Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) If one goal of your project is to have real impacts on farmers through high quality technical research, then you will need to have some way of finding out if you are achieving these impacts! The trouble is that many things affect farmers’ livelihoods, so you need some way to calculate the contribution of your research to their livelihoods.

Impacts (e.g. increased income) Outcomes (e.g. large areas planted with this variety) Outputs (e.g. selection of variety with high DM and sugar yields) Activities (eg. working with farmers to evaluate new sugar cane) Inputs (eg. planting material, money, labour, ideas, information) Things we do Impacts Easy Difficult How are impacts generated on your project?

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) You will also need a monitoring tool as the situation in the field can quickly get beyond the capacity of researchers to monitor individually….

farmers starting to evaluate forages An example from Sepaku in East Kalimantan

farmers expanded How big an area and which species? new farmers started to test forages 6 farmers did not expand or stopped 6

Farmers starting to evaluate forages Farmers expanding their forage area Farmers not expanding their forage area It is starting to become very complicated

Farmers starting to evaluate forages Farmers expanding their forage area Farmers not expanding their forage area Impossible to handle without a monitoring tool

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) You will also need a monitoring process because data on impacts from farmer trials can be misleading… Number of farmers out 47 out 93 out 47 new 93 new

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) You will also need a monitoring process because data on impacts from farmer trials can be misleading… 20 Average Area (sq m / farmer) Number of farmers Impact??

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) You will also need a monitoring process because data on impacts from farmer trials can be misleading… Average Area (sq m / farmer) Number of farmers Who? Many farmers? What impacts? How significant?

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Before you start a process of measuring the impacts of your research, you need to know: What impacts are happening? How many farmers are experiencing these impacts? Are the impacts significant in farmers’ lives? Only then should you start to quantify the impacts.

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Getting answers to these three questions may not be easy. Stories of impacts are often misleading (exaggerated or based on stories from just one farmer) Reports from the field are often very uninformative about ‘impacts’…only about outputs One method we have used to capture impacts as they start to happen in the field is the use of digital photography as a basis for monitoring

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) One method we have found very useful to capture impacts as they start to happen in the field is the use of digital photography

A simple process for M&E Laying a baseline for impact assessment Baseline Survey

A simple process for M&E Laying a baseline for impact assessment Baseline Survey From secondary information and results of participatory diagnosis and initial planning with communities: Village characterisation

A simple process for M&E Monitoring evaluation and adoption of innovations being tested by farmers Adoption Tree Surveys Laying a baseline for impact assessment Baseline Survey From secondary information and results of participatory diagnosis and initial planning with communities: Village characterisation

A simple process for M&E Common interest groups of farmers in villages working together on a particular issue (e.g. women working on improving pig production) Farmer Focus Groups Monitoring evaluation and adoption of innovations being tested by farmers Adoption Tree Surveys Laying a baseline for impact assessment Baseline Survey From secondary information and results of participatory diagnosis and initial planning with communities: Village characterisation

A simple process for M&E Common interest groups of farmers in villages working together on a particular issue (e.g. women working on improving pig production) Farmer Focus Groups Monitoring evaluation and adoption of innovations being tested by farmers Adoption Tree Surveys Laying a baseline for impact assessment Baseline Survey Informally monitor problems, innovations and activities Informal Observations From secondary information and results of participatory diagnosis and initial planning with communities: Village characterisation

A simple process for M&E Impacts identified by Farmer Focus Groups are followed up with measurements Quantifying Impact Common interest groups of farmers in villages working together on a particular issue (e.g. women working on improving pig production) Farmer Focus Groups Monitoring evaluation and adoption of innovations being tested by farmers Adoption Tree Surveys Laying a baseline for impact assessment Baseline Survey Informally monitor problems, innovations and activities Informal Observations From secondary information and results of participatory diagnosis and initial planning with communities: Village characterisation

Source: Werner Stür, CIAT Click the back button on your browser to return to the main menu