The issues facing global agriculture

The issues facing global agriculture
14 contributions

The issues facing global agriculture

@WFP

Dear members,

When evaluating agriculture-based interventions, do you agree that as evaluators we should address globally facing burning issues, as follows:

-          Food security;

-          Affordable technology for farmers;

-          Farmers ownership on land;

-          Farmers issues related to finance, funding and price factors.

I believe these aspects should always be included in evaluation Terms of Reference, what do you think?

Look forward to hear from all.

Best

Isha

Independent consultant

Project management, monitoring & evaluation Sri Lanka

Cette discussion est terminée. Veuillez contacter info@evalforward.org pour plus d'informations.
  • Dear Bintou,

    Many thanks for the response. This is what I like about EvalForward, it gives us an open platform to talk about many things.

    I guess that I only somewhat agree with what you say, because my thinking is that the future evaluations should take a broader approach than what we normally do.

    I would like to quote my friend Zenda Ofir focusing on DAC criteria, as we both honestly believe that DAC criteria need a face lift and argue that time is up for changes of the old with new thinking. 

    Zenda says "yes, we can have ‘top-down’, ‘bottom-up’ or ‘up-and-down’ interventions and strategies. But we need to be much more aware of the realities within which we should aim to make a difference".

    Also she says that "We are working ourselves into a technocratic, simplistic notion of development, humanitarian work and evaluation that makes us increasingly irrelevant for that which matters now.

    Yes, it is in part the result of the political economy in which we work. But we are not that powerless to change key aspects of our work. It is a matter of will and conviction".

    http://zendaofir.com/updating-the-DAC-criteria-part-10/.

    Best regards

    Isha

     

  • Bintou Nimaga

    Bintou Nimaga

    Cher Isha!

    Votre conclusion me donne l'idée que vos préoccupations s'adressent plutôt à la phase de formulation des projets/programmes pour laquelle ces thématiques sont à considérer avec intérêt. Mais, pour la phase d'évaluation, il n'est pas possible de recréer de nouvelles préoccupations.

    Salutations à vous!

    Bintou Nimaga

    Mali

    ***

    Dear Isha!
    Your conclusion gives me the idea that your concerns are addressed rather to the formulation phase of the projects / programs for which these themes are to be considered with interest. But for the evaluation phase, it is not possible to recreate new concerns.
     

  • Dear EVAL-ForwARD members,

    I was delighted to see a lively debate raising from my discussion question! 

    To my query about the need to address the burning issues I mentioned when evaluating agriculture-based interventions, the majority of your responses drew the attention on the scope of the evaluations, which are bound by theories of change. 

    I continue to think that the commissioner/s of evaluation must take these concerns seriously when it comes to either policy level evaluation or to any activity related to agricultura-based programme evaluation in their future assessments. I strongly believe that as evaluators we should find a way to incorporate these burning issues in the TORs of evaluation for the benefit of programme implementers, and entities, so that they come to think more about productive and sustainable manners to lead there interventions in future.

    I thank you all for your insightful contributions.

    Isha Wedasinghe Miranda

    Sri Lanka

  • Judith Kaitetesi Katabarwa

    Judith Kaitetesi Katabarwa

    Dear Isha,

    Very interesting areas you have mentioned but my take on that would be that consideration of them should be earlier during scoping and proposal development of agriculture projects. Then the evaluations can make sure to include them.

    Evaluations are very specific to a project scope with specific indicators to track, hence all these areas you mention may not be assessed if they were not in the project interventions from inception.

    Best,

    Judith

    Rwanda

  • Dear Isha,

    'agriculture-based interventions' is a nebulous term whose assessment cannot be determined a priori. The issues you list, together with others, could serve as the underlying goals for agriculture-based interventions (design, implementation, evaluation and learning).

    However, evaluation results from such interventions will arguably vary within different contexts. There is therefore, a great deal of specificity in evaluating each agriculture-based intervention. If the issues you have listed are included in your Terms of Reference (TOR) for the evaluation, I agree you are obliged to adhere to the terms; you will not normally impose your views on what needs to be evaluated if you are hired as an external evaluator.

    Samuel Boakye

    ICED

  • Bintou Nimaga

    Bintou Nimaga

    Hello Isha!

    Thank you for your good ideas, really interesting!

    The themes that you suggest themes constitute the substance of agricultural development. However, I think it is not possible for the evaluator to release himself the content of his work. He is bound by Terms of Reference to respect. These Terms of Reference are driven by indicators from project / program planning.

    However, the questions on gender and the environment are cross-cutting, and enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of the project's achievements and, to this end, enhance the quality of the analysis.

