The FoodTrade East and Southern Africa (FTESA) programme aimed to catalyse lasting changes that enable efficient trade in staple foods across the region. It sought to improve the lives of farmers, suppliers, service providers, traders, retailers and consumers, contributing to price and market stability for staple foods in the region.
FTESA focused on investing in systems that allow small-scale farmers to access regional grain markets. The programme worked with the private sector and relevant institutions to tackle a constraining set of market failures.
The objectives of the evaluation were to:
- to generate information on performance and provide for accountability for funds spent by assessing whether the programme brought about the changes expected
- to provide lessons and recommendations for similar programmes by exploring how and why some interventions were successful and others not
About FoodTrade East and Southern Africa (FTESA)
FTESA was a five-year (2013–2018) regional programme funded by DFID (£35 million) that supported food staples market development and trade by tackling market failures.
Intervention description
The FTESA Evaluation Management Unit (EMU) undertook an independent final evaluation of the programme. It was summative and theory-based. The objectives of the evaluation were:
- to generate information on performance and provide for accountability for funds spent by assessing whether the programme brought about the changes expected
- to provide lessons and recommendations for similar programmes by exploring how and why some interventions were successful and others not.
Evidence methodology
A modular evaluation design responding to the eight evaluation questions (EQs):
- To what extent is FTESA a collection of individual interventions or a coherent portfolio?
- To what extent is FTESA likely to improve the functioning of national and regional staple food markets and generate systemic change?
- To what extent have improved trade support systems increased production and trade?
- To what extent have improved availability and use of inputs (output 2: inputs) increased production and trade?
- To what extent and how has FTESA brought in (or facilitated) SHFs in structured regional markets?
- To what extent has FTESA benefitted consumers?
- To what extent have FTESA approaches to supporting reform to relevant policies, regulations, etc. contributed to change?
- Does FTESA offer Value for Money in the results it achieves, compared with possible alternatives?