Food and Nutrition Security
AGRO SOURCE PROJECT
The AgroSource project in Ghana was initially designed as a two and half year project implemented between July 2018 and December 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, necessitated a 6-months extension, thus making it a 3-year project that extended into 2021. The project aimed to support smallholder women farmers to:
• Increase availability and access to good quality agricultural inputs in rural communities by 50% through a private sector-led agro-dealership scheme that will establish and support 50 women and men rural agro-dealers by the year 2020.
• Increase availability of and access to certified seed through a community seed production system in partnership with the private sector, which will engage 200 smallholder women, farmers, as out-growers.
• Improve utilization of good quality agricultural inputs by enhancing knowledge of smallholder farmers through input fairs, demonstration plots, and training.
• Create an enabling environment for women in agri-input systems through improving gender responsiveness of both private and government sector partners. Read More...
• Increase availability and access to good quality agricultural inputs in rural communities by 50% through a private sector-led agro-dealership scheme that will establish and support 50 women and men rural agro-dealers by the year 2020.
• Increase availability of and access to certified seed through a community seed production system in partnership with the private sector, which will engage 200 smallholder women, farmers, as out-growers.
• Improve utilization of good quality agricultural inputs by enhancing knowledge of smallholder farmers through input fairs, demonstration plots, and training.
• Create an enabling environment for women in agri-input systems through improving gender responsiveness of both private and government sector partners. Read More...
EMERGENCY FOOD SECURITY PROGRAM-EFSP II
This end-of-project evaluation study was carried out between August and September 2021. The overall purpose of the evaluation was to assess the extent to which the program had achieved its strategic objective of improved food security for drought-affected households in the target locations. This included the use of the OECD- DAC criteria, more specifically Relevance and Appropriateness, Efficiency and Effectiveness as well as the project’s impact on the community. Read More...
Análisis Rápido de Género – ARG / Honduras, 2021. Desafíos para las mujeres y niñas ante una sostenida crisis sanitaria y ambiental.
El 2020, como resultado de los efectos de las crisis sanitaria y ambiental, se caracterizó por evidenciar y profundizar las deficiencias y limitaciones que
enfrenta Honduras en lo relacionado con: las brechas estructurales preexistentes y sus consecuencias en términos de seguridad y desigualdad, especialmente la profundización en la desigualdad de género; las carencias y debilidades de los sistemas de servicios esenciales a nivel sanitario y de protección social; las debilidades del sistema productivo - empresarial y la fragilidad de los procesos económicos del país; y las debilidades existentes en aspectos relacionadas con la infraestructura, las estrategias para la gestión de riesgos y la capacidad de respuesta ante fenómenos naturales.
Esto ha provocado un estancamiento o retroceso en aspectos relacionados con el acceso a medios de vida, a derechos económicos y sociales, y a derechos humanos fundamentales. Sin embargo, se debe subrayar que aunque ambas crisis afectaron directa o indirectamente a toda la población hondureña, su impacto es evidentemente desigual ya que resultó mayormente adverso para los grupos y la población más vulnerable, especialmente las mujeres y niñas. En consecuencia, han empeorado las condiciones y calidad de vida de la población subsistiendo en situación de pobreza o expuesta a alguna condición de riesgo ya sea física, psicológica, social, ambiental, económica o estructural. Esto preocupa en particular si adicionalmente se considera que Honduras está catalogado como uno de los países con mayor desigualdad en el área latinoamericana. El ARG buscó proporcionar recomendaciones prácticas para diseñar estrategias que permitan brindar una respuesta diferenciada a las principales necesidades y brechas humanitarias identificadas, y permitió identificar aquellos factores afectados por ambas crisis y que inciden negativamente en la protección a los derechos humanos fundamentales y en la calidad de vida de los grupos más vulnerables del país. Read More...
enfrenta Honduras en lo relacionado con: las brechas estructurales preexistentes y sus consecuencias en términos de seguridad y desigualdad, especialmente la profundización en la desigualdad de género; las carencias y debilidades de los sistemas de servicios esenciales a nivel sanitario y de protección social; las debilidades del sistema productivo - empresarial y la fragilidad de los procesos económicos del país; y las debilidades existentes en aspectos relacionadas con la infraestructura, las estrategias para la gestión de riesgos y la capacidad de respuesta ante fenómenos naturales.
