OFFICE OF EVALUATION Project evaluation series Final Evaluation of the Environmentally Sustainable Food Security Programme (ESFSP) July 2017 PROJECT EVALUATION SERIES Final Evaluation of the Environmentally Sustainable Food Security Programme (ESFSP) FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF EVALUATION July 2017 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Office of Evaluation (OED) This report is available in electronic format at: http://www.fao.org/evaluation The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. 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All requests for translation and adaptation rights, and for resale and other commercial use rights should be made via www.fao.org/contact-us/licence-request or addressed to [email protected]. For further information on this report, please contact: Director, Office of Evaluation (OED) Food and Agriculture Organization Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 1, 00153 Rome Italy Email: [email protected] Photo credit (cover photos): FAO Final Evaluation of the Environmentally Sustainable Food Security Programme (ESFSP) Contents Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................................................vi Acronyms and abbreviations ....................................................................................................................vii Executive Summary .................................................................................................................1 1. Introduction ...........................................................................................................................6 1.1 Purpose of the evaluation ............................................................................................6 1.1.1 Intended users ........................................................................................................6 1.2 Scope and objective of the evaluation .....................................................................6 1.2.1 Scope ........................................................................................................................6 1.2.2 Objectives and evaluation questions ..............................................................7 1.3 Methodology ...................................................................................................................7 1.3.1 Limitations ..............................................................................................................8 2. Background and context of the project/ programme ............................................9 2.1 Context of the project ..................................................................................................9 2.2 Project design and the theory of change...............................................................10 3. Evaluation questions: Key findings ..............................................................................12 3.1 Evaluation question 1: To what extent were ESFSP activities supported and connected to the United Nations Post-Nargis Recovery Planning Process, the national Post-Nargis Recovery Plan, and other international / national NGOs? ......................................................................................................................12 3.2 Evaluation question 2: Has FAO through the ESFSP addressed structurally important challenges in the region, in the areas of FAO’s competence and in the framework of the Country Programme Framework? .....13 3.3 Evaluation questions 3-5: To what extent did the ESFSP reduce livelihood vulnerability of the targeted population, including through the long-term introduction of improved technologies and practices? ..................15 3.3.1 Village Fisheries Societies ................................................................................15 3.3.2 Farmer field schools and seed multiplication groups .............................18 3.3.3 Other economic groups ....................................................................................18 3.4 Evaluation question 6: To what extent did the programme contribute to the overall recovery from Cyclone Nargis? ................................................................19 3.4.1 GCP/MYA/010/ITA ............................................................................................19 3.4.2 GCP/MYA/011/ITA ............................................................................................21 3.4.3 GCP/MYA/012/ITA ........................................................................................... 22 4. Cross-cutting issues ......................................................................................................... 24 4.1 Use of FAO and contribution to FAO normative products ................................24 4.2 Gender analysis and human rights-based approach ..........................................24 iii Final Evaluation of the Environmentally Sustainable Food Security Programme (ESFSP) 4.3 Partnerships ...................................................................................................................25 4.4 Disaster risk reduction .................................................................................................25 5. Conclusions and recommendations ........................................................................... 27 5.1 Conclusions .....................................................................................................................27 5.2 Recommendations ......................................................................................................27 6. Lessons learned ................................................................................................................ 29 Appendix 1. Synthesis of subsidiary project logical frameworks ......................... 32 Appendix 2. Reformulated theory of change for ESFSP .......................................... 33 iv Final Evaluation of the Environmentally Sustainable Food Security Programme (ESFSP) Boxes and figures Boxes Box 1: Beneficiary story: livelihoods diversification .....................................................17 Box 2: Cook stove case study: income generation, climate change mitigation and labour savings for women and households under ESFSP ................................. 20 Box 3: Beneficiary experience of the ESFSP ................................................................... 23 Box 4: Beneficiary story: lack of extension and longer term support and advice for farming and fisher households ..................................................................... 29 Figures Figure 1. Composition of ESFSP evaluation respondents .............................................8 Figure 2. Gender composition of ESFSP evaluation respondents ..............................8 v Final Evaluation of the Environmentally Sustainable Food Security Programme (ESFSP) Acknowledgements The Office of Evaluation would like to thank everyone who contributed to this report. The evaluation was led by Luisa Belli and was managed by Harvey John Garcia, both from the Office of Evaluation. Heather Young provided administrative and logistical support for the evaluation missions. The Evaluation Team would like to thank the representatives of the institutions and organizations with whom they met during the evaluation mission in Myanmar. We would also like to thank the FAO Myanmar Country Representative, FAO Myanmar staff, implementing partners, beneficiaries and the ESFSP project staff. Composition of the Evaluation Team John Hambrey, Co-Team Leader and Community Fisheries Expert Phuong Thu, Disaster Risk Reduction and Gender Consultant Kabir Humayun, Crop Production Consultant Sandar Myo, Agriculture Consultant vi Final Evaluation of the Environmentally Sustainable Food Security Programme (ESFSP) Acronyms and abbreviations CBOs Community-based Organizations DRR Disaster Risk Reduction ESFSP Environmentally Sustainable Food Security Programme FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FFS Farmer Field Schools GDP Gross Domestic Product NGO Non-governmental Organization VFS Village Fisheries Societies vii Final Evaluation of the Environmentally Sustainable Food Security Programme (ESFSP) viii Final Evaluation of the Environmentally Sustainable Food Security Programme (ESFSP) Executive