 133.1 133.1
133.1
Off-farm income- - - - - - - - - - --
Incremental residual value
b
- - - - - - - - - - -430.6
Total inflow239.2 300.5 362.2 426.6 502.7 620.5 634.6 634.6 634.6 634.6 634.6
1,065.2
Outflow
Investment` 523.6 110.6 126.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00
Incremental working capital'41.18.4 29.1 13.4 25.6 2.3 0 0 0 0 00
Operating expenditures25.571.280.5112.8 127.7 156.2 158.8 158.8 158.8 158.8 158.8
158.8
Other
Tax on cattle sale
f
1.92.4 2.6 3.1 4.2 4.7 4.6 4.6 4.6 4.6 4.64.6
Total outflow592.1 192.6 238.7 129.3 157.5 163.2 163.4 163.4 163.4 163.4 163.4
163.4
Net benefit before financing
114
Total (352.9) 107.9 123.5 297.3 345.2 457.3 471.2 471.2 471.2 471.2 471.2
901.8
Without projects219.9 221.8 226.1 226.1 226.1 227.8 227.8 227.8 227.8 227.8 227.8
227.8
Incremental(572.8) (113.9) (102.6) 71.2 119.1 229.5 243.4 243.4 243.4 243.4 243.4
674.0
Financing
h
Loan receipts508.2 107.1 140.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00
Debt service - 66.1 80.0 98.2 98.2 159.2 172.1 188.9 61.8 35.0 00
Net financing 508.2 41.0 60.0 ( 98.2) ( 98.2) (159.2) (172.1) (188.9) ( 61.8) ( 35.0) 00
Net benefit after financing
Total 155.3 148.9 183.5 199.1 247.0 298.1 299.1 282.3 409.4 436.2471.2901.8
Without projecte219.9 221.8 226.1 226.1 226.1 227.8 227.8 227.8 227.8 227.8227.8227.8
Incremental ( 64.6) ( 72.9) ( 42.6) ( 27.0) 20.9 70.3 71.3 54.5 181.6 208.4243.4674.0
Cash position
Net benefit after financing155.3148.9 183.5 199.1 247.0 298.1 299.1 282.3 409.4 436.2471.2901.8
Less home-consumed
production' 50.0 50.0 50.0 50.0 50.0 40.2 44.4 44.4 44.4 44.4 44.444.4
Cash surplus (or deficit)105.398.9 133.5 149.1 197.0 257.9 254.7 237.9 365.0 391.8426.8857.4
Net present worth at 12 percent of all resources engaged = 0416 thousand' Financial rate of return to all resources engaged = 18
percent' Net benefit-investment ratio at 12 percent of all resources engaged = 01,091.6 - 0675.4 = 1.621 Financial rate of return to
the farmer's own resources = 26 percent k Net benefit increase = [(02,071.7 - 01,686.4) - 1] x 100 = 23 percent'
Source: Calculated from other tables as noted. a. From table 4-13.
b. From table 4-14. c. From table 4-15. d. From table 4-17.
e. From table 4-16. If labor had been hired and paid in kind and this had not been included in the operating expenditure table, it
would be shown here under operating expenditure as a separate line.
f. A tax of 0800 is paid on each animal sold. The amount is calculated by multiplying the total sales given in table 4-11 by the
tax and dividing the result by 100 to obtain the amount for each farm.
g. From table 4-18. No financing would be received without the project. h. The farmer receives a loan from the Paraguayan
National Development Bank for 90 percent of the investment cost and for 90 percent of the in-cremental working capital during
the investment period, which is years I through 3. The loan is for a ten-year period, with a four-year grace period
during which interest is paid. The loan received each year is treated as a separate transaction. Thus, for the loan received at the
end of year 1, the grace period is for years 2 through 5 and the principal of the loan is repaid during years 6 through 11. The
interest rate is 13 percent. See table 4-24 for details of the computation.
i. Assumes that the family would eat all of the maize and beans and part of the manioc in years 1 through 5. From year 6 onward
it is assumed that the family will consume all of the maize and manioc.
j. Calculated on the basis of the incremental net benefit before financing. For details about the method of computation, see
chapter 9.
k. Calculated on the basis of the incremental net benefit after financing. 1. The net benefit increase is the present worth of the
incremental net benefit after financing with the project divided by the present worth of the net benefit after financing without
the project; expressed in percentage. See text for a discussion of this measure. For details about the method of the present worth
computation, see chapter 9.
transaction separately. The timing of the loan receipts, the timing of the debt service, and the net financing can
all be determined easily by simple inspection. Then, by examining the incremental net benefit after financ-ing,
an assessment can be made about the amount of credit a farmer will need to participate and when he should
repay it. With the incremental net benefit after financing now available, it is a simple matter to discount it to
determine the financial rate of return to the farmer's own resources.
Of the individual entries included under the inflow in table 4-19, the first is the gross value of production,
which is derived directly from table 4-13. This entry includes only that production available for use off the
farm or by the farm family itself; it does not include any production used as an intermediate product on the
farm. In particular, it does not include feed produced and fed to animals on the farm. Note the gross value of
production includes any production consumed at home; it is not, there-fore, the gross sales. In the Paraguayan
example, the family will consume most of the maize, manioc, and beans it produces, as noted in the last section
of the farm budget. If we fail to include the value of home-consumed production as part of the gross value of
production, we will understate the attractiveness to the farmer of participating in the proj-ect. Furthermore,
115
when we recast the budget to reflect economic values we will understate the true contribution of the project to
the national income. In turn, this will make the measures of project worth of those projects in which a high
proportion of the incremental production is to be consumed by the farm family look relatively less attractive
than those of projects in which a high proportion of the incremental production is to be sold. We may thus
penalize many of the very projects that provide the greatest benefit to the most disadvantaged farmers.
It is important that any off-farm income the farmer may earn be included in the budget. Hence, a dummy line
has been included in table 4-19 even though there is no off-farm income involved in the Paraguay example. As
we will discuss in detail in the next section, by including off-farm income in the budget we are automatically
able to value family labor at its opportunity cost. This avoids trying to impute separately an appropriate wage
for family labor.
Two other items may enter under the inflow that were not needed in the Paraguay example. The first is direct
grants received by the farmer. Subsidies that benefit the farmer by lowering the cost of an input or by increas-
ing the price he receives for his production would not be entered here. Instead, they would be accounted for by
entering the subsidized market price in the account. Later, in the economic analysis, these items would have to
be revalued to reflect the subsidy.
A second entry that might appear as an inflow in a farm budget but that is not needed in the Paraguay example
is the rental value of the farm house. In most projects, no investment in housing is made, and the rental value
remains unchanged with or without the project. As a result, the rental value has no effect on the incremental
net benefit and so is gener-ally omitted. If, however, the cost of the project has included housing, as might be
the case in a settlement project, then the rental value of that housing is a benefit for which allowance must be
made. In most instances the rental value will be imputed and-as with all imputed values-great care must be
exercised in determining it
.
The last of the inflow items in table 4-19 is the incremental residual value. This is derived for the Para-
guayan example from table 4-14. First among the elements of the outflow is the on-farm investment. Note
that the total on-farm investment is included here, not just that propor-tion the farmer is expected to pay
from his own funds. The investment the farmer must make himself as of the end of the year will appear as a
negative incremental net benefit after financing at the bottom of the table. For most farm investment anal-
yses, the major items of investment would be detailed in a supporting table such as table 4-15, since the
focus so often is upon some on-farm investment. In projects where the major investment is made off the
farm, as might be the case in irrigation, there may be no substantial on-farm investment.
The next outflow is the incremental working capital, taken from table 4-17. As noted earlier in this chapter
in the discussion of the accounting convention, the incremental working capital is calculated as some pro-
portion of the increase or decrease in operating expenditure the follow-ing year. It reflects, of course, the
need to have on hand at the beginning of the season sufficient funds to finance inputs for crop and livestock
production.
The next entry for outflow is the operating expenditure, taken from table 4-16. If hired labor paid in kind
were omitted from table 4-16 (which some analysts prefer to treat as a list of cash expenditures), then a sep-
arate entry would have to be included under the operating expenditure.
Finally, an entry is made for other outflows. In the Paraguayan pattern farm budget, the only other outflow
is for a tax on cattle sales. A tax on land, however, might also be found under this entry, as might general
overhead, a betterment levy, or a capital recovery charge for an irriga-tion project. An income tax would
usually not be shown here; it is uncommon for a small farmer to have to pay income tax, and, in any event,
116
it is generally considered that income tax is levied against the farmer as an individual rather than against the
farm as such. (This, of course, is in contrast to corporate income taxes, which would be shown if levied; see
chapter 5 for a discussion of accounts for agricultural process-ing industries.) In general, indirect taxes such
as sales taxes or tariffs on imported items will be included in the price of inputs; this works well for financial
analysis, but it may lead to complications when the economic values are being estimated. The total inflow
less the total outflow gives the net benefit before financing.
The section of table 4-19 devoted to financing begins with the projec-tion of the loan receipts the farmer
may expect if he participates in the project. Loan receipts are commonly divided into short-term and
medium- or long-term. In the Paraguay example, only medium-term loans are to be received. Loans are
entered in the year they are to be received.
Debt service-the payment of interest and repayment of principal-follows. Usually it, too, will be disaggre-
gated by the length of the loan maturity. Interest and principal repayments are often shown as a single
entry, although sometimes interest payments and the principal repay-ment are shown separately. The details
of how to calculate interest payments and principal repayments are discussed in the section "Com-puting
Debt Service" later in this chapter.
The debt service is subtracted from the loan receipts to reach the net financing, which is shown with an
indication of whether it is positive or negative. In the Paraguay example, in years 1 through 3 the loan
receipts exceed the debt service, so the net financing is positive; in years 4 through 13, however, debt service
exceeds the loan receipts, and so the net financ-ing is negative.
The net financing subtracted from (or added to, as appropriate) the net benefit before financing gives the
net benefit a fter financing, also called the farm family net benefit. As noted, this is the amount the family
has to live on with the project and is most important for judging incentive effects of the project. It is prob-
ably an estimate of this amount that most farmers make when they decide whether to participate in a
project, although no doubt they arrive at it by a less formal means.
If we subtract the net benefit after financing without the project from the net benefit after financing for
each project year, we arrive at the incremental net benefit after financing, or incremental farm family net
benefit. This is the same incremental net benefit or cash flow defined in chapter 9. It represents an undiffer-
entiated return of and to the farmer's capital; discounted, it gives the financial rate of return to the farmer's
own resources. The incremental net benefit after financing also provides us with another basis for a judg-
ment about incentive effects. Would a farmer be willing to shoulder the additional risk and effort needed to
participate in the project if he can expect this kind of incremental income?
Because home-consumed production is included in the farm budget, if any high proportion of the incre-
mental production is expected to be consumed in the farm household, it is desirable to have a section on the
cash position to determine whether the farmer will have the cash he needs to purchase modern inputs and
to meet his credit obligations. (This is the point at which a bit of funds flow analysis is mixed in with the
farm investment analysis.) One means is to calculate a separate cash budget as Brown suggests (1979, pp.
25-30). Another means is shown at the bottom of table 4-19. Here, a line is added to subtract the value of
home-consumed production from the net benefit after financing. The remainder is the cash surplus (or def-
icit). If there is a deficit, it must be made up from family savings or other sources if the farmer is not to fall
behind in his invest-ment plan or to default on his credit obligations. Alternatively, we may wish to adjust
the amount of short-term credit extended or alter the conditions of long-term credit to avoid the cash defi-
cit.
117
The farm budget presented in table 4-19 assumes that the real burden of debt service will continue through-
out the life of the loan the farmer receives. As in most countries, in the Paraguay project the lending terms
to farmers call for repayment in nominal-that is, money-terms. In-terest is stated at a given rate, and the
nominal amount of principal repayment is agreed upon. If, however, a country experiences inflation
that reduces the real value of money over time, the result is that farmers whose debt service payments are
fixed in money terms have a declining real burden of debt service. Some countries try to adjust for this by
indexing loans so that the nominal amount a farmer pays changes to maintain the same real burden of debt
service, but most do not.
If Paraguay were expected to experience inflation, then the farm budget would be a more realistic indicator
of income and incentive if it reflected the declining real burden of debt service. Predicting future inflation
rates is difficult at the very least (and may lead to political complications for analysts in public agencies if the
government has adopted a strong anti-inflation program). Past experience is some indica-tion of what
future inflation may be. In 1977 the wholesale price index in Paraguay rose by 8 percent, so that rate might
be accepted as an estimate of future inflation. If we assume constant inflation of 8 percent during the life of
the loan, then the debt service each year will be reduced by dividing it by 1 plus the rate of inflation stated in
decimal terms to reflect the declining real burden. The farm budget for the Paraguay example is recast in
table 4-20 to incorporate this assumption. The table projects that the real value of the loan receipts in years
2 and 3 will remain the same-which is to say that their nominal value will increase by the amount of infla-
tion. This is perhaps an unrealistic assumption in many countries. If so, not only the debt service but the
real value of the loan receipts might be reduced by the amount of the inflation, and the farmer would have
to invest more of his own resources to keep his investment program on schedule. (The details about how
the loan receipts and debt service were calculated are given in the section "Computing Debt Ser-vice" and in
table 4-26, below.)
The recast farm budget in table 4-20 begins with the net benefit before financing, which is the same as that
in table 4-19 since table 4-19 is cast in constant terms and the relative prices are correct. (The reader will
recall that the prices in table 4-12, which formed one of the bases for table 4-19, were varied to allow for
changing relative values.) Since all prices in both tables 4-19 and 4-20 maintain the same relation to each
other or have been changed to reflect changing relations, the tables are, in effect, cast in terms of the value
of the guarani in project year 1. The terms of the loan to the farmer from the Paraguayan National Develop-
ment Bank are the same as those outlined in table 4-19 and are set in nominal terms. Comparing the debt
service line in tables 4-19 and 4-20 shows the effect of assuming a declining real burden of debt service, as
does a comparison between the two lines for the incremental net benefit after financing.
Recasting the farm budget to reflect the declining real burden of debt service shows that the real return to
the farmer for his own resources would rise from the 26 percent estimated in table 4-19 to 34 percent. The
net benefit increase (discussed later in this chapter) would rise from 23 percent to 35 percent. Both
increases, of course, reflect the declining real burden of the debt service.
Casting the farm budget to reflect the declining real burden of debt service that occurs in inflationary cir-
cumstances certainly is more realistic than assuming a constant burden. It probably also will lead to a better
Table 4-20. Farm Budget Assuming Declining Real Burden of Debt Service, 20-Hectare Mixed Farm, Paraguay Project
(thousands of Q)
Proj ect year
It em 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1213
14-19 20
Net benefit before financing'(359.2)107.9 123.5 297.3 345.2 457.3 471.2 471.2 471.2 471.2 471.2 471.2471.2
471.2 901.8
Financing
b
508.2 107.1 140.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0000
118
Loan receipts'
Debt service` - 61.2 69.6 81.3 75.2 111.1 111.6 114.9 106.3 98.4 91.1 29.8
16.2 0 0
Net financing 508.2 45.9 70.4 ( 81.3) ( 75.2) (111.1) (111.6) (114.9) (106.3) ( 98.4) ( 91.1) ( 29.8)(
16.2) 0 0
Net benefit after financing
Total 149.0 153.8 193.9 216.0 270.0 346.2 359.6 356.3 364.9 372.8 380.1 441.4455.0
471.2 901.8
Without project' 219.9 221.8 226.1 226.1 226.1 227.8 227.8 227.8 227.8 227.8 227.8 227.8227.8
227.8 227.8
Incremental ( 70.9) ( 68.0) ( 32.2) ( 10.1) 43.9 118.4 131.8 128.5 137.1 145.0 152.3 213.6227.2
243.4 674.0
Cash position
Net benefit after financing 149.0 153.8 193.9 216.0 270.0 346.2 359.6 356.3 364.9372.8380.1
441.4 455.0 471.2 901.8
Less home-consumed
production a 50.0 50.0 50.0 50.0 50.0 40.2 44.4 44.4 44.4 44.4 44.444.4
44.4 44.4 44.4
Cash surplus (or deficit) 99.0 103.8 143.9 166.0 220.0 306.0 315.2 311.9 320.5 328.4
335.7 397.0 410.6 426.8 857.4
Net present worth at 12 percent of all resources engaged = 0416 thousand
s
Financial rate of return to all resources engaged = 18 percent
s

Net benefit-investment ratio at 12 percent of all resources engaged = 01,091.6 - 0675.4 = 1.62d Financial rate of return to the farmer's
own resources = 34 percent' Net benefit increase = [(02,282.3 - 01,686.4) - 1] x 100 = 35 percent'
Source: Calculated from other tables as noted. a. From table 4-19.
b. The terms and conditions of the financing are assumed to be the same as those in table 4-19, note h. It is assumed that there will be
a constant inflation of 8 percent during the term of the loans. The table is stated in real terms in constant guaranis of project year 1
(except for the nominal terms for the loan receipts). Since debt service is denominated in nominal (money) terms, the real burden
declines each year by the amount of inflation. Loan receipts are stated in real terms under the entry for loan receipts, and the nominal
amounts for the second and third-year loans are given. The nominal amount is increased by the amount of inflation.
c. For details of the computation, see the section "Computing Debt Service" and table 4-26 later in this chapter.
d. Calculated on the basis of the incremental net benefit before financing. (Note that this is the same value as in table 4-19). For details
about the method of computation, see chapter 9.
e. Calculated on the basis of the incremental net benefit after financing.
f. The net benefit increase is the present worth of the incremental net benefit after financing with the project divided by the present
worth of the net benefit after financing without the project expressed in percentage. See text for a discussion of this measurement. For
details about the method of computing the present worth, see chapter 9.
estimate of the real attractiveness of a project to farmers, since most farmers will have some sense of the
effect of inflation on nominal values. Except for the additional computations needed to project the farm
budget, such an approach creates no analytical complications. Project aggregations can simply be based on
the farm budgets that assume a declining real burden of debt service, just as they would be if the budget
assumed that the burden of the debt service would remain constant and that the loan would be indexed. Of
course, allowing for a declining real burden of debt service in the farm budget would not change the eco-
nomic rate of return of a project, since that is based on the net benefit before financing valued in economic
terms (discussed in chapter 7).
COST OF FAMILY LABOR. A common conceptual problem met when pre-paring farm investment analyses is
how to determine the cost of family labor. The general principle, as with most questions of valuation, is to
value family labor at its opportunity cost; that is, the benefit the family must forgo to participate in the
project. This is done simply and more or less automatically if the farm budget format recommended here is
followed.
119
This method has the tremendous practical advantage that the cost of family labor need not be estimated
directly. Rather, the cost of family labor is taken to be what the family could earn in its next most remunera-
tive alternative without the project. To accomplish this, the farm budget must compare the with-project sit-
uation with the without-project situa-tion, and the off-farm labor income must be included in the budget-at
least if there is to be any change in the amount earned from off-farm labor. The cost of the family labor
needed to adopt the with-project cropping pattern, then, is the labor income in the without-project situa-
tion that must be given up. If the number of days of off-farm work must be reduced for the farm family to
participate in the project, to that extent the cost of incremental family labor is the off-farm wage. If the
with-project cropping pattern calls for a shift of family labor from one produc-tion activity on the farm to
another, the cost of the labor shifted is implicitly set at the labor income forgone in the without-project
activity. Finally, if more total family labor is called for in the with-project crop-ping pattern than in the pat-
tern without the project, as is the case in the Paraguay example, this additional labor is implicitly priced at an
oppor-tunity cost of zero, since no income must be forgone to use the labor in the with-project cropping
pattern. This assumes, in effect, that the family would have worked more days of the year in the without-
project situa-tion had there been suitable opportunities available either through addi-tional farm work or off
the farm. Any incremental labor needed in the with-project cropping pattern compared with the without-
project crop-ping pattern plus off-farm employment is assumed to be taken from undesired leisure given up.
(Later, when the analyst converts from finan-cial prices to economic values, the off-farm earning would be
valued at the appropriate shadow wage.)
without basis without entering the rent separately would be the simplest way to allow for the opportunity
cost of land.
If the land is to be purchased, the purchase price would properly be shown as a cost in the financial
accounts. Again, however, in converting to efficiency prices for the economic analysis the opportunity cost
would be taken as the economic value. As before, simply comparing the situa-tions with and without the
project in the economic accounts is generally the most convenient approach and will correctly value the land
at its opportunity cost. Sometimes, however, different approaches may be taken in the economic accounts, a
topic to which we will return in chapter 7 in the subsection "Step 3. Adjustment for price distortions in non-
traded items."
Net Benefit Increase
120
5. FINANCIAL ANALYSIS OF PROCESSING INDUSTRIES
Agricultural projects requently include processing facilities such as packing sheds, preserving and canning
plants, oil extraction mills, rice mills, sugar refineries, and the like. For these agriculturally based indus-
tries (or "agroindustries"), we must project and analyze financial statements to judge efficiency, incentive,
creditworthiness, and liquidity and to determine the costs and benefits that are to be included in the overall
project. Whether such enterprises are publicly or privately owned, there is the same need to analyze their
financial structure.
Analyzing and projecting financial statements for these enterprises requires a considerable, specialized
expertise that those responsible for agricultural project analysis often do not possess. The purpose of this
chapter is thus twofold. First, for those who do not consider themselves experts in financial analysis, it pro-
vides an analytical pattern to apply to less complex agricultural industries included in their projects. Sec-
ond, for an accountant or financial analyst, it indicates the kinds of financial information needed for
agricultural projects. Then, when a project analyst turns to these specialists for their help, they can adapt
the pattern formats in this chapter to develop appropriate financial statements for a particular agricultural
project.
The treatment here of these issues is necessarily brief; project analysts may want to consult Upper (1979),
a collection of teaching materials that expands many of the elements only summarized here. Much of the
following discussion is drawn directly from these materials. Those interested in more detail may also wish
to consult a standard accounting textbook such as Niswonger and Fess (1977), which uses the U.S.
accounting conventions, or Bigg and Perrins (1971), which uses the British conventions. In the discussion
here, we will generally follow the accounting conventions of U.S. practice and note some of the important
ways that it differs from British practice. Both conventions, however, are essentially identical; differences
are almost entirely limited to conventions of presentation and to a few specialized terms used for account-
ing concepts.
We will illustrate the kinds of accounts that are appropriate for the financial analysis of a processing enter-
prise that is a part of an agricultural project with examples adapted from the sugar mill included in the
South Nyanza Sugar Project in Kenya. We will reproduce the figures for selected years; the original
accounts were projected for sixteen years.
The overall South Nyanza project included establishment of a nucleus sugarcane plantation; development
of a network of small farmers, or outgrowers, who would supply additional cane; and a processing compo-
nent-a sugar mill initially capable of crushing 60,000 tons of cane a year, 90,000 tons of cane after later
expansion. The accounts presented contain all the elements necessary for analysis of much simpler enter-
prises but are also complex enough to be useful as a pattern to be adapted by those with specialized knowl-
edge of financial analysis.
For an agriculturally based industry included in a project, three basic financial statements should be pre-
pared: balance sheets, income statements, and sources-and-uses-of-funds statements. If the project repre-
sents an expansion of an existing facility, then these accounts should include historical information for, say,
about five years previous to the beginning of the project. Both for enterprises that are to be expanded and
new enterprises, these statements would be projected over the life of the project.
121
The balance sheets give a view of the assets and liabilities of the processing enterprise at the end of each
accounting period, which is usually a year-a kind of still photograph of the financial state of the enterprise
at a given moment. The income statements summarize the revenues and expenses of the enterprise during
each accounting period and give a kind of cinematic picture of activities over time. The sources-and-uses-
of-funds statements are a summary of the financial transactions taking place during each accounting
period. In essence, they convert the income statement to a cash (or funds) basis. They highlight large trans-
actions, such as the purchase of assets and creation of new obligations (both debt and equity), that appear
as changes in the balance sheets for the opening and closing of each period.
On the basis of these financial statements, the project analyst can form a judgment about the efficiency of
current operations and about how efficient proposed new facilities are likely to be. He can assess the
returns to investors if the project is to be financed by private funds or by accountable public enterprises.
The statements may reveal losses that will have to be made up through a subsidy if the enterprise is to
remain financially solvent; from them the analyst can examine the creditworthiness and liquidity of the
enterprise during the project life as a basis for arranging its financing. In general, the project analyst will
make use of three sets of ratios, which are derived from the financial statements and which give him
insight to help form his financial judgments-efficiency ratios, income ratios, and creditworthiness ratios.
The financial data essential to analyze any new project are, of course, based on incremental expenses and
revenues. The South Nyanza example for our discussion was a new project, and virtually the whole sugar
mill was incremental. (There were a few existing assets.) Many projects, however, will entail expansion of
existing facilities. In these instances, the analysis centers on incremental growth in the parent enterprise,
the situation with and without the expansion that the parent enterprise will carry out. Costs and revenues
that would be realized by the parent enterprise whether or not a particular project is undertaken are not con-
sidered in the estimate of the incremental contribution. On the one hand, the potential future effects of a
proposed project must be isolated from the overall accounts of the parent enterprise. On the other hand, the
project analyst will be concerned not only with the financial dimensions of a proposed expansion alone. He
must also be satisfied that the parent enterprise is financially able to carry out the expansion, and that may
require projecting financial statements for the enterprise as a whole, including the expansion envisioned by
the project.
Accounts are kept for operating entities rather than for the persons who own, manage, or are otherwise
employed by them. The enterprise represents a group of resources subject to common control. In financial
analysis, it is the operating entity that is viewed as controlling the resources and receiving the income. The
entity is, in turn, owned by its proprietors or shareholders. The management of the enterprise acts on behalf
of the owners, whether private or government.
Accounts for operating enterprises are kept on an accrual basis. That is, revenues are recorded in financial
statements for the period in which they are earned, and expenses are recorded in the period incurred,
regardless of when the corresponding cash transactions took place. In contrast, cash accounting shows
transactions only when cash payments are actually made. Governments generally keep their accounts on a
cash basis, as do some small businesses. Public sector enterprises, however, normally follow the accrual
principle because it is more useful for managerial decisionmaking.
The most common and generalized categories of items included in the accounts of the South Nyanza
project appear in italic type in the text of this chapter. If the analyst takes the italicized items and the illus-
trative tables as a general pattern and adapts them to the particular project he is working on, he will arrive
at a satisfactory account for most simple processing enterprises. Conceptual errors would probably be lim-
122
ited and have little effect on the overall project investment decision, although the analyst may wish to ver-
ify his projected financial statements by consulting an accountant. Consultation with a financial analyst
early in project preparation will probably be necessary when the financial statements for the processing
plant become more complex.
Balance Sheet
The most well-known financial statement is the balance sheet. It is a snapshot of an enterprise at a par-
ticular point of time. In the South Nyanza example in table 5-1, the assets of the sugar mill are listed
above and its liabilities and equity below. Assets and liabilities are listed according to the U.S. con-
vention of showing the most liquid, or current, first and then progressing through less and less liquid
forms to end with fixed assets and long-term liabilities. British usage shows the least liquid first,
Table 5-1. Balance Sheets, Factory Capacity of 90,000 Tons, South Nyanza Suger Ltd.
Item Project year
1 9 10 11
Assets
Current assets
Cash and bank balance 3,323 17,241 69,559 106,234
Accounts receivable-outgrowers 2,952 47,202 48,047 48,471
Inventories
Nucleus estate standing crop b 3,428 25,546 24,181 22,174
Other inventories` 1,525 7,000 7,000 7,000
Total current assets 11,228 96,989 148,787 183,879
Fixed assets
Buildings and equipment at cost 34,549 469,736 472,094 479,923
Less accumulated depreciation ( 2,872) (207,498) (241,560) (275,741)
Construction in progress 84,437 - - -
Net fixed assets 116,114 262,238 230,534 204,182
Other assets - - - -
Total assets 127,342 359,227 379,321 388,061
Liabilities and equity
Liabilities-current
Accounts payable - - - -
Short-term loans - - - -
123
KSh Kenyan shillings.
