Evaluation of IFAD programme in Tanzania points to major strides but also areas for improvement
Dar es Salaam, 29 January
2015 -Targeted investments in Tanzanian agriculture contributed
to increasing yields for crops such as
paddy, maize, or tomatoin a range of 60
to 120 per cent in those areas where irrigation and extension activities were
carried out at a substantial level, a new country programme evaluation by the
Independent Office of Evaluation of the International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD), presented today in Dar es Salaam, reveals.
Tanzania has the
second-largest IFAD portfolio (in terms of volume of lending) in the East and
Southern Africa region, after Ethiopia. Since the beginning of IFAD's
operations in the country in 1978, IFAD has financed 14loan-funded investment projects
of US$360 million, and has mobilized more than US$700 million in support to
agricultural development projects.
The government has provided cofinancing of US$72
million, or about 10 per cent of total portfolio costs. Additional
contributions were provided by other donors, notably the African Development
Bank, the World Bank and the governments of Belgium, Japan and Ireland.
The evaluation recommended
that IFAD support the next phase of the Agricultural Sector Development
Programme – a governmental programme that aims to improve farmers' access to
and use of agricultural knowledge, technologies,
marketing systems and infrastructure, in Mainland and Zanzibar.
“In Zanzibar and Pemba
alone, IFAD’s supportthrough the Agricultural Sector Development Programme has
assisted more than 35,000 farmers, 62 per cent of whom were women,” said Nadine
Gbossa, Head of the IFAD Regional Office in Nairobi.
“This programme has
concentrated on agricultural extension activities, adopting the innovative
Farmer Field Schools approach. The Government has adopted this approach as part
of its policies and strategies, and is now integrating it in its programmes.
This is a major achievement for IFAD as a partner.”
The evaluation report
highlighted how instrumental IFAD and other development partners were in
supporting Tanzania’s decentralization policy, which seeks to devolve
responsibility for designing and implementing projects to local government
authorities. The evaluation, however, found limited progress in supporting
agricultural marketing and value chain development.
The independent evaluation
report – the second of its kind in Tanzania – will inform IFAD’s next country
strategy in late 2015. “The next IFAD country strategy is an opportunity to
build on the results of agriculture extension activities and focus on marketing and agricultural
value-chain development, as well as tostrengthen non-lending activities, including
knowledge management, policy dialogue and partnership-building,
” said Oscar A.
Garcia, Director of the Independent Office of Evaluation. "Moreover, there
is room to broaden engagement with the private sector and explore more
coordinated support to value chains with other development partners in Tanzania,"
he added.
The full evaluation report is
expected to be released in April 2015.
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Press
release No.: IFAD/XX/2014
CONTACT
IFAD:
Mr
Maurizio Navarra, Evaluation Communication Officer
International
Fund for Agricultural Development
Independent
Office of Evaluation
Email:
m.navarra@ifad.org
Phone:
+39 06 5459 2512
Mobile:
+39 392 8161314
In Dar
es Salaam: +255 786983044
United Nations Tanzania:
Ms Hoyce Temu, Communications Specialist
Resident Coordinator’s Office
Email: hoyce.temu@one.un.org
Phone: +255 22 219 9372
Mobile: +255 682 262 627
Additional information:
Media
advisory: http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2015/advisory/1.htm
To
download the workshop provisional agenda and concept note, please visit:
For
more information on the work of the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD,
please visit:
IFAD
fact sheet “Investing in rural people in the United Republic of Tanzania”: http://www.ifad.org/operations/projects/regions/Pf/factsheets/tanzania.pdf
IFAD
Videos on Tanzania:
1. Tanzania: Water Works http://youtu.be/f_wCNpoPFqE (longer event version including
Government spokesperson http://youtu.be/xZHLy68n5EI)
2. Tanzania: The Long Walk for Water http://youtu.be/kR5P1Um88tQ
3. Tanzania: Qashing In – The Follow Up http://youtu.be/pFqbHwVXSYs (Follow up to Qashing Inhttp://youtu.be/U5VxgVEEc_w)
4. Zanzibar: Farming 101 http://youtu.be/ycOEuh33Lmg
5. Zanzibar: Back to Farmers Field School
(follow up story) http://youtu.be/xlLNaMetT1Y
For
any enquiry on independent evaluation, send a message to: evaluation@ifad.org.
____________________________________________________________
The International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD) invests
in rural people, empowering them to reduce poverty, increase food security,
improve nutrition and strengthen resilience. Since 1978, we have provided over
US$16 billion in grants and low-interest loans to projects that have reached
more than 430 million people.
IFAD is an international financial institution
and a specialized United Nations agency based in Rome – the UN’s food and
agriculture hub.
About the Independent Office of Evaluation (IOE): IOE conducts evaluations of
IFAD-financed policies, strategies and operations to promote accountability and
learning.
The main purpose is to contribute to improving IFAD's and its
partners' performance in reducing rural poverty in recipient countries.
IOE's independent evaluations assess the impact of IFAD-funded activities and
give an analysis of successes and shortcomings – to tell it the way it is – as
well as identify factors affecting performance.
Based on the key insights and
recommendations drawn from evaluation findings, IOE also communicates and
shares IFAD’s knowledge and experience in agriculture and rural development
with a wider audience.
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