Agricultural Credit Enhancement (ACE) Program Phase II (ACE-II) Monitoring and Evaluation Plan

The program is designed to expand access to credit for the agriculture sector in Afghanistan through facilitating the transition of the ADF and encouraging the entry of other financial intermediaries into agricultural financial services provision. The ACE-II program operates on the hypothesis that the provision of credit for agriculture-related activities is a necessary condition to accelerate the growth of the agriculture sector and the growth of rural economies, leading to prosperity and social stability. The program's activities are focused on supporting the ADF to successfully transition to a sustainable lending institution, engaging other Afghan and international intermediaries into agriculture finance, and providing a learning and advocacy platform for advancing agricultural finance. The program's objectives are to support the ADF to successfully transition to a sustainable lending institution, engage other Afghan and international intermediaries into agriculture finance, and provide a learning and advocacy platform for advancing agricultural finance. ACE-II will ensure the necessary conditions for a fully functional and independent ADF that is adequately monitored and supervised. By increasing the availability of agricultural credit and encouraging the access of other financial intermediaries into agricultural finance, ACE-II will contribute to the Afghanistan mission objective of sustainable, agricultural-led economic growth expanded. The ACE-II program will provide decisive support to encourage the entry of financial intermediaries into agricultural lending to utilize ADF funds, which will give rise to a dynamic agricultural finance system composed of a sustainable and growing ADF and a network of five Afghan financial intermediaries lending to 75,000 first-time agricultural clients with a range of products. This financing system will support the modernization and expansion of Afghan agriculture, contributing to food security, import substitution, income generation, and economic growth across the country in the decades to come. The ACE-II Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Plan is a "living" document that will be updated periodically to reflect changing conditions that affect program activities and any gaps that are identified over the course of program implementation. The M&E Plan is characterized by project management and adaptability, integration, and ongoing reporting and information to USAID and DAI/ACE-II decision-makers on program successes, understand failures, and adjust program emphasis or change implementation tactics accordingly.