Note: Parentheses indicate negative numbers.
Long-term loans-current portion
World Bank - 6,563 6,563 6,563
European Investment Bank - 10,956 10,956 10,956
East African Development Bank - 2,846 2,846 2,844
Suppliers' credits-current portion
Suppliers' credit-Germany - 7,050 7,050 -
Suppliers' credit-India - 6,381 6,331 -
Taxes payable - - - -
Total current liabilities - 33,796 33,746 20,363
Liabilities-long-term
Long-term loans
World Bank - 98,435 91,872 85,309
European Investment Bank 33,400 54,780 43,824 32,868
U.S. Export-Import (Exim) Bank 7,900 - - -
East African Development Bank 6,070 5,690 2,844 -
Suppliers' credits
Suppliers' credit-Germany 17,200 7,050 - -
Suppliers' credit-India 15,500 6,331 - -
Total long-term liabilities 80,070 172,286 138,540 118,177
Total liabilities 80,070 206,082 172,286 138,540
Equity
Share capital 57,000 196,500 196,500 196,500
Retained earnings ( 9,728) ( 43,355) 10,535 53,021
Total equity 47,272 153,145 207,035 249,521
Total liabilities and equity 127,342 359,227 379,321 388,061
Table 5-1. Balance Sheets, Factory Capacity of 90,000 Tons, South Nyanza Suger Ltd.
Item Project year
1 9 10 11
124
Source: Adapted from World Bank, "Kenya: Appraisal of the South Nyanza Sugar Project," 1418-KE (Washington, D.C., 1977;
restricted circulation), annex 20, table 12.
a. Represents the net value of services and inputs provided to outgrowers (small farm-ers), including company overhead cost allo-
cated to outgrowers.
b. Includes investment in sugarcane (current value less production cost of sugarcane; excludes value of land).
c. Includes spare parts, tools, and operating materials.
working through to the most current. (Also, if assets and liabilities are listed in parallel columns instead
of at the top and bottom of a page, U.S. custom is to show assets on the left-hand side, whereas British
usage is to put the liabilities on the left.) Assets and liabilities plus equity are defined so that they must
always be equal. Thus we have the identity: assets - liabilities + owners' equity. Assets must be owned
by the enterprise and be of measurable value. There are three principal kinds of assets: current, fixed,
and other. Current assets consist of cash, including checking accounts in a bank; accounts receivable,
which are amounts owed to the firm by customers and are expected to be converted into cash in the rea-
sonably near future, usually in less than a year; and inventories intended for rather prompt sale. In the
South Nyanza example, the standing crop of sugarcane on the nucleus plantation is treated as an inven-
tory. Fixed assets include durable goods of relatively long life to be used by the enterprise in production
of goods and services rather than to be held for sale. Property, plant and equipment, and land are the
most common fixed assets. Often, as in the South Nyanza example, buildings
Table 5-2. Income Statement, Factory Capacity 90,000 Tons, South Nyanza
Item Project year
1 9 10 11
Revenue
Sale of sugar' - 227,378 244,351 265,487
Sale of molasses b - 9,194 9,880 10,734
Total revenue - 236,572 254,231 276,221
Cash operating expenses
Nucleus estate sugarcane production` - 11,173 9,657 10,241
Outgrowers' sugarcane purchased - 72,296 80,532 85,404
Molasses-transport and excise tax' - 5,412 5,815 6,318
Factory variable cost - 15,133 16,263 17,670
Factory overhead - 10,714 10,714 10,714
Total cost of goods sold - 114,728 122,981 130,347
Gross income (profit) - 121,844 131,250 145,847
Selling, general, and administrative expenses
125
Source: Same as table 5-1 (annex 20, table 11).
a. Valued at KSh3,050 per ton.
General administration 646 7,843 7,843 7,843
Training 37 267 267 267
Research 477 627 627 627
Management fee-nonvariable 1,121 1,210 1,210 1,210
Management fee-variable - 3,890 4,225 4,886
Total selling, general, andadministrative
expenses
2,281 13,837 14,172 14,833
Funds from operations (operating income before
depreciation)
(2,281) 108,007 117,078 131,041
Noncash operating expenses
Depreciation
Factory, general administration, research and
housing assets
748 24,172 24,172 24,172
Nucleus estate and outgrowers' assets 2,124 15,628 18,160 20,125
Other - - - -
Total noncash operating expenses 2,872 39,800 42,332 44,297
Total operating expenses 5,153 168,365 179,485 189,477
Operating income (profit) (5,153) 68,207 74,746 86,744
Nonoperating income and expenses
Interest received (-) ( 4,245) ( 4,770) ( 5,048)
Interest paid 4,575 19,738 17,008 14,545
Duties and indirect taxes - - - -
Subsidies ( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - )
Total nonoperating expenses 4,575 15,493 12,238 9,497
Income (profit) before income taxes (9,728) 52,714 62,508 77,247
Income taxes - - 8,618 34,761
Net income (profit) after taxes (9,728) 52,714 53,890 42,486
Table 5-2. Income Statement, Factory Capacity 90,000 Tons, South Nyanza
Item Project year
1 9 10 11
126
b. Valued at KSh350 per ton f.o.b. Mombasa.
c. Represents total cost of production of sugarcane on the nucleus estate.
d. Value of sugarcane purchased from outgrowers at KSh155 per ton.
e. Includes excise tax of KSh6 per ton and transport charges of KShl0 per ton from factory to dockside in Mombasa.
and equipment at cost are shown at their original cost, and then the accumulated depreciation allow-
ances are deducted. Land, by convention, is never depreciated. In the South Nyanza example, con-
struction in progress is shown separately as a fixed asset. A third kind of asset, called simply other
assets, is not needed in the South Nyanza balance sheet. This category would include investments in
other companies or long-term securities; deferred expenses, such as start-up expenses for a new
project, to be charged over several accounting periods; intangible assets such as patents and trade-
marks that have no physical existence but are of value to the enterprise; and miscellaneous addi-
tional assets peculiar to particular types of enterprises.
Liabilities are the claims against the assets of the enterprise that creditors hold-in other words, the
outstanding debts of the enterprise. There are two principal kinds. Current liabilities comprise debts
falling due within a year, such as accounts payable, short-term loans, and the current portion of long-
term loans and suppliers' credits that must be paid within the coming accounting period. Taxes payable
but not yet paid are also a current liability. Long-term liabilities are the debts that become payable
after one year from the date of the balance sheet. They may consist of medium- and long-term loans
and suppliers' credits.
Owners' equity consists of claims against the assets of the enterprise by its owners-in other words,
what is left after all liabilities have been deducted from total assets. In the case of public sector
enterprises, the owner is generally the government, although some public sector firms may have
nongovernment shareholders. Owner's equity generally takes the form of share capital paid in by
owners of the enterprise and retained earnings ("reserves" in British usage). Various other kinds of
reserves may also appear under equity that do not fit precisely into the description of capital and
retained earnings.
Income Statement
The income statement is a financial report that summarizes the revenues and expenses of an enterprise dur-
ing the accounting period. It is thus a statement that shows the results of the operation of the enterprise dur-
ing the period. Net income, or profit, is what is left after expenses incurred in production of the goods and
services delivered have been deducted from the revenues earned on the sale of these goods and services. In
other words, income (profit) = revenues - expenses. Thus, in the South Nyanza example in table 5-2, the
net income is the sales revenue less all expenses.
Revenue in most processing enterprises will come from sales of goods and services in the South
Nyanza example, sugar and molasses. Sales are shown net of sales discounts, returned goods, and
sales taxes.
127
The cash operating expenses list all the cash expenditures incurred to produce the output. Important
among these are expenditures for labor (which in the South Nyanza example is included in factory vari-
able cost) and for raw materials, in this case largely sugarcane purchased from outgrowers. Subtracting
these direct costs incurred in the production of the goods sold from the revenue gives the gross income
(or gross profit).
Selling, general, and administrative expenses are shown next. These include a number of overhead
items-in the South Nyanza example, general administration, training, research, and the management fee
to be paid the firm that will operate the sugar mill. Maintenance costs are often included as a separate
entry in this category.
We now reach the funds from operations, also called the operating income before depreciation. This
is the net benefit or cash flow of the enterprise that arises from operations. If the account is built on an
incremental basis, it is the incremental net benefit from operations. (It is not the incremental net benefit
or cash flow for the enterprise as a whole during each year over the life of the project, since we must
deduct the investment costs that come from the sources-and-uses-of-funds statement discussed in the
next section. This expense is shown as depreciation in the income statement. See the last section of this
chapter, on financial rate of return.) Funds from operations are sometimes also called the internally gen-
erated funds. Funds from operations becomes the first element in the sources-and-uses-of-funds state-
ment and is also the basis for transferring the net benefits of the enterprise to the summary project
accounts from which the estimated economic return of the project is derived. Before this is done, how-
ever, any element in the revenues, cash operating expenses, and selling, general, and administrative
expenses that is a direct transfer payment or that has an economic value different from its market price
must be omitted or revalued along the lines given in chapter 7.
Next we list the noncash operating expenses, of which the primary element is depreciation. In
accounting, depreciation refers to the process of allocating a portion of the original cost of a fixed asset
to each accounting period so that the value is gradually used up, or written off, during the course of the
useful life of the asset. Allowance may be made for the resale value of the fixed asset-its residual value
at the end of its useful life to the enterprise. The most common depreciation method is "straight-line
depreciation," which allocates an equal portion of the value of the fixed asset to each accounting period;
in contrast, various methods of accelerated depreciation allocate more of the depreciation to earlier
accounting periods than to later. The principal other noncash operating expense is amortization, the
gradual writing off of intangible assets such as royalties or patents.
Deducting the noncash operating expenses gives us operating income (or operating profit), also called
the profit before interest and taxes. Nonoperating income and expense are subtracted next. When an
enterprise will receive interest payments, as is the case of the South Nyanza example, it is convenient to
include interest received at this point, so that all interest transactions will appear at one point in the
income statement. Interest received is thus shown as a "negative expense." In most enterprises, interest
paid is among the most important nonoperating income and expense items. Duties and indirect taxes
are also included among the nonoperating income and expenses unless they have been allowed for else-
where. Duties, for instance, may appropriately be included among the expenses. In the South Nyanza
example, duties on imported machinery were included in the purchase price of the machinery and thus
were not shown separately under this entry. Indirect taxes also may not appear separately in income
statements. In the South Nyanza example, we noted earlier that sales taxes were deducted before enter-
ing the sale revenues in accord with normal practice. In effect, the enterprise is simply acting on behalf
of the government when it collects a sales tax, and the amount of the tax does not enter the income state-
ment. In the South Nyanza example, the excise tax on molasses also was not shown separately but is
properly included as part of the expenses. Among the indirect taxes that might be shown are franchise
128
taxes and a value added tax-a tax levied as a proportion of the increased value generated at each stage in
the processing and handling of a product up to the final sale. Finally appear subsidies. Again, subsidies
may not appear at this point in the income statement. They may be incorporated elsewhere (for example,
in the price that an enterprise pays for a subsidized input), or they may be shown as a revenue (as in the
case of export incentive payments).
Thus we reach income (profit) before income taxes. Now, deducting the income taxes, we obtain the
final entry, the net income (profit) after taxes. This is the return to the owners of the enterprise and is
available either for distribution to them or for reinvestment in the enterprise.
Financial accounts must be linked to all other accounts. As the accountants put it, accounts must be
"articulated." We noted that the funds from operations in the income statement becomes the first ele-
ment in the sources-and-uses-of-funds statement. The income statement is also a bridge between succes-
sive balance sheets. The net income, after payment of dividends to shareholders, is transferred to the
balance sheet as retained earnings and thereby increases the owners' equity. To trace this transaction, a
reconciliation statement, such as a retained earnings statement, would be required to show any distribu-
tion of earnings as dividends before the retained earnings are added to the owners' equity in the balance
sheet. In the South Nyanza example, it was assumed that all earnings would be retained by the enterprise
throughout the sixteen years for which the projected accounts were prepared. Looking at years 9 and 10
reproduced in tables 5-1 and 5-2, we can see the articulation between the balance sheet and the income
statement. The net income in year 10 given in the income statement in table 5-2 is KSh53,890 thousand.
Adding this amount to the retained earnings at the end of year 9, shown in the projected balance sheets
in table 5-1 to be -KSh43,355 thousand, gives a retained earnings in year 10 of KSh10,535 thousand ( -
43,355 + 53,890 = 10,535). Table 5-3 shows projected retained earn-ings statements for the South
Nyanza example. Reconciliation accounts are uncommon for government-owned operating entities that
retain all earnings in the enterprise.
Sources-and-Uses-of-Funds Statement
The sources-and-uses-of-funds statement highlights the movements of investment funds over the life of the
project. It is a vehicle for measuring the total flow of financial resources into and out of an enterprise dur-
ing an accounting period and for projecting this total flow into the future. The sources-and-uses-of-funds
statement is also called the sources-and-applications-of-funds statement, the funds statement, the statement
of change in working capital, or sometimes simply the cash flow, since the flow of funds is reflected in the
final analysis by changes in the cash position of an enterprise. This accounting definition of cash flow,
however, differs from that used in project analysis to measure the return on the resources engaged in the
project.
The most common sources of funds are outlined in the first part of table 5-4. The first of these is funds
from operations (or the operating income before depreciation). When the accounts are laid out fol-
lowing the pattern given here, this can be taken directly from the income statement as illustrated in the
South Nyanza example. Often, however, the funds from operations does not show as a separate item in a
set of accounts and will have to be constructed by adding depreciation and other noncash charges back to
the operating income.
129
To the funds from operations are added the increase in equity, the long-term loans received, and the
increase (decrease) in short-term loans. In the South Nyanza example, equity and loans come from a
wide variety of sources. The government of Kenya contributes part of the equity financing that, in turn, it is
to obtain from the proceeds of a World Bank loan, and part of the equity comes from a private firm. Long-
term loans come from a variety of international financing institutions and from suppliers' credits. The cap-
ital structure of the firm is such that it does not need short-term loans in the years we have chosen as illus-
trative examples,
Source: Same as table 5-2.
but in many agricultural processing enterprises short-term loans would be needed to enable the enterprise
to carry inventories of raw materials purchased at harvest time and stocks of processed goods that will be
sold during the year.
Interest received is the next source of funds; in the South Nyanza example, it comes from short-term
loans made to outgrowers. The increase (decrease) in accounts payable and other short-term liabilities
(except current portion of long-term loans received) follows. An enterprise might obtain part of its funds
by increasing the amounts purchased on terms from its suppliers or by postponing payment to its suppli-
ers. If it reduces the amount purchased on terms or the average time it takes to pay its suppliers from one
year to the next, this would cause a decrease in accounts payable and a reduction of the funds available.
Because we are looking, in general, at an expanding firm that will be increasing its accounts payable in
the normal course of widening the scope of operations under the project, an increase in accounts payable
will usually be found in the sources-and-uses-of-funds statement. When a decrease occurs, however, it is
convenient to enter it as a "negative source" in the accounts rather than as an additional line among the
uses of funds. In some agricultural projects, the processing enterprise may be expected to operate at a
loss to increase the income of farmers. If so, the firm may expect direct subsidies to be one source of its
funds.
Among the major uses of funds (second part of table 5-4) in the projected sources-and-uses-of-funds
statements for a project with an expanding processing enterprise will likely be the increase (decrease) in
gross fixed assets. This item shows the investment in fixed assets during each year; in the South Nyanza
example, this is principally investment in new milling capacity. In other cases an enterprise may
decrease fixed assets by selling them. If this transaction exceeds the purchase of fixed assets, the net
result would most easily be shown as a "negative use" among the uses of funds rather than as a separate
entry for the proceeds from the sales of fixed assets among the sources of funds.
Table 5-3. Retained Earnings Statements, South Nyanza Sugar Company
Item Project year
1 9 10 11
Net income (9,728) 52,714 53,890 42,486
Dividends - - - -
Increase in retained earnings (9,728) 52,714 53,890 42,486
Accumulated retained earnings (9,728) (43,355) 10,535 53,021
130
A major item in the projected sources-and-uses-of-funds statements for an enterprise included in an
agricultural project will most likely be repayment of long-term loans. (Recall that among the sources of
funds shown is the increase or decrease in short-term loans. Since this is shown on a net basis, there is
no need for a separate entry among the uses of funds for repayment of short-term loans.) Only the prin-
cipal repayment is included under the repayment of long-term loans. Interest payments on long-term
loans and interest payments on short-term loans are segregated and shown separately. (In the South
Nyanza example, the analyst assumed that the repayment of the short-term loans, shown as a decrease in
short-term loans among the sources of funds, would be made at the very beginning of the accounting
period; hence, there is no short-term interest shown in the account for year 9.) An enterprise that has
borrowed for expansion, such as the South Nyanza Sugar Company, may have to pay loan commitment
fees for undisbursed amounts of loans that have been made to it.
The increase (decrease) in inventories shows the change in the inventory position of the enterprise.
Because most projected accounts are for expanding enterprises, it is likely that this entry will reflect an
increase in inventories; the entry is therefore included among the uses of funds. Sometimes, however,
there may be a decrease in inventories. Rather than have an additional line under sources of funds, it is
convenient to treat a reduction in inventory as a negative use. In the South Nyanza example, the major
inventory is the standing cane crop on the nucleus
Table 5-4. Sources and Uses of Funds, South Nyanza Sugar Company
Item Project year
1 9 10 11
Sources
Funds from operations (operating
income before depreciation)
( 2,281) 108,007 117,078 131,041
Increase in equity
Government 54,150 - - -
Mehta Group 2,850 - - -
Total increase in equity 57,000 - - -
Long-term loans received
World Bank - - - -
Suppliers' credit 32,700 - - -
European Investment Bank 33,400 - - -
Exim Bank 7,900 - - -
East African Development Bank 6,070 - - -
Total long-term loans received 80,070 - - -
Increase (decrease) in short-term
loans
- ( 19,000) - -
Total increase (decrease)in short-term loans - ( 19,000) - -
131
Interest received - 4,245 4,770 5,048
Increase (decrease) in accounts payable and
other short-term liabilities (except current
portion of long-term loans received)
- - - -
Subsidies - - - -
Total sources 134,789 93,252 121,848 136,089
Uses
Increase (decrease) in gross fixedassets' 118,986 22,445 10,628 18,064
Repayment of long-term loans
World Bank - 6,563 6,563 6,563
Suppliers' credit - 13,431 13,431 13,381
European Investment Bank - 10,956 10,956 10,956
Exim Bank - - - -
East African Development Bank - 2,846 2,846 2,846
Total repayment of long-term loans - 33,796 33,796 33,746
Interest payments on long-term loans
World Bank - 11,370 10,681 9,992
Suppliers' credit - 3,482 2,411 1,607
European Investment Bank 2,004 3,946 3,289 2,632
Exim Bank 711 - - -
East African Development Bank 668 940 627 314
Interest payments on short-term loans - - - -
Total interest payments 3,383 19,738 17,008 14,545
Loan commitment fees
World Bank 984 - - -
Exim Bank 69 - - -
East African Development Bank 139 - - -
Total loan commitment fees 1,192 - - -
Table 5-4. Sources and Uses of Funds, South Nyanza Sugar Company
Item Project year
1 9 10 11
132
Source: Same as table 5-1 (annex 20, table 13).
a. Includes investment in the factory, agriculture, administration, housing, and company-related research.
b. Includes spare parts, tools, and operating materials.
plantation. As indicated in table 5-4, this inventory does decrease during years 9 through 11-thus it is
shown as a negative entry in the account. The increase (decrease) in accounts receivable appears
next. If a firm is expanding, it will likely be extending credit to an increasing number of customers, and
its accounts receivable will expand. But if it is able to reduce the average length between delivery and
payment or be more restrictive in extending credit, its accounts receivable may decrease during the year
and be shown as a negative use. The increase (decrease) in other short-term assets except cash
would allow for changes in holdings of such short-term assets as notes, certificates of deposit, or trea-
sury bills.
Total debt service 4,575 53,534 50,804 48,291
Increase (decrease) in inventories
Standing cane crop 3,428 ( 827) ( 1,365) ( 2,007)
Other inventories b 1,525 - - -
Total change in inventories 4,953 ( 827) ( 1,365) ( 2,007)
Increase (decrease) in accounts
receivable 2,952 2,295 845 424
Increase (decrease) in other short-term assets
except cash
-
Income taxes paid - - 8,618 34,761
Dividends paid - - - -
Adjustments for items not
covered above - - - -
Total uses 131,466 77,447 69,530 99,533
Net funds flow
Current surplus (deficit) 3,323 15,805 52,318 36,556
Opening cash balance - 1,436 17,241 69,559
Cumulative surplus (deficit) 3,323 17,241 69,559 106,115
Table 5-4. Sources and Uses of Funds, South Nyanza Sugar Company
Item Project year
1 9 10 11
133
Income taxes paid are an obvious use of funds for an enterprise, and there may be dividends paid by
the enterprise to its equity owners.
Finally, an entry for adjustments for items not covered above comprises those items that for various rea-
sons do not fit well into one of the pattern categories. Any items of substance in this entry should be
fully disclosed in footnotes to the accounts.
What remains is the net funds flow, of which the first element is the current surplus (deficit). Adding the
opening cash balance to the surplus or deficit gives the cumulative surplus (deficit). If the projected
accounts indicate a cumulative cash deficit-a deficiency of funds-then some arrangements will have to
be made to sustain the enterprise during this period. It may be necessary to reduce planned dividends,
arrange for additional loans or equity, or in some other way plan to provide the necessary funds.
Projecting the sources-and-uses-of-funds statements enables the analyst to be certain that the available
financing for the enterprise will be sufficient to cover the investment program-including increases in
inventories, other permanent working capital, and all cash expenditures for operations-and to cover obliga-
tions of interest and the principal repayment on all outstanding loans. Projecting the sources-and-uses-of-
funds statements year by year makes it possible to check the timing of inflows from various sources to be
certain that these inflows will be available as the need arises. Credit agencies can assess the total flow of
funds from operations before debt service to determine how adequately the debt service is covered. Own-
ers will be looking at the projected flow of funds after debt service to judge what their returns will be. For
private investors, the funds generated after debt service and the projected dividends will be important ele-
ments in their decisions about whether to participate in the project.
Financial Ratios
From the projected financial statements for an enterprise, the financial analyst is able to calculate financial
ratios that allow him to form a judgment about the efficiency of the enterprise, its return on key aggregates,
and its creditworthiness. We will discuss several of the most significant of these ratios, but there are many
others that financial analysts use and that are particularly appropriate for specific kinds of enterprises. For
each ratio we will discuss, the means of computation is summarized in table 5-5. Two examples of the
application of the ratios are given in the table, based on years 10 and 11 of the South Nyanza Sugar Com-
pany accounts reproduced in tables 5-1, 5-2, and 5-4.
In general, it is not possible to give ranges within which financial ratios should fall. Instead, the analyst
will have to form a judgment about whether the ratio indicates an acceptable situation for the kind of enter-
prise that is the subject of the projected accounts. For more information about the use of financial ratios,
the project analyst may consult a standard accounting text or Upper (1979), from which this discussion
draws heavily.
The ratios given here have all been computed using the figures at the end of each year. This weights the
analysis toward the last months of operations; as long as clarity and consistency are maintained, this usu-
ally poses no problem. If the activities of an enterprise are highly seasonal, as is often the case in agricul-
tural projects, calculating the ratios on a year-end basis could easily be misleading. In that instance, the
analyst may want to examine the pattern of seasonal fluctuations within the accounting period and make a
judgment about whether the seasonal variation would affect his conclusions about the efficiency, return, or
creditworthiness of the proposed enterprise.
Efficiency ratios
134
The first group of ratios (first part of table 5-5) enables the analyst to form a judgment about the efficiency
of the proposed enterprise. They provide measurements of asset use and expense control.
Inventory turnover measures the number of times that an enterprise turns over its stock each year and
indicates the amount of inventory required to support a given level of sales. The ratio can be computed
in several ways. In the form given here, the cost of goods sold is divided by the inventory. In the South
Nyanza example in table 5-5, for year 10 this amounts to 3.94 times a year. In agricultural processing
industries, this ratio may be low compared with that of many manufacturing enterprises; this lower ratio
reflects the highly seasonal nature of agricultural processing. The inventory turnover can also relate to
the average length of time a firm keeps its inventory on hand. In the South Nyanza example, the firm has
about ninety-three days of inventory on hand at the end of year 10. We determine this by dividing the
days in the year by the inventory turnover ratio (365 _ 3.94 = 93). We could also state this in months-the
firm has about three months of inventory on hand-by dividing the months of the year by the inventory
turnover ratio (123.94 = 3). A low turnover ratio may mean that a company with large stocks on hand may
find it difficult to sell its product, and this may be an indicator that the management is not able to control its
inventory effectively. A low turnover ratio may, however, also mean that large stocks must be held to
ensure that production schedules are met. A low ratio means a sizeable amount of funds are tied up. A high
turnover ratio may mean that the enterprise is able to recover its inventory investment rapidly and that
there is a good demand for its products. On the one hand, when the ratio is much higher than the industry
average, it may mean that the enterprise is very efficient in managing its inventories. On the other hand, it
may mean that the enterprise is starved of funds and cannot afford to maintain a sufficient inventory; as a
result, it may be forced to forgo sales opportunities.
The operating ratio is obtained by dividing the operating expenses by
Table 5-5. Financial Ratios, Sout Nyanza Sugar Company
Ratio Project Year
10 11
Inventory turnover =Cost of goods
sold/Inventory
122,981 /(24.181 + 7.000) = 3.94 130,347 /(22,174 + 7,000)= 4.47
Operating ratio (percent) = Operat-
ing expenses/Revenue
179,485/254,231 x 100 = 71 189,477/276221 x 100 = 69
Return on sales (percent) =Net
Income/Revenue
53,890/254,231 x 100 = 21 42,486/276,221 x 100 = 15
Return on equity (percent)= Net
Income/ Equity
53,890/207,035 x 100 = 26 42,486/276,221 x 100 = 17
Return on assets (percent)= Operat-
ing income/ Assets
74,746/379,321 x 100 = 20 86,744/388,061 x 100 = 22
Current ratio =Current Assets/Cur-
rent Liabilities
148,787/33,746 = 4.41 183,879/20363 = 9.03
135
the revenue. In the South Nyanza example, for year 10 the operating ratio is 71 percent. The operating ratio
is an indicator of the ability of the management to control operating costs, including administrative
expenses. This ratio is most useful when operations of the same enterprise are compared year by year or
when the enterprise is compared with similar industries. If the ratio is increasing, it may mean that the cost
of raw materials is increasing, that the management is having problems controlling labor costs, that there is
waste in the production process, or, when sales decline, that expenses have not been trimmed proportion-
ately. It may also mean that there is substantial competition and that it is necessary to reduce prices. If there
is uncertainty about whether the increase in the ratio is due to increasing costs or decreasing sales prices,
the answer can usually be found by taking the operating expenses and dividing that by the company sales
volume on a unit basis (for instance, the number of tons of refined sugar sold in the South Nyanza exam-
ple). In general, the larger the capital investment is relative to sales volume, the lower will be the operating
ratio. If a company has made a large investment, it must be able to recover it with a high cash flow, which
can only be accomplished generally through a low operating ratio. If an enterprise has a high operating
ratio, say in the neighborhood of 90 percent, it may have difficulty making an adequate return. If it is
abnormally low, say 50 percent, then some costs have likely been omitted or underestimated.
