Monitoring and E-agriculture: project developers review the year 2006

The purpose of this Focus Group meeting was to discuss the results of evaluation questionnaires. Three projects were analysed - and the Focus Group had the opportunity to compare and share their findings. From here, the group was able to make recommendations on how to improve results in 2007.

The three projects considered by the group were:

• the NGO Sahel Solidarité's (SaSo) awareness-raising project on water sanitation;
• the Institut africain de la bio-économie rurale (IABER) project for an information system on agricultural product prices; and
• the Fédération des producteurs professionnels agricole de la Sissili (FEPPASI) project to improve its communication and marketing system.

Results of the data analysis

Generally, respondents who were involved in all of the three projects thought that they had achieved their goals. Respondents were generally satisfied with the quality of information, the training, and the service provided (see Figure 1 below).

Figure 1: Achievement of goals of the different projects (%)

In relation to websites, the high proportion of "not applicable" responses reflected the persistent shortage of Internet connections in rural areas and the project participant's lack of access to websites. The result is therefore low satisfaction in this area.

Grasping the potential of ICT - and increasing awareness of how to utilise ICT - are important aspects of the projects. Results from the questionnaires were positive, with 85% of respondents indicating that the IABER project had helped them grasp the potential of ICT. Increased awareness of how to utilise ICT was also encouraging, with 76% of participants in the IABER project indicating an increased awareness, rising to 90% for participants in the Sahel Solidarité project.

In terms of capacity building, and acquiring or reinforcing useful IT skills, the results were more mixed. For the IABER project, less than 50% of participants reported that they had acquired other skills. More positively, 70% felt that the project had enhanced their capacity (58% for FEPPASI and 85% for Sahel Solidarité).

Economic impact plays an important role in the evaluation and monitoring of projects. Although only 50% of the IABER project participants reported a positive economic impact, the results showed that nearly 70% now get better prices for their products as a result. This apparent discrepancy may be partly due to the factors used in assessing economic impact.

The factors used to determine economic impact vary in their degree of relevance for each project. For example, information on international market prices is less relevant for the IABER project because participants produce for local markets.

Obtaining better prices for their products is one the most important determinants of economic impact for the IABER project participants, and actual economic impact might be higher than the results (below 50%) mentioned above suggest.

A higher figure (58%) in the FEPASSI project indicates that the project goals were to some extent achieved.

Figure 2: Impact of the Projects in terms of awareness, capacity and economic impact

Focus Group Meeting

From the results of the data-analysis, participants of the Focus Group Meeting (FGM) were able to discuss results and make recommendations on how to improve results in 2007.

Most participants of the FGM considered economic impact to be the most important of the different types of impact. Awareness-raising and capacity building were also considered to be very important - and therefore recommendations were formulated to promote awareness, and to strengthen capacity.

Awareness can be raised by targeting a larger public, and increasing the number of sessions. Field visits can help to better take into account the expectations of the beneficiaries.

To strengthen capacity, several types of training were suggested, for example: train-the-trainer; leadership training for producers; multi-media training for local actors; and easier formulas and more frequent broadcasts of up-to-date information about local market prices.

Finally, participants recommended adapting the questionnaires to the local context, including translation into local languages, simplification and adaptation of the questionnaire, and more opportunities for partners and beneficiaries to discuss together the results and progress.

The full results on Monitoring and Evaluation Activities in 2006, and recommendations from the Focus Group meetings in Burkina Faso, will be published in a Learning Report and placed on the IICD website before March 2007.