External evaluation

An external evaluation of the SmartAgri Plan (2014-2016) and its first phase of implementation (2016-2019) was undertaken between November 2019 and April 2020. The purpose was to assess the plan in terms of:

• its relevance and design;
• to what extent its stated outcomes have been achieved to date;
• whether the sector is demonstrating greater resilience as a result of the plan’s implementation; and
• how the plan and its implementation can be strengthened going forward.

The assessment was conducted across three broad areas:

• the diagnostic status quo review that informed the development and design of the SmartAgri Plan;
• the design of the response framework and implementation plan; and,
• the implementation of the SmartAgri Plan to date.

The evaluation culminated in an Evaluation Report that outlines seven high level recommendations (click here to download).

Way forward: Management Improvement Plan

In response to the recommendations of the evaluation, an internal Management Improvement Plan (MIP) was developed in January 2021. This presents the management response to the recommendations, the improvement objectives, and a detailed presentation of the outputs, activities, and other information relating to the way forward.

The MIP can be downloaded by clicking here.

In addition, a summary presentation can be accessed here that covers the evaluation and the MIP for the SmartAgri project.