Income ratios
The long-term financial viability of an enterprise depends on the funds it can generate for reinvestment
and growth and on its ability to provide a satisfactory return on investment. We will look at three ratios
(second part of table 5-5) that can be used to judge net income or profitability-return on sales, return on
equity, and return on assets. Because of their importance in project analysis and because they are some-
what more difficult to calculate, we will defer to the next section consideration of three other income
measures-the rate of return on all resources engaged, the rate of return on equity before income taxes,
and the rate of return on equity after taxes.
Income ratios are calculated on a year-to-year basis and may be noted in the projected statements for an
enterprise. That will provide some idea of the changing income ratios over the life of the project. If a com-
pany is granted a tax holiday for the first years of its operations, it is necessary to forecast its accounts
through the end of the tax holiday period to determine the full effect of taxes on the company.
Debt-equity ratio =Long-term liabil-
ities/(Long-term liabilities + equity)
138,540 /(138,540+207,035) =
0.40
118,177(118,177 +
249,521)=0.32
Equity /(Long-term liabilities +
equity)
207,035 /(138,540 + 207,035)=.60 249,521/(118,177 +
249,521)=.68
Therefore, Debt-equity ratio = 40:60 32:68
Debt service coverage ratio =
(Net income + depreciation+interest
paid)/Interest paid+repayment of
long-term loans
(53,890 +
24,172+18,160+17,008)/
17,008+33,796 = 2.23
(42,486 +
24,172+20,125+14,545)/14,545
+ 33,746 = 2.10
Table 5-5. Financial Ratios, Sout Nyanza Sugar Company
Ratio Project Year
10 11
136
The return on sales shows how large an operating margin the enterprise has on its sales. This is determined
by dividing the net income by the revenue. In the South Nyanza example, the return on sales in year 10 is
21 percent. The lower the return on sales-hence, the operating margin-the greater the sales that must be
made to make an adequate return on investment. The ratio is most useful when comparing companies in
the same sector or industry or when analyzing the results of past operations and comparing projections for
future expansions. Comparisons among industries may have little meaning because of the widely varying
structure of different industries.
One of the most important ratios is the return on equity. It is obtained by dividing the net income after taxes
by the equity. In the South Nyanza example, for year 10 this is 26 percent. This ratio is frequently used
because it is one of the main criteria by which owners are guided in their investment decisions. It can also
be used to weigh incentives for individual owners if the enterprise is to be in the private sector.
The earning power of the assets of an enterprise is vital to its success. A principal means of judging this is
to determine the return on assets, which is the operating income divided by the assets. In the South Nyanza
example for year 10, this is 20 percent. The return on assets is the financial ratio that comes closest to the
rate of return on all resources engaged (for more detail, see the next section). A crude rule of thumb is that,
once the enterprise is operating at normal capacity, the return on assets should exceed the cost of capital in
the society as measured by, say, the bank lending rate to industries-provided that there is no interest sub-
sidy. Public sector enterprises usually should also be able to realize a return of this order, since if they do
not, it is evidence that public funds would be better employed in other enterprises.
Creditworthiness ratios
The purpose of creditworthiness ratios (final part of table 5-5) is to enable a judgment about the degree of
financial risk inherent in the enterprise before undertaking a project. They are also a basis for the project
analyst to estimate what financing an enterprise will need and what will be suitable terms. Some firms,
especially those in the private sector, attempt to finance their projects with as much debt as possible so they
may realize maximum return on their own equity contribution. This can be risky, especially in an unstable
industry or in an economy subject to substantial business cycles. An enterprise should be financed in such
a way that it is able to survive adverse circumstances without emergency measures.
The current ratio is the current assets divided by the current liabilities. In the South Nyanza example, for
year 10 the ratio is 4.41. From the standpoint of the credit agency, the current ratio is an indication of the
margin that the enterprise has for its current assets to shrink in value before it faces difficulty in meeting
its current obligations. In the South Nyanza example, in year 10-even if the current assets are worth only
one-fourth the value given in the accounts-the sugar mill could still pay its creditors from these assets.
A rule of thumb sometimes applied to the current ratio is that it should be around 2. As with all rules of
thumb, this figure should be used with caution. If the company has a rapid inventory turnover and can eas-
ily collect its receivables, the current ratio can be lower. If the ratio drops to near 1, then the enterprise will
be in a potentially unstable position. If the ratio is low, it may mean that the enterprise is undercapitalized,
and consideration will have to be given to providing more capital, either through increased equity or more
long-term debt. Faced with a low current ratio, an enterprise will have to exist on a day-to-day basis, and
thus it may have to adopt uneconomic practices. Its products may have to be sold at lower prices to receive
payment in cash, or it may lose sales to competitors that can offer better credit terms. It may not be able to
carry sufficient inventories to meet its sales needs. Inventories of raw material may be so low that its pro-
137
duction efficiency is impaired. It may have to buy from importers in high-cost, small lots instead of buying
large, low-priced shipments of inputs direct from overseas suppliers, and it may be forced to buy on credit
instead of being able to take advantage of cash discounts. With a low current ratio, an enterprise may be
forced to defer preventive maintenance, and this drives up costs later.
An important financial ratio for credit agencies is the debt-equity ratio. The amount of equity in an enter-
prise can be described as a "cushion" by which a company can absorb initial losses or weather bad times.
Because debt carries a fixed rate of interest and fixed repayment of principal, too much debt may saddle a
company with obligations it cannot meet when conditions are unfavorable. (A better measure of the cush-
ion is the debt service coverage ratio, discussed below.)
The debt-equity ratio is calculated by dividing long-term liabilities by the sum of long-term liabilities plus
equity to obtain the proportion that long-term liabilities are to total debt and equity, and then by dividing
equity by the sum of the long-term liabilities plus equity to obtain the proportion that equity is of the total
debt and equity. These are then compared in the form of a ratio. In the case of the South Nyanza example,
for year 10 the long-term liabilities divided by the sum of the long-term liabilities plus the equity is 0.40.
The equity divided by the sum of the long-term liabilities plus equity is 0.60. The debt-equity ratio, there-
fore, is 40 to 60. This may be interpreted as saying that, of the total capitalization in the enterprise, 40 per-
cent is debt and 60 percent is equity. There is no good rule of thumb for the debt-equity ratio. In newly
established enterprises, equity ideally should exceed the debt, but in many developing countries equity
capital may be scarce, and such a conservative rule may not be sensible given the national objectives. If the
enterprise is in the public sector, with a high proportion of the debt held by public sector agencies, the debt-
equity ratio may lose some of its importance because of the presumption that, if the company falls on hard
times, it will be possible to renegotiate some portion of the debt held by public agencies. In agricultural
projects, enterprises are likely to need a strong equity base because they process or sell commodities that
may sharply fluctuate in price and that are subject to adverse weather conditions or a fall in crop or live-
stock production.
The most comprehensive ratio of creditworthiness is the debt service coverage ratio. This is the net
income plus depreciation plus interest paid divided by interest paid plus repayment of long-term loans.
In the case of the South Nyanza example, for year 10 the debt service coverage ratio is 2.23.
The debt service coverage ratio could also be calculated on a before-tax basis, in which case it is simply
the funds from operations divided by the interest plus repayment of long-term loans. In the case of the
South Nyanza example, for year 10 (not shown in table 5-5) this would be 2.30 [117,078 _ (17,008 +
33,796) = 2.30]. Financial analysts who use the after-tax basis argue that taxation is a routine and
unavoidable aspect of doing business. But analysts who prefer the before-tax basis argue that debt ser-
vice coverage should be seen as the ability of funds from operations to satisfy debt obligations before
such tax shields as depreciation and other noncash charges are applied to reduce taxable profits. The
viewpoint of the analyst will be affected by whether the company is in the public or private sector.
Again, it is hard to give a rule of thumb for the debt service coverage ratio. One way of looking at it is that,
in the case of the South Nyanza Sugar Company in year 10, the net income plus depreciation plus interest
paid could drop by half and the enterprise could still meet its debt obligations. The analyst would have to
look at each of the elements making up the ratio and form a judgment about how likely it is that any ele-
ment could vary from the projected amount. A declining trend in the debt service coverage ratio in a pro-
jected account might indicate overly ambitious expansion. A persistently low debt service coverage ratio
might indicate that consideration should be given to changing the credit terms to lengthen the repayment
period.
138
The debt service coverage ratio interpreted alone can be misleading. There are many requirements that a
successful enterprise must satisfy in addition to simply covering its debt service obligations. A full analysis
of the sources and uses of funds for the enterprise is needed. The true buffer for debt service is only the
pool of funds remaining after meeting all requirements for maintenance and improvement of current oper-
ations and orderly expansion.
Financial Rate of Return
A useful financial measure that is very important in project analysis is the financial rate of return. We will
discuss three variations that differ only in the standpoint from which the calculations are made-the finan-
cial rate of return to all resources engaged, the financial rate of return to equity, and the financial rate of
return to equity after taxes.
Calculations of rates of return are based on an incremental net benefit flow. This is the "cash flow" that is
meant by references to discounted cash flow measures of project worth such as the net present worth, the
internal rate of return, or the net benefit-investment ratio (all are discussed in detail in chapters 9 and 10).
In this section we will discuss only derivation of the incremental net benefit; the discussion of discounting
and of the measures based on incremental net benefit flows will be found in chapter 9.
In rate of return calculations we want to determine the actual cash inflows and outflows of the project each
year and incorporate them in the incremental net benefit. Noncash receipts and expenditures are omitted
(except for items in kind such as those we discussed in chapter 4 in connection with the farm budgets).
Thus, the year an investment is made it reduces the net benefit for that year; when a revenue is realized, it
too is reflected in the same year it is received. Because we are preparing the projected accounts over the
life of the project, it is unnecessary to include depreciation (which is the major noncash expenditure in
most accounts) to allow on an annual basis for the capital value consumed during the year.
From the projected income statements and sources-and-uses-of-funds statements for an enterprise as we
have laid them out, we can determine the incremental net benefit streams we need to calculate the financial
rate of return. The general format is given in table 5-6 and is illustrated by the South Nyanza Sugar Project
accounts examined in tables 5-2 and 5-4. All the relevant entries are included in table 5-6 for illustrative
purposes, even if the South Nyanza example did not use a particular entry. The entries appear in the order
they are found when consulting
Table 5-6. Derivation of Incremental Net Benefit, South Nyanza Sugar Company
Item Without
Project
Project year
1 9 10 11
Inflow
Revenue - - - 236,572 254,231 276,221
Subsidies - -
Total inflow - - - 236,572 - 254,231 276,221
Outflow
Cash operating expenses - - 114,728 122,981 130,347
139
Selling, general, and adminis-
trative expenses
- 2,281 13,837 14,172 14,833
[Funds from operations] - [( 2,281) 108,007 117,078 131,041]
Duties and indirect taxes - - - - - -
Increase (decrease) in gross
fixed assets
- 118,986 22,445 10,628 18,064
Increase (decrease) in invento-
ries
- 4,953 ( 827) (1,365) ( 2,007)
Total outflow - 126,220 150,183 146,416 161,237
Net benefit before financing
Total - (126,220) 86,389 107,815 114,984
Incremental - (126,220) 86,389 107,815 114,984
Financing
Long-term loans received - 80,070 - - -
Increase (decrease) in short-
term loans - - (19,000) - -
Interest received - - 4,245 4,770 5,048
Increase (decrease) in accounts
payable and other short-term
liabilities
- - - - -
Repayment of long-term loans - - (33,796) (33,796) (33,746)
Interest payments - ( 3,383) (19,738) (17,008) (14,545)
Loan commitment fees - ( 1,192) - - -
Decrease (increase) in accounts
receivable
- ( 2,952) ( 2,295) ( 845) ( 424)
Decrease (increase) in other
hort-term assets except cash
- - - - -
Net financing - 72,543 ( 70,584) ( 46,879) ( 43,667)
Net benefit after financing
Table 5-6. Derivation of Incremental Net Benefit, South Nyanza Sugar Company
Item Without
Project
Project year
1 9 10 11
140
Source: Tables 5-2 and 5-4.
a. Calculated from the incremental net benefit before financing. For details about methodology of the computation, see chapter 9.
b. Calculated from the incremental net benefit after financing.
c. Calculated from the incremental net benefit after financing and taxes.
the first the income statements and then the sources-and-uses-of-funds state-ments. Only the rate of return
is usually reported. Were the table itself to be used in a project report, it might be desirable to group the
entries so that related items are not separated.
The first financial rate of return to be determined is the financial rate o f return to all resources engaged,
which is a measurement of the financial viability of an enterprise. It is based on the incremental net benefit
before financing. In the South Nyanza example, the rate of return to all resources engaged, assuming a
thirty-year life for the project, is 14 percent. When all the elements that enter into the derivation of the
incremental net benefit before financing are revalued to reflect economic values (as discussed in chapter 7)
and any transfer payments are taken out, the incremental net benefit before financing becomes the basis for
aggregating the net economic benefit from the enterprise and carrying it into the economic accounts for the
project.
To obtain the incremental net benefit before financing, we begin with the revenue and direct subsidies
received; these are taken from the income statements, which total to give the total inflow. The first two
entries among the outflows are the cash operating expenses and the selling, general, and administrative
expenses, also taken from the income statements. (At this point, if there were no direct subsidies, we
would have the funds from operations; an alternative calculation of financial rates of return would there-
fore be to begin with the funds from operations, add any direct subsidies, and deduct any of the other
elements of the outflow that are relevant.) Continuing with the outflow entries, we add duties and indi-
rect taxes as shown in the income statements and add or subtract, as appropriate, the increase (decrease)
in gross fixed assets and the increase (decrease) in inventories as shown in the sources-and-uses-of-funds
Total - ( 53,677) 15,805 60,936 71,317
Incremental - ( 53,677) 15,805 60,936 71,317
Income taxation
Income taxes paid - - - 8,618 34,761
Net benefit after financing and
taxes
Total - ( 53,677) 15,805 52,318 36,556
Incremental - ( 53,677) 15,805 52,318 36,556
Financial rate of return to all resources engaged = 14 percent. Financial rate of return to equity before income
taxes = 16 percent. Financial rate of return to equity after taxes = 13 percent`
Table 5-6. Derivation of Incremental Net Benefit, South Nyanza Sugar Company
Item Without
Project
Project year
1 9 10 11
141
statements. The result is the total outflow. Subtracting the total outflow from the total inflow provides
the total net benefit before financing. Subtracting what would be the net benefit without the project
(which, in the South Nyanza example, is nothing), we now reach the incremental net benefit before
financing.
The financial rate of return to equity before income taxes will be an important consideration to any poten-
tial private investors. It is also of concern if the enterprise is to be a financially responsible public sector
enterprise that must demonstrate the good use it makes of resources put at its disposal. The return to
equity before income taxes will help the project analyst judge the attractiveness of the proposed enter-
prise to potential investors and to determine if the financing plan will give rise to undue windfall profits.
It may also help in deciding what special tax holiday or other exemption may be justified. For the South
Nyanza example, the return on equity before income taxes is 16 percent. To determine the return to
equity before income taxes, we need to calculate the incremental net benefit after financing, and to reach
this we add or subtract the financing elements shown in the sources-and-uses-of-funds statements, indi-
cating the sign in the account as we proceed. Note the inclusion of accounts payable and accounts receiv-
able as part of the financing. Because a decrease in accounts receivable increases the funds available to
the enterprise, it is decreases that are added to obtain the net financing. The heading on these entries has
been reversed from that in the sources-and-uses-of-funds statements to indicate that decreases are to be
added and increases subtracted. Finding the algebraic total gives the net financing, and subtracting that
from the net benefit before financing gives the total net benefit after financing. Subtracting the without-
project net benefit after financing (in this case, nothing), we reach the incremental net benefit after
financing.
Finally, we determine the financial rate of return to equity after taxes, which is based on the incremental
net benefit after financing and taxes. For the South Nyanza example, it is 13 percent. To determine the
incremental net benefit after financing and taxes, we deduct income taxes from the net benefit after financ-
ing and subtract the without-project amount (in this case, nothing). This is the flow that will accrue to the
equity owners after the enterprise has met its tax obligation. It is, of course, this flow that is of most con-
cern to potential investors, and so the rate of return to equity after taxes is an important measure on which
to base judgments about the incentives to invest in an enterprise.
142
6. ANALYZING PROJECT EFFECTS ON GOVERNMENT RECEIPTS AND EXPENDI-
TURES
Impl ementi ng an agri cul tural proj ect has obvious implications for government receipts and expen-
ditures. The amount and timing of additional government receipts generated by a project and the effect
of the project on government expenditures should be traced by the analyst. This will permit the govern-
ment to plan for the capital investment in the project and to ensure that sufficient government funds will
be available to meet the recurrent cost of the project. By tracing the foreign exchange flow generated by
the project, the analyst can estimate the effect of the project on the balance of payments. The proportion
of the cost and the proportion of the new benefit to be recovered by the government from the project
beneficiaries should be estimated. It may be desirable, too, to determine how the cost of the project
could equitably be allocated among the various groups that will benefit from it.
The primary issue analysis of government receipts and expenditures addresses is whether the project will
generate sufficient funds to reimburse the government for the resources expended on the project. The anal-
ysis should treat the government as a distinct financial entity and should focus on inflows and outflows to
and from governmental budgetary and extrabudgetary accounts to anticipate the amount and timing of
project needs from government sources. Such an analysis permits careful consideration of the implications
a project has for government finance to meet not only the initial investment needs of the project but also its
recurrent cost. Too often inadequate attention is paid to recurrent cost, and then budgetary stringencies
starve a project for funds-greatly reducing its efficiency, leading to a waste of resources, and dashing the
expectations of farmers and others who participate.
It is common in agricultural projects that user charges or benefit taxes assessed on the project beneficiaries
are insufficient both to recover the capital investment in the project and to pay all the operation and main-
tenance costs of the project. This might be the case in an irrigation project, for example, in which water
charges are less than the amount the government incurs for capital repayment and operating the system or
in which a program to increase production makes no charge for the services of agricultural extension
agents. Sometimes other revenues arising from the project will be sufficient to reimburse the government
for its costs. Such might be the case if the project increased agricultural production that is destined for
export and is subject to an export tax. In many instances, however, not enough of the benefit from the
project will be captured through charges or by the workings of the fiscal system to reimburse the govern-
ment fully. In these instances, the difference will have to come from taxes levied elsewhere in the economy
or through inflation. Whether this is to be the practice or not is a policy decision; one consideration may be
that poor farmers are entitled to some income transfer through an agricultural project. The point of the
analysis is not to say that the project beneficiaries must pay enough to cover all the costs of the project,
both capital and recurrent. It is to say that the fiscal effects of the project need to be traced so that a con-
scious decision can be made about reimbursement of cost incurred by the government.
Because of problems associated with budgetary stringencies, in many projects in which not all the costs are
to be recovered from charges levied on project beneficiaries, the beneficiaries may still be charged enough
to pay the recurrent cost of the project. This frees the project from dependence on year-to-year budget
appropriations that may be subject to sudden cuts and decrease the efficiency of project implementation.
The importance of anticipating future recurrent expenditure goes much beyond the individual project anal-
ysis, of course. Any one project-unless it is very large relative to the government budget-would not impose
a serious burden for recurrent expenditure. All development investments together, however, may well lead
to significant recurrent government expenditure. As a general rule of thumb, in developing countries capi-
tal expenditures tend to give rise to between 10 and 15 percent of their value in recurrent costs. Moreover,
143
as the nature of development programs in many developing countries has tended to shift more and more
toward projects that do not generate revenues sufficient to reimburse the government for recurrent cost,
these expenditures have tended to grow rapidly. One result has been a persistent tendency to underestimate
the burden of recurrent cost.
The elements of the flows that affect government receipts and expenditures vary from project to project,
and some may not always be obvious. They can, however, conveniently be cast in the form of a govern-
ment cash flow account valued at market prices. Inflows will include user charges levied on project benefi-
ciaries, new tax revenues generated as a result of the project investment, debt service for loans made to
project participants, the surplus or profit made on sales of the project or on services provided, and receipts
from foreign loans made to help finance the project. Expenditures will include the initial capital expendi-
ture on the project, including direct expenditure on such items as dams and canals; loans to project partici-
pants; equity positions taken in a processing industry; recurrent costs of the project in whatever guise they
occur, whether operation and maintenance, general administration, or some other form; and debt service,
including commitment fees on any foreign loans received to support the project. The analysis includes
among the government expenditures related costs needed to make the project effective (such as the costs of
new roads or other infrastructure facilities) because, although these may not be the responsibility of the
project management, they are costs incurred for the project and would appear in the project accounts when
they are aggregated as discussed in chapter 8.
Many agricultural projects will have an effect on the balance of payments, so it may be desirable to do a
separate analysis of the project's foreign exchange effects in a foreign exchange flow account. Analysis of
project effects on government receipts and expenditures can be illustrated by an example drawn from the
South Nyanza Sugar Project, the same project used in the last chapter to illustrate the financial analysis of
processing industries. As before, the general headings that might be expected to appear in most analyses of
this kind will appear in italic type in the text.
Government Cash Flow
The government cash flow account for the South Nyanza Sugar Project is excerpted in table 6-1.
There is a problem about whether to make government cash flow projections in constant or current terms.
For financial planning by the treasury and other government agencies, a current projection is much pre-
ferred, even though this involves projecting the inflation rate both domestically and worldwide. [A projec-
tion of worldwide inflation for capital goods is available in Price Prospects for Major Primary
Commodities (World Bank 1982a).] But projecting inflation is difficult at best, and when done for more
than just a few years it is of very little usefulness. In the South Nyanza project, therefore, the analyst chose
a useful compromise: he projected the government cash flow in current terms for the five years of the
investment phase during which the sugar factory was to be built. Then, from year 6 onward, he projected
the cash flow in constant
Table 6-1.Government Cash Flow, South Nyanza Sugar Project, Kenya
Item Project Year
1 2 6 7 16
Inflow
144
Loan receipt'
World Bank 19,480 35,280 - - -
African Development Bank 3,540 13,710 - - -
Total loan receipt 23,020 48,990 - - -
Taxes
Sugar excise
b
- - 63,771 79,043 127,2
60
Molasses excise
b
- - 142 176 277
SNSC income` - - - - 54,85
3
Other duties and taxes 15,462 27,625 15,675 13,775 17,06
9
Debt service receipt
Interest payment - 270 13,437 12,748 6,547
Loan commitment fee 984 965 - - -
Repayment of principal - - 6,563 6,563 6,563
Dividends' - - - - 63,69
1
Total inflow 39,466 77,850 99,588 112,30
5
276,2
60
Outlow
Equity in SNSC 54,150 71,250 - - -
Loans to SNSC
f
- 2,570 - - -
Financing of Kenya Sugar Authority and
training
1,828 5,555 5,563 5,726 5,451
Grant to National Sugar Research Insti-
tute
297 3,393 2,371 2,470 2,371
Road construction and maintenance' 4,430 17,294 4,996 4,996 4,996
Table 6-1.Government Cash Flow, South Nyanza Sugar Project, Kenya
Item Project Year
1 2 6 7 16
145
KSh Kenyan shillings.
Note: In current prices for years 1 through 5 (1977-81); thereafter, in year-5 (1981) constant prices. Parentheses indicate nega-
tive numbers.
Source: Adapted from World Bank, "Kenya: Appraisal of the South Nyanza Sugar Project," 1418-KE (Washington, D.C.,
1977; restricted circulation), annex 20, table 17.
a. The disbursement of the German and Indian suppliers' credit and loans from the European Investment Bank, East African
Development Bank, and the U.S. Export-Import (Exim) Bank have been assumed to be directly to the South Nyanza Sugar
Company (SNSC) and not through the government.
b. The excise tax per ton is in constant 1976 prices and is assumed at KSh 1,000 for sugar and KSh6 for molasses for years 1
through 5, adjusted to current terms by using a factor of 32.2 percent in year 4 (1980) and 41.4 percent in year 5 (1981) and there-
after.
c. Values are in constant 1976 prices adjusted by 41.4 percent to year-5 (1981) constant prices.
d. Includes import duties on materials, machinery, vehicles, and equipment; excise taxes on capital and current input; and income
tax on staff salaries. The values are in constant 1976 prices adjusted by 41.4 percent to year-5 (1981) constant prices.
Subtotal 60,705 100,062 12,930 13,192 12,81
8
Debt service payment
Interest
World Bank 1,751 4,930 49,750 48,505 37,30
0
African Development Bank 283 1,380 3,287 2,922 -
Loan commitment fee
World Bank 1,411 1,145 - - -
African Development Bank 316 213 - - -
Repayment of principal
World Bank - - 13,833 13,833 13,83
3
African Development Bank - - 4,565 4,565 -
Total outflow 64,466 107,730 84,365 83,017 63,951
Net cash flow
Current surplus (deficit) (25,000) ( 29,880) 15,223 29,288 212,30
9
Cumulative surplus (deficit) (25,000) ( 54,880) (13,582
)
15,706 1,313,1
67
Table 6-1.Government Cash Flow, South Nyanza Sugar Project, Kenya
Item Project Year
1 2 6 7 16
146
e. It is assumed that sxsc dividends to the government will be 95 percent of sxsc net profits after tax, expressed in year-5 (1981)
constant prices.
f. The on-lending margin to sxsc has been assumed to be 1.5 percent.
g. Includes the incremental cost to the Kenya Sugar Authority arising from the project and the cost of training and confer-
ence participation not included in the SNSC accounts. h. Incremental cost to the National Sugar Research Institute arising
from the project. i. Includes the cost of roads needed for the project not included in sxsc nucleus estate.
terms at year-5 prices. This avoided making a long-term projection of inflation. (Note that this would not
be a suitable format if the cash flow were to be discounted as discussed in chapter 9.) The analyst also
chose to include in his cash flow table a total column after year 5 for the first five years (not reproduced in
the excerpt in table 6-1). The government cash flow is projected for sixteen years, long enough to trace the
effect of all the financial transactions except the repayment of the World Bank loan.
The government cash flow account is divided into cash inflow and cash outflow. The first inflow is the
loan receipt obtained from abroad to support the project. In the case of the South Nyanza project, the gov-
ernment of Kenya received loans from the World Bank and the African Development Bank for the project.
Other loans were made by suppliers and by other international lending agencies that dealt directly with the
South Nyanza Sugar Company. The flows from these loan transactions, since they did not go through the
government, do not show in the government cash flow. Next in the table are the taxes. The South Nyanza
project is expected to generate new tax revenues from the sugar excise tax collected at the factory gate and
a similar excise tax on molasses; company income tax; and other taxes that include import duties on mate-
rials, machinery, vehicles and equipment, excise duty on capital and current inputs, and income taxes on
staff salaries. Next comes the debt service receipt from the South Nyanza Sugar Company for the loan it
has received from the government. The debt service is broken down into the interest payment, loan com-
mitment fee, and repayment of principal. Finally, there is the transfer of company profit that is made to the
government in lieu of dividends. Some proportion of this profit would by agreement customarily be rein-
vested in company expansion. Had there been any user charges, these, too, would have been included in
the cash inflow.
The first entry in the cash outflow is the equity participation the government contributed to the South
Nyanza Sugar Company, followed by loans to the company. These, in effect, constitute the capital cost
contributed from the government budget to the company operation. Two other outflows are the financing
for the Kenya Sugar Authority for training not directly administered by the company, including overseas
university education in business management and sugar technology and participation in international sym-
posia and conventions, and a grant to the National Sugar Research Institute to reimburse it for incremental
expenses arising from the project. This is followed by road construction that is a part of the project cost to
be paid directly by the government and not channeled through the company.