Esto ha provocado un estancamiento o retroceso en aspectos relacionados con el acceso a medios de vida, a derechos económicos y sociales, y a derechos humanos fundamentales. Sin embargo, se debe subrayar que aunque ambas crisis afectaron directa o indirectamente a toda la población hondureña, su impacto es evidentemente desigual ya que resultó mayormente adverso para los grupos y la población más vulnerable, especialmente las mujeres y niñas. En consecuencia, han empeorado las condiciones y calidad de vida de la población subsistiendo en situación de pobreza o expuesta a alguna condición de riesgo ya sea física, psicológica, social, ambiental, económica o estructural. Esto preocupa en particular si adicionalmente se considera que Honduras está catalogado como uno de los países con mayor desigualdad en el área latinoamericana. El ARG buscó proporcionar recomendaciones prácticas para diseñar estrategias que permitan brindar una respuesta diferenciada a las principales necesidades y brechas humanitarias identificadas, y permitió identificar aquellos factores afectados por ambas crisis y que inciden negativamente en la protección a los derechos humanos fundamentales y en la calidad de vida de los grupos más vulnerables del país. Read More...
RESET II Project Promoting Resilient Livelihoods in Borana Final Report
Purpose: The purpose of this end line evaluation is to assess the achievements, constraints and lessons learnt and to produce sufficient evidence to show how the project performed against its overall objective. Overview of the project: Funded by the European Union (EU) through its European Union Trust Fund (EUTF) with a total budget of Є6,586,291, the Promoting Resilient Livelihoods in Borana RESET II Project was implemented by a consortium of CARE Ethiopia, Oromo Self Help Organization (OSHO) and Action against Hunger (AAH). The project focused in the geographic area of Arero, Miyo, Dire, Moyale, Dillo and Dhas districts in the Borena Zone within the Oromia region. The overall aim of enhancing the resilience of 100,000 PSNP beneficiaries, reducing irregular migration through improved access and coverage to provision of WASH, health and nutrition services, diversifying and increasing livelihood opportunities and incomes, improving Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) capacity, enhancing research and knowledge management systems as well as reducing barriers to women empowerment, the project begun implementation October 2016 and end in December 2020. CARE’s Pastoralist Resilience Casual Model (PRCM) using proven CARE’S Village Saving and Loan Associations (VSLA), Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (CVCA), Social Analysis and Action (SAA), Participatory Scenario Planning (PSP) and AAH’s as well as Assisting Behavior change (ABC) methods and approaches were utilized throughout the project. Read More...
Somalia Resilience Program (SomRep) Endline Assessment
The Somalia Resilience Program (SomReP) is intended to enhance the resilience of vulnerable households and communities in Southern Somalia against cyclical shocks and stressors. SomReP is a consortium of seven international non-governmental organisations (INGOs). The program’s activities focus on improving livelihoods and increasing adaptive capacities of communities and households in Somalia.
On behalf of SomReP, Forcier Consulting is conducting Third Party Monitoring (TPM) of the program in two districts in South Central Somalia: Baidoa, Bay Region and Afgooye, Lower Shabelle Region. This document represents the initial main findings of the end line of the TPM. The end line report will report trends in program results after the program’s completion. Further, the status of the indicators will be compared to the baseline and midline values.
The data collection for this midline study was collected in August 2019. All data was collected, cleaned, and analysed by Forcier Consulting. Analyses compare midline and baseline data to end line results to identify trends among the results. This report follows the structure of the midline and baseline assessments, which was conducted by Forcier Consulting in 2017 and 2018.
A total of 1,590 program beneficiaries were surveyed, including 58% female and 42% male respondents. Respondents were sampled in urban/peri-urban, pastoral, agro-pastoral, and IDP livelihood zones. The vast majority of respondents were household heads, with an average age of 37 years. A large majority of participants had attended madrasa only (70%), and the average household size was 4.3 members.
