Creating Shared Value in MVC in Kenya ('CSV Maize') Project: End of Year Two Evaluation Report
In Year 2 the project reached 4,622 farmers against a Year 2 target of 1,200. 87% of surveyed farmers expected higher maize production than the year before, but market access and soil testing were still at an early stage when the evaluation was done.
Overview
This internal evaluation reviewed Year 2 (1 August 2023 to 31 July 2024) of the CSV Maize project. The project runs from 2022 to 2025, is funded by the Louis Dreyfus Foundation, and is implemented by Solidaridad ECA with the Cereal Growers Association and Bungoma County Government. It aims to improve the livelihoods and resilience of 3,000 smallholder maize farmers (50% youth and women) in Kimilili, Mt. Elgon and Bumula sub-counties of Bungoma County, Kenya. The evaluation looked at relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability against the project's four outcomes: sustainable production, market access through aggregation, climate resilience and gender equality. Its aim was to inform Year 3.
Key findings
- The project reached 4,622 farmers (1,561 in Year 1 and 3,061 in Year 2) against a Year 2 target of 1,200. 85% of respondents said the project had significantly improved their production, productivity and resilience.
- 87% of farmers projected higher maize production in the current year than the previous year. All respondents had adopted at least one promoted technology; the most common were certified improved seed (84%), crop rotation (74%) and crop diversification (67%).
- Food insufficiency fell to 15% in Year 2 from 19% in Year 1. 92% of households had high dietary diversity (average score 2.89 out of 3).
- Access to market information rose to 82% of respondents from 44% in the previous evaluation. Access to climate and weather information rose to 72% from 58% in Year 1. Linkage to input suppliers rose to 40% from 29%.
- One aggregation centre was established in Bumula. The Kimilili and Mt. Elgon centres were still finalising registration at the time of the evaluation.
- 480 farmers were linked to soil testing, which is 20% of respondents. In Mt. Elgon only 1% had been linked. Only 6% of respondents had been trained on index-based crop insurance.
- Training on the GALS and EA$E gender methodologies reached 39% of respondents, up from 27% in Year 1. The Year 2 budget was 81.23% spent by June 2024 (EUR 234,006 of EUR 288,063).
In figures
Year 1: 44 → Year 2: 82 % of respondents
Year 1: 58 → Year 2: 72 % of respondents
Year 1: 29 → Year 2: 40 % of respondents
Year 1: 27 → Year 2: 39 % of respondents
Year 1: 19 → Year 2: 15 % of respondents
Data table
| Item | Earlier | Later |
|---|---|---|
| Access to market information | 44 (Year 1) | 82 (Year 2) |
| Access to climate and weather information | 58 (Year 1) | 72 (Year 2) |
| Linked to input suppliers | 29 (Year 1) | 40 (Year 2) |
| Trained on GALS / EA$E | 27 (Year 1) | 39 (Year 2) |
| Food insufficiency | 19 (Year 1) | 15 (Year 2) |
Recommendations
- Expand the project to more wards within the sub-counties and replicate the technologies and demonstration plots there.
- Step up advocacy and intensive training on the GALS and EA$E methodologies, because adoption is below 50%.
- Increase the number of aggregation centres to one per ward, and train their leadership in governance, financial management, market research and business planning.
- Strengthen farmer groups by improving market linkages, forming cooperatives, facilitating access to discounted mechanised services and supporting VSLAs.
- Develop an intensive training programme with regular refreshers for ToTs. Consider using ToTs as Farmer Service Centres, and give ToTs and gender champions extra livelihood skills such as spraying services and input supply.
- Find an insurance company that can offer affordable climate-risk packages for farmers.
- Advocate for more soil-testing laboratory capacity in the county, and strengthen partnerships to sustain the interventions after the project ends.
Lessons learned
- The Trainer of Trainers approach using local lead farmers reached a large number of farmers and builds local ownership that can continue after the project.
- Demonstration plots (39 established) were effective for on-farm learning. Their reach is limited, though, because each sub-county has few plots serving farmers who travel from distant areas.
- Soil testing at a subsidised price (KSh 1,100 of a KSh 5,500 package) and the results it produced encouraged more farmers to want their soil tested.
- Financial constraints still prevent many farmers from accessing services such as mechanised rippers and certified inputs. VSLAs and cost-saving training help partly.
- Digital tools such as beneficiary IDs helped the team track farmers and their training attendance, and support the ToT model.
Methodology
Mixed-methods evaluation combining a household survey of 915 farmers (539 in Bumula, 214 in Kimilili and 162 in Mt. Elgon, against a calculated sample of 354), 32 key informant interviews, 9 FGDs with 189 participants, and a document review. Data were collected with ODK between 20 June and 4 July 2024 and analysed in Python, with triangulation across sources.
Limitations
- Many farmers had not yet harvested the long-rains crop, so production results were largely projections.
- With few or no control groups, observed changes cannot be attributed solely to the project.
- Climate variability and maize price fluctuations made it hard to attribute productivity and income changes to the project.
- Not all targeted beneficiaries were reached, especially in remote areas, and voluntary participation may have introduced sampling bias.
- Responses may have been biased by respondents' expectations, and data-entry errors required extensive cleaning.