Then comes the debt service payment the government must make as a result of the project. This includes
interest, loan commitment fee, and repayment of principal to the World Bank and the African Devel-
opment Bank.
The difference between the cash inflow and the cash outflow gives the cash current surplus (deficit),
which in the South Nyanza case is negative through project year 3 and positive thereafter. The cumulative
surplus (deficit) indicates how long it will be before the government recovers its net expenditure on the
project in undiscounted terms-six years in the South Nyanza example. In other projects, of course, both the
current and the cumulative surplus (deficit) might remain negative throughout the life of the project.
147
Foreign Exchange Flow
The foreign exchange flow generated by the South Nyanza project is calculated in table 6-2.
Table 6-2. Foreign Exchange Flow, South Nyanza Sugar Project
Item Project year
1 2 6 7 16
Inflow
Loan receipt
Suppliers' credit-Germany 17,200 27,400 - - -
Suppliers' credit-India 15,500 24,750 - - -
World Bank 19,480 35,280 - - -
European Investment Bank 33,400 53,200 - - -
African Development Bank 3,540 13,710 - - -
East African Development Bank 6,070 9,670 - - -
Exim Bank 7,900 10,380 - - -
Total loan receipt 103,090 174,390 - - -
Foreign exchange value of sugar
production' - - 248,501 308,009 495,000
Export of molasses
b
- - 8,261 10,235 16,114
Total inflow 103,090 174,390 256,762 318,244 511,114
Outflow
Foreign exchange component
of:
Agriculture 15,674 15,096 30,304 51,132 45,522
Sugar factory 68,832 107,162 51,982 14,275 19,325
General management and
administration 2,251 2,814 5,442 5,311 5,442
Road construction and mainte-
nance
3,532 13,676 3,612 3,612 3,612
Housing and social amenities 4,223 4,735 - - -
Research 655 2,470 1,622 2,469 1,622
148
Training 120 294 648 648 648
Item 1 2 6 7 16
Kenya Sugar Authority 617 1,825 1,634 1,814 1,572
Management fee - - 2,410 3,240 6,940
Total foreign exchange compo-
nent
95,904 148,072 97,654 82,501 84,683
Debt service payment
Interest
Suppliers' credit-Germany - - 3,509 2,946 -
Suppliers' credit-India - - 3,190 2,678 -
World Bank 1,751 4,930 49,750 48,505 37,300
European Investment Bank 2,004 5,196 5,917 5,260 -
African Development Bank 283 1,380 3,287 2,922 -
East African Development Bank 668 1,732 1,879 1,566 -
Exim Bank 771 1,645 780 388 -
Total interest payment 5,477 14,883 68,312 64,265 37,300
Loan commitment fee
World Bank 1,411 1,145 - - -
African Development Bank 316 213 - - -
Exim Bank 69 17 - - -
Total commitment fee 1,796 1,375 - - -
Repayment of principal
Suppliers' credit-Germany - - 7,050 7,050 -
Suppliers' credit-India - - 6,381 6,381 -
World Bank - - 13,833 13,833 13,833
European Investment Bank - - 10,956 10,956 -
African Development Bank - - 4,565 4,565 -
East African Development Bank - - 2,846 2,846 -
Table 6-2. Foreign Exchange Flow, South Nyanza Sugar Project
Item Project year
1 2 6 7 16
149
Exim Bank - - 4,354 4,354 -
Total repayment of principal - - 49,985 49,985 13,833
Total outflow 103,177 164,330 215,951 196;751 135,816
Kenya Sugar Authority 617 1,825 1,634 1,814 1,572
Management fee - - 2,410 3,240 6,940
Total foreign exchange compo-
nent
95,904 148,072 97,654 82,501 84,683
Debt service payment
Interest
Suppliers' credit-Germany - - 3,509 2,946 -
Suppliers' credit-India - - 3,190 2,678 -
World Bank 1,751 4,930 49,750 48,505 37,300
European Investment Bank 2,004 5,196 5,917 5,260 -
African Development Bank 283 1,380 3,287 2,922 -
East African Development Bank 668 1,732 1,879 1,566 -
Exim Bank 771 1,645 780 388 -
Total interest payment 5,477 14,883 68,312 64,265 37,300
Loan commitment fee
World Bank 1,411 1,145 - - -
African Development Bank 316 213 - - -
Exim Bank 69 17 - - -
Total commitment fee 1,796 1,375 - - -
Repayment of principal
Suppliers' credit-Germany - - 7,050 7,050 -
Suppliers' credit-India - - 6,381 6,381 -
World Bank - - 13,833 13,833 13,833
European Investment Bank - - 10,956 10,956 -
African Development Bank - - 4,565 4,565 -
Table 6-2. Foreign Exchange Flow, South Nyanza Sugar Project
Item Project year
1 2 6 7 16
150
Note: In current prices for years 1 through 5 (1977-81); thereafter in year-5 (1981) constant prices.
Source: Same as table 6-1.
a. Based on the foreign exchange element of the import substitution price of KSh3,897 per ton in constant March 1977 prices
adjusted for inflation to KSh5,152 per ton in year 4 and KSh5,510 per ton from year 5 onward.
b. Based on molasses price f.o.b. Mombasa of KSh463 per ton in year 4 and KSh495 per ton from year 5 onward.
As in the case of the government cash flow, the question arises of whether to calculate the foreign
exchange flow in constant or current terms. Matching his choice for the government cash flow, the analyst
chose to project the foreign exchange flow in current terms for the five years of the implementation phase
of the project while the sugar factory was to be built and then, from year 6 onward, in constant terms at
year-5 prices. As before, this provided the treasury and other planning agencies with a current projection of
the foreign exchange effects of the project for the first few years of its implementation but avoided a long-
term projection of inflation. Again, the analyst chose to carry out his calculations for sixteen years, long
enough to trace all the financial transactions except repayment of the World Bank loan.
The foreign exchange flow is derived by tabulating the inflow, deducting the outflow, and obtaining the
net foreign exchange flow. The first inflow is the loan receipt in support of the project. Note that the
suppliers' credit and loans from several international agencies were received directly by the South Nyanza
Sugar Company, so they do not show in the government cash flow examined in the previous section but do
appear here. Then comes the foreign exchange value of the sugar production. This is the foreign exchange
saved as a result of substituting domestically produced sugar for imported sugar. The last inflow listed is
the foreign exchange earned from the export of molasses.
Foreign exchange outflows include the foreign exchange component of the various aspects of project
implementation, including equipment and materials purchased from abroad and management fees. The
other major component of the foreign exchange outflow is the debt service payment for loans received
from abroad. This includes interest, any loan commitment fee, and repayment of principal to the sup-
pliers of equipment and the international agencies that lent to support the project.
East African Development Bank - - 2,846 2,846 -
Exim Bank - - 4,354 4,354 -
Total repayment of principal - - 49,985 49,985 13,833
Total outflow 103,177 164,330 215,951 196;751 135,816
Net foreign exchange flow
Current surplus (deficit) ( 87) 10,060 40,811 121,493 375,298
Cumulative surplus (deficit) ( 87) 9,973 258,251 379,744 3,080,980
Table 6-2. Foreign Exchange Flow, South Nyanza Sugar Project
Item Project year
1 2 6 7 16
151
Subtracting the total outflow from the total inflow gives the net foreign exchange flow, which is reported
in two variations: the current surplus (deficit) and the cumulative surplus (deficit). In part because of
the financing available, the foreign exchange effect of the South Nyanza project is positive every year
except the first.
Cost Recovery
When governments invest in projects that increase the incomes of individual farmers, the question arises
about how much of the government expenditure should be recovered from the project beneficiaries. Only
through appropriate cost recovery policies can governments recoup the money expended on a project for
investment in other projects that will benefit other members of the society. To the extent that the cost of a
project is not recovered, some part of the project benefit individuals receive represents a subsidy paid by
others in the society who did not benefit from the project.
There are two important issues to be addressed in formulating cost recovery policy. One is the proportion
of the cost expended on a project to be repaid. The other is the proportion of the benefit received by indi-
viduals (which may be far higher than the cost) to be recovered through direct charges and such indirect
means as increased tax revenue. Project analysis, however, clearly cannot make the policy decision. More-
over, attempts to determine the proportion of government expenditure and individual benefit to be recov-
ered under various alternative policies very quickly run into great practical difficulties. These involve
estimating values, often imputed values, and more theoretical economic issues, so
that in the end cost recovery computations are of necessity more indicative than precise. Even so, cost
recovery estimates based on sound economic principles can greatly improve understanding of the issues
and improve the efficiency and equity of cost recovery policies.
Some aspects of cost recovery have little to do with the specifics of computation. Many countries have
well-established policies about such things as water charges or taxes, policies that may not be politically
possible to change all at once. Other considerations have to do with the project itself. Those projects which
provide reliable service to farmers are more likely to have a better record on cost recovery than projects in
which farmers feel services are poor and unreliable and, to that extent, not worth paying for.
In the final analysis, any cost recovery policy must be a political decision; it cannot be divorced from the
broader sectoral and social setting. Any approach to cost recovery must be flexible and based on a recogni-
tion that what might be a good policy decision at one place or at one time is not necessarily the best deci-
sion at another place or time.
Problems of cost recovery in agricultural projects tend to be prominent in irrigation projects because
these projects often are very expensive and bring proportionally large increases in income to the farmers
who benefit. Much of the discussion of cost recovery, therefore, has centered around water resource
projects, and the examples used in this section to illustrate methods of computation will be drawn from
an irrigation project in India. The discussion here must necessarily be very general; more detailed infor-
mation can be found in "Irrigation Water Charges, Benefit Taxes, and Cost Recovery Policies" (World
Bank 1982b).
Objectives of cost recovery
Three basic objectives are involved in considerations of cost recovery issues: (1) economic efficiency, (2)
income distribution, and (3) public saving.
152
Economic efficiency
The first objective concerns the level and structure of the prices to be charged-in irrigation projects, the
price for water. The objective is to minimize waste and to allocate water optimally to maximize the net
benefit from the project to the economy. The best way to do this would be through a price that would be
equal to the contribution the water would make to increased output-an "efficiency price." This theoreti-
cal ideal is very rarely, if ever, met. It would require sale of water on a volumetric basis, which would
lead to difficult problems in practice and would require estimating the contribution of water. But even a
nominal price for water, perhaps one based on an acceptable if less than perfect measurement technique,
would offer users an incentive to eliminate at least some of the conspicuous waste and overwatering that
occur when farmers treat water as a free good. This, in turn, could reduce drainage and salinization
problems.
Even if it were possible to charge farmers an optimal economic price, this might not be compatible with
objectives of income distribution and public saving and investment. Hence, other criteria of assessing
charges will have to be considered to ensure an equitable income effect from the project and an adequate
recovery of project costs by charges that prospective beneficiaries can afford to pay and that still leave
them adequate incentive to participate. Some recovery of benefits and costs will usually come from exist-
ing general taxes, such as an export tax or an income tax. But this recovery method is not geared to the cir-
cumstances of the particular project and is often unsatisfactory from the point of view of either income
distribution or public savings. Moreover, capturing a larger part of the benefits and recovering more of the
costs of a project through an increase in general taxation also affects those who do not directly benefit from
the project. Hence, any measure to recover costs and benefits in addition to water pricing and existing gen-
eral taxes should be selective and affect, to the greatest extent possible, only the project beneficiaries.
These measures are usually called "benefit taxes." The most common form is a betterment levy assessed
against the land benefited and perhaps varied according to the different crops grown.
Income Distribution.
The second objective of a cost recovery policy is to collect charges equitably and in line with national
policy for income distribution. It may be desired to charge small farmers proportionately less than large
farmers in the same project. Thus, specific taxes designed to capture part of the benefit of a project
should take into account differences in income level and in the ability of beneficiaries to pay. Benefit
taxes should allow for the quite different amounts of net benefit a project generates on farms quite simi-
lar in size and other characteristics. The taxes will have to be set taking into account disincentives, tax
evasion, and the cost of collection. In irrigation projects, in practice only the broadest income distribu-
tion measures are implemented. A ceiling may be set on the total area an individual family may irrigate,
for example, and an effort is usually made to ensure that small farmers at least do not pay a higher pro-
portion of their benefit from the project than do larger farmers.
Public Saving
153
Most governments in developing countries are short of financial resources for development. Conse-
quently, it may be desirable for the government to collect more resources than would be generated solely
from efficiency pricing (which, in any case, is generally impractical) or from recovering only the cost of
the project and no part of the net benefit. Not only would this make the projects financially self-support-
ing, but it would also enable governments to undertake additional rural development projects that would
reach other members of the society. But farmers participating in a project may be poor. To recover more
than the cost of the project may therefore be unacceptable, and it may be desirable to recover less.
Setting the level of water charges and benefit taxes
As the discussion to this point has indicated, the level at which to set water charges and benefit taxes will
depend on a broad range of considerations. First, some estimate must be made of the net benefit received
from the project by various participants. Then a system of charges and taxes must be established that cap-
tures an acceptable proportion of the benefit generated by the project while still meeting criteria of effi-
ciency, income distribution, and equity. The level of charges and taxes must take into account similar levies
in other areas and the political feasibility of charging a different amount in the project area, the disincentive
effects of a benefit tax, and the administrative problems of tax collection. Benefit taxes should be designed
to minimize the adverse effects these taxes may have on the production and consumption decisions of the
farmers and others in the economy. It might be possible in some cases, for example, to recover costs by
selling farm inputs to project beneficiaries at prices higher than those paid by others, or to purchase the
output from beneficiaries at prices lower than otherwise would be paid-that is, to establish a monopolistic
marketing margin. Such discriminatory taxes may induce choice of the wrong crops by farmers, although
these taxes may be impossible to avoid completely. Volumetric sale in some form acceptable to farmers
and project-specific betterment levies are generally better options.
The extent and manner of cost recovery directly affects the financial cash flows of the farmer, the project
organization, and usually more than one government agency. Cost recovery can also affect the contribution
an irrigation project will make to increasing national income. If cost recovery plans impose too heavy a
burden on the farmers, the farmers may have insufficient incentive to participate fully in the project, and
the anticipated output of the project will not be realized. In contrast, if cost recovery levels are set too low,
the project organization may have too small an operation and maintenance budget-whether it is financed by
water charges paid by farmers or by a government subsidy-so that water deliveries to farmers may be
insufficient and unreliable, and production again could suffer.
The total benefit arising from the project sets a theoretical upper limit to the amount of revenue that can be
collected from water charges and benefit taxes, but the actual amount collected will always be less-and
usually much less-than the total benefit arising from the project. This is true simply because it is necessary
to allow for errors of measurement and for the desire to increase the income of the poorest farmers. The
lower limit of charges to be collected cannot be stated arbitrarily. A rule of thumb followed by many gov-
ernments, however, is to attempt to establish water charges and benefit taxes that will at least recover the
operation and maintenance cost. This will avoid an outright drain on current government revenues by the
project. It will also reduce the
likelihood of problems arising from delays in receiving operation and maintenance funds caused by budget
stringencies. There is another advantage. Where systems receive their operation and maintenance funds
from the project beneficiaries, and the beneficiaries have a significant influence on the operation of the
system (often through an appropriate local farmers' organization), the systems generally are fairly well
managed and maintained. Past experience in World Bank projects suggests that cost recovery as a percent-
age of incremental net cash income rarely exceeds 30 to 35 percent.
154
Once established, cost recovery charges-whether water charges or benefit taxes-should be indexed so they
can change in response to changing costs and to inflation. Because in new projects it is likely that farmers
will need several seasons to learn to use new water efficiently, a grace period is probably appropriate dur-
ing which the full water charges and benefit taxes can be phased in.
Measuring cost and rent recovery
Two measures are usually calculated to help form judgments about cost recovery. They are the cost recov-
ery index, which gives an idea of what proportion of public expenditure on a project will be recovered
directly from the beneficiaries and through taxes collected off the farm, and the rent recovery index, which
gives an idea of what proportion of the total benefit will be recovered from the project beneficiaries and
from other sources. These ratios are descriptive only-they should only supplement, not substitute for, an
analysis of proposed water charges as they bear on efficiency, income distribution, public sector savings,
and such factors as tax disincentives, costs of tax collection, broader sectoral considerations, and the polit-
ical implications of any charge or tax. Furthermore, both measures depend on several values that are
impossible to establish with precision, so that decisions based upon them must be treated with great cau-
tion.
Cost Recovery Index
. The first measure of cost recovery is the cost recovery index. It is:
The cost recovery index is calculated using constant market prices. The appropriate discount rate is the
economic opportunity cost of capital. An example of how to calculate the cost recovery index is given in
table 6-3, which is drawn from the Maharashtra II Irrigation Project in India. The first element is an esti-
mate of the present worth of capital cost (per hectare of net cultivable "command area"-the area that
can be irrigated by a particular group of irrigation works). This is based on the same cost estimates for
the project as are used for other parts of the
Table 6-3. Total Cost Recovery Index, Bhima Irrigation Scheme,
Maharashtra II Irrigation Project, India
Item Amount
Present worth of capital cost (per hectare) of net cultivable command area.
Irrigation infrastructure 18,550
Supporting works 1,850
Total 20,400
Annual financial equivalent (per hectare of net cultivable command area
Irrigation infrastructure
1,871
Supporting works 301
Operation and maintenance 100
CRI
PV of delta water charges + PV of delta benefit taxes
PV of incremental public sector outlays
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- =
155
(Rs per hectare, constant 1979 prices)
Rs Indian rupees.
Source: Adapted from World Bank, "India, Staff Appraisal Report, Maharashtra Irrigation II Project," vol. i, "Main Report," 2529'-
IN (Washington, D.C., 1979; restricted circulation), pp. 83-84.
a. For the method of calculating present worth, see chapter 9.
b. Annuity for recovery over fifty years at 10 percent interest rate. Calculated by multiplying the present worth of the capital cost
of the irrigation infrastructure by the capital recovery factor for fifty years at 10 percent, which is 0.100 859, to give Rs1,871
(18,550 x 0.100 859 = 1,871).
c. Annuity for recovery over ten years at 10 percent interest rate. Calculated by multiplying the present worth of the capital cost of
the supporting works by the capital recovery factor for ten years at 10 percent, which is 0.162 745, to give Rs301 (1,850 x 0.162
745 - 301).
d. Incremental benefit taxes include a tax to recover the capital cost of the supporting works, amounting to Rs301 per hectare (see
note c above), and an incremental land revenue assessment of Rs5 per hectare, or a total of Rs306 (301 + 5 = 306).
e. Indirect cost recovery receipts average Rs40 per hectare for the purchase tax on sugarcane and Rs55 per hectare for the sales tax
on cotton and oilseeds, or Rs95 per hectare (40 + 55 = 95).
f. Total cost recovery under existing charges divided by annual financial equivalent per hectare of net cultivable command area
multiplied by 100 (659 - 2,272 x 100 = 29).
project analysis. Next, the annual financial equivalent (per hectare of net cultivable command area) is
determined. For capital items-in this instance, the irrigation infrastructure and the supporting irrigation
works-this value is calculated by multiplying the present worth of the capital cost by the capital recovery
factor for the appropriate period and discount rate. [For capital recovery factors, see Gittinger (1973) or
a similar set of compounding and discounting tables.] In this Maharashtra example, the irrigation infra-
structure was assumed to have a life of fifty years, and the opportunity cost of capital was taken to be 10
percent, so the capital recovery factor for fifty years at 10 percent, or 0.100 859, was applied to the
present worth of the irrigation infrastructure. The supporting works were taken to have a life of only ten
years, so the capital recovery factor for ten years at 10 percent, or 0.162 745, was applied to them. The
Total 2,272
Cost recovery (under existing charges)
Direct
Incremental water charge 258
Incremental benefit tax
306
Indirect receipts 95
Total 659
Total cost recovery index (percent)
29
Table 6-3. Total Cost Recovery Index, Bhima Irrigation Scheme,
Maharashtra II Irrigation Project, India
Item Amount
156
operation and maintenance charge, of course, is an annual charge, so it may be taken directly. Next the
cost recovery is determined, in this case calculated assuming that existing charges will continue. The
Maharashtra project is typical of many irrigation projects in that part of the cost recovery will come
directly through water charges and a benefit tax, and part of the cost recovery will come from an indirect
charge in the form of an excise tax on incremental sugarcane production and incremental sales tax reve-
nues from marketing cotton and oilseeds. The total cost recovery index, then, is simply the total cost
recovery divided by the total annual financial equivalent and multiplied by 100, which in this instance
gives 29 percent (659 - 2,272 x 100 = 29).
There are variations that may be calculated, depending on the need for information on which to base cost
recovery charges and benefit taxes. In the case of the Maharashtra project, for example, table 6-3 illustrates
computation of the total cost recovery index, which includes as part of the cost recovery both the direct
recovery through water charges and benefit taxes and the indirect recovery through excise and sales taxes.
An alternative would be to calculate the direct cost recovery; that is, the amount recovered directly from
the farmers themselves. In this instance the direct water charges and benefit taxes come to Rs564 per hect-
are (258 + 306 = 564), which would be divided by the total annual financial equivalent of Rs2,272 per
hectare and multiplied by 100, so that the direct cost recovery index would be 25 percent (564 - 2,272 x
100 = 25). (The symbol for Indian rupees is Rs.)
The cost recovery index in various forms may then be used as a basis for conclusions about cost recovery
policy. The effect of various levels of water charges and benefit taxes can be tested until a decision is
reached about a suitable level and combination of these given such other public policy considerations as
equity and the amounts charged elsewhere in the country.
Rent Recovery Indext
. The other cost recovery measure commonly calculated is the rent recovery index. It is based on pro-
jected farm budgets that are similar to those developed in chapter 4 but that have significant differences
in that they include imputed values for labor, management, return to capital, and risk. In the illustrative
calculation that follows, the rent recovery index for beneficiaries will be used to estimate the proportion
of the benefit received by project beneficiaries that is recovered by the public authorities. The rent
recovery index is:
Since the rent recovery index is generally computed to be used in forming a judgment about the amount of
water charges and benefit taxes, it is not a discounted measure; rather, it is done for one year at the full
development period. It is based on market prices.
In a general sense, the rent recovery index may be thought of as being based on the farmer's "ability to
pay," his "capacity to pay," or his "repayment capacity." To calculate the rent recovery index, however, the
more formal concept of "economic rent" is used. Economic rent is the surplus remaining after beneficiaries
receive the rewards necessary to attract physical inputs, labor, entrepreneurship, and the willingness to bear
risk. Economic rent is allied to the more familiar concept of rent as a payment for use of a capital item, but
it is quite distinct from this more common use of the term "rent" and should not be confused with it.
Incremental revenue from water + incremental benefit taxes
Incremental economic rent accruing to project beneficiaries
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
157
In the case of an irrigation project, to calculate the economic rent accruing to a beneficiary, one starts with
the incremental gross value of farm production, from which is deducted all incremental cash payments,
incremental depreciation of farm assets, the imputed value of family labor and of management, a return on
the family's own incremental capital, incremental general taxes, and an allowance for additional risk and
uncertainty. Incremental water charges and incremental benefit taxes related to the project are not
deducted. It will immediately be seen that estimating economic rent is not easy and is subject to a large
margin of error. The various noncash and imputed values of costs cannot be determined with precision;
they inevitably involve substantial judgment. It is necessary to make some estimate of this sort, however,
to judge whether a sufficient proportion of the benefits received by farmers in the project is being recov-
ered because these same elements must be considered however benefits may be measured.
An example of the computation of the rent recovery index is found in table 6-4, which is drawn from the
same Maharashtra irrigation project used as an example in the previous subsection. The computation
starts with the gross value of farm production at farm-gate prices without sales taxes. Of this, sales with-
out the project amount to half, but as the family's income rises the proportion of sales rises sharply.
From the gross value of farm production is deducted the cash production cost, and this gives the net ben-
efit. This is consistent with the net benefit as defined in chapter 4 and as illustrated by the farm budget in
tables 4-18 and 4-19, except for any off-farm income the family may receive. The net cash income is
determined by subtracting the cash production cost from the sales. The net cash income can be com-
pared later with any incremental water charge or benefit tax levied.
Next a group of imputed values are deducted. The first of these is depreciation. Since the rent recovery
index is computed on the basis of one year at full development, depreciation must be deducted as a cost.
Then an estimate of the imputed value o f family labor is deducted. This is an estimate of the wage neces-
sary to induce the family to operate its farm. In practice, it is suggested that the analyst take the
weighted average of the seasonal market wage as a proxy. Next comes an estimate
Table 6-4. Rent Recovery Index, Full Development, 5-Hectare Farm
Item Amount
Without
project
With
project
Incre-
mental
Gross value of farm production at farm-gate
prices without sales taxes
7,500 33,380 25,880
Sales 3,750 28,380 24,630
Cash production cost (2,690) (11,690) ( 9,000)
Gross value less cash production cost equals
net benefit
4,810 21,690 16,880
Sales less cash production cost equals net cash
income
1,060 16,690 15,630
Net benefit less
Depreciation 0 0 0
Imputed value of family labor (720) ( 1,350) (630)
158
Sour ce: Same as table 6-3.
a. May include some payment in kind for labor.
b. Since the farmer has few physical assets other than land, no depreciation was assumed.
c. An imputed value of management services equivalent to 10 percent of the net benefit less the imputed value of family labor and
the allowance for risk and uncertainty rounded to the nearest Rs10. For the with-project situation, this amounts to Rs1,030 rounded
to the nearest Rs10 {0.1[21,690 - (1,350 + 10,010)] = 1,033).
d. Since the family has few physical assets, no imputed return to the family's own capital was assumed.
e. Some studies of farmers' behavior show that a simple approach can be adopted to take account of the farmer's risk aversion. An
allowance for risk and uncertainty is estimated based on the coefficient of variation of the gross value of farm production-the stan-
dard deviation divided by the mean-and a measure of farmers' risk aversion.
where RA is the risk allowance, EV i s the expected value, v is the coefficient of variation, and n is a factor that expresses
farmers' risk aversion. The studies indicate that the farmers' choice of cropping patterns and production can be predicted for
values of n in the interval between 1 and 2 and that n decreases when the farm size increases. For this analysis, it is assumed
that n = 1.5 for 5-hectare farms. For the project area, the coefficient of variation of gross returns under rainfed conditions is
roughly 30 percent of the average value. It has been assumed that under the with-project conditions, the gross returns would
vary within 20 percent of the net returns. The results were rounded to the nearest RS10. Following this approach, the allow-
ance for risk and uncertainty in the with-project situation was estimated to be RSI0,010 rounded to the nearest Rs10 (33,380
x 1.5 x 0.2 = 10,014).
f. No general taxes are expected to be levied.