Overall, the findings are positive for many program areas, however conditions varied over the period of the study; there was some recovery from the very severe 2016/2017 drought in 2018, but deterioration into 2019. These poor conditions created challenges for program beneficiaries. As a result, the analyses in the end line study show some mixed results. One limitation of the study is that the negative effects of the drought cannot be differentiated from the positive effects of the program. Read More...
On behalf of SomReP, Forcier Consulting is conducting Third Party Monitoring (TPM) of the program in two districts in South Central Somalia: Baidoa, Bay Region and Afgooye, Lower Shabelle Region. This document represents the initial main findings of the end line of the TPM. The end line report will report trends in program results after the program’s completion. Further, the status of the indicators will be compared to the baseline and midline values.
The data collection for this midline study was collected in August 2019. All data was collected, cleaned, and analysed by Forcier Consulting. Analyses compare midline and baseline data to end line results to identify trends among the results. This report follows the structure of the midline and baseline assessments, which was conducted by Forcier Consulting in 2017 and 2018.
A total of 1,590 program beneficiaries were surveyed, including 58% female and 42% male respondents. Respondents were sampled in urban/peri-urban, pastoral, agro-pastoral, and IDP livelihood zones. The vast majority of respondents were household heads, with an average age of 37 years. A large majority of participants had attended madrasa only (70%), and the average household size was 4.3 members.
Overall, the findings are positive for many program areas, however conditions varied over the period of the study; there was some recovery from the very severe 2016/2017 drought in 2018, but deterioration into 2019. These poor conditions created challenges for program beneficiaries. As a result, the analyses in the end line study show some mixed results. One limitation of the study is that the negative effects of the drought cannot be differentiated from the positive effects of the program. Read More...
SANI (Southern Africa Nutrition Initiative)
The Southern Africa Nutrition Initiative (SANI) is a $29,487,135 CAD project to address undernutrition in women of reproductive age (15-49) and children under 5 years in Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. A partnership between CARE, Cuso International, Interagency Coalition on AIDS and Development (ICAD) and McGill University and the Governments and communities of implementing countries, SANI aimed to improve the nutritional status of women of reproductive age (15-49 years) and children under-5 years old. SANI was designed to align with national health and nutrition strategic priorities of Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia, and has been implemented in close collaboration with the Ministries responsible for Health, Agriculture, and Gender in each country, as well as national and district-level nutrition coordination committees (NCC and DNCC). Between June 2016 and March 2021, SANI contributed directly to the improved health of 234,000 women, children and men directly and over 498,000 individuals indirectly.
This final report covers the implementation period of the original SANI contribution agreement and project implementation plan finalized in February 2017.
Key project achievements:
Outcome 1100 aimed to improve nutrition practices and services for women of reproductive age, boys, and girls under 5 by strengthening the delivery of community-based nutrition services at the intersection between community health and the health system. Growth Monitoring and Promotion (GMP) and Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) programs built this link, working on the continuum of prevention of malnutrition and early detection and treatment of moderate and severe acute malnutrition. Training and support on Maternal, Infant, and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN), CMAM, and GMP was provided to health service workers and community health workers, and Care groups were established to support families to learn about and apply gender-sensitive MIYCN practices. Interactive teaching was also done at scale through participatory education theatre and cooking demonstrations using local nutritious foods. Social Analysis and Action (SAA) dialogues encouraged families involved in the program to identify, discuss, and challenge traditional social norms and practices that affect women’s health, nutrition, and empowerment.
Endline data revealed the following increases in nutrition-specific indicators from baseline:
- All three countries had considerable increases in rates of exclusive breastfeeding of children up to 5 months, increasing by 15-percentage points in Zambia (from 70% to 85%), 25- percentage points in Malawi (from 61% to 86%) and 17-percentage points in Mozambique (from 65% to 82%)
- Minimum Acceptable Diet (MAD) for children 6 to 23 months increased by 24-percentage points for boys and girls in Malawi (from 7% to 31%) and in Zambia by 7-percentage points for boys (from 24% to 31%) and by 13-percentage points for girls (from 17% to 30%)
- Knowledge of men and women on MIYCN practices improved by 6-percentage points for men (from 79% to 85%) and 4 percentage points for women in Malawi (from 90% to 94%), by 12- percentage points among women (from 59% to 71%) in Mozambique, and by 11-percentage points for women (from 81% to 92%) and 14-percentage points for men (from 72% to 86%) in Zambia. Read More...
