OFFICE OF EVALUATION Project evaluation series Final Evaluation of the Institutional Level Component of the Project “Support for Livestock-based Livelihoods of Vulnerable Populations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory” February 2018 PROJECT EVALUATION SERIES Final Evaluation of the Institutional Level Component of the Project “Support for Livestock-based Livelihoods of Vulnerable Populations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory” OSRO/GAZ/201/EC/ DCI-FOOD-2012/302-119 FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF EVALUATION February 2018 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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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] Cover photo credits (top to bottom): ©FAO/Sara Holst (1st picture), ©FAO/Savina Tessitore (2nd and 6th pictures), ©FAO/Matteo Caravani (3rd to 5th picture) Support for Livestock-based Livelihoods of Vulnerable Populations in Palestine Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................................v Acronyms and abbreviations .....................................................................................................................vi Executive summary ..................................................................................................................1 1. Introduction ...........................................................................................................................3 1.1 Purpose of the evaluation ............................................................................................3 1.2 Scope and objective of the evaluation .....................................................................3 1.2.1 Scope ........................................................................................................................3 1.2.2 Objectives and Evaluation Questions .............................................................3 1.3 Methodology ...................................................................................................................4 1.4 Limitations ........................................................................................................................5 1.5 Structure of the report ..................................................................................................6 2. Background and context of the project .......................................................................7 2.1 Description of the context ...........................................................................................7 2.2 Description of the project ...........................................................................................7 3. Evaluation Questions: key findings ...............................................................................9 3.1 Evaluation Question 1: Considering the specificities of the context, how relevant and appropriate were the project design and its activities in achieving the planned outcomes? .................................................................................9 3.2 Evaluation Question 2: To what extent was the project able to enhance Ministry of Agriculture institutional capacities for the livestock sector? ...............13 3.3 Evaluation Question 3: How and to what extent was service provision to livestock owners enhanced? And what was the impact of this? .........................16 3.4 Evaluation Question 4: In which ways were the institutional capacity development and direct support of livestock owners coordinated within the livestock sector? ............................................................................................................. 22 4. Conclusions and recommendations ........................................................................... 25 4.1 Conclusions .....................................................................................................................25 4.2 Recommendations .......................................................................................................27 5. Lessons Learned ................................................................................................................ 29 6. Appendices ......................................................................................................................... 30 Appendix 1. List of documents consulted ..................................................................... 30 Appendix 2. List of herders interviewed .........................................................................31 Appendix 3. List of people interviewed (not herders) ................................................32 Appendix 4. Evaluation matrix.......................................................................................... 34 Appendix 5. LbL-i Theory of Change ................................................................................37 Appendix 6. LbL-i results and activities .......................................................................... 38 iii Support for Livestock-based Livelihoods of Vulnerable Populations in Palestine Figures Figure 1: Cow imported from Israel with local tagging system ................................15 Figure 2: Bedouins living in southern Gaza ....................................................................17 Figure 3: Tagged sheep in Bethlehem .............................................................................19 Figure 4: Ear tag getting stuck in the vegetation in the Jordan Valley ...................19 Figure 5: Focus group discussion with the Ministry of Agriculture planning division in Gaza ..................................................................................................................... 20 Figure 6: A herder in Jenin removing the ear tags .......................................................21 iv Support for Livestock-based Livelihoods of Vulnerable Populations in Palestine Acknowledgements The FAO Office of Evaluation (OED) would like to thank all those who contributed to this evaluation, led by Savina Tessitore, Evaluation Manager; and Sara Holst, Associate Evaluation Manager from the FAO Office of Evaluation (OED). The evaluation team was composed of Matteo Caravani, Evaluation Team Leader; Hiyam Hazineh, National Consultant for the West Bank; Nuha Bashir, National Consultant for the Gaza Strip; Beesan Ramadan, Translator in the West Bank; Enas Ghanam, Translator in the Gaza Strip. The Office of Evaluation (OED) would like to thank the representatives of the institutions and organizations with whom they met during the mission in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip, especially the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture at national and governorate level, NARC, PADDRIFF, the European Union and representatives of partners NGOs for their time and valuable insights as well as herders’ availability on the field. The Office would also like to thank all FAO staff in Gaza, Jerusalem and Ramallah, for the logistic and administrative support provided during this mission. v Support for Livestock-based Livelihoods of Vulnerable Populations in Palestine Acronyms and abbreviations FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations LbL Livestock-based Livelihoods LbL-f Livestock-based Livelihoods – Field Level Component LbL-g Livestock-based Livelihoods – Governance Level Component LbL-i Livestock-based Livelihoods – Institutional Level Component NAIS National Animal Identification System NARC National Agricultural Research Centre NGO Non-Governmental Organizations ORFV Orf virus PADRIFF Palestine Agricultural Disaster Risk Reduction and Insurance Fund UAWC Union of Agricultural Work Committee UNRWA United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees WBGS West Bank and Gaza Strip vi Support for Livestock-based Livelihoods of Vulnerable Populations in Palestine Executive