Imputed value of management services` (70) ( 1,030) (960)
Imputed return on own capitals 0 0 0
Allowance for risk and uncertainty' (3,380) (10,010) ( 6,630)
General taxes 0 0 0
Equals economic rent (surplus) 640 9,300 8,660
Economic rent as a percentage of net benefit 13 43 51
Incremental water charges h - - 1,290
Incremental benefit taxes - - 1,530 T
Total incremental direct charges and benefit
taxes
2,820
Rent recovery index (percent) - - 33
Table 6-4. Rent Recovery Index, Full Development, 5-Hectare Farm
Item Amount
Without
project
With
project
Incre-
mental
159
g. Economic rent divided by net benefit multiplied by 100. For the incremental net benefit this amounts to 51 percent (8,660 -
16,880 x 100 = 51).
h. Incremental direct water charges are Rs258 per hectare of net cultivable area, or Rs1,290 for the 5-hectare farm (258 x 5 =
1,290).
i. Incremental benefit taxes include a tax of Rs301 per hectare to recover the capital cost of the supporting works and an incremen-
tal land revenue assessment of Rs5 per hectare, or Rs1,530 for the 5-hectare farm [(301 + 5) x 5 = 1,5301.
j. Incremental water charges plus incremental benefit taxes.
k. Total incremental direct charges and benefit taxes divided by economic rent multi-plied by 100 (2,820 - 8,660 x 100 = 33).
of the imputed value of management services. This is a very difficult estimate to reach. In practice, project
analysts take an arbitrary amount. A common estimate is 5 to 10 percent of the net benefit. In the Maha-
rashtra project, however, the analyst took 10 percent of the net benefit less the imputed value of family
labor and the allowance for risk and uncertainty. The imputed return on own capital is an estimate based on
the incremental net value of assets financed by farmers out of their own savings and should reflect the rate
of return that their funds could earn elsewhere. In the Maharashtra project, no imputed return on own capi-
tal was assumed because the family had relatively few physical assets. Other analysts, however, might at
least have imputed a return to the family's own capital invested in land.
The next imputed value deducted is the allowance for risk and uncertainty. This is extremely difficult to
formulate conceptually and notoriously difficult to estimate with confidence. Again, most project econo-
mists use a rule of thumb-a common one is 10 percent of the gross value of farm production in the first line
of the table. The project analyst in the Maharashtra project used a more sophisticated approach. He based
his estimate on the standard deviation of farm production in the project area and on an estimated factor that
expresses the farmers' risk aversion. (The details of this computation are given in note e of table 6-4.) Most
project analysts probably will have some sense of the variability of farm production in the project area for
which they are preparing the analysis, and they may even have some more formal estimate such as the
standard deviation. This will provide a basis for estimating the allowance for risk and uncertainty, but it
will have to be substantially modified in light of the analyst's judgment about the accuracy of the estimate
of variability and the willingness of farmers in the project area to accept risk. The last imputed value
deducted is an estimate of the general taxes the farmer pays. These are taxes that are not specific to the
project as a benefit tax would be. General taxes might include, for example, income taxes or a land tax to
raise general revenue that is not linked to the project nor to improvements arising from the project invest-
ment.
When all these values have been deducted, the remainder is an estimate of the economic rent (surplus)
accruing to the farmer. It is thus an estimate of the surplus remaining for the farmer after paying the
rewards necessary to attract the physical inputs, labor, entrepreneurship, and willingness to bear risk neces-
sary to operate the farm-the definition of economic rent above. The economic rent as a percentage of net
benefit, the next entry in the table, relates economic rent to the net benefit received by the farmer, which
for the incremental net benefit amounts to 51 percent (8,660 - 16,880 x 100 = 51).
Next are entered the proposed incremental water charges and incremental benefit taxes that the farmer is
expected to pay. Dividing the total of these by the economic rent gives the rent recovery index. This is an
estimate of the proportion of the surplus the farmer receives over and above the minimum necessary to
induce him to participate in the project that will be recaptured by the public authorities. In the case of the
Maharashtra project, this recovery amounts to 33 percent of the economic rent [(1,290 + 1,530) - 8,660 x
100 = 33].
160
This discussion of the rent recovery index has highlighted the many elements of the estimate that can be
approximate at best. Hence, the rent recovery index, although very useful as an aid for setting cost recov-
ery policy, must be used with caution.
As with the cost recovery index, there are variations of the rent recovery index that give insight into other
questions about a project. A common variation is to estimate the rent recovery index for the project (as
opposed to that for the beneficiaries, as illustrated in table 6-4). For this the project rent must be estimated.
Essentially the same elements are used as discussed above, except that the concept of the incremental ben-
efit tax is expanded to include not only benefit taxes collected directly from the beneficiary but also taxes
arising from the incremental output due to the project but collected off the farm. These include, in the case
of the Maharashtra project, the excise tax on sugarcane and the sales tax on cotton and oilseeds. In other
cases they might include an export tax or the net increase in a marketing board margin (technically, in the
monopolistic marketing margin) arising from handling incremental production from the project area. In
general, estimates of project rent are made for each major farm pattern, and the results are aggregated to
the project level. Since the incremental benefit taxes include taxes and marketing margins arising off the
farm, the project rent recovery index will be higher than the weighted average of the beneficiary economic
rent received by the individual farmers. In the case of the Maharashtra project, for instance, the rent recov-
ery index for the individual farm pattern analyzed in table 6-4-33 percent-rises to 40 percent for the Bhima
scheme as a whole (including pattern farms other than the one represented in table 6-4) because the addi-
tional taxes are included.
Another variation of the rent recovery index is to calculate it, for either beneficiaries or the project, on a
discounted basis. This provides a means to estimate on the basis of present worth the proportion of the ben-
efit of a project captured by the public authorities. This is useful from a public policy standpoint, but is not
a suitable basis on which to determine the level of water charges and benefit taxes at full development.
From a public policy standpoint, one can then test varying assumptions about water charges and benefit
taxes until a rent recovery index is reached that is considered to be equitable given the income of the farm-
ers in the project and the charges levied elsewhere in the country.
Joint Cost Allocation
When a government undertakes to implement a multipurpose project, a problem arises about how to allo-
cate the cost of the project among the various beneficiaries. The complication arises, of course, because
there are joint costs in a multipurpose project, costs that cannot clearly be attributed to one purpose or
another. A technique often used to allocate joint cost-especially in multipurpose water development
projects, but by no means limited only to them-is that known as the "separable costs-remaining benefits"
method.
We will discuss joint cost allocation using market prices and as a financial problem, since this is by far the
most common practice. The same techniques we will outline, however, can be applied to economic values,
and in some cases this may be more appropriate. In the Senegal River Development Program we will use
as an example for joint cost allocation, the prices for agricultural commodities were indeed taken not as the
internal administered prices actually paid farmers but as the border prices at world market values-already a
step away from strict financial analysis and toward economic values and the use of shadow prices. This
was done because the major objective of the analysis was to determine a fair cost allocation among the par-
ticipating nations, not to determine equitable financial charges to levy on benefiting farmers.
General principles of cost allocation
161
There are several general principles or guidelines of joint cost allocation that underlie the rationale of the
separable costs-remaining benefits method.
In general, no project purpose should be assigned a cost that is in excess of the value of its benefit nor be
supported by the benefit of another purpose. Thus, the charge for irrigation water should not be greater
than the contribution of that water to the benefit of the project. Similarly, in general we feel that no purpose
should be subsidized by another purpose. Power users in most cases should not be charged high rates to
make irrigation water available at low cost to farmers.
All the cost incurred for one purpose only should be allocated wholly to that purpose. The cost of canals is
wholly allocated to the irrigation purpose, and the cost of the transmission lines wholly to the power pur-
pose. Each "separable cost" is the minimum that can be charged for the respective purpose. If the cost of
the canals alone exceeds the benefit from the irrigation water, then clearly the project should not include an
irrigation component.
No purpose, however, should be assigned a cost that is any greater than would be incurred if that function
were to be supplied by the most economic alternative single-purpose project. The alternative single-pur-
pose project establishes the maximum that can be charged for any one purpose. It is not equitable to allo-
cate to the power component of a
multipurpose water development project a cost more than that of the alternative thermal plant that could
provide the same electrical service, nor is it equitable to charge the irrigation component more than the cost
of an alternative single-purpose pumping scheme.
Separable costs-remaining benefits method
The application of the separable costs-remaining benefits method is illustrated by the Senegal River Devel-
opment Program cost allocation in table 6-5. The three West African states of Mali, Mauritania, and Sene-
gal have formed the Senegal River Development Organization (known by the initials of its French name,
omvs) to plan and develop a multipurpose project on the Senegal River. In the configuration for which the
joint cost allocation is outlined as an example, the project would consist of the multipurpose Manantali
Dam on the Bafing River, a major tributary of the Senegal River, to provide a regulated flow; the Diama
Dam close to the mouth of the river to prevent upstream intrusion of salty ocean water; a power generation
station with associated distribution network at the Manantali Dam; and navigation improvements to permit
year-round service to Mali. The benefits of the project are (1) increased production of agricultural crops
because of double cropping in the dry season and better water regulation in the wet season, (2) power, and
(3) reduced transport costs because of the navigation improvements. [This example is adapted from Riley
and others (1978).]
We will follow the analysis line by line. The first part of table 6-5 summarizes the basic information
about the project that will be needed to allocate cost. The technical information would be supplied by
the engineers and the other technicians; the cost and benefit would be estimated by the technical staff
working with the economists.
We begin with the project cost to be allocated (line 1.1). This is the total cost for the project as a whole
that is to be allocated among the three purposes. Included are both the construction cost (line 1.1.1),
stated at its present worth as of the beginning of the project, and the annual operation and maintenance
cost (often abbreviated in project accounts as o&m; line 1.1.2) necessary to operate the project.
162
The annual project benefit for each purpose is listed and the total of these is entered (line 1.2). In the
Senegal River case, the power benefit was assumed to be the amount for which the power could be sold.
In most instances, however, the power benefit would be assumed to be the annual cost of providing the
same amount of electricity by means of the most economic single-purpose alternative project-always
assuming that consumers would purchase electricity at that price. This simplification avoids the prob-
lems associated with valuing electricity. It implies that the real benefit of power-whatever that might
beis greater than the cost of the single-purpose alternative. The effect of this assumption is to set the
maximum that can be charged for power to equal the benefit of the most economic alternative single-
purpose project, which is what the analytical technique would do in any case.
Next is listed the alternative cost for each purpose (line 1.3), both for construction, stated at its present
worth (line 1.3.1), and for the annual operation and maintenance charge (line 1.3.2). As noted, an alterna-
tive cost is the cost of the most economic single-purpose project that could provide one of the same ben-
efits provided by the multipurpose project. An alternative does not have to be located at the
multipurpose site, but it should be capable of producing its benefit in essentially the same geographic
area as the one in which the benefit from the multipurpose project is to be utilized. The alternative
project may be of an entirely different physical nature, as would be the case if the alternatives to a mul-
tipurpose river development were pump irrigation and a thermal generating plant. Of course, the most
economic single-purpose alternative might cost more than the benefit it would generate; even the most
economic alternative might not be justified as a separate project.
Next is the separable cost (line 1.4) given by purpose, both for construction at present worth (line 1.4.1)
and for the annual operation and maintenance charge (line 1.4.2). Separable cost is expenditure that
could be avoided if one purpose were excluded from the project. It is possible to find that no portion of
the joint cost is solely and clearly traceable to a particular purpose. In measuring the separable cost, each
purpose should be treated as if it were the last increment added to a project that serves all the other mul-
tiple purposes; in this way favoring one purpose over another may be avoided.
In many projects, the annual figures such as those for the operation and maintenance cost and annual bene-
fit in the Senegal River example would not be constant during the life of the project. In these instances, the
present worth of the cost or benefit stream would be substituted because that is what is called for in the
joint cost allocation in the second part of table 6-5. Indeed, Riley and his colleagues (1978) do treat both
operation and maintenance cost and annual benefit in this manner in the report from which this example is
drawn.
The discount rate (line 1.5) is either the financing cost of the project if the project is to be constructed
using loan funds or the government borrowing rate if the project is to be financed from allocations in the
current government budget.
The project life (line 1.6) and the length of the construction period (line 1.7) are part of the technical data
supplied by those responsible for designing the project. Carrying out the analysis for a very long period,
however, has little meaning because of the very small present worth of values assumed in the distant
future. In the Senegal River project, for example, the physical facilities would probably last much longer
than the thirty-year period chosen for analysis, but extending the period of analysis would hardly affect
the joint cost allocation.
163
The last part of tabulating the basic information for the joint cost allocation is to derive the factors for
converting between annual values and present worth. The factor to convert annual cost or benefit to
present worth (the present worth of an annuity factor; line 1.8) is computed for the discount rate as indi-
cated. (The method of deriving the present worth
of an annuity factor for a period beginning in the future is discussed in chapter 9, under "The Time Value of
Money. Present worth of a stream of future income.") The factor to convert present worth of cost or benefit
to annual cost (capital recovery factor) for a period beginning some time in the future (line 1.9) cannot be
computed directly from the capital recovery factors given in standard tables in a manner similar to the
computation of the present worth of an annuity factor. This problem may be avoided, however, by taking
advantage of the fact that the capital recovery factor for any period is the reciprocal of the present worth of
an annuity factor for that period. Thus, we find that the capital recovery factor for the tenth through the
thirtieth year at 10 percent is 0.272 636 (1 - 3.667 890 = 0.272 636).
Table 6-5. Joint Cost Allocation,Senegal River Development Program, West Africa (millions of CFAF)
Line and item Irrigation Power Navigation Total
1. Basic information
1.1 Project cost to be allocated
1.1.1 Construction (at present worth) 41,464
1.1.2 Annual o&na 449
1.2.Annual project benefit 25,707 14,035 21,820 61,652
1.3.Alternative cost
1.3.1 Construction (at present worth) 16,120 5,233 23,980 45,333
1.3.2 Annual o&m 152 3,060 223 3,435
1.4.Separable cost
1.4.1 Construction (at present worth) 5,494 5,424 7,867 18,785
1.4.2 Annual O&M 55 109 75 239
1.5.Discount rate: 10 percent
1.6.Project life: 30 years
1.7.Construction period: 9 years
1.8.Factor to convert annual cost or benefit to present worth (present worth of an annuity factor):
Present worth of an annuity factor for 30 years at 10 percent 9.426 914 9.426914
Less present worth of an annuity factor for 9 years at 10 percent -5.759024
164
Present worth of an annuity factor for 10th through 30th years at 10 percent 3.667890
1.9. Factor to convert present worth of cost of benefit to annual cost (capital recovery factor):
Capital recovery factor Reciprocal for 10th through 30th years at
10 percent
Reciprocal of
present worth
factor
1/3.667890 .272636
2. Joint cost allocation (all values at present worth except distribtuion percentage)
2.1. Cost to be allocated
2.1.1 Construction (1.1.1) 41,464
2.1.2 o&m [0.1.2) x 3.667 890] 1,647
Total [(2.1.1) + (2.1.2)] 43,111
2.2. Benefit [(1.2) x 3.667 8901 94,290 51,479 80,033 225,802
2.3 Alternative cost
2.3.1 Construction (1.3.1) 16,120 5,233 23,980 45,333
2.3.2 o&m [(1.3.2) x 3.667 890] 558 11,224 818 12,600
Total [(2.3.1) + (2.3.2)] 16,678 16,457 24,798 57,933
2.4. Justifiable expenditure [lesser of
(2.2) or (2.3)] 16,678 16,457 24,798 57,933
2.5. Separable cost
2.5.1 Construction (1.4.1) 5,494 5,424 7,867 18,785
2.5.2 o&m [(1.4.2) x 3.667 8901 202 400 275 877
Total [(2.5.1) + (2.5.2)] 5,696 5,824 8,142 19,662
2.6. Remaining justifiable expenditure
[(2.4) - (2.5)] 10,982 10,633 16,656 38,271
2.7. Percentage distribution of (2.6) 28.70 27.78 43.52 100.00
2.8. Remaining joint cost [total from
lines indicated allocated according
to (2.7)]
2.8.1 Remaining construction cost
[(2.1,1) - (2.5.1)] 6,509 6,300 9,870 22,679
Table 6-5. Joint Cost Allocation,Senegal River Development Program, West Africa (millions of CFAF)
Line and item Irrigation Power Navigation Total
165
CFAF African Financial Community francs.
Source: Adapted from Riley and others (1978).
a. o&m Operation and maintenance cost.
b. The annual cost does not exactly equal the allocated cost times the capital recovery factor because of rounding.
The second part of table 6-5 lays out the computation of the joint cost allocation. Note that all values
(except the distribution percentages) are stated in their present worth equivalents.
The cost to be allocated (line 2.1) is the total cost of the project, obtained by adding the construction
cost at present worth (line 2.1.1), taken from line 1.1.1, and the present worth of the operation and
maintenance cost for the project (line 2.1.2), computed by taking the value of CFAF449 million
supplied in line 1.1.2 and multiplying it by the present worth of an annuity factor for the tenth
through the thirtieth years, which gives CFAF1,647 million (449 x 3.667 890 = 1,647). (The symbol
for African
Financial Community francs is CFAF.) It is this cost that is to be allocated among the various purposes.
The benefit (line 2.2) is the annual project benefit given in line 1.2 multiplied by the present worth of an
annuity factor for the tenth through the thirtieth years. Thus, the present worth of the irrigation benefit stream
over the life of the project is CFAF94,290 million (25,707 x 3.667 890 = 94,290).
2.8.2 Remaining o&m
[(2.1.2) - (2.5.2)] 221 214 335 770
Total [(2.8.1) + (2.8.2)] 6,730 6,514 10,205 23,449
2.9. Total allocated cost
2.9.1 Construction cost
[(2.5.0 + (2.8.1)] 12,003 11,724 17,737 41,464
2.9.2 o&m [(2.5.2) + (2.8.2)] 423 614 610 1,647
Total [(2.9.1) + (2.9.2)] 12,426 12,338 18,347 43,111
3. Annual costs
3.1. Annual cost
3.1.1 Construction[(2.9.1) x 0.272 636] 3,272 3,196 4,836
11,304
3.1.2 o&m [(2.9.2) x 0.272 6361 115 167 166 448
Total [(3.1.1) + (3.1.2)] 3387 3363 5002 11752
Table 6-5. Joint Cost Allocation,Senegal River Development Program, West Africa (millions of CFAF)
Line and item Irrigation Power Navigation Total
166
The alternative cost (line 2.3) lists the total costs for the most economic alternative single-purpose projects
with the same benefit as the appropriate components of the multipurpose project. The subentries that are
added for the total are taken from the first part of the table: the alternative construction cost (line 2.3.1) is
given in line 1.3.1; the operation and maintenance cost for the alternative single-purpose projects (line 2.3.2)
is taken from the annual operation and maintenance cost in line 1.3.2 and is converted to present worth using
the present worth of an annuity factor.
The justifiable expenditure for each purpose (line 2.4) is either the benefit on line 2.2 or the total alternative
cost on line 2.3, whichever is less. The sum of the justifiable expenditure for the various purposes is the total
justifiable expenditure for the multipurpose project; this amount is entered in the total column of line 2.4. We
noted this earlier: the amount to be allocated to a particular purpose is limited on the one hand by the benefit
it will produce and on the other hand by the cost of the most economic single-purpose alternative.
The separable cost (line 2.5) is taken from the first part of the table. The separable construction cost for
each purpose (line 2.5.1) comes from line 1.4.1. The present worth of the separable annual operation and
maintenance cost (line 2.5.2) is derived by multiplying the value in line 1.4.2 by the present worth of an
annuity factor. The separable cost is then totaled. In general, the total separable cost for each purpose will
be the minimum allocation that will be charged to that purpose.
To determine the remaining justifiable expenditure (line 2.6) for each purpose and for the project as a whole,
the separable cost of each purpose given in line 2.5 is deducted from the justifiable expenditure given in line
2.4. In the case of the irrigation purpose, for example, the separable cost of CFAF5,696 million is subtracted
from the justifiable expenditure of CFAF16,678 million, and this leaves a remaining justifiable expenditure of
CFAF10,982 million (16,678 - 5,696 = 10,982). Of course, if the value for any purpose is negative, it means
that the present worth of the benefit at the discount rate being used is less than the present worth of the cost. If
one purpose is not to subsidize another, then any purpose with a negative justifiable expenditure should be
omitted from the project.
The percentage distribution of the remaining justifiable expenditure in line 2.6 is calculated and entered in
line 2.7.
Now we must calculate the remaining joint cost for each purpose (line 2.8). This is done by allocating the
joint cost of the project to each purpose in proportion to the excess over the separable cost that we would be
justified in spending to realize the benefit from each purpose. We begin by determining the total remaining
(joint) construction cost in the last column of line 2.8.1. To do this, the total separable construction cost for
the entire project in the last column of line 2.5.1 is subtracted from the total construction cost for the entire
project in line 2.1.1 to give the total remaining joint construction cost of CFAF22,679 million, which then
is entered in the last column of line 2.8.1 (41,464 - 18,785 = 22,679).
Similarly, the total remaining (joint) operation and maintenance cost in the last column of line 2.8.2 is
determined by subtracting the separable operation and maintenance cost in line 2.5.2 from the total opera-
tion and maintenance cost in line 2.1.2. This gives a value of CFAF770 (1,647 - 877 = 770). These totals
are then allocated to the various purposes according to the percentage distribution of the remaining justifi-
able expenditure in line 2.7. Thus, the remaining construction cost for irrigation is 28.70 percent of
CFAF22,679, or CFAF6,509 (22,679 x 0.2870 = 6,509), and the remaining operation and maintenance cost
for power is 27.78 percent of CFAF770, or CFAF214 (770 x 0.2778 = 214). The total of the remaining joint
cost for each purpose is the sum of the remaining joint cost for construction (line 2.8.1) and operation and
maintenance cost (line 2.8.2).
167
The total allocated cost (line 2.9) may now be determined. The total allocated construction cost (line 2.9.1)
for each purpose is determined by adding the separable construction cost for that purpose in line 2.5.1 to
the remaining joint construction cost in line 2.8.1. Thus, the total allocated construction cost for the irriga-
tion component is CFAF12,003 million-(5,494 + 6,509 = 12,003). Similarly, the total allocated operation
and maintenance cost for each purpose (line 2.9.2) is the sum of the separable operation and maintenance
cost for that purpose in line 2.5.2 and the remaining joint operation and maintenance cost in line 2.8.2.
Hence, the total allocated operation and maintenance cost for the irrigation purpose is CFAF423 million
(202 + 221 = 423). The sum of the total allocated construction cost for each purpose and the total allocated
operation and maintenance cost for each purpose is the total allocated cost for each purpose. Of course, the
total allocated cost in the last column of line 2.9 must equal the total cost to be allocated in the last column
of line 2.1, and this provides an internal check on the calculations.
The third part of table 6-5 gives the annual costs. The annual cost (line 3.1) for each purpose is determined
by multiplying the total allocated cost in line 2.9 by the capital recovery factor for the tenth through the
thirtieth year at 10 percent as computed in the first part of the table. Thus, the annual cost for navigation is
determined by multiplying the total allocated cost by the capital recovery factor to obtain the annual cost of
CFAF5,002 million (18,347 x 0.272 636 = 5,002). Because of rounding, the annual costs for irrigation and
power do not quite check when calculated in this manner. In table 6-5 the total annual cost (line 3.1) is
shown as the total of the annual construction and annual operation and maintenance costs. The annual con-
struction cost (line 3.1.1) and the annual operation and maintenance cost (line 3.1.2) may be determined
separately as explained above. Thus, the annual construction cost for irrigation is CFAF3,272 million
(12,003 x 0.272 636 =
3,272), and the annual operation and maintenance cost chargeable to irrigation is CFAF115 million (423 x
0.272 636 = 115). An equitable annual charge for the use of irrigation water in the project would thus be
CFAF3,387 million, of which CFAF3,272 million would go toward the construction cost and CFAF115
million would be for operation and maintenance cost (3,272 + 115 = 3,387). If it were determined that the
governments were to bear the capital cost of irrigation and the farmers to pay only the operation and main-
tenance cost, the farmers would have to pay only the CFAF115 million annual operation and maintenance
charge. (In the Senegal River project, there would be additional cost to bring the water from the river to the
fields, but this falls outside the project cost as such.)
Note that the separable costs-remaining benefits method when calculated using market prices only speci-
fies what would be an equitable financial charge using as a sole criterion the cost incurred for each purpose
and the benefit generated by each purpose. What the beneficiaries actually will be charged depends on
many other considerations, as noted in the previous section on cost recovery. Sometimes, for example, the
capital cost for irrigation will be assumed by the treasury and be paid from general tax revenues, but farm-
ers will be assessed enough to pay for the operation and maintenance cost. Other services may also not be
charged precisely the amounts the separable costs-remaining benefits method indicates as equitable. Often,
for example, no charge is levied for flood control benefits that are paid for from the general revenue, and it
is likely that power users will be charged the prevailing rate for the area served by the multipurpose project
and not the rate determined by the annual cost of the project power component.
We have covered the primary elements of joint cost allocation in this discussion. Readers who wish to go
further might consult the report prepared by Riley and his group (1978) from which the Senegal River
example is drawn; the report includes variations on the allocation method outlined here as well as interest-
ing discussions of valuing benefit and allocating cost equitably between countries. A more extensive dis-
cussion of joint cost allocation will be found in James and Lee (1970), and Loughlin (1977) proposes a
modification of the separable costs-remaining benefits methodology to increase the equity by applying
weights for the relative amounts of the separable cost assigned to each purpose.
168
7. DETERMINING ECONOMIC VALUES
Once financial prices or costs and benefits have been determined and entered in the project accounts, the
analyst estimates the economic value of a proposed project to the nation as a whole. The financial prices
are the starting point for the economic analysis; they are adjusted as needed to reflect the value to the soci-
ety as a whole of both the inputs and outputs of the project.
When the market price of any good or service is changed to make it more closely represent the opportunity
cost (the value of a good or service in its next best alternative use) to the society, the new value assigned
becomes the "shadow price" (sometimes referred to as an "accounting price"). In the strictest sense, a
shadow price is any price that is not a market price, but the term usually also carries the connotation that it
is an estimate of the economic value of the good or service in question, perhaps weighted to reflect income
distribution and savings objectives.
In chapter 2, for purposes of project analysis, we took the objective of a farm to be to maximize the farm
family's incremental net benefit, the objective of the firm to maximize its incremental net income, and the
objective of the society to maximize the contribution a project makes to the national income-the value of
all final goods and services produced in the country during a particular period. These objectives, and the
analysis to test their realization, were seen in financial terms for farms and firms. But economic analysis of
a project moves beyond financial accounting. Strictly speaking, we may say that in financial analysis our
numeraire-the common yardstick of account-is the real income change of the entity being analyzed valued
in domestic market prices and in general expressed in domestic currency. But in economic analysis, since
market prices do not always reflect scarcity values, our numeraire becomes the real, net national income
change valued in opportunity cost. As we will note below, one methodology expresses these economic val-
ues in domestic currency and uses a shadow price of foreign exchange; the shadow price increases the
value of traded goods to allow for the premium on foreign exchange arising from distortions caused by
trade policies. Another method in use expresses the opportunity cost value of real national income change
in domestic currency converted from foreign exchange at the official exchange rate and applies a conver-
sion factor to the opportunity cost or value in use of nontraded goods expressed in domestic currency; the
conversion factor reduces the value of nontraded goods relative to traded goods to allow for the foreign
exchange premium.
Before a detailed discussion of adjusting financial accounts to reflect economic values commences, an
important practical consideration must be emphasized. Many of the adjustments to the financial
accounts can become quite complex. Not every point made in this chapter will apply to every agricul-
tural project, nor will all points have the same importance in those projects where they do apply. The
complexity of some calculations and the relative importance of some adjustments recall the reason for
undertaking an economic analysis of a project: to improve the investment decision. Some adjustments
will make a considerable difference to the economic attractiveness of a proposed project; others will be
of minor importance, and no reasonable adjustment would change the investment decision. What we
need to do here is to adopt an accounting practice-the doctrine of materiality. The analyst must focus his
attention on those adjustments to the financial accounts that are likely to make a difference in the project
investment decision. He should use rough approximations or ignore trivial adjustments that will not
make any difference in the decision. There is an important balance to be struck between analytical ele-
gance and getting on with the job.
169
In this chapter we will adjust the financial prices of tangible items to reflect economic values in three suc-
cessive steps: (1) adjustment for direct transfer payments, (2) adjustment for price distortions in traded
items, and (3) adjustment for price distortions in nontraded items. Before embarking on this series of
adjustments, we will examine the problem of determining the appropriate premium for foreign exchange.