This final report covers the implementation period of the original SANI contribution agreement and project implementation plan finalized in February 2017.
Key project achievements:
Outcome 1100 aimed to improve nutrition practices and services for women of reproductive age, boys, and girls under 5 by strengthening the delivery of community-based nutrition services at the intersection between community health and the health system. Growth Monitoring and Promotion (GMP) and Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) programs built this link, working on the continuum of prevention of malnutrition and early detection and treatment of moderate and severe acute malnutrition. Training and support on Maternal, Infant, and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN), CMAM, and GMP was provided to health service workers and community health workers, and Care groups were established to support families to learn about and apply gender-sensitive MIYCN practices. Interactive teaching was also done at scale through participatory education theatre and cooking demonstrations using local nutritious foods. Social Analysis and Action (SAA) dialogues encouraged families involved in the program to identify, discuss, and challenge traditional social norms and practices that affect women’s health, nutrition, and empowerment.
Endline data revealed the following increases in nutrition-specific indicators from baseline:
- All three countries had considerable increases in rates of exclusive breastfeeding of children up to 5 months, increasing by 15-percentage points in Zambia (from 70% to 85%), 25- percentage points in Malawi (from 61% to 86%) and 17-percentage points in Mozambique (from 65% to 82%)
- Minimum Acceptable Diet (MAD) for children 6 to 23 months increased by 24-percentage points for boys and girls in Malawi (from 7% to 31%) and in Zambia by 7-percentage points for boys (from 24% to 31%) and by 13-percentage points for girls (from 17% to 30%)
- Knowledge of men and women on MIYCN practices improved by 6-percentage points for men (from 79% to 85%) and 4 percentage points for women in Malawi (from 90% to 94%), by 12- percentage points among women (from 59% to 71%) in Mozambique, and by 11-percentage points for women (from 81% to 92%) and 14-percentage points for men (from 72% to 86%) in Zambia. Read More...
Sugu Yiriwa etude de base (Baseline for Mali’s Sugu Yiriwa project)
L’étude de base pour l’établissement de la situation de référence des indicateurs de performance est une investigation initiée par Feed the Future Mali Sugu Yiriwa dans les cercles des régions de Mopti (Tenenkou, Youwarou, Douentza, Koro, Bankass, Bandiagara, Djenné et Mopti) et Tombouctou (Tombouctou, Goundam, Niafounké et Diré) dans le but de disposer d’une base de référence de certains indicateurs de performance afin de mieux suivre leur évolution ou changement.
Spécifiquement, il s’agit de connaître le niveau de référence de :
● L’indice de la capacité à se remettre des chocs et stress de la zone d’intervention ;
● La valeur des ventes annuelles des exploitations et des entreprises recevant l’assistance du Gouvernement Américain ;
● Pourcentage de changement dans l’offre des produits agricoles sur les marchés ciblés ;
● Pourcentage de changement des prix des produits agricoles sur les marchés ciblés ;
● Le nombre d’hectares sous pratiques de gestion ou de technologies améliorées qui font la promotion des pratiques améliorées de réduction des risques climatiques et/ou de gestion des ressources naturelles avec l’aide du gouvernement américain ;
● Le nombre d’individus dans le système agricole qui ont appliqué des pratiques améliorées de gestion ou des technologies avec l'aide du gouvernement américain ;
● La propriété des actifs ;
● L’accès au crédit et décisions à la matière ;
● Le pourcentage de participants qui déclarent une augmentation des aliments riches en micronutriments sur le marché local au cours des 12 derniers mois
● Augmentation en pourcentage d'aliments riches en micronutriments dans les marchés ciblés ;
● Le pourcentage des participants aux activités agricoles sensibles à la nutrition de l’USG consommant un régime alimentaire d’une diversité minimale.
Au total, 1,301 ménages et 132 structures (organisations des producteurs, associations villageoises d’épargne et de crédit et entreprises incluant les agro-dealers et vendeurs individuels) ont été enquêtées dans les deux régions concernées par l’étude. Read More...
