Final evaluation : increasing the capacity of regenerative agricultural resource centers (RARCs) -- cooperative agreement no. FAO-0158-A-00-2055-00

The RARC model integrates applied/adaptive research and demonstration, networking and communications, and education and training -- all conducted by national staff within the Centers -- to promote regenerative agriculture. Both RARCs fully achieved some outputs, as well as others that were not anticipated. RARC personnel have received highly effective training in two realms: budgeting and accounting procedures; and logframing and workplanning. Much more remains to be done in management information system (MIS) training and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) training, however. It is impossible to determine to what extent RARC activities have met their overall purpose of increasing the use of regenerative agriculture. The RARCs have indeed enhanced their capacity to collect, analyze, and interpret various kinds of data, to monitor and evaluate impacts, and to systematically report on their findings, but they have yet to make a concerted effort to monitor and assess the adoption and diffusion of the technologies they are extending. In addition, while the RARCs have carried out massive training, outreach, and extension efforts (in the process involving many other NGOs and governmental organizations as well as producers) lack of functioning MIS and M&E systems makes it impossible to assess these efforts. Both RARCs are to be congratulated for forming effective formal and informal partnerships with research, extension, and environment-and-development entities, both public and private. Such linkages can only augment and extend RARC influence and impacts. The sustainability and replicability of the RARC model depends on the RARCs' ability to secure funding from a variety of sources. To attract more donor attention, the RARCs will have to pay more attention to women in development issues (efficiency and equity arguments aside, this is a practical necessity in today's environment-and-development climate) and to demonstrate that they can monitor and evaluate their own activities. Lessons learned from the project are (1) the importance of flexibility in replicating the RARC model (a flexibility RI is demonstrating in establish a new RARC in Russia), and (2) the need for each RARC to review and if necessary revise its mission statement in a effort to define its niche among development agencies.