After completing the adjustments, we will summarize the main points in a "decision tree" for determining
economic values.
The series of successive adjustments to the financial accounts will lead to a set of economic accounts in
which all values are stated in "efficiency prices," that is, in prices that reflect real resource use or consump-
tion satisfaction and that are adjusted to eliminate direct and indirect transfers. These values will be market
prices when market prices are good estimates of economic value or they will be shadow prices when mar-
ket prices have had to be adjusted for distortions. When we adjust financial prices to reflect economic val-
ues better, in the vast majority of cases we will use the opportunity cost of the good or service as the
criterion. We will use opportunity costs to value all inputs and outputs that are intermediate products used
in the production of some other good or service. For some final goods and services, however, the concept
of opportunity cost is not applicable because it is consumption value that sets the economic value, not
value in some alternative use. In these instances, we will adopt the criterion of "willingness to pay" (also
called "value in use"). We need to do this, however, only when the good or service in question is nontraded
(perhaps as a result of government regulation) during some part of the life of the project-a point to which
we will return later in our discussion. Because the ultimate objective of all economic activity is to satisfy
consumption wants, all opportunity costs are derived from consumption values, and thus from willingness
to pay.
An example may clarify our use of willingness to pay and opportunity cost. Suppose a country that is a
rather inefficient producer of sugar has a policy to forbid sugar imports to protect its local industry. The
price of sugar may then rise well above what it would be if sugar were imported. Even at these higher
prices, most consumers will still buy some sugar for direct consumption-say, in coffee or tea-even though
they may use less sugar than if the price were lower. The domestic price of sugar will be above the world
market price and will represent the value of the sugar by the criterion of willingness to pay. If we were now
to consider the economic value of sugar from the standpoint of its use in making fruit preserves, its value
would become the opportunity cost of diverting the sugar from direct consumption, where willingness to
pay is the criterion and has set the economic value.
Economic analysis, then, will state the cost and benefit to the society of the proposed project investment
either in opportunity cost or in values determined by the willingness to pay. The costs or values will be
determined in part by both the resource constraints and the policy constraints faced by the project. The dif-
ference between the benefit and the cost-the incremental net benefit stream-will be an accurate reflection
of the project's income-generating capacity-that is, its net contribution to real national income.
The system outlined here will make no adjustment for the income distribution effects of a proposed project
nor for its effect on the amount of the benefit generated that will be invested to accelerate future growth.
Rather, the economic project analysis, stated in efficiency prices, will judge the capacity of the project to
generate national income. The analyst can then choose from those alternative projects (or alternative for-
mulations of roughly the same project) the high-yielding alternative that in his subjective judgment also
makes the most effective contribution to objectives other than maximizing national income-objectives
170
such as income distribution, savings generated, number of jobs produced, regional development,
national security, or whatever. The choice about the kind of project will of course be made rather early
in the project cycle. Thus, it may be determined early on that for reasons of social policy a project will
be preferred that encourages smallholder agriculture rather than plantations. Then, the choices will
likely be several projects or variants of projects that encourage smallholders; the analytical technique
presented here can determine from among the projects that will further the desired social objective the
ones that are more economically efficient.
Although the system outlined here makes no adjustment for income distribution effects or for saving
versus consumption, it is compatible with other analytical systems that do. In particular, Squire and van
der Tak (1975) recommend evaluating proposed projects first by using essentially the same efficiency
prices that will be estimated here and then by further adjusting these prices to weight them for income
distribution effects and for potential effects on further investment of the benefits generated. The systems
in Little and Mirrlees (1974) and the uxmo Guidelines for Project Evaluation (I 972a), with minor
departures, also propose evaluating the project by first establishing its economic accounts in efficiency
prices and then by adjusting these accounts to weight them for income distribution and savings effects.
Making allowances for income distribution and savings effects involves somewhat more complex
adjustments than those necessary to estimate efficiency prices; it also unavoidably incorporates some
element of subjective judgment. Although these systems have attracted widespread interest among econ-
omists, their application has been only partial or on a limited scale. The system of economic analysis
using efficiency prices that is outlined here is essentially the one currently used for all but a few World
Bank projects and also the one used for most analyses of projects funded by other international organi-
zations.
The economic analysis follows on the financial analysis presented in the preceding chapters; it will be
based on projected farm budgets similar to those in chapter 4, on projected accounts for commercial
firms such as those in chapter 5, and on projected government cash flows such as those in chapter 6.
Since these accounts are projected for the life of the project, there will be no separate allowance for
depreciation. Instead, as noted earlier, the costs will have been entered in the years they are incurred and
the returns in the year they are realized.
In the economic analysis, we will want to work with accounts cast on a constant basis; thus we will want
to be sure that any inflation contingency allowances have been taken out. As noted in chapter 2, how-
ever, physical contingency allowances and contingency allowances intended to allow for relative price
changes are properly incorporated in the economic accounts, even when the accounts are in constant
prices. Of course, any of the items included among the contingencies may be revalued, if necessary, to
adjust them from their market prices to economic values. The projected financial accounts will usually
not have any entry for cash. Instead, they will show separately the cash position of the farmer or note a
cumulative cash surplus or deficit. It is possible, however, that some accounts may have a cash balance
included in an entry for working capital or the like. If such an entry exists, it must be removed from the
economic analysis; since we will be working on a real basis in the economic accounts, we will show real
costs when they occur and real benefits when they are realized.
Determining the Premium on Foreign Exchange
171
Adjusting the financial accounts of a project to reflect economic values involves determining the proper
premium to attach to foreign exchange. That determination quickly involves issues of obtaining proper val-
ues and of economic theory. Fortunately for most agricultural project analysts, the answer to the question
about how to determine the foreign exchange premium is simple (and simplistic): ask the central planning
agency. The point is that if various alternative investment opportunities open to a nation are to be com-
pared, the same foreign exchange premium must be used in the economic analysis of each alternative. Oth-
erwise we will be mixing apples and oranges and cannot use our analysis reliably to choose among
alternatives. Sometimes, however, the analyst will be forced to make his own estimate of the foreign
exchange premium. A practical approach, along with some of the theoretical and applied problems of the
computation, is given by Ward (1976). Little and Mirrlees (1974), Squire and van der Tak (1975), and the
UNIDO Guidelines (1972a) also outline in considerable detail how to make the conversion between for-
eign exchange and domestic currency when their analytical systems are used.
The need to determine the foreign exchange premium arises because in many countries, as a result of
national trade policies (including tariffs on imported goods and subsidies on exports), people pay a pre-
mium on traded goods over what they pay for nontraded goods. This premium is not adequately reflected
when the prices of traded goods are converted to the domestic currency equivalent at the official exchange
rate. The premium represents the additional amount that users of traded goods, on an average and through-
out the economy, are willing to pay to obtain one more unit of traded goods. Since all costs and benefits in
economic analysis are valued on the basis of opportunity cost or willingness to pay, it is the relation
between willingness to pay for traded as opposed to nontraded goods that establishes their relative value.
The premium people are willing to pay for traded goods, then, represents the amount that, on the average,
traded goods are mispriced in relation to nontraded items when the official exchange rate is used to convert
foreign exchange prices into domestic values. By applying the premium to traded goods, we are able to
compare the values of traded and nontraded goods by the criterion of opportunity cost or willingness to
pay. Although this premium is commonly referred to as the foreign exchange premium, it should be recog-
nized that the premium is actually a premium for traded goods; foreign exchange itself has no intrinsic
value. The premium for traded goods is a premium on the particular "basket" of traded goods that the
present and projected trade pattern implies. Of course, future patterns of trade could change the exact com-
position of the basket, and thus the premium would change; to estimate these changes involves a knowl-
edge of elasticities-the way demand and supply of goods and services vary when prices change-that is
generally not available. Where such elasticities are known, it is possible for a well-trained economist to
provide the project analyst with a more accurate estimate of the expected premium on foreign exchange.
If traded items were to be taken into the project analysis at an economic value obtained by simply multi-
plying the border price by the official exchange rate without adjusting for the foreign exchange premium,
imported items would appear too cheap and domestic items too dear. This would encourage overinvest-
ment in projects that use imports. For example, if combine harvesters look cheap because no allowance is
made for the premium on traded goods, then imported combines might displace local harvest labor, even
though the local labor might have no other opportunities for employment.
There are two equivalent ways of incorporating the premium on foreign exchange in our economic anal-
ysis. The first is to multiply the official exchange rate by the foreign exchange premium, which yields a
shadow foreign exchange rate. [Note that this derivation of the shadow exchange rate is appropriate for
efficiency analysis of projects and thus has a discrete definition. Other definitions of the shadow
exchange rate are appropriate depending on the uses to which the rate will be put. Bacha and Taylor
172
(1972) discuss some of these alternatives.] The shadow exchange rate is then used to convert the foreign
exchange price of traded items into domestic currency. The effect of using the shadow exchange rate is
to make traded items relatively more expensive in domestic currency by the amount of the foreign
exchange premium. (An alternative arithmetic formulation is to convert the foreign exchange price into
domestic currency at the official exchange rate and then multiply by 1 plus the foreign exchange pre-
mium stated in decimal terms.) The shadow exchange rate approach has been used in the past in most
World Bank projects when adjustments have been made to allow for the foreign exchange premium on
traded goods, and it is also used in the UNIDO Guidelines (1972a).
An alternative way to allow for the foreign exchange premium on traded items that is increasingly coming
into use is to reduce the domestic currency values for nontraded items by an amount sufficient to reflect the
premium. This is sometimes called the "conversion factor" approach. In its simplest form, based on
straightforward efficiency prices, a single conversion factor-the "standard conversion factor" of Squire and
van der Tak-is derived by taking the ratio of the value of all exports and imports at border prices to their
value at domestic prices (Squire and van der Tak 1975, p. 93). In this form, the standard conversion factor
bears a close relation to our shadow exchange rate; indeed, the standard conversion factor may be deter-
mined by dividing the official exchange rate by the shadow exchange rate or by taking the reciprocal of 1
plus the foreign exchange premium stated in decimal terms. Market prices or shadow prices of nontraded
items are then multiplied by this standard conversion factor, and this reduces them to their appropriate eco-
nomic value. Little and Mirrlees and Squire and van der Tak both adopt the conversion factor approach. In
addition, both pairs of authors recommend deriving specific conversion factors for particular groups of
products that will allow for any difference between market prices and opportunity costs and for the foreign
exchange premium on traded items. As a result, their specific conversion factors may always be applied
directly to domestic market prices. These authors also recommend that their conversion factors be calcu-
lated in social prices by including distribution weights.
In the valuation system followed here, all items are valued at efficiency prices without allowance for distri-
bution weights (the issue of selecting projects to achieve distributional objectives is treated as a subsequent
decision). This being the case, consideration of the distribution-weighted conversion factors proposed by
Little and Mirrlees and Squire and van der Tak may be left aside, and we may focus our discussion on the
Squire and van der Tak standard conversion factor as it relates to efficiency prices.
The relation between the official exchange rate (in the equations below, OER), the foreign exchange pre-
mium (Fx premium), the shadow exchange rate (SER), and the standard conversion factor (SCF) is perhaps
easier to understand in equation form:
so that, as Squire and van der Tak note (1975, p. 93),
173
We may illustrate these relations by an example taken from the Agricultural Minimum Package Project in
Ethiopia. At the time the project was appraised, the analyst knew that the official exchange rate of
Eth$2.07 = US$1 failed to account for a foreign exchange premium of at least 10 percent. (The symbol for
the Ethiopian dollar is Eth$; since this project was appraised the name of the currency unit has been
changed to birr.) Thus, the analyst multiplied the official exchange rate by 1 plus a 10 percent foreign
exchange premium to obtain a shadow exchange rate of Eth$2.28 = US$1 (2.07 x 1.1 = 2.28) that he
rounded up to Eth$2.30 = US$ 1. The shadow exchange rate was then applied to all'traded items in the
financial accounts, thereby increasing their relative value.
If the domestic currency is worth more per unit than the foreign exchange, the arithmetic is somewhat dif-
ferent. At the time the Nucleus Estate/Smallholder Oil Palm Project in Rivers State, Nigeria, was
appraised, the official exchange rate was N 1 = US$1.54. (The symbol for Nigerian naira is N.) The project
analysts were given a shadow exchange rate of N1 = US$1.27 to use in their economic evaluation. If, how-
ever, they had simply been informed that the foreign exchange premium was 21 percent, they could have
determined the shadow exchange rate by dividing the dollar value by 1 plus the premium stated in decimal
terms (1.54 - 1.21 = 1.27).
Of course, the effect of applying the shadow exchange rate to the traded items in the Ethiopian project was
to make all nontraded items 10 percent less expensive in relation to the traded items in the economic
accounts as opposed to the financial accounts. Now, instead of increasing the relative value of traded items,
we could reduce the value of all nontraded items appearing in the financial accounts so that in the eco-
nomic account they are relatively 10 percent less expensive. To do this we calculate the standard conver-
sion factor, which is 1 divided by 1 plus the amount of the foreign exchange premium stated in decimal
terms. In this case, the result is a factor of 0.909 (1 - 1.1 = 0.909). To obtain the economic values, we would
then multiply all financial prices for non-traded items by this factor if these market prices have been judged
good estimates of opportunity cost or good estimates of economic value on grounds of willingness to pay.
For nontraded items such as wage rates for unskilled labor for which it is felt that the market price has
overstated the economic values, we would first determine a good estimate of the economic value in domes-
tic currency and then multiply that by the standard conversion factor. Financial prices for traded items,
whether imports or exports, would be left unchanged in the economic accounts except that any transfer
payment included in these prices would be taken out. To get all values into the same currency, we would
convert all foreign currency prices to domestic currency values using the official exchange rate.
When we turn to determining measures of project worth in chapter 9, we will find that the absolute value of
the net present worth differs depending on which approach we use, shadow exchange rate or conversion
factor, but that the relative net present worths of different projects analyzed by the same approach will not
change. Whichever approach is used, the internal rate of return, the benefit-cost ratio, and the net benefit-
investment ratio do not change. (Using a number of disaggregated conversion factors, rather than a stan-
dard conversion factor, can give different values for the measures of project worth. Hence, for projects at
the margin of acceptability, using specific conversion factors rather than a standard conversion factor or a
shadow exchange rate may result in a different decision on whether to accept or reject, but such cases are
infrequent.)
Adjusting Financial Prices to Economic Values
174
Let us now proceed with the adjustments necessary to convert financial prices to economic values. We will
divide these into three steps: (1)
adjustment for direct transfer payments, (2) adjustment for price distortions in traded items, and (3) adjust-
ment for price distortions in non-traded items. We will then note that, for what are termed "indirectly
traded" items (locally produced items that use a high proportion of traded inputs, such as locally assembled
tractors, or construction that uses imported materials), steps 2 and 3 must be done at the same time.
Step 1. Adjustment for direct transfer payments
The first step in adjusting financial prices to economic values is to eliminate direct transfer payments.
Direct transfer payments (see chapter 2) are payments that represent not the use of real resources but only
the transfer of claims to real resources from one person in the society to another. In agricultural projects,
the most common transfer payments are taxes, direct subsidies, and credit transactions that include loans,
receipts, repayment of principal, and interest payments. Two credit transactions that might escape notice
are accounts payable and accounts receivable. All these entries should be taken out before the financial
accounts are adjusted to reflect economic values.
Many important subsidies in agriculture operate not by means of direct payments but through mechanisms
that change market prices. These subsidies are not direct subsidies treated as direct transfer payments but
rather are indirect subsidies. The financial price of an item for which the price has been changed because of
an indirect subsidy is converted to an economic value according to the procedures outlined below for
traded items in step 2 and, as appropriate, for nontraded items in step 3.
Step 2. Adjustment for price distortions in traded items
The second step in adjusting financial prices to economic values is the adjustment for distortions in market
prices of traded items.
Traded items are those for which, if exports,f.o.b. price > domestic cost of production, or the items may be
exported through government intervention by use of export subsidies and the like, and, if imports,domestic
cost of production > c.i.f. price.
Conceptually-and usually in practice, too-prices for traded items in project analysis are more easily dealt
with than those for nontraded items. We begin the valuation by determining the "border price." For
imports, this normally will be the c.i.f. price and, for exports, normally the f.o.b. price. The border price is
then adjusted to allow for domestic transport and marketing costs between the point of import or export
and the project site; the result is the efficiency price to be used in the project account (see the subsection on
"Economic export and import parity values," below).
175
If the proposed project produces something that can be used in place of imported goods-that is, if it pro-
duces an "import substitute"-the value to the society is the foreign exchange saved by using the domestic
product valued at the border price, in this case the c.i.f. price. But if the project uses items that might other-
wise have been exported-that is, if it uses "diverted exports"-then the opportunity cost to the society of
these items is the foreign exchange lost on the exports forgone valued at the border price, this time the
f.o.b. price.
If we are using conversion factors to allow for the foreign exchange premium, the economic value of a
traded item would be obtained by converting the foreign exchange price to its domestic currency equiva-
lent using the official exchange rate.
If we are using the shadow exchange rate to allow for the foreign exchange premium, the economic value
of a traded item would be obtained by converting the foreign exchange price to its domestic currency
equivalent using the shadow exchange rate.
To illustrate how these computations are made, we may take as an example an imported item such as a
combine harvester for which the c.i.f. price is US$45,000. In the financial accounts, we will convert this
price to domestic currency using the official exchange rate of, say, Rs10 = US$1, obtaining a c.i.f. price in
domestic currency of Rs450,000 (45,000 x 10 = 450,000). To this would be added any import duty, say 10
percent, or Rs45,000 (450,000 x 0.10 = 45,000); the price of the combine in our financial accounts would
therefore be Rs495,000 (450,000 + 45,000 = 495,000). (The costs of moving the harvester to the project
site would also be added; see the subsection on "Economic export and import parity values," below.) If we
are using the conversion factor approach to allow for the foreign exchange premium in our economic
accounts, we would enter the combine in the accounts at the c.i.f. price expressed in domestic currency
converted at the official exchange rate, or Rs450,000 (45,000 x 10 = 450,000). There would be no allow-
ance for the duty because that is a transfer payment. If we are using the shadow exchange rate approach to
allow for the foreign exchange premium, however, we would increase the price of the imported items to
reflect the premium. Suppose we assume the foreign exchange premium to be 20 percent; our shadow
exchange rate thus becomes Rs12 = US$1 (10 x 1.2 = 12). Now the Rs495,000 item in our financial
accounts becomes Rs540,000 in our economic account (45,000 x 12 = 540,000). We could have accom-
plished the same thing, of course, by multiplying our domestic financial price (net of transfer payments) by
1 plus the foreign exchange premium (450,000 x 1.2 = 540,000). The effect of our computation, obviously,
is to make imported items more expensive in our economic analysis.
The same logic works in reverse for exports. The ton of wheat that is worth $176 a ton f.o.b. at the port of
export will be entered in the financial accounts by converting the foreign exchange price to its domestic
currency equivalent using the official exchange rate. This gives a value of Rsl,760 (176 x 10 = 1,760),
assuming that there is no export subsidy. The same rupee value would be entered in the economic accounts
if we are using the conversion factor approach to allow for the foreign exchange premium. If we are
using the shadow exchange rate approach to allow for the foreign exchange premium, we multiply the
foreign exchange border price of the wheat by the shadow exchange rate instead of the official exchange
rate to calculate the economic value expressed in domestic currency. This increases the relative value of
the wheat, which now will be valued at Rs2,112 (176 x 12 = 2,112). We could have accomplished the
same thing, of course, by multiplying our financial domestic price by 1 plus the foreign exchange pre-
mium stated in decimal terms (1,760 x 1.2 = 2,112). Now the ton of wheat, like other exported goods, is
valued at its opportunity cost and is seen to be relatively much more valuable.
176
Diverted exports and import substitutes are valued by the same line of reasoning, except that for a diverted
export we would take the f.o.b. price as the basis for valuation and for import substitutes we would take the
c.i.f. price. In the examples of the previous paragraphs, if the country exported combines but diverted them
to a domestic project, the opportunity cost would be based on the f.o.b. price instead of the c.i.f. price we
assumed for imported combines. Similarly, if the wheat produced were to substitute for imports, we would
base its value on the c.i.f. price of wheat rather than on the f.o.b. price we assumed for the case of exports.
In practice, values for most traded items are determined by taking the border price as we have been using it
and then either subtracting or adding the domestic handling costs to obtain an economic value at the farm
gate or project boundary-the economic export or import parity value (see the subsection on "Economic
export and import parity values," below). Also, many items that are locally produced incorporate a signifi-
cant proportion of imported components and may be considered indirectly imported items (see the section
on "Indirectly Traded Items," below). To determine either parity values or values for indirectly traded
items involves valuing separately not only the traded component but the nontraded component as well, so
we will defer detailed discussion of these values until we have discussed valuing nontraded items.
Step 3. Adjustment for price distortions in nontraded items
The third step in adjusting financial prices to economic values is the adjustment for distortions in market
prices of nontraded items. Nontraded items are those for which c.i.f. price > domestic cost of production >
f.o.b. price, or the items are nontraded because of government intervention by means of import bans, quo-
tas, and the like.
Often, nontraded items will be bulky goods such as straw or bricks, which by their very nature tend to be
cheaper to produce domestically than to import but for which the export price is lower than the domestic
cost of production. In other instances, nontraded items are highly perishable goods such as fresh vegetables
or fluid milk for direct consumption.
In general, these are produced under relatively competitive conditions-they are produced either by many
small farmers or by a few industrial producers for whom entry into the market is relatively easy; thus prices
cannot rise too far out of line before new competition appears.
If we are using the shadow exchange rate approach to allow for the foreign exchange premium, and if the
market price of a nontraded item is a good estimate of the opportunity cost, or willingness to pay is the cri-
terion, we will accept the market price directly as our economic value. Otherwise, we will adjust the mar-
ket price to eliminate distortions by the methods outlined in this section and then use the estimate of the
opportunity cost we obtain as the shadow price to be entered in the economic accounts.
If we are using the conversion factor approach to allow for the foreign exchange premium, an additional
step is necessary. All prices for non-traded items are reduced by multiplying them by the appropriate con-
version factor. When willingness to pay is the criterion or when the market price is considered to be a good
estimate of opportunity cost, the market price is accepted as the basis for valuation and then reduced by
multiplying it by the conversion factor to obtain the economic value. But if we are using the standard con-
version factor and the market price must be adjusted to obtain a better estimate of the opportunity cost,
then the opportunity cost must, in turn, be multiplied by the standard conversion factor. (If specific conver-
sion factors have been developed, as Little and Mirrlees and Squire and van der Tak suggest in their sys-
177
tems, then these factors incorporate the adjustments for nontraded goods distortions, opportunity costs, and
distribution weights; the market price need only be multiplied by the specific conversion factor to reach the
economic value.) Whether we use a shadow exchange rate or a standard conversion factor to allow for the
foreign exchange premium, the adjustments we make to allow for distortions in market prices of nontraded
items are essentially the same; only the step of multiplying the market price or the opportunity cost by the
standard conversion factor differs.
As we said earlier in the chapter, prices for traded items are more easily adjusted to economic values than
are prices for nontraded items. The following subsections treat some of the difficulties encountered in
determining economic values for various nontraded items.
Market prices as estimates of economic value.. In a perfectly competitive market, the opportunity cost of an
item would be its price, and this price would also be equal to the marginal value product of the item (see
chapter 3). If a nontraded item is bought and sold in a relatively competitive market, the market price is the
measure of the willingness to pay and is generally the best estimate of an opportunity cost. Most agricul-
tural projects are expected to meet a growing demand for food or fiber and are small relative to the total
agricultural production of the nation. If that is the case, in general we can accept the market price directly
as our estimate of the economic value of a nontraded item. Also, if we are valuing a domestically produced
project input that is produced by a supply industry operating near full capacity, we can generally accept the
market price of the input as its economic value.
In some instances more common in industrial and transport projects than in agricultural, the output of
the project is large relative to the market. The output from the project may therefore cause the price to
fall. But the economic value of the new production, despite the fall in price, is not lower to the old users
of the product; to them, it is still worth what the price was without the project. Yet to new users, the
project output is not worth what the old price was; otherwise, the price would not have fallen. Under
these circumstances, the economic value of the new output is neither the old price nor the new; rather, it
is estimated by some weighted average of the old and new values. In technical economic terms, the total
value of the new output is measured by the additional area under the demand curve as project output is
increased, and the marginal value in use for each new buyer is measured by the demand curve at the
point the buyer enters the market. The problem is that the precise shape of the demand curve is rarely
known. As a result most project economists, when dealing with a project whose output is large relative
to the market, adopt a simplifying rule of thumb-they assume that the demand curve is linear and down-
ward sloping at 45 degrees. They then take the new estimate of the average value in use or opportunity
cost-hence, of economic value-to be the average of the price without the project and the lower price with
the project.
Sometimes a project will be proposed that does not meet new demand but replaces other goods or services
in the market. Again, this is more common in industrial and transport projects than it is in agricultural. In
such situations, if the project accounts are cast on a with-and-without basis, the economic value of the
incremental net benefit stream would reflect only the saving from the new project compared with the old.
This is because one of the costs of the new project would be the benefit forgone from the old production no
longer realized and because one of the benefits would be the cost avoided for the old production. Such a
case might arise, for instance, if an inefficient food processing plant were to be replaced by a more modern
and efficient one, or if a high-cost railway branch line were to be replaced by bus and truck transport along
an existing highway. Occasionally, however, a project will be proposed for a new plant that will replace
178
existing output, and the analyst fails to recognize the with-and-without situation. Instead, he values the out-
put from the new plant as if it were meeting new demand and forgets to charge as a cost to the project the
benefit forgone from the production of the old plant that is to be displaced. If the project is not to be cast on
a with-and-without basis, then the analyst must take as his gross benefit only the economic value of the
resources saved by replacing the old plant, not the economic value of the output from the new plant.
Note that some nontraded items may involve using significant amounts of imported raw materials. These
will be considered below, in the discussion of indirectly traded items. Such items might include machinery
assembled domestically from imported components or electricity that is generally nontraded but that may
require imported generating equipment and traded fuels for production.
One nontraded item that can sometimes lead to confusion is insurance. At first glance, insurance might
look like a transfer payment and thus would not be included in the economic accounts of the project. We
may, however, look upon insurance as a kind of sharing of the risk of real economic loss. This would be the
case for fire insurance if project buildings were to be pooled with many other buildings in the society. In
the event of a fire, there is a real economic cost. The resources used to replace a burned building, or the
output forgone because a building no longer is available, reduce the amount of final goods and services
available to the society and thus create a real reduction of the national income. Therefore, to the extent an
insurance cost represents sharing of risk, it represents a proportionate sharing of real economic cost and
should be included in the economic accounts. The insurance rate is usually based on the probability of a
real loss and the value of the item insured.
Although the market price can frequently be accepted as a good estimate of the economic value of a non-
traded item, for institutional reasons of one kind or another the market price can vary significantly from the
opportunity cost of the item to the society. Two such nontraded items are important in most agricultural
projects: land and labor.
Valuing Land. The opportunity cost of land is the net value of production forgone when the use of
the land is changed from its without-project use to its with-project use.