Spécifiquement, il s’agit de connaître le niveau de référence de :
● L’indice de la capacité à se remettre des chocs et stress de la zone d’intervention ;
● La valeur des ventes annuelles des exploitations et des entreprises recevant l’assistance du Gouvernement Américain ;
● Pourcentage de changement dans l’offre des produits agricoles sur les marchés ciblés ;
● Pourcentage de changement des prix des produits agricoles sur les marchés ciblés ;
● Le nombre d’hectares sous pratiques de gestion ou de technologies améliorées qui font la promotion des pratiques améliorées de réduction des risques climatiques et/ou de gestion des ressources naturelles avec l’aide du gouvernement américain ;
● Le nombre d’individus dans le système agricole qui ont appliqué des pratiques améliorées de gestion ou des technologies avec l'aide du gouvernement américain ;
● La propriété des actifs ;
● L’accès au crédit et décisions à la matière ;
● Le pourcentage de participants qui déclarent une augmentation des aliments riches en micronutriments sur le marché local au cours des 12 derniers mois
● Augmentation en pourcentage d'aliments riches en micronutriments dans les marchés ciblés ;
● Le pourcentage des participants aux activités agricoles sensibles à la nutrition de l’USG consommant un régime alimentaire d’une diversité minimale.
Au total, 1,301 ménages et 132 structures (organisations des producteurs, associations villageoises d’épargne et de crédit et entreprises incluant les agro-dealers et vendeurs individuels) ont été enquêtées dans les deux régions concernées par l’étude. Read More...
Don’t Leave Them Behind: Global Food Policies Continue to Fail Women (December 2021)
811 million people in the world are going hungry, half a million of whom are on the brink of starvation. Clearly, current approaches are simply not enough to meet the scale of the crisis we are facing. If we continue to do what we have always done, we will continue to see the same problem: people going to bed hungry. We must find better solutions to prevent and end hunger—especially if we are going to meet the Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030.
One of the first things we can do is consider who is going hungry. Using the term “people” hides part of the problem: gender inequality. Globally, women are 10% more likely to go hungry than men, and that gap is growing. In Somalia, for example, men are eating smaller meals; women are skipping meals altogether. We see this inequality play out at the international level, too—global solutions consistently ignore women, their rights, and the critical role women play in food systems.
Of 84 global policies and plans designed to address hunger released between September 2020 and December 2021, only 4% refer to women as leaders who should be part of the solution or provide funding to support them. 39% overlook women entirely. This is unacceptable. Ending hunger will take everyone’s talents, opinions, and work. It requires promoting equality, respecting rights, and truly listening to the people who are on the frontlines of the problem. Local food producers and leaders—especially women—must be a core part of the solution.
Read More...
One of the first things we can do is consider who is going hungry. Using the term “people” hides part of the problem: gender inequality. Globally, women are 10% more likely to go hungry than men, and that gap is growing. In Somalia, for example, men are eating smaller meals; women are skipping meals altogether. We see this inequality play out at the international level, too—global solutions consistently ignore women, their rights, and the critical role women play in food systems.
Of 84 global policies and plans designed to address hunger released between September 2020 and December 2021, only 4% refer to women as leaders who should be part of the solution or provide funding to support them. 39% overlook women entirely. This is unacceptable. Ending hunger will take everyone’s talents, opinions, and work. It requires promoting equality, respecting rights, and truly listening to the people who are on the frontlines of the problem. Local food producers and leaders—especially women—must be a core part of the solution.
Read More...
HAFORSA 2 BASELINE Supplementary baseline to support gender indicators.
This baseline survey was conducted by the Gender and Program Quality team of CARE International in Timor-Leste from 14th – 17th September 2021 in the Admin post of Atsabe, Municipality of Ermera. This is a qualitative-based survey and used the Social Analysis and Action (SAA) tools with the objective of collecting information from the farmer groups through a participative Focus Group Discussion (FGDs). The tools were used to analyze the situation related to the roles and responsibilities at home including the decision-making process between women and men, and to understand women’s participation, and their ability to engage in development programs within their community area. Read More...