1

“Developing a web based monitoring and evaluation system”

Crop Goat Project in Tanzania

PGI and RMG Pamela Pali, Harrison Rware, Carlos Quiros, Titus Karanja, Joseph Gatheru Mugo, Nicholas

Ndiwa, Jane Poole

4th October 2012

Integrating Dairy Goats and Root Crop Production for increasing Food,

Nutrition and Income Security of Smallholder Farmers in Tanzania

Canadian International Food Security Research Fund

Background • 80% of the Tanzanian’s populations’

livelihoods are dependant on agriculture. 90% of households keep livestock with goats contributing second after cattle to income and human nutrition.

• Despite this, the contribution of goats to meat and milk consumption and income is low; due to the low productivity of local breeds (low growth rates, low carcass weights (Chenyambuga et al., 2004), low milk production which is limited to feeding young goats.

• Hence local breeds may not contribute effectively to poverty alleviation and improving food security among the rural poor people.

• Poor nutrition of goats due to seasonal availability of feeds; natural pasture fed animals are unable to meet animal maintenance and production requirements (Mgheni et al., 1993)

• Leading to low growth rates, low conception rates, high neonatal losses and animals easily succumb to diseases.

• Strategies to improve nutrition for increased livestock productivity include the use of tested feed rations that include cassava leaves and sweet potato leaves and vines to target dry season feeding

• Cassava and sweet potato are alternative protein and energy sources to conventional supplements (Ngi et al, 2006)

Background

• To improve the milk production potential of indigenous goats through crossbreeding, improved management and control of major diseases

• To test and evaluate improved sweet potato and cassava varieties that have the dual purpose of improving food security and nutrition at household level and the development of locally available and cost effective rations for dairy goats

• To investigate the livelihood strategies, production potential, and marketing possibilities of local goats and crops in the study areas

• To analyse the impacts (productivity, environmental, gender and empowerment, food security and nutrition) of integrating improved goat breeds with sweet-potatoes and cassava into an agro-pastoral farming system

Objectives

Research Framework

Objectives of M&E in the overall project 1. To facilitate monitoring and learning from the project

2. To implement a dual M&E system that includes the

project and community M&E systems to ensure functioning feedback systems and democratic decision making by communities

3. To determine the complementarity between project indicators and community indicators to facilitate the development of proxy indicators

Research Questions? 1. What are the incentives for partners especially local

communities to participate in M&E?

2. What are the implications for the M&E system design?

3. Does this type of M&E improve communication within the project performance?

Process of establishment

1. Project M&E framework

developed by ILRI

2. Tools from the M&E framework

developed by component leaders and stakeholders

3. Development of the web based M&E system

developed by ILRI

Of the project M&E system

Snapshot of the M&E framework

Level of result Key results /Processes Indicators Level of data

collection (group,

household

/community

/partners)

Tool to use When to collect

data

Type of

deliverable

Changes in individual dietary diversity scores for male adults,

female adults and index child

Housheold /Within

HH

HH Survey Start /End

Changes in hosuehold Food consumption score and contribution

of goats, cassava and sweet potatoes to the food consumption

score

Household HH Survey Start /End

Changes in the number of months of indequate hosuehold food

provisioning (compared to national, and or regional avearges)

Household HH Survey /PRA

tools

Start /End

Changes in hosuehold income and income managed by men and

women

Household /Within

HH

HH Survey Start /End

Changes in contribution of goats, sweet potatoe and cassava to

hoseuhold income

Household HH Survey

Increased household food and nutritional security

from the interaction between root crops and dairy

goat at the farm level

Baseline and

Impact

Assessment

Report

Goals

Increased incomes from sales of goats, goat milk,

sweet potatoes and cassava products

Process of development Of the community based M&E system

1. Train project farmers on monitoring

Evaluation objectives & Indicators

2. Development of project farmers’

objectives, indicators, baselines and targets

3. Implementing community

democratic M&E system

Community based results from a group

3.Web based monitoring

and evaluation system

Operationalization of the M&E system

•Component 1: •Development of the

project M&E framework

•Component 2: •Establishment of the

community based Monitoring and

evaluation system

Operationalization of the web based system In deciding what types of web based system to use we explored issues around: • Development of the data collection sheets

– How do we develop these in a participatory manner?

– How do we ensure communities are collecting data that they will use?

– How do these local communities use and interpret the data? • Data collection

– Who collects the data?

– How often?

– Which option of data collection is most sustainable? • Data processing, quality control and feedback

– Excel

– Web interphase • Reflection

– Who facilitates the reflection on the data?

– How often?

– When?

– With what results? We also explored other private service providers to determine:

– What M&E systems they provide?

– Costs they provide these systems at?

– Costs and flexibility involved in adaptation of the provided systems?

Objective : Web based M&E system

• To enable project implementers to measure and track indicators outlined in the M & E framework online

• To enable stakeholders to track changes in the project management and outcomes online.

