Zimbabwe agricultural portfolio evaluation : final report

USAID/Zimbabwe undertook this performance evaluation to review the entire portfolio of agricultural activities and determine: (1) whether the design of the agricultural portfolio was appropriate, given the country context at the time, and (2) whether its projects have and are achieving desired results (the evaluation, however, was not intended to serve as project performance evaluations). The evaluation team was tasked to examine USAID's current strategy and activities in terms of their relevance to meeting its economic growth objectives and Feed the Future (FTF) initiative objectives, taking into consideration the country context, past experience of USAID projects, and lessons learned from the projects. The evaluation examined interventions of the portfolio organized under three main topics: (1) appropriateness of the portfolio design; (2) achievement of intended objectives under each phase and in household food security, household agricultural incomes, and agricultural productivity in the targeted geographic zones; and (3) transition management between the recovery phase and the development phase. The evaluation gave focused attention to the degree to which women were incorporated into and derived benefits from the interventions. USAID will use the results of the evaluation to make design changes (as appropriate) and mid-course corrections to its current strategy, and to share lessons learned with key stakeholders. The implementing partners will learn about their strengths and weaknesses and adjust their projects accordingly. Finally, lessons learned from this evaluation will inform follow-on portfolio activities to be designed in FY 2014/2015. (Excerpt, modified)