The simplest case to value is one in which land changes use but not management control, either because an
owner-operator is farming the land or because the same tenant continues to farm it. This is a common case
in agricultural projects in which farmers are simply encouraged to adopt a more productive technology. If
the analyst has laid out the financial accounts to show the situations with and without the project for farm
budgets as suggested in chapter 4, then the incremental net benefit (that is, the incremental cash flow) of
the project, when financial prices have been converted to economic values and the accounts aggregated as
suggested in chapter 8, will include an allowance for the net value of production forgone by changing the
land use. Take, for example, the Kemubu Irrigation Project in Malaysia in which new irrigation water per-
mitted changing the land use in the dry season from rather unproductive pasture to second-crop paddy rice
production. The contribution of the land to the value of the pasture-hence, its opportunity cost-would be
properly accounted for when the value of the weight gain of the livestock pastured on the land without the
project is subtracted from the value of the paddy rice produced on the land with the project. Converting
project financial prices to economic values-say, changing the market price of the weight gain of the ani-
mals on the pasture and the market price of paddy rice to their economic equivalents if these are seen to be
different from the market prices-automatically revalues the opportunity cost of the change in land use from
financial to economic terms.
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In other instances, however, the financial accounts must show a cost for purchasing land or the right to use
it. Here problems arise because in many countries agricultural land is hardly sold at all, and, when it is,
considerations of investment security and prestige may push its price well above what the land could rea-
sonably be expected to contribute to agricultural production. In these instances, we will not want to accept
the market purchase price as a good estimate of the economic opportunity cost of the land and must search
for an alternative. Many times that alternative will be to take the rental value of the land. In a number of
countries, although land is infrequently sold, there is a fairly widespread and competitive rental market.
This may be true if there is considerable tenancy in the country, of course, but it may also hold true if the
dominant form of land tenure is the owner-occupied farm. Older farmers may not wish to cultivate all of
their holdings themselves and will be willing to rent a field to a younger neighboring farmer; widows may
not wish to operate their holdings themselves; or a farmer suffering from an illness may wish to rent part of
his farm for a season while he recovers. When such a rental market exists, it probably provides a fairly
good indication of the net value of production of the land and, hence, of the opportunity cost if the land use
is changed. A renter is not likely to pay any premium for prestige or investment security and thus will not
pay a rent higher than the contribution the land can make to the crop he proposes to grow. That rental value
may then be entered in the project's financial account year by year as a cost. Alternatively, it may be capi-
talized by dividing the rent by an appropriate rate of interest stated in decimal terms; the capitalized value
is then entered in the first year of the project's financial accounts. The appropriate rate of interest actually
would be the economic rate of return (see chapter 9), but this may well involve repetitive computations.
Some analysts prefer to use the opportunity cost of capital (also discussed in chapter 9). If this rate were,
say, 12 percent and the going rental rate were Rs525 a hectare, then the capital value of a hectare would be
Rs4,375 (525 - 0.12 = 4,375). If we were using the conversion factor approach to allow for the foreign
exchange premium, this capitalized value would be, in turn, multiplied by a conversion factor. If the stan-
dard conversion factor were 0.909, for instance, the land would then have an economic value of Rs3,977
(4,375 x 0.909 = 3,977). At the end of the project, the same value of the land could be credited to the
project as a residual value.
Inevitably, however, there will be instances in which neither the purchase price nor the rental value is a
good estimate; we then will have to make a direct estimate of the productive capability of the land. Such a
direct estimate is not difficult if idle land is to be used for a settlement project. In the projects financed by
the World Bank in the Amazon basin at Alto Bene in Brazil and in the Caqueta region of Colombia, the
land without the project would in effect have produced no economically valuable output at all. Hence, the
net value of production forgone was clearly zero, and no value for the land was entered in the project eco-
nomic accounts. If settlers were required to pay the government a purchase price, either all at once or in
installments, the farm budgets at market prices in the financial analysis would have to show those pay-
ments as a cost. When these financial farm budgets were converted to economic values, however, there
would be no cost entered for the land because there was no reduction in national income as a result of shift-
ing its use from jungle to farmland. (Of course, the cost of clearing jungle land should be reflected some-
where in the project costs.)
In other cases it will not be so simple. The analyst will have to make a direct estimate of the net value of
production forgone for bringing the land into the project. A straightforward approach is to take the gross
value of the land's output at market prices and deduct from that all the costs of production-including allow-
ances for hired and family labor and for the interest on the capital engaged, again all at market prices. The
analyst can assign the residual as the contribution of the land to the production of the output and take that
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as the opportunity cost of the land in financial terms. This set of computations can then be converted to
economic terms by using economic values for each of the input and output entries. For those familiar with
the technique, estimating a production function would provide a much more accurate estimate of the con-
tribution of the land to the value of the output than the direct method described here and thus is a preferable
approach.
Valuing Labor. Wage rates for labor in many developing countries may not accurately reflect the oppor-
tunity cost of shifting labor from its without-project occupation to its with-project use.
The price of labor in a perfectly competitive market, like other prices in that impossible place, would be
determined by its marginal value product. That is, the wage would be equal to the value of the additional
product that one additional laborer could produce. It would pay a farmer to hire an additional laborer-for
harvesting, for example-so long as that extra worker increased total output by a value more than the wage
the farmer had to pay him.
Even in labor-abundant societies, there are probably peak seasons at planting and harvesting when most
rural workers can find employment. At those seasons, the market wage paid rural labor is probably a pretty
good estimate of its opportunity cost and its marginal value product; therefore, we could accept the market
wage as the economic value of the rural labor.
The problem of course is that, except for the peak seasons, in many crowded countries the addition of one
more laborer may add very little to the total production-in an extreme instance, nothing at all. That is, if
there is a surplus of agricultural workers, there may be very little or virtually no productive outlet for their
energies in the off-season. In technical language, we may say that the marginal value product of such labor-
the amount such labor adds to the national income-is very close to zero. Because the marginal value prod-
uct of labor is also the opportunity cost of labor in the economic accounts, we may make another state-
ment: if we take a laborer away from a farm community where he is
producing very little or nothing and put him to work productively in an agricultural project that produces
something of value, we do not have to forgo very much to use this labor to realize new production. This
being the case, we can consider the cost of the laborer to be very low-some economists would say even
zero. By this line of reasoning, the proper value to enter in the economic (not financial) account as the cost
of labor would be very small, perhaps only a fraction of the going market wage. If the opportunity cost of
labor in an agricultural project is properly priced at a very small amount, then it is likely that the rate of
return on the project will look very favorable in comparison, say, with a capital-intensive alternative
project that uses labor-saving tractors or expensive imported harvesting machinery.
Note that the validity of this reasoning is not changed by the fact that agricultural labor is, in fact, paid a
wage well above its opportunity cost. A common example of a "wage" paid, even though little productive
work is available on the margin, is found in the case of family labor. Older children and the farmer's wife
will be entitled to a share of the family income even if the family farm is too small to give them an oppor-
tunity to be productive. In this instance, if an older son were to find productive employment elsewhere, the
total production on the farm might be reduced by very little or none at all. Yet, because the older son is
entitled to a share of the total family income, he would accept new employment far away from his home
only if he were offered a wage in excess of his share-and that might be well above what his marginal value
product would be and the reduction in farm output that would occur if he were to leave.
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Rural wages may be above the marginal value product because of a traditional concept of a "proper" wage
or because of social pressure on the more prosperous farmers in a community to share their wealth with
their less fortunate neighbors. In parts of Java, for example, social custom prevents even quite small farm-
ers from harvesting their own rice. Instead, they permit landless laborers to do the work, even though the
farmer himself may well have the time to do it. This is explicitly seen by the community as a means of pro-
viding at least something for the poorest agricultural laborers. Unfortunately, increasing economic pres-
sures on small farmers and continued population growth are leading to a break-down of this system.
Virtually all economists now agree that the marginal value product of agricultural labor on an annual basis
worldwide is more than zero, so that in every instance our opportunity cost of labor, at least in some season
or another, will be positive-even though it may still be very low. [A more detailed discussion of the mar-
ginal value product of agricultural labor can be found in McDiarmid (1977) and in Barnum and Squire
(1979).]
To begin our discussion of how actually to determine an economic value for labor, we can take the easiest
case. In most instances, skilled labor in developing countries is considered to be in rather short supply and
would most likely be fully employed even without the project being considered. Hence, the wages paid
workers such as mechanics, foremen, or project managers are in general assumed to represent the true mar-
ginal value product of these workers, and the wages are entered at their market values in the economic
accounts. The rationale here is that, if those skills are in such scarce supply that they would be worth more
than the going wage, then someone in the society would be prepared to pay more, and the skilled worker
would then move to where he could earn that higher wage, thus establishing a new equilibrium. This con-
vention of accepting market wages as good estimates of economic value may substantially undervalue
skilled labor or the management skills of such top civil servants as extension specialists and project manag-
ers-or project analysts!
Note too that, as we consider the opportunity cost of labor and how to estimate it, if we set the financial
accounts so they correctly show the situations with and without the project, then the opportunity cost of
family labor will be appropriately priced in financial terms. Suppose that, in the dry season without the
project, a farmer along the north coast of Java could find essentially no gainful employment. With the
advent of the Jatiluhur Irrigation Project he now is able to produce a second crop of rice, and his net benefit
rises accordingly. When we subtract his without-project net benefit (which would be essentially only what
the family could earn for a rainy-season rice crop) from the with-project net benefit (which will include
earnings from two crops), the incremental net benefit will correctly show the labor return the family had to
give up during the dry season (essentially nothing) to participate in the project and produce a second crop
of rice. Shifting the financial prices in the farm budget to economic values also automatically converts the
opportunity cost of family labor to economic values.
To make our farm budgets work this way, we must remember to include any off-farm earnings in the
accounts. Suppose we assume that the farmer from the north coast of Java goes to Jakarta and finds
employment in the construction industry during the dry season, as many such farmers do. The without-
project net benefit will thus be increased by the amount of the farmer's off-farm earnings. If he wishes to
use Jatiluhur irrigation water to produce a second crop of rice, he must now give up the construction wages
he could otherwise have earned in the dry season. In turn, when we subtract the without-project net benefit
from the with-project net benefit, which includes the returns from two crops of rice, the incremental net
benefit will be smaller by the amount of the opportunity cost of labor at the market wage, that is, by the
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amount of construction earnings the farmer must forgo. We may proceed to convert these financial
accounts to economic terms by revaluing the appropriate entries at their shadow prices. In doing so, how-
ever, we must remember that one shadow price will be the shadow wage rate for the construction earnings
the farmer had to forgo. It is to estimating this shadow wage rate that we now may turn.
In most discussions of the marginal value product of labor-hence, of its economic opportunity cost-the
standard is the productivity of the marginal agricultural laborer. This is true not only for agricultural
projects but also for projects in other sectors, since it is assumed that additional manufacturing employ-
ment, for example, will tend to reduce the number of unemployed agricultural laborers. This would be true
even if it is urban workers drawn from some other urban occupation who actually take the new factory
jobs, since it is assumed the jobs they vacate will, in turn, be filled by workers drawn from agriculture.
Cast in this form, our estimate of the shadow wage rate must now focus on how to estimate the marginal
value product of agricultural labor without the project. We can begin by noting that in most agricultural
communities there is usually a season when virtually everyone who wants work can find it. Even unem-
ployed urban laborers may return to their home villages in these peak seasons to help their families or to
work as hired laborers. This happens at harvest time in Java, and may happen at the peak planting time in
other areas where transplanted rice is grown. Thus, we may reasonably assume that this peak season labor
market is a relatively competitive one, that labor is in relatively short supply at this period, and that the
daily wage at this period is a good indicator of the daily marginal value product of the labor engaged.
With this accepted, a good estimate of the annual shadow wage for agricultural labor is the number of days
in the year when most rural labor can expect to find employment, multiplied by the daily wage rate at such
times, and reduced by a conversion factor if appropriate. If an agricultural worker's daily wage at harvest
were Rs7.50, and during harvest and other peak seasons most people in the rural work force could find
employment for 90 days, then his annual shadow wage might be Rs675 if we are using the shadow
exchange rate approach to allow for the foreign exchange premium (7.50 x 90 = 675), or Rs614 if we are
using the conversion factor approach and the factor is 0.909 (7.50 x 90 x 0.909 = 614). Now if we wanted
to hire an agricultural laborer to work in our project for 250 days a year, all the society would give up in
production-the opportunity cost-would be Rs675 if we are using the shadow exchange rate approach, or
Rs614 if we are using the conversion factor approach. This opportunity cost is the economic value of the
annual earnings of the laborer without the project. Note that we surely would have to expect to pay a wage
much greater than this amount, and thus our financial accounts at market prices would have quite a differ-
ent cost for this same agricultural laborer. It is possible, for instance, that the hired laborer would expect a
wage of Rs7.50 a day for all 250 days he worked during the year, or an annual wage of Rs1,875 (7.50 x 250
= 1,875). More probably, he would be willing to work for rather less a day outside the harvest season-say,
Rs5.00 a day. Thus, his annual wage might be something more on the order of Rs675 for 90 days and
Rs5.00 a day for the remaining 160 days, or an annual total wage of Rs 1,475 [(7.50 x 90) + (5.00 x 160) =
1,475]. The project analyst would clearly have to form a judgment of the shadow wage of hired labor on
the best basis he could, just as he must for every other price estimate he makes.
Of course, in many agricultural projects labor is not engaged on a year-round basis. Rather, the work is
quite seasonal, and we must consider in which particular season hired labor would be engaged. If our new
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cropping pattern calls for work to be done during the peak season, then we will have to consider that the
peak season market wage is probably a good estimate of the marginal value product, and we could not jus-
tify using a lower wage as the basis for our shadow wage rate, even though there might be considerable
unemployment in the off-season. In Egypt, for example, a common rotation calls for both rice and cotton to
be harvested in October. If we were to propose a project incorporating these crops-or another crop requir-
ing hired labor at this period-then the going wage (in 1975 about E^0.30 a day; the symbol for Egyptian
pounds is E^) would be paid. Since even in a country as populous as Egypt most rural labor can find
employment at this peak season, the use of a shadow wage rate derived from a basis less than the market
wage would be unjustified. But suppose our project called for growing maize, which is planted in May
when there is little other agricultural work available and harvested in August before the peak harvest sea-
son for rice and cotton. Then we might find that, on the margin, many agricultural laborers were either
unemployed or not very productively engaged at that season and that to draw them into maize planting
might entail an opportunity cost considerably less than the going wage, although it would perhaps not be
zero. Thus, we might estimate that at this season the combination of being able to work only two or three
days a week on the average, and then at jobs of rather low productivity, would justify taking a shadow
wage rate based on half the going market rate. This would mean the equivalent of E^0.15 in 1975 if we are
using the shadow foreign exchange rate approach (0.30 - 2 = 0.15), or E^0.14 if we are using the conver-
sion factor approach and the conversion factor is 0.909 (0.30 - 2 x 0.909 = 0.14), even though our farm
budget at market prices would continue to show a wage for hired labor of E^0.30.
All of these considerations will have to be adapted to fit the circumstances of any given project. For exam-
ple, in India nationwide we might expect a shadow wage rate for agricultural labor rather less than the
going wage rate. But using a nationwide shadow wage rate in particular projects might underestimate the
true opportunity cost of the labor actually engaged in a project. The peak season in the Punjab, for instance,
finds virtually all agricultural labor fully engaged, but in the neighboring state of Haryana the marginal
labor in agriculture is not fully engaged. While many laborers from Haryana do migrate in search of peak
season employment in the Punjab, not enough do so to meet the demand for labor completely. Using a very
low shadow wage rate for a project in the Punjab might be unjustified because at the peak season the
project would have to bid labor away from harvesting. Thus, although the shadow wage rate might not be
as high as the harvest wage (but it might), neither would it be as low as conditions in neighboring Haryana
might otherwise indicate.
This discussion of how to value labor applies whether labor is to be paid a money wage or is to be compen-
sated in kind. The discussion so far has emphasized that it is the opportunity cost that determines the value
of labor in the system of economic analysis we have adopted. The value of
the payment actually made to labor-whether in money or in kind-is not the issue. If we shadow-price labor,
we already are acknowledging that the wage the labor receives is different from the benefit forgone by
using that labor in the project instead of in its next best alternative use without the project. It is the oppor-
tunity cost of the labor, not the form of payment, that sets the economic value of labor. Hence, it is irrele-
vant in a determination of the economic value of labor whether labor is paid a money wage or is
compensated in kind-for example, in food grain, even though the food grain may be a tradable commodity
and even though the food grain itself might need to be shadow-priced if it is to be valued.
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Excess Capacity. In some projects, a domestically produced input may come from a plant that is not oper-
ating at its full capacity. If that is the case, then the opportunity cost of using the input in a new project is
only the marginal variable cost of producing the input, and no allowance need be made for the fixed capital
cost of the plant itself. If the national cement industry is operating at less than its full capacity and it is pro-
posed to line irrigation canals with cement, then the cost of the cement for the canals would be only the
marginal variable cost of producing the cement. This would be less than the average cost of cement pro-
duction, which would include some allowance for fixed costs of production.
Situations such as these are more common in industrial projects than in agricultural projects. When they do
occur, however, they may influence the timing of projects. A canal-lining project might be quite attractive
if it is begun soon, while there is excess cement-manufacturing capacity, but much less attractive later,
when demand has caught up with the cement industry's capacity. To supply cement for canal lining later,
after demand has picked up, would entail constructing an additional cement plant. At that time, new fixed
as well as variable costs would be incurred, and the analyst would include all costs, both fixed and vari-
able, plus an estimate of the "normal" profit in calculating the cost of cement.
TRADABLE BUT NONTRADED ITEMS. In the system of project analysis presented here, we lay out the economic
accounts as best we can to reflect the real resource costs and benefits of the proposed project. The project
will be carried out within a framework of economic policies set by the government. The project analyst
must make the best judgment about what those policies are and will be, not just what they ought to be, and
work the economic analysis accordingly. This can lead to difficult choices when the analyst must evaluate
the real effects on resources of a project that involves items that could be traded but probably will not be
because of government regulation. These items, which are "tradable but non-traded" across national
boundaries, are valued as nontraded.
Such items would usually be imported were it not for an import quota.00 or an outright ban that is enforced
against them. Their domestic price may well rise high above the prevailing price on the world market. The
import restriction might be enforced to protect domestic industries, even
though the imported item may be preferred by consumers. Import of foreign engines for tubewells, for
example, may be forbidden so that domestic manufacture might be encouraged. Yet, the domestic equiv-
alent may not be as efficient or as durable as the imported engine and may cost more to produce. The
domestic engine clearly could not compete on the world market, and it would therefore be a nontraded
item. For those few imported engines allowed to enter the country, the price may rise quite high. This
indicates that to some buyer the imported item is worth more than its domestic equivalent. If our project
will use one of these engines, the economic value is not a price based on the world market as if the
engines could be relatively freely traded. Rather, it is the higher domestic market price of the imported
engine, which indicates its high opportunity cost. Upon reexamination, of course, we might consider
changing the project design to use the domestic engine-for example, we might do so if we find the
domestic engine to be less costly when valued at shadow prices.
For the domestic equivalent of an imported item, the market price usually will closely approximate the
real resource use that went into producing it. But if there is a shortage and the price is bid up, in the
absence of additional imports the market price will rise above the cost of production. In this case, the
opportunity cost of the item will not be determined by the resources used to produce it but by its mar-
ginal value product in its best alternative use. If the price is higher than is justified by the resources used
185
to produce the item, it may well be because to someone that high price for the domestic engine is worth
it-for this buyer's purposes, the marginal value product of the scarce engine at least equals the market
price. If we wish to bid that engine away for use in our project, we are denying its use to the other poten-
tial buyer. If we use the engine in our project, the economy must forgo the productive contribution of the
engine in the alternative use the other potential buyer had in mind-our standard concept of opportunity
cost. Again, in this instance the opportunity cost is most likely well estimated by the market price; if it
were not, other buyers would not have bid the price up so high for the limited number of engines avail-
able.
If there is an import ban on an imported final good or service, then we will base the economic valuation on
the criterion of willingness to pay and accept the market price as a good indicator of the economic value of
the product-provided that we expect the trade ban to remain in force throughout the life of the project. Ear-
lier we cited the example of a ban on sugar imports that would force the domestic price of sugar above its
border price. If the ban on imports will continue, then the higher price of sugar indicates a willingness to
pay that, in turn, is an indicator of the economic value set on sugar by the consumers. In the project analy-
sis, we would accept this market price as the economic value, not a border price as if the sugar were being
traded.
For both kinds of import substitutes we have cited, the analyst may want to prepare an analysis that will
indicate the effect on the proposed project of lifting the import ban. We will discuss this topic further
below,
and value each separately. Take locally assembled tractors, for example. We may be told that the market
price of Rs65,000 includes a 30 percent local component (in other words, 30 percent of the market price
represents domestic value added) and that 70 percent of the market price represents the imported compo-
nent, which includes a 15 percent tariff. Thus, the local component will amount to Rs19,500 (65,000 x 0.3
= 19,500), and the imported component including the tariff will amount to Rs45,500 (65,000 x 0.7 =
45,500). The domestic value added will most likely arise from sources such as wages paid domestic skilled
labor and domestically manufactured items that use mainly domestic raw materials. If so, we probably can
accept the market price as a good indicator of the opportunity cost to the economy of these items.
To determine the economic value of the imported component of the tractor, the tariff must first be elimi-
nated. This may be done by dividing the value of the imported component including the tariff by 1 plus the
percentage of the tariff stated in decimal terms; this calculation gives a value for the imported component
without the tariff of Rs39,565 (45,500
1.15 = 39,565). This is, of course, the c.i.f. price converted to its domestic equivalent at the official
exchange rate.
Now, if we are using the shadow exchange rate to allow for the foreign exchange premium, we will want to
revalue the imported component of the indirect import (after the tariff has been eliminated) to reflect the
distortion in the prices of traded goods. To do this, we can take the c.i.f. price converted at the official
exchange rate and multiply it by 1 plus the foreign exchange premium stated in decimal terms. If the offi-
cial exchange rate is Rs10 = US$1 and the foreign exchange premium is 20 percent, then for the imported
component of the tractor we derive a value of Rs47,478 (39,565 x 1.2 = 47,478). (We could, of course,
186
have taken the c.i.f. price in foreign exchange and converted it to its domestic equivalent by the shadow
exchange rate; this would have given the identical result.) The shadow price of the tractor is now the mar-
ket price of the domestic component, which we calculated to be Rs19,500, plus the shadow-priced value of
the imported component of Rs47,478-or a total economic value of Rs66,978 (19,500 + 47,478 = 66,978).
If we are using the conversion factor to allow for the foreign exchange premium, the economic value of the
imported component will be the c.i.f. price converted to the domestic currency equivalent at the official
exchange rate after eliminating the tariff, or Rs39,565. To obtain the economic value of the domestic com-
ponent we will need to multiply it by the conversion factor. For efficiency prices, we would use the stan-
dard conversion factor of 1 divided by 1 plus the foreign exchange premium stated in decimal terms. In this
instance, the foreign exchange premium is 20 percent, so the standard conversion factor becomes 0.833 (1
- 1.2 = 0.833). Applying this to the domestic component of the tractor, estimated to be Rs19,500 at market
prices, gives us an economic value of Rs16,244 (19,500 x 0.833 = 16,244). The shadow price of the tractor
now becomes the sum of the imported component valued at c.i.f. converted at the
official exchange rate and the shadow price for the domestic component, or Rs55,809 (39,565 + 16,244) =
55,809).
In some agricultural projects, electricity is an important cost that may raise valuation problems. Electricity
is usually thought of as a nontraded commodity. In reality, part of the value of electricity in most develop-
ing countries arises from the imported generating and transmission equipment and, perhaps, from imported
fuel. Thus, in our system of project analysis, electricity might be an indirectly traded item. The first diffi-
culty is that the price charged for electricity is not competitively set, since there is no competition in elec-
tricity. Rather, electricity rates are administered prices, and electricity prices thus may bear little relation to
marginal value product or to opportunity cost. No easy means exists to resolve this problem. Some average
rate, or perhaps some weighted average rate, will probably have to suffice as an estimate of opportunity
cost at market prices. Once a rate is accepted, an estimate will have to be made of the domestic and
imported components, and the components revalued using the shadow exchange rate or a conversion factor
as appropriate, just as for any other indirectly imported item (and as we illustrated earlier by the example
of tractors assembled from imported components). These calculations would usually not be undertaken by
agricultural project analysts. The planning office should estimate a shadow price for electricity and other
utilities to be used in all project analyses.
For some agricultural projects, new generating facilities will be required. In the simplest case, we might
think of a project remote from the electric grid, such as a settlement project, in which a diesel generating
unit might be included as a cost of the project. In that instance, there would be no particular problem of
valuation. When new generating facilities would be needed to meet the demand on the power grid arising
from an irrigation project, however, the problem would not be so simple. Here, the best approach would
probably be to ask the electricity authority for an estimate of the additional cost the authority would incur
for this particular project, and then to treat that cost-properly shadow-priced to allow for the imported com-
ponent-as the opportunity cost. The cost of the additional facilities needed for the project will probably
have to be reduced to a kilowatt-hour basis (using, perhaps, the capital recovery factor to estimate the
annual charge for the new facilities).
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We have contrasted use of a shadow exchange rate and a conversion factor to correct for price distortions
caused by import and export tariffs and subsidies, and we have noted that the same correction can be real-
ized whichever approach is used. This is illustrated in table 7-1, in which an economic account for a hypo-
thetical project is drawn up using both a shadow exchange rate and a standard conversion factor.
When indirectly traded items will be used repeatedly in projects, it may be convenient to have specific con-
version factors that, once they are derived, can be directly applied to the same class of indirectly traded
items. This is the approach both Little and Mirrlees (1974) and Squire
Table 7-1. Use of Shadow Exchange Rate and Standard Conversion Factor Compared
Economic value (Rs)
b
Item Rs Fi
na
nc
ial
va
lu
es
U
S
$
Usi
ngs
had
ow
exc
han
ger
ate`
Usi
ngst
and
ard-
con
ver-
sion
fac-
tor
d
Remarks
Inflow
Gross value of wheat Traded item
produced 1,75
0
17
5
2,1
00
1,75
0
Total 1,75
0
17
5
2,1
00
1,75
0
Outflow
Unskilled labor Nontraded
(shadow wage rate item
= 50% market wage) 600 60 300 250
Imported fertilizer 200 20 240 200 Traded item
Tractor services Indirectly
75% imported traded item
component 90 9 108 90
25% domestic 12
0
1
2
1
3
8
1
1
5
component 30 3 30 25
188
Rs Indian rupees. US$ U.S. dollars.
a. The official exchange rate is assumed to be Rs10 = US$1. Financial prices are converted by this official
exchange rate.
b. The foreign exchange premium is assumed to be 20 percent. As in note a, the official exchange rate is assumed
to be Rs10 = US$1.
c. The shadow exchange rate is the official exchange rate of Rs 10 multiplied by 1 plus the percentage of the for-
eign exchange premium stated in decimal terms, or Rs12 (10 x 1.2 = 12), so that Rs12 = US$ 1. Foreign exchange
prices
are converted into domestic currency values by multiplying the foreign currency price by Rs12.
d. The standard conversion factor is the reciprocal of 1 plus the foreign exchange premium stated in decimal terms,
or 0.833 (1 - 1.2 = 0.833). Foreign currency prices are converted into decimal currency values at the official
exchange rate. Domestic currency prices are multiplied by the standard conversion factor of 0.833.
and van der Tak (1975) suggest, and both sets of authors recommend that some central agency prepare specific
conversion factors for project analysts to use. It is possible in a parallel manner to derive "specific shadow
exchange rates" that may then be applied repeatedly, although in practice this has rarely been done. Instead, when
the shadow exchange rate approach is followed, nontraded items are decomposed into their traded and nontraded
elements and each is valued separately. Use of a specific conversion factor can be illustrated by referring to table
7-1. Suppose we planned a number of projects in which tractor services would be important and we wanted a spe-
cific conversion factor for tractor services. Once we had the conversion factor in hand, we could multiply the
domestic market price of items in each project by the same specific conversion factor to obtain the various eco-
nomic values. In table 7-1, in the column illustrating use of the standard conversion factor, we have a value for the
imported component of the tractor services of Rs90, which was converted at the official exchange rate. The domes-
tic component was multiplied by the standard conversion factor to obtain an economic value of Rs25. If we accept
this as a good estimate of the value of the domestic component, then by adding the two we reach an economic
value for the tractor services of Rsl 15. If we divide this economic value by the domestic price, we obtain a specific
conversion factor of 0.958 (115 - 120 = 0.958). In the future, we can simply multiply the market price of tractor
services by the specific conversion factor to obtain the economic value directly.
