Climate resilient agriculture M&E framework

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WWF Climate resilient agriculture draft M&E framework April2021

Mahlathini Development Foundation (MDF) is conducting a Covid-response project in two provinces

in South Africa. Due to the economic crisis created by Covid-19, people in rural areas may be highly

affected. This project works with currently active rural farmers who are already familiar with climate

resilient agriculture (CRA) to boost their production and increase diversity of produce. The two areas

of project implementation are the mid and lower Drakensberg regions KZN (Bergville, SKZn and

vegetables, field cropping, and livestock integration. This M&E framework is designed to capture

these changes, to assess whether this new model is working and to what extent it is working.

The aim, objectives, outcomes, and short-term gains of the project are set out below.

Project aim

Increased productivity and resilience in the mixed smallholder farming system through

implementation of a basket of Climate Resilient Agriculture (CRA) practices

Project objectives

Project outcomes

1. Food and nutrition security at household level for poor, rural homesteads with enough farming

income to sustainably maintain farming activities in the short term

2. Development of social agency for community-led LEDand social safety net improvement of the

natural resource base

Short-term gains

•Increased availability of locally produced, healthy food (vegetables, field crops, poultry and

livestock)

Project monitoring

From the changes that MDF wants to create, we have identified four aspects that need to be

monitored:

1.Increased yield and production

This includes % size increase in land used, increase in yield, increased diversity in what is farmed

(vegetables, field cropping, and livestock integration)

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2.The use of more climate resilient agricultural (CRA) practices, and an intention to continue using

them

This includes increased variety of adaptive CRA practices (for example, rainwater harvesting,

tranches, more resilient crops, etc). It also needs to measure any change in attitudes towards this

way of farming.

has to be facilitated by MDF. This also includes VSLA records. MDF’s experience is that without some

money available very little can change for these farmers. MDF initiates the VSLAs and gathers

monthly monitoring data.

4.Increased social agency

This includes inclusion in learning groups, VSLAs, and any other joint activities undertaken. Within a

systemic development methodology, it is assumed that through working and learning together,

people develop the ability to work together and become better at problem solving, and more

motivated to tackle challenges. An example of how social agency might work is that farmers

participate in learning groups and savings groups, and then may decide to form a joint planting

The monitoring tool that staff will use is copied below. This is abridged for the purposes of this

framework document, with tables’ rows and spaces for writing answers removed.

1. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PARTICIPANT

•Main source of income (social grant/employment/self-employment/unemployed):

•Number of child and pension grants:

2. INCREASED YIELD AND PRODUCTION

a)What is the total land size used:

Increased in farming

(Size) [Covers

diversity and

production]

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Increased

diversity (1)

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b) Why do you not sell more produce? What are some of the challenges you face?

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

c) Safety nets and diversification

4. Social agency

a)Do you share your knowledge and experiences with the learning group or community

b) How do you share the knowledge gained with other members of your community?

farmer has learnt)

a)Listening to other farmers experiences and experiments

d) Groups and activities

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Informed

decision making

Information used to choose

activities Before

Evaluation

The aim of the evaluation is to assess whether mixed farming methods can provide sustainable

livelihoods for small-scale rural farmers, and the extent to which the activities undertaken by MDF

in September 2021; and a longer summative evaluation in August 2022.

In the formative evaluation, MDF and I will ensure that we have gathered and analysed as much

monitoring data as possible, to be able to assess whether agricultural, marketing, and agency

behaviour have changed, and whether this has resulted in improved livelihoods. Using this

information for each project area, I will conduct a series of staff workshops where they reflect on the

model, and talk about the monitoring results: how and where it is working well, and how and where

3. It is assumed that new networks and relationship will form for local food systems.

4. It is assumed that farmers will learn financial literacy and planning skills from VSLAs, and that they

will use extra income from farming to maintain farming activities.

5. It is also assumed that farmers will have the time, labour, and motivation/hope/get up and go/ to

makes the changes that MDF suggests.

The evaluation workshop will largely rely on a SWOT analysis. Taking the results of each area, we will

jointly consider the reasons for what the monitoring data are showing. A SWOT analysis is a useful

tool because it includes an examination of internal and external forces. This project will take

different forms in the different areas because of the contexts – local power structures,

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This relates to the project itself, internal

processes, and what works well and less well. It

This relates to the external context in which the

project sits. Here, we will try to uncover more

implementation so that strengths are played to,

weaknesses avoided, and efforts are made to

grasped, threats and challenges are actively