• Online access by stakeholders to data that is

collected and uploaded into the system and summaries generated by these data

• Statistical summaries will facilitate reflection sessions

with local communities to ensure democratic decision making about project progress

Functions of the web system • Data collection and entry : initially by field level research

assistants (Potential involvement of farmers and/or extension workers - sustainability)

• Accessibility: of the system by the project and non project partners (Public) through a login system with differential user rights

• Analysis: query building or automatic generation statistics at a click of the parameter

• Feedback and learning: Generated statistics and reports are reported back to the livestock/breeder groups to ensure reflection & decision making on project progress

• Not a Static system!! (Missing components to be integrated (EIA and Markets) & adaptation of system

• The established web based M & E system can be customised to be used by other projects (in ILRI)

Operationalization of the web system M&E framework

developed

Capacity building of partners in M&E

Partners develop the M & E tools

Tools organized and merged into one system, statistics generated

(which match the M&E framework indicators), codes determined ,

MySQL database and web interface designed

Partners validate the statistics generated by

the tools

Collect data to validate and test the system

Validate the system (Tools and statistics

generated) with real data from the field

Incorporate partners comments on the statistics, programmer

complete the modules, test the system with real data, train the

field assistants

Host system on a website and share

the system

Provide feedback to farmer groups

Management of the web system Data collection and entry to be conducted at the

field level (field assistant/ farmers/ EO’s)

Web administrator to be based at ILRI is responsible for aggregating data and quality control

Administrator will give user rights

Differential user rights for different project partners user names, password to login and access various interfaces.

Need to ensure confidentiality of farmers’ personal information is maintained.

Challenges of the web system

• The system needs to provide timely flow of data and feedback to all project partners

• Synchronization of tools used to collect M&E data in the field

• Integrating regular data collection process

• Hiring research assistants to collect data

• Sustainable strategy for data collection and scale out mechanism for this strategy

• In the absence of the web, what drives the decision making process?

Example: breeding system and growth performance

Key results /Processes Indicators Level of data

collection (group,

household

/community

/partners)

Tool to use When to collect

data

Number of male and female farmers

owning /acquiring cross bred goats in

target villages

Housheolds /

Groups

HH survey /

Inventories

Start, every year,

end of project

Extent of implementation of the

community breeding strategy (% change

in breed, record keeping, registration of

does and bucks)

Group breeding

records

Data sheets Regular

1.1 Increased availability and rearing of cross bred

goats

Indicator for breeding from the M&E framework

CGP TANZANIA : BREEDING ACTIVITIES, GROWTH PERFORMANCE

DISTRICT Kongwa DISICT CODE KW WARD VILLAGE IhandaDistrict District

Code

Village Name of the

Farmer

Sex of

farmer

Dam

Number

Breed of the dam Sire

Number

Date of

kidding

Type of

kidding

(Twin,

Triplets,

Single)

Sex of kid

(s)

Birth

weight

Kid

Number

Kongwa KW Ihanda Farmer x 1=Male 348 3 = Norwegian 1639 05/08/2012 1=Single 2=Female 3.0 18451

Kongwa KW Ihanda Farmer y 2=Female 466 3 = Norwegian 1639 28/07/2012 1=Single 2=Female 18452

Kongwa KW Ihanda Farmer z 2=Female 464 3 = Norwegian 01/09/2012 2=Twin 2=Female 3.0 18498

Kongwa KW Ihanda Farmer a 2=Female 464 3 = Norwegian 01/09/2012 2=Twin 1=Male 3.0 18499

Kongwa KW Ihanda Farmer b 1=Male 350 3 = Norwegian 422 11/08/2012 1=Single 1=Male 2.7 18500

Kongwa KW Ihanda Farmer c 1=Male 417 2=Toggenburg (Exotic ‐ milk) 27/07/2012 1=Single 1=Male 2.5 18453

Frequency of collecting information: Seasonaly

Tool used to collect breeding data

Example for Monitoring and Evaluation – Sections of web interface generated by META

Questions from the presentation (1)

Documented by Edna Mutua - PGI

• Q: Are you increasing workload for field staff? R: Either way, data collection has to be done. It is possible to use devices connected to the internet to enter data directly.

• Q:Are there risks of losing collected data? R: This has not been experienced this far.

• Q: Is it possible to use farmers for data collection? R: It is an option. Other options include using extension workers that have to be paid and using research assistants. Research assistants are most preferred because they have the ability to collect quality data. It may be difficult to use farmers for now due to challenges in use and access of the internet.

• Q: Is it possible to enter data offline? R: It is, one can enter the data in excel then later send it to ILRI for uploading. The excel format also acts as the backup for online data.

• Q: What is the sustainability strategy for data collection? R:The project will hire field officers to do data collections. Farmers will be engaged in keeping their own breeding records. The field officers will then put this information together and upload it.

• Q: What is the incentive for farmers to engage in data collection? R: This is a challenge. The team intends to disaggregate the kind of data that farmers can be requested to collect and what can be done by other project staff. Farmers can be involved in collecting data that gives them feedback on how their production is faring as this information is of great interest to them.

• Q: Are there plans for up-scaling? R: Not yet.

• Q: Has a cost benefit analysis been done on project? R: The costs can be identified. The project is sustainable because it uses locally available resources. It does not seek to introduce what the community has never done before. The community keeps goats, grows cassava and sweep potato. The project is working on encouraging farmers to cross breed their goats to improve productivity and use dried cassava and sweet potato vines as part of animal feeds in dry seasons. Initially, 107 farmers were given exotic goats for cross breeding and were expected to give the kids to other farmers that did not receive the exotic breeds so that the technology can diffuse in the community in sustainable fashion.

• Q: Can the data collected in this system be used for conducting impact assessments? R