USAID Yaajeende Program Mid-Term Evaluation Final Report November 2016 This publication was produced by International Development Group LLC, for review by the United States Agency for International Development. 1 Learning, Evaluation and Analysis Project-II (LEAP-II) Work Order #4: Yaajeende Midterm Impact Evaluation Final Report Contract Number: AID-OAA-I-12-00042/AID-OAA-TO-14-00046 This report was prepared by International Development Group (IDG) and subcontractor Centre de Recherche pour le Developpement Humain (CRDH) with the following contributors: Adeline Awantang, Amadou Kansaye, Annete Fay, Benjamin Mazzota, Hyosun Bae, Jackie Avila, Landis MacKellar, Lena Zezulin, and Tamara Glazer. Data collection was supported by Cheikh Seye, Fancois Diouf, Fatimatou Diagne, Ibrahima Konate, Katim Toure, Lalla Sankare, Malik Gaye, Mawa Fall, Moustapha Diop, and Sokhna Ndiaye. DISCLAIMER The contents of this report are the sole responsibility of IDG and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. i TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Acronyms ......................................................................................................... vii Executive Summary ...................................................................................................... 1 I. Project Background ............................................................................................... 1 II. Evaluation Purpose and Questions ........................................................................ 1 III. Methods ................................................................................................................. 2 IV. Findings ............................................................................................................. 3 Study Question 1: Nutrition ....................................................................................... 3 Study Question 2: Healthy Household Practices ....................................................... 6 Study Question 3: Agricultural Practices and Production ........................................... 9 Study Question 4: Nutrition-led Agriculture (Synergies) ........................................... 12 V. Recommendations .............................................................................................. 12 1. Project Background ................................................................................................ 15 1.1 Overview of the Yaajeende Program ............................................................... 15 1.2 Yaajeende Program Activities .......................................................................... 17 Pillar 1: Availability .................................................................................................. 17 Pillar 2: Access ....................................................................................................... 19 Pillar 3: Utilization ................................................................................................... 19 Pillar 4: Sustainable Governance ............................................................................ 21 Cross-cutting Activities ............................................................................................ 21 Training ................................................................................................................... 21 Summary ................................................................................................................ 22 1.3 Village Selection Criteria .................................................................................. 22 2. Evaluation Purpose and Questions ....................................................................... 24 2.1 Purpose ............................................................................................................ 24 2.2 Questions ......................................................................................................... 24 2.3 Indicators ......................................................................................................... 25 3. Method ..................................................................................................................... 29 3.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 29 3.2 Intervention Packages ...................................................................................... 31 3.3 Project Intensity and Packages ........................................................................ 32 3.4 Sampling .......................................................................................................... 34 3.5 Survey Instrument ............................................................................................ 38 ii 3.6 Data Quality Assurance ................................................................................... 38 3.7 Data Cleaning .................................................................................................. 40 3.8 Statistical Approach ......................................................................................... 41 General ................................................................................................................... 41 Weighting ................................................................................................................ 43 DD Model ................................................................................................................ 44 Model Specification and Coefficient Interpretation .................................................. 46 Remedy for Limitations ........................................................................................... 47 3.9 Qualitative Approach ............................................................................................ 49 General ................................................................................................................... 49 Quality Assurance ................................................................................................... 51 KII/FGD Approach .................................................................................................. 51 Qualitative Data Analysis ........................................................................................ 52 4. Findings ................................................................................................................... 53 4.1 Overview .......................................................................................................... 53 4.2 Secular Trends, Changes among Beneficiaries, and Attributable Effects.......... 53 4.3 Summary of Changes in Key Indicators ............................................................ 56 4.4 Study Question 1: Nutrition ............................................................................... 60 Wasting (Indicator 1.1), Stunting (Indicator 1.2), and Child Underweight (Indicator 1.3) .......................................................................................................... 62 Adult Female Underweight (Indicator 1.4) ............................................................... 70 Minimum Acceptable Diet (Indicator 1.5), Length of Soudure (Indicator 1.6), and Meal Frequency (Indicator 1.7) ............................................................................... 70 4.5 Study Question 2: Healthy Household Practices .............................................. 77 Kitchen Hygiene (Indicator 2.1), Cold and Covered Food Storage (Indicator 2.2), Water Treatment (Indicator 2.3), and Food Conservation Techniques (Indicator 2.4) ......................................................................................................................... 80 Salt Iodation and Storage (Indicator 2.5), Exclusive Maternal Breastfeeding (Indicator 2.6) and Food Diversity (Indicator 2.7) ..................................................... 89 Handwashing Station in Common Use (Indicator 2.8), Drinking Water from an Improved Source (Indicator 2.9), and Cooking Water from an Improved Source (Indicator 2.10) ........................................................................................................ 93 4.6 Study Question 3: Agricultural Practices and Production .................................. 94 Poverty Rate (Indicator 3.1) .................................................................................... 97 Surface Area Planted (Indicator 3.2), Gardening Surface Area (Indicator 3.3), Surface Area Irrigated (Indicator 3.4), and Surface Area for Flood Plain Agriculture (Indicator 3.5) ........................................................................................ 99 iii Agricultural Production (Indicator 3.6) and Agricultural Revenue (Indicator 3.7) 102 Seed Purchases (Indicator 3.8), Fertilizer Purchases (Indicator 3.9), and Adoption of Advanced Technologies (Indicator 3.10) ........................................................... 104 4.7 Further Discussion of Poverty Findings ........................................................... 108 Housing and Consumer Durables ......................................................................... 112 Sanitation .............................................................................................................. 115 Maternal Education ............................................................................................... 116 5. Conclusions ..........................................................................................................