ASIAN EVALUATION WEEK
T
he constraints that the COVID-19 pandemic has posed on evaluators as well as the opportunities to introduce changes in international evaluation practices, and the factors impacting rural poor farmers’ ability to adapt to climate change were the two salient issues that senior representatives of IFAD’s Independent Office of Evaluation (IOE) brought to the discussion table during the 2021 Asian Evaluation Week (AEW). This year, the AEW took place virtually from 6 to 10 September 2021. The event was jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China, through the Asia-Pacific Finance and Development Institute (AFDI), and the Asian Development Bank’s Independent Evaluation Department. Speaking on behalf of IOE were the Office’s Deputy Director, Fabrizio Felloni, and Lead Evaluation Officer, S. Nanthikesan. ‘Transformative pathways to Food Security in the 21st Century – Resilience to Climate Change’ was the title of the session to which Nanthikesan contributed on 6 September. In his presentation, Nanthikesan put the spotlight on the state-of-the-art evaluative evidence regarding the socio-technical, societal and policy barriers limiting the ability of
50 @unsplash/Peter Burdon
rural poor farmers to build resilience to climate shocks. The business-as-usual approach to climate adaptation is over. Success in scaling up adaptation interventions will largely depend on government ownership, high-profile partnerships, and engagement at design. However, many governments face significant challenges to incentivize sustainable climate adaptation responses of smallholder farmers.
S. Nanthikesan
Juha Uitto, Director of the Independent Evaluation Office, Global Environmental Facility, moderated the session, which also featured presentations by Jerry Knox, Professor at Cranfield University, and Laura Silici, Research Analyst and Independent Consultant, and drew insights from distinguished panel members, H.E. Sani Redi, State Minister, Ministry of Agriculture of Ethiopia, and Sheikh Md. Mohsin, Additional Chief Engineer, Ministry of Local Government of Bangladesh.