Economic export and import parity values
The economic value of a traded item-either an export or an import-at the farm gate or project boundary is its export
or import parity value. These values are derived by adjusting the c.i.f. (cost, insurance, and freight) or f.o.b. (free-
on-board) prices (converted to economic values) by all the relevant charges (again converted to economic values)
between the farm gate or project boundary and the point where the c.i.f. or f.o.b. price is quoted. The general
method of calculating export and import parity prices was discussed in the last section of chapter 3. When these
financial prices are adjusted to derive their economic equivalent, both traded and nontraded elements must be val-
ued simultaneously.
Total 920 92 678 565
Net benefit 830 83 1,4
22
1,18
5
Ratio of inflow to
outflow 1.90 1.
90
3.1
0
3.10
189
The methods for deriving import and export parity values are parallel. Thus, it is unnecessary to discuss the
method for both; instead, we will discuss only derivation of the import parity price as an example because import
parity values tend to be a bit more complicated to derive.
We may return to the example of the imported combine harvester used earlier in the chapter to illustrate economic
valuation of a traded item. In our financial accounts, the c.i.f. price of US$45,000 was converted to its domestic
currency equivalent at the official exchange rate of Rs 10 = US$1, to which we would add, say, a 10 percent duty,
Rs 1,500 in domestic handling and marketing charges, and Rs2,250 in internal transport costs to the project site-for
an import parity price at the farm
gate of Rs498,750 [(45,000 x 10) + (45,000 x 10 x 0.10) + 1,500 + 2,250 = 498,750].
To obtain the economic import parity value at the farm gate or project boundary when using the shadow exchange
rate to allow for the foreign exchange premium, we would make the same computations except that we would use
the shadow exchange rate and omit the tariff, which is a transfer payment. In the illustration of valuing traded
items, we assumed that the foreign exchange premium on the imported combine was 20 percent, and so we
assumed a shadow exchange rate of Rs12 = US$1 (10 x 1.2 = 12). Now, to obtain the import parity value of the
harvester, we would convert the c.i.f. price to its domestic equivalent using the shadow exchange rate, omit the tar-
iff, and then add the value of the nontraded domestic items. To simplify matters, we will assume that all costs of
moving the combine to the project site reflect only nontraded items-although that might not be acceptable if, say,
the transport costs included significant amounts of petroleum fuel. We now reach an economic import parity value
of Rs543,750 [(45,000 x 12) + 1,500 + 2,250 = 543,7501.
If we are using the conversion factor to allow for the foreign exchange premium, the foreign exchange would be
converted to its domestic currency equivalent in the economic accounts by using the official exchange rate, and
every nontraded item would be reduced by the conversion factor. Recalling that the standard conversion factor is 1
divided by 1 plus the foreign exchange premium stated in decimal terms, we obtain a standard conversion factor of
0.833 (1 - 1.2 = 0.833). Now, to obtain the economic import parity value of the harvester at the farm gate or project
boundary, we convert all foreign exchange costs to domestic currency at the official exchange rate and reduce all
prices of nontraded items by applying the standard conversion factor. Again, we will assume that the transport
costs are predominantly made up of nontraded items. As before, we will omit the tariff because it is a transfer pay-
ment. The economic import parity price thus becomes Rs453,124 [(45,000 x 10) + (1,500 x 0.833) + (2,250 x
0.833) = 453,124].
In certain instances, the value in local currency of an imported item at the project site will be known, as will the
rate of tariff and local transport charges from the point of import to the project site. If this is the case, to determine
the economic value it is necessary to determine the c.i.f. price, take out the tariff, and allow for the cost of domes-
tic transport. Using our previous values, we may know, for example, that a combine harvester delivered to the
project site costs Rs498,750, that the tariff on imported harvesters is 10 percent, and that local transport and
domestic handling from the point of import to the project site costs Rs3,750. We know that the official exchange
rate is Rs10 = US$1 and that the foreign exchange premium is 20 percent, so the shadow exchange rate would be
Rs12 = US$1 (10 x 1.2 = 12) and the standard conversion factor 0.833 (1 - 1.2 = 0.833). We deduct the cost of local
transport to obtain a financial value of Rs495,000 at the point of entry, which includes the c.i.f. price plus the duty
(498,750 - 3,750 = 495,000). To take out the duty, we divide by 1 plus the percentage of the duty stated in decimal
terms to obtain
Rs450,000 (495,000 - 1.1 = 450,000). This is the c.i.f. value at the official exchange rate. We can then divide by
the official exchange rate to obtain the c.i.f. value in foreign exchange of US$45,000 (450,000 - 10 = 45,000). If
we are using the shadow exchange rate to allow for the foreign exchange premium, we can obtain our c.i.f. eco-
nomic value by multiplying by the shadow exchange rate of Rs12 = US$1 to obtain a value of Rs540,000 (45,000
x 12 = 540,000). Then, to obtain the economic value at the project site, we would add the cost of transport from the
point of entry to the project site; this yields an economic import parity value for the harvester at the farm gate or
project boundary of Rs543,750 (540,000 + 3,750 = 543,750). If we are using the conversion factor to allow for the
foreign exchange premium, the economic value of the combine at the port will be the c.i.f. foreign exchange price
190
converted at the official exchange rate, or Rs450,000 (45,000 x 10 = 450,000). To obtain the economic import par-
ity value at the farm gate or project boundary, we would add to this c.i.f. value the cost of domestic transport and
domestic handling, reduced by the standard conversion factor, to obtain an economic import parity value of
Rs453,124 [450,000 + (3,750 x 0.833) _ 453,124].
It is clear that to derive the import and export parity values in the economic analysis we must omit transfer pay-
ments, allow for the foreign exchange premium, and use shadow prices for those domestic goods and services for
which prices are inaccurate indicators of opportunity cost. The same examples from the Sudanese and Nigerian
projects used to illustrate the discussion of import and export parity prices in chapter 3 (tables 3-3 and 3-4) are
used again in tables 7-2 and 7-3 to show economic parity values using both the shadow exchange rate and the con-
version factor to allow for the foreign exchange premium.
Trade Policy Signals from Project Analysis
Up to this point, we have been discussing an analytical system that estimates the contribution of a proposed project
to national income within a policy framework that the project analyst considers will exist during the life of the
project. We have assumed that the project analyst has very little influence on trade policies, for this is true in the
agriculture sector in most countries. Questions often arise, however, about the effects on a proposed project if trade
policies were to change, and about whether changes in trade policies should be recommended. Unfortunately,
when assessing the effects on a project of policies that would lift or impose a ban on trade, the analytical issues
become very complex, and the analysis of a single project is of limited usefulness. The limitations of project anal-
ysis in influencing policy arise from the partial nature of project analysis and from the assumption that the project
investment does not significantly change price relations in the economy as a whole.
Two important cases involving trade policy often arise that cause soul-searching among project analysts. The first
is when a quota or prohibitive tariff prevents entry of a crucial input-perhaps fertilizer-
Table 7-2. Economic Export Parity Value of Cotton, Rahad Irrigation Project, Sudan (1980 forecast
prices)
Steps in thecalcula-
tionCAI at point of entry
Relevant steps inthe
Sudanese exampleUsing
shadow exchangeC.i.f.
Liverpool taken asestimate
for all
Lintrate Value
per ton-
Seed
European ports) US$639.33 US$103.
39
Deduct unloading at
point of import Freight and
Deduct freight to - 39.63 - 24.73
point of import insurance
Deductinsurance
Equals f.o.b. at point
of export F.o.b. Port Sudan US$599.70 US$78.6
6
Convert foreign currency Converted at shadow
191
Scartoa
to domestic currency exchange rate of
at shadow exchange rate ^Sd1.000 = US$2.61lb ^Sd229.682 ^Sd30.12
6
Deduct local port Port handling cost
charges Lint: ^Sd5.564 per ton - 5.564
Seed: ^Sd1.510 per ton - 1.510
Deduct local transport Freight to Port Sudan
and marketing at ^Sd6.782 per ton - 6.782 - 6.782
costs from project to
point of export (if not
part of project cost)
Equals export parity Export parity value
value at project at gin at project
boundary site ^Sd217.336 ^Sd21.83
4
Conversion allowance Convert to seed cotton 86.934 12.882 1.10
2
if necessary (^Sd217.336 x 0.4
+ ^Sd21.834 x 0.59 ^Sd100.918
+ ^Sd110.200 x 0.01)
Deduct local storage, Ginning, baling, and
transport, and storage (^Sd15.229
marketing costs (if not per ton) - 15.229
part of project cost)
Collection and internal
transfer (^Sd1.064
per ton) - 1.064
Equals export parity Export parity value
value at farm gate at farm gate ^Sd84.625
Using conversion factors
192
(Table continues on the following pages.)
Table 7-2 (continued)
C.i.f. at point of entry C.i.f. Liverpool (taken as
estimate for all
European ports) US$639.3
3
US$103.39
Deduct unloading at
point of import Freight and
Deduct freight to - 39.63 - 24.73
point of import insurance
Deduct insurance
Equals f.o.b. at point
of export F.o.b. Port Sudan US$599.7
0
US$78.66
Convert foreign currency Converted at official
to domestic currency exchange rate of
at official exchange ^Sd1.000 = US$2.8726 ^Sc1208.8
09
^Sd27.389
rate
Steps in thecalculation Relevant steps inthe
Sudanese example
ValueLint per ton-
Seed
Scar
toa
Convert nontraded goods Converted using
to equivalent domestic standard conversion
value using conversion
factor of 0.909
6
factors
Deduct local port Port handling cost
charges Lint: ^Sd5.564 per ton 5.058
Seed: ^Sd1.510 per ton 1.373
Deduct local transport Freight to Port Sudan
and marketing at ^Sd6.782 per ton 6.165 - 6.165
costs from project to
point of export (if not
193
^Sd Sudanese pounds.
Source: Adapted from World Bank, "Appraisal of the Rahad Irrigation Project," PA-139b (Washington, D.C., 1973;
restricted circulation), annex 16, table 6. The format of the table is adapted from William A. Ward, "Calculating
Import and Export Parity Prices," training material of the Economic Development Institute, CN3 (Washington, D.C.:
World Bank, 1977), p. 9.
a. Scarto is a by-product of very short, soiled fibers not suitable for export and is sold locally at a price of ^Sd110.200
per ton.
b. For purposes of illustration, there is assumed to be a foreign exchange
premium of 10 percent. Thus, the dollar value of the Sudanese pound at the official exchange rate of ^Sd1.000 =
US$2.872 has been divided by 1.1 to give an assumed shadow exchange rate of ^Sd1.000 = US$2.611 (2.872 - 1.1 =
2.611), whereas the standard conversion factor is divided by 1 plus the foreign exchange premium, or 0.909 (1 - 1.1 =
0.909). In the appraisal report that is the source of this table, no foreign exchange premium was assumed.
c. Seed cotton is converted to lint, seed, and scarto assuming that a ton of seed cotton yields 400 kilograms lint, 590
kilograms seed, and 10 kilograms scarto.
part of project cost)
Equals export parity Export parity value
value at project at gin at project
boundary site ^Sd197.58
6
^Sd19.851 -
Conversion allowance Convert to seed cotton 79.034 11.712 1.00
2
if necessary (^Sd197.586 x 0.4 I I
+ ^Sd19.851 x 0.59
+ ^Sd110.200 x 0.909 ^Sd91.748
Deduct local storage, Ginning, baling, and
transport, and storage (^Sd15.229
marketing costs (if not per ton) - 13.843
part of project cost)
Collection and internal
transfer (^Sd1.064
per ton) - 0.967
Equals export parity Export parity value
value at farm gate at farm gate ^Sd76.938
194
and this forces use of a more costly domestic alternative and thus greatly reduces the contribution of the project to
national income. The second is when an import quota imposed on products that compete with the project's output
makes the contribution of the project investment to national income high, even though the cost of production per unit
of output from the project is higher than the cost of competing imports.
When the domestic cost of an important project input is higher than the world market price because of a quota or pro-
hibitive tariff, the potential contribution of the proposed investment to national income
Table 7-3. Economic Import Parity Value of Early Crop Maize, Central Agricultural Development Projects,
Nigeria
(1985 forecast prices in 1976 constant terms)
Steps in the calculation
Relevant steps in Value
the Nigerian example perton
F.o.b. at point of export
Add local transport and marketing costs to relevant market Equals value at market Conversion allowance if necessary
Deduct transport
and marketing costs to relevant market
F.o.b. at point of export
Add freight to point of import Add unloading at point
of import Add insurance Equals c.i.f. at point of import Convert foreign currency
to domestic currency at shadow exchange rate Add local port charges
Using shadow exchange rate F.o.b. U.S. Gulf ports No. 2 U.S. yellow corn in bulk'US$116
Freight and insurance 31
(Included in freight estimate)
C.i.f. Lagos or Apapa US$147 Converted at an assumed shadow
exchange rate of 4
,
q1 =
US$1.47
6
X100 Landing and port charges
(including cost of bags) 22 Transport (based on a
350-kilometer average)` 10
Wholesale value x#132
(Not necessary)
Primary marketing (includes assembly, cost of bags,
195
and intermediary margins)` -12 Transport (based on a
350-kilometer average)` -10 Storage loss (10 percent of
harvested weight) -9
Deduct local storage, transport, and marketing costs
(if not part of project cost) Equals import parity value at farm gate
Add freight to point of import Add unloading at point
of import Add insurance Equals c.i.f. at point of import Convert foreign currency
to domestic currency at official exchange rate
Import parity value
at farm gate x#101 Using conversion factors
F.o.b. U.S. Gulf ports
No. 2 U.S. yellow corn in bulk' US$116
Freight and insurance 31
(Included in freight estimate)
C.i.f. Lagos or Apapa US$147 Converted at official
exchange rate of
:~il = US$1.62
6
X91
Table 7-3 (continued)St eps in
the calcul ation
Rel evant steps in Valuethe Ni geri an example
perton
Convert nontraded goods Converted using standard
to equivalent domestic
conversion factor of 0.909
b
value using conversion
factors
Add local port charges Landing and port charges
(including cost of bags, X22) 20
Add local transport Transport (based on a
and marketing costs 350-kilometer average, X10)` 9
to relevant market
196
Nigerian naira.
Source: Adapted from World Bank, "Supplementary Annexes to Central Agricultural Development Projects," 1370-UNI (Wash-
ington, D.C., 1976; restricted circulation), supplement 11, appendix 2, table 4. The format of the table is adapted from Ward, "Cal-
culating Import and Export Parity Prices," p. 10.
a. Forecast from Price Prospects for Major Primary Commoditi es (1976, annex 1, p. 12; see World Bank 1982a).
b. For purposes of illustration, there is assumed to be a foreign exchange premium of 10 percent. Thus, the dollar value of the naira
at the official exchange rate of *1 = US$1.62 has been divided by 1.1 to give an assumed shadow exchange rate of =P-~ 1 =
US$1. 47 (1.62 - 1.1 = 1. 47), whereas the standard conversion factor is 1 divided by I plus the foreign exchange premium, or
0.909 (1 - 1.1 = 0. 909). In the appraisal report that is the source of this table, no foreign exchange premium was assumed.
c. Shadow prices were assumed for transport and for primary marketing because in the financial analysis the market wage overval-
ued the opportunity cost of unskilled labor. The value given is the opportunity cost in naira (before applying the standard conver-
sion factor).
will be reduced by the tariff or quota. Given the policy prevailing, the project analysis will be an accurate indicator of the
project's worth. Take fertilizer, for instance. If it is expensive to produce domestically, this is an indication that fertilizer pro-
duction uses a large amount of scarce domestic resources relative to the resources necessary to produce some other product that
could be exported to earn the foreign exchange needed to import the fertilizer from a foreign supplier. But if the domestic fertil-
izer must, in fact, be used for the project to move forward, then it will take a lot of domestic resources to produce the project's
agricultural output, and the project will not, accordingly, make as much of a contribution to the national income as it could were
imported fertilizer available. If the quota or prohibitive tariff against the input were removed, then the project investment would
look quite different. A change in trade policy, however, will have implications ranging far beyond the boundary of the project
itself, implications for both efficiencies in the economy and for noneconomic objectives. A change in trade policy may bring a
wide range of changes in other prices in the economy as well as in the price of fertilizer used on nonproject farms, and to be valid
an investment analysis would have to be run with the new price relations and include nonproject farms. Predicting these changes
could be very difficult if the change in trade policy were significant. At best, the project analyst could run his analysis again using
a c.i.f. price for fertilizer and making a broad guess about what the changes might be in the rest of the economy both within and
outside agriculture., He could then turn to those responsible for trade policy and say that his project analysis signaled a need to
consider with care removing the quota against fertilizer. But note that the project analysis is only a signal, not a criterion for deci-
sion; much, much more must go into a reevaluation of trade policy than the analysis of one project.
Equals value at market Wholesale value X120
Conversion allowance
if necessary (Not necessary)
Deduct transport Primary marketing (includes
and marketing costs assembly, cost of bags,
to relevant market and intermediary margins, *12)` - 11
Transport (based on a
350-kilometer average, X10)` - 9
Deduct local storage, transport, Storage loss (10 percent of
and marketing costs harvested weight) - 8
(if not part of project cost)
Equals import parity value Import parity value
at farm gate at farm gate x#92
197
The other important case in which a change in a quota proves very difficult for the project analyst is that of a quota against
imports that would compete with the output of a proposed project. If the imports are prohibited, the output of the project will
sell for more in the protected market, and what otherwise might not be a very attractive project may now make sufficient contri-
bution to national income to be justified. Again, i f policies are not going to be changed, this is an accurate indicator of the
contribution to the national income. But if the domestic cost per unit of project output-say, apples-valued at shadow prices is
greater than the c.i.f. cost of imported apples, then this is an indication that it would be more efficient from the standpoint of the
economy as a whole for the project to produce something else, export it to earn foreign exchange, and then use the foreign
exchange to import apples. Under the circumstances, the project analyst may want to run his analysis again using an import par-
ity price and perhaps also adjusting some of the other price relations in the direction he thinks might prevail under a change in
trade policy. He may find that domestic production would not make enough of a contribution to national income at these prices
to justify the investment required. He might also want to determine the domestic resource cost of the import substitute along the
lines discussed in the section of chapter 10 devoted to that topic; this will show that it costs more to save a unit of foreign
exchange by producing apples domestically than the shadow exchange rate indicates the foreign exchange to be worth. His
analysis has now signaled that trade policies should perhaps be reviewed. Again, it is only a signal; the analysis of this one
project does not itself provide a complete decision criterion. The trade policy change will have many other effects that will be
felt far beyond the boundary of the project itself.
Valuing Intangible Costs and Benefits
The methodology outlined for converting financial prices to economic values is one that is most appropriate for tangible costs and
benefits. When intangible costs or benefits enter into investment considerations, they raise difficult issues of valuation.
Intangible factors have come up frequently in earlier discussions of identifying costs and benefits and of valuing them. They com-
prise a whole range of considerations-economic considerations such as income distribution, number of jobs created, or regional
development; national considerations such as national integration or national security; and environmental considerations that can
be both ecological and aesthetic, such as the preservation of productive ecosystems, recreation benefits, or famous spots of scenic
beauty. [Lee (1982) discusses ecological considerations to be kept in mind when designing agricultural projects for tropical
regions.]
The question of how to treat intangible factors most often arises when we are considering the benefits of a project. Many develop-
ment projects are undertaken primarily to secure intangible benefits--education projects, domestic water supply projects, and
health projects are a few common ones. Intangible benefits are usually not the major concern in agricultural projects, although
many agricultural and rural development projects include components such as education or rural water supply from which intangi-
ble benefits are expected. Whether in agricultural projects or in other kinds of projects, intangible benefits, even though universally
agreed to be valuable, are nevertheless virtually impossible to value satisfactorily in monetary terms. Yet costs for these projects
are in general tangible enough, and the considerations of financial and economic valuation we have discussed earlier apply unam-
biguously.
Intangible costs are not uncommon, however, and prove just as difficult to bring within a valuation system as benefits. Often costs
are merely the inverse of the benefits that are sought: illiteracy, disease, unemployment, or the loss of a productive environment or
treasured scenic beauty.
Some costs in agricultural projects, while tangible, are very difficult to quantify and to value. Siltation, waterlogging, salinization,
and soil loss are examples. These costs should not be ignored, and if they are likely to be substantial they should be treated in the
project analysis in a manner analogous to intangible costs.
When considering projects in which intangible benefits or costs are important, the least the project analyst can do is to identify
them: lives that will be saved, jobs created, kind of education provided, region to be developed, location of a park, ecosystem or
kind of scenery to be preserved.
Very often, the analyst can also quantify intangibles: number of lives saved, number of jobs created, number of students to be
enrolled, number of people expected to use a park. Even such simple quantification is often a substantial help in making an invest-
ment decision.
Economists have tried repeatedly to find means to value intangibles and thus bring them within the compass of their valuation sys-
tem. The benefits of education have been valued by comparing the earnings of an educated man with those of one who is unedu-
cated. Health and sanitation benefits have been valued in the number of hours of lost work avoided by decreasing the incidence of
disease. Nutrition benefits have been valued in terms of increased productivity. Population projects have been valued by attaching
a value to the births avoided. Although work in these areas continues-especially with regard to environmental impact-few applied
198
project analyses in developing countries currently attempt to use such approaches to valuing intangible costs and benefits. For one
thing, such efforts generally greatly underestimate the value of the intangibles. The value of an education is much more than just
the increase in income-ask any mullah, monk, or priest. Good health is a blessing far in excess of merely being able to work more
hours. Good nutrition is desirable for more reasons than just increased productivity. Moreover, the methodological approaches
used to value intangibles turn out to be unreliable and open to serious question. Finally, there may be moral issues involved-many
who support population programs do so out of considerations that extend far beyond any benefit-cost calculation.
In contemporary practice of project analysis in developing countries, the only method used to any extent to deal with intangible
benefits is to determine on a present worth basis the least expensive alternative combination of tangible costs that will realize
essentially the same intangible benefit. This is often referred to as "least-cost combination" or "cost effectiveness" (for an applica-
tion of the method to sanitation projects, see Kalbermatten, Julius, and Gunnerson 1982, chapter 3). If the same education benefits
can be provided by centralized schools that realize economies of scale but require buses or by more expensive smaller schools to
which students can walk, which schools are cheaper? Can the same health benefits be provided at less cost by constructing fewer
large hospitals but more clinics manned by paramedical personnel? By constructing a waterborne sewerage system or by installing
low-cost household sanitation facilities that do not require sewers? Can the same number of lives be saved more cheaply by buying
up all the property rights in a flood plain and moving people out than by constructing dykes and levees? Given two park sites that
would give similar recreation benefits-perhaps one that would require buying warehouse sites and another that would require
extensive filling and flood control along a river-which would be cheaper? Once it is determined that the least expensive alternative
has been identified and its costs valued, then the subjective question can be more readily addressed: is it worth it?
Interestingly enough, electricity projects are customarily analyzed
using least-cost combination. The marginal value product of electricity is in general considered greatly understated by the admin-
istered price charged; in any event, much electricity is used for home lighting that is very difficult to value. In practice, most power
projects simply compare alternative means of producing the same amount of power: steam generating stations versus a hydroelec-
tric dam; a large generator with transmission costs and several years of idle capacity versus a series of smaller stations close to the
demand centers.
A variation of the least-cost combination method can be used to deal with intangibles in multipurpose projects. From the total cost
of the project are deducted all those costs that can be directly attributed to tangible benefits-flood damage avoided, irrigation, nav-
igation, and the like. These costs are compared with their associated benefits to determine if the purpose is worthwhile at all. Is the
flood damage avoided worth the direct costs incurred? Finally, the residual costs for the project are compared with the residual,
intangible benefits. Is the number of lives saved by the project worth the residual cost that must be incurred? (A method of allocat-
ing residuals was outlined in the section on joint cost allocation in chapter 6.)
The problems with valuing intangibles are more common and more difficult to deal with in sectors other than agriculture. In agri-
cultural projects, most of the benefits usually are tangible and can be valued. The costs and benefits can be compared directly to
choose the highest-yielding alternative. There are, however, several aspects of intangible benefits that are frequently encountered
in agricultural projects. Agricultural extension services, for example, are sometimes considered to give an intangible benefit in
greater farmer education. For the most part, it is best to treat such costs that may give rise partly to intangible benefits-or, at least,
the incremental amount of such costs-as necessary within a project if the total, tangible benefits are to be realized. If a dairy pro-
duction project requires helping farmers to learn better sanitation procedures, then the extension agents who teach the procedures
are essential to the success of the project, and the benefit of their effort is the tangible one of more and better milk.
In rural development projects, there are often components that are hardly essential to the main production objectives and that pro-
duce generally intangible benefits. This is the case when village schools, rural water supplies, rural clinics, or even agricultural
research costs are included in a project. If these components are relatively small in comparison with total project costs, as they
often are, then the problem of valuing the benefits may be ignored. But if such components form a significant part of total project
cost, they probably should be separated out and treated on a least-cost combination basis. This procedure was followed in the anal-
ysis for the Korea Rural Infrastructure Project. The project included irrigation, feeder roads, community fuelwood plots, rural
domestic water supply, and rural electrification. The irrigation, feeder roads, and community fuelwood components were analyzed
by
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comparing their tangible costs with their tangible benefits, but the components for rural domestic water
supply and rural electrification were each dealt with separately on a least-cost combination basis.
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Finally, if the proposed project is one in which the output is wholly intangible, a least-cost combination
approach is appropriate. This would probably be the case for agricultural projects in which the major
investment is in extension, agricultural education, rural water supply, rural health improvement, or
research.
Decision Tree for Determining Economic Values
A "decision tree" for determining economic values is given in figure 7-1, parts A-D. Most issues of eco-
nomic valuation in agricultural projects are covered by this diagram. The decision tree is used by taking
an item to be valued in an agricultural project and tracing through the tree, following each alternative as
it applies to the item until the end of the tree is reached, where a suggestion about how to value the item
will be found.
To illustrate, we may trace through a few common elements in agricultural projects. Take fertilizer to be
used in an irrigation project that will produce cotton. The fertilizer is tangible, involves real resource
use, is traded, is a project input, and would be imported without the project. Therefore, it is valued at the
import parity price. Or take agricultural labor to be used to apply the fertilizer. It is tangible, involves
real resource use, is nontraded, is a project input, is nonproduced, is labor, and would be underemployed
without the project. Therefore, it is valued by taking the marginal value product of the labor in its with-
out-project employment. (Note that labor is defined as a tangible item, a possible source of confusion in
using the decision tree.) Or take a tax on the fertilizer. It is tangible, is a direct transfer payment, is a
payment to or from government, and is a tax. Therefore, it is omitted from the project economic account.
Or, finally, take the cotton to be produced in the project. It is tangible, involves real resource use, is
traded, is a project output, and will be an export. Therefore, it is valued at the export parity price.