Role of Project Environment on Performance of Community Development Project. A Case of the Climate Resilient Post Harvest Agribusiness Support Project (PASP) IFAD-funded Project in Kirehe District, Rwanda

Ivan Mukasa & Ronald Kwena
University of Kigali
Email: diavanx007@gmail.com

Abstract: This paper examined how project environment affects the performance of community development projects, specifically through a case study of the Climate Resilient Post Harvest Agribusiness Support Project (PASP), which is an IFAD-funded project in Rwanda. The study aimed to determine the impact of the project management plan on the performance of PASP. The study employed a descriptive research design using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The target population included staff from MINAGRI and 15,552 rural households who were direct beneficiaries from Kirehe District. A sample size of 131 respondents from PASP was chosen, and data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. The study analyzed the data using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 21 and presented the findings through descriptive statistics to enable the beneficiaries to easily interpret them. The study found that there is a positive association between the planning process of management and the performance of community development projects. The project plan influences the achievement of objectives and planning at all levels with the involvement of all relevant stakeholders. The study also established a positive relationship between community participation and the performance of community development projects, which was shown by the goodness of fit of 82%. This means that a given set of predictor variables explains 71.9% of the variance in the dependent variable in the model. The study recommended that PASP management and staff should follow up on community participation from the planning process and that beneficiaries should be committed to protecting initiatives meant for their development.