An information system for identification and evaluation of agricultural development projects in the Kingdom of Tonga

Abstract

Even though that most countries claim the positive correlation between economic growth and the social well being and standards of living, the limited incorporation of social indicators and high degree of top-down approach for planning national objectives and development projects sighted to be a common weaknesses and failure to most rural investment packages. From a planning viewpoint, there is evidence of ineffective monitoring and evaluation functions, the final stage of project cycle which leads to the generation of inadequate and inappropriate data and information for project design, management and evaluation. It is perceived then that the ineffective monitoring and evaluation information system (MEIS) of rural development projects need an urgent development to improve the generation of reliable and quality data and information for effective project planning and management decisions. Furthermore, most developing countries have a special attention about the multibillion dollars investment on development projects with relative little is known about the process has achieved. The quality of reliable data and information for appropriate actions is the key and this will entail the need to improve survey methodologies and manpower development to facilitate and achieve the proposed objectives of this research study. A regional agricultural development project (The Tonga Outer Islands Agricultural Development Project, TOIADP) is critically reviewed and examined as a case study to develop a standard information system with an aim to accommodate the generation of quality data and information for identifying and designing future development projects and assess the effects and impact of all regional agricultural development projects under the supervision of the Tonga Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF). The generation of social indicators from this proposed information system will assist the partial assessment of effects and impact of the project, developing of appropriate survey methods and information system to assess all the key beneficiaries including environmental assessment to predict the true effects and impact of all appropriate agricultural projects. This will emphasise the putting of people first through direct incorporation of social dimensions in the process of project identification, design and preparation. Eradication of poverty remains the major objective of rural development. Thus, an optimisation to the positive effects and impact of all rural development projects is the most challenging obligations to most developing countries. The proposed Information system of this study then will encourage the effective flow and exchange of data and information for future project preparation, including effects and impact assessment. Such data and information will be useful to the preparation of national objectives and development strategies. In addition, this proposed information system will encourage the accomplishment of improve coordination amongst government ministries and other public and private organisations through computer information system (CIS) and local area networks (LANs). Attention is drawn to the comments and suggestions from the current information system users of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and other key informants from the Tonga Statistics Department, Treasury Department, Central Planning, Tonga Development Bank, and National Reserve Bank including the constructive criticisms and advice from the main and assistant supervisors of this study for designing this proposed computer information system. It is believed therefore that 'data and information' are as old as planning and management, thus the sustainable shaping of the world's development depends on the effective flow and exchange of quality data and information for decisions and ultimate actions.