• new assignments;
• contracts
• evaluation

NCG, in consortium with Orbicon, has recently been contracted by Danida to carry out an evaluation of the Agricultural Growth and Development Programme (AGEP) in Bangladesh. Support through Danish development assistance (Danida) has played a significant role in the transformation of the agricultural sector in Bangladesh, particularly through the ‘farmer field school’ (FFS) approach developed in the 1990’s. The FFS is an integral part of AGEP, however the programme also places focus on value chains between producers and consumers (“market linkages”) to support the transformation of the rural economy for the benefit of poor, marginal and small farmers.

The key aspect the evaluation will explore is male and female farmers’ use and application of knowledge gained through participation in FFS training, which is envisioned to inform the design of further support for rural development within a new Danida country programme (from 2021).

The evaluation will cover the past 5 years of the Danida-funded programme (2013-2018) and the objectives are threefold:

• To document achievements of AGEP since 2013
• To analyse the outcomes and impact of the integrated farm management component and agricultural and food security project
• On the basis of the lessons learned through the AGEP, to prepare recommendations for the future as inputs for the design of a new country programme for Danida in Bangladesh

NCG’s team of experts will be involved in the design of evaluation methodology, field work, analysis, drafting of evaluation report, and quality assurance, with Steffen Johnsen in the role of Agricultural Expert, Louise Scheibel Smed as Research Assistant and Gender Equality Specialist, and Per Kirkeman as QA Manager.