USAID Evaluation News Vol9 No2 1997 Investments Agriculture Environment Forestry Performance Monitoring
...have the characteristics of public goods; it is difficult for private providers to recover their costs. However, the cost of using the services made possible by rural infra- structure, including its operation and mainte- nance (as distinct from the infrastructure itself) should be paid by users, not by government or donors.
In like manner, it is logical that the public sector has been the recipi- ent of most donor assis- tance designed to support economic policy reform and planning as well as improved asset distribution and access, since it is the responsi- bility of governments to take decisions in these areas.
Conversely, the private sector can be expected to invest in agricultural services when it is profitable to do so, obviating the need for public sector involvement.
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The evaluation literature is generally silent about which entities are best suited to implement which agricultural activities, or if the United States has a comparative advan- tage in providing assistance in one or more of the five subsectors.
Donors often provide the analytical under- pinning for policy reform, and the United States may have an avantage over other bilateral
“Farmers must have an opportuni tomake a profit, and the economic policy environment...