Goal:
Identify research gaps in the literature on agricultural trade expansion to improve agricultural aid effectiveness.
Activities:
- Facilitated dialogues and convened conferences to discuss research priorities with policymakers, academics, researchers, and implementers
- Developed a Learning Agenda on Trade Expansion and Agricultural Market Development
- Created annotated bibliography on agricultural aid programs
- Conducted three systematic reviews with meta-analysis assessing impacts of ICTs, Roads, and Farmer Cooperatives on outcomes related to agricultural trade
- Prepared five-year evaluation plan
- Visited project sites to conduct interviews and focus group discussions with USDA implementers and partners in Nicaragua, Senegal, and Mozambique
Results:
- The key research and evaluation questions highlighted in the Learning Agenda elicit information to fill some of the identified gaps in the knowledge base within the existing literature. These gaps should be addressed as a matter of priority to inform and improve FFPr programming and policy, and to improve the design and implementation of agriculture interventions that ultimately lead to expansion of markets, increased trade, and overall improved outcomes for farmers.
- Evaluation plan provides guidance on evaluation methodologies and approaches to answer priority research questions on agricultural expansion
Resources:
USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Food for Progress
Contact: projects@socialimpact.com