  • Dear all,
    As I am following the thread of this discussion, I get more convinced that platforms such as EvalForwARD CoP have to exist for evaluation practitioners of all backgrounds: it can only provide assets and advantages to all of us. Why I am saying this? Because I feel and "smell" some confusion in conceptualising "evaluation" in the air.
    According to my modest experience in Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E), I see "evaluation" strongly bounded by the Theory of Change defined during the project/programme formulation stage, and the results framework we assign to a given developmental action, be it a project, a programme, or a policy. Though lots of things need to be evaluated in any project/programme in order to be more comprehensive in our understanding of what worked and what didn't, we have to be faithful to what that project/programme was assumed or assigned to change. And for this, I join my voice to Emmanuel Bizimungu and Dr. Emile Houngbo, saying that we cannot evaluate anything and everything but we have to keep "targeted". Quoting Robert Chambers, I would say that we should opt for an "optimal ignorance" to not get our research efforts diluted in different senses and directions.
    In some interventions in this discussion thread, I assume that some friends are using the term "evaluation" as if it is a sectoral study assessment, a sort of an "état des lieux", as we say in French, or the "state of the art study" of the agricultural sectoral. If this is case, let us the words properly and keep the term "evaluation" for what it is meant: "the systematic and objective assessment of an on-going or completed project, programme or policy, its design, implementation and results. The aim is to determine the relevance and fulfillment of objectives, development efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability… An assessment, as systematic and objective as possible, of a planned, on-going, or completed development intervention." (OECD, 2002 – Glossary of key terms in evaluation and Results-based Management).
    It is then clear that "evaluation" is something different as doing an "état des lieux" or the "state of the art study" in terms of objectives, orientation, and use, although there are some common features shared among all. But for evaluation, as a peculiar characteristic that it bears, we have to develop an evaluation matrix backed by some evaluation questions and a strong and robust research methodology before we start collecting any data.
    Furthermore, we have to keep in mind that, as the same glossary clearly mentions, "evaluation in some instances involves the definition of appropriate standards, the examination of performance against those standards, an assessment of actual and expected results and the identification of relevant lessons". This is why evaluation – the discipline and not the perceived term – is since the last decade developing into a new social science and for which specialists get officially accredited in some countries, such as Canada, for example.
    Sorry for being too long but there was a need to clear my mind and attract the attention of colleagues on the perceived slight confusion.
    Mustapha

  • Emmanuel Ndongo

    Emmanuel Ndongo

    Moi également je pense que ces aspects devraient être inclus dans les évaluations d’interventions axées sur l’agriculture.

    Merci et bonne journée.

    Emmanuel Ndongo,

    Cameroun

  • Chère Isha

    Je vous remercie pour ce partage, bien que j' interviens relativement en retard, je propose d 'inclure la thématique de l'eau  et sa disponibilité pour les agriculteurs en tant que ressource surtout que la problématique de la rareté de l' eau prend de l'ampleur à l'échelle mondiale .

    Excellente journée

    Raoudha Jaouani

     

    Directrice en charge de la Pauvreté, des politiques sociales et de la migration
    Direction Générale des Secteurs Sociaux
    Ministère du Développement, de l'Investissement et de la Coopération Internationale Tunisie

  • Bhabatosh Nath

    Bhabatosh Nath

    Dear Isha,

    Thank you so much for sharing your ideas.

    I have some issues to share with you as follows:

    • I feel you could also think of the roles of a female (whether she herself is a farmer or a wife of a male farmer) and her ownership pattern as well.
    • Affordable technology for farmers: it is a very crucial issue! However, nowadays in our sub-continent farmers are bound to use chemical fertilizer and pesticide which are in most cases of low quality and are of low price. Many farmers are attracted by those traders, purchase and use those in the field, and it effects the yield. Those issues need to be addressed and evaluated.
    • Farmers issues related to finance, funding and price factors: Does it also include marketing and access to market? I also feel it important to think about 'Agriculture Value Chain Analysis'.

    This is all for now.

    Warm regards,

    Bhabatosh, Bangladesh

  • Bonjour,

    En tant que pratiquante de l'évaluation, les aspects cités par Mme Isha sont indispensables à une évaluation objective.

    Comment peut on parler de sécurité alimentaire si l'on n'y associe pas les avantages que la technologie et le développement apportés aux machines et outils indispensables à l'agriculteur?

    Les quantités produites, la rapidité du traitement et de la récolte sont étroitement liés à cet aspect. Bien sur la question de leur accessibilité aux agriculteurs des pays pauvres reste posée.

    Concernant le second point, à savoir la propriété foncière de l'agriculteur, il me semble qu'elle est cruciale. L'être humain s'investit plus et mieux lorsqu'il est propriétaire. Autrement dit, les formules de concessions, villages agricoles, fermes collectives ont vite montré leurs limites malgré l'existence de cas de réussite.

    Ensuite la dernière question relative à l'accès aux crédits et aux financements, mérité d'être étudiée sérieusement car il est important de situer les dispositifs d'aide au financement, entre une politique d'encouragement qui devrait aboutir à  l'autonomie de l'agriculteur et celle de l'assistance qui donne lieu à un agriculteur assisté, s'éloignant de toute initiative.

    La question des prix reste étroitement liée à la politique de régulation du pays auquel appartient l'agriculteur.En d'autres termes, évaluer une politique d'agriculture revient à evaluer: -ses objectifs stratégiques et chiffrés -les instruments réglementaires -les financements alloués  (directs et indirects tels que les crédits bonifiés, aides.....) -les résultats obtenus quantitativement et qualitativement.

    Bien entendu tout cela servira à  situer les forces et les faiblesses de l'agriculture en vue d'y apporter les recommandations idoines.

    Nb. Une évaluation objective est une évaluation qui prend en compte toutes les facettes du problème 

    Sincères salutations.

    Hynda Habchi Krachni.  Algérie 

  • Dear Isha,

    This proposition is interesting, but it cannot be applied for each evaluation. The evaluation depends on the indicators established formerly with respect to the objectives of the  intervention. Because of this difference of objectives per agriculture-based intervention, the evaluation focus cannot be the same at each time. Best regards. 

    Dr Emile HOUNGBO 

     

  • Emmanuel Bizimingu

    Emmanuel Bizimingu

    Dear Isha and team,

    To me, I feel this is question is vague. Did you intend to evaluate these aspects in one evaluation study? In my understanding, the projects/programmes we evaluate normally have limited scope and are country and context specific. Therefore, they may not include all the aspects you are highlighting. If the project(s) or programme(s) being evaluated incorporate all these, the ToR should define what should be evaluated which also depends on budget.

    Best,

    Emmanuel