Agriculture and Food Security Project Impact Evaluation 2013, Baseline Survey

The Nepal Agriculture and Food Security Project (AFSP) aims to improve the livelihood of poor farmers by increasing agricultural output and improving nutritional practices. AFSP is funded by the Global Agriculture and Food Security Project (GAFSP), supervised by the World Bank, and implemented by the Ministries of Agricultural Development (MoAD) and Health (MoH). AFSP includes 19 districts1 of the mid- and far-western development regions of Nepal. It intends to benet 162,000 people living in hill and mountain areas of the country.

According to the Project Appraisal Document (PAD), the Project Development Objective (PDO) is to enhance food and nutritional security of the targeted communities in select locations of Nepal. The project hypothesizes a link between this food security/nutrition and increased productivity of on-farm income from
both cultivation of crops and rearing of livestock. Additional Results indicators for the project include:

• Increase in the productivity of targeted crops
• Increase in the yield of targeted livestock products
• Increase in the proportion of pregnant and nursing mothers and children between 6-24 months' age adopting appropriate feeding practices.

Following from these objectives, and the indicators laid out in the PAD, the IE was designed in order to capture both the direct targets of the project, as well as its envisioned mechanism pathways. These form the core outcomes measured and described in this report.

In order to achieve its targets, AFSP consists of four components:

1. Technology Development and Adaptation
2. Technology Dissemination and Adoption (TDA)
3. Food and Nutrition Status Enhancement (FNSE)
4. Project Management

The Impact Evaluation (IE) of AFSP concentrates on components 2 and 3. Component 2, TDA, aims to introduce farmers to new production and management methods for both crops and livestock in order to improve their yields and income using a Farmer Field Schools (FFS) approach. Component 3, FNSE, aims to improve feeding practices of young children and of pregnant women, primarily through Behavior Change Communication (BCC).

The baseline survey of the AFSP provides information on the following topics: socioeconomic profile of the households, access to agricultural extension services, agricultural production and commercialization, household income and expenditures, access to and use of rural financial services, and food security, including women’s and children’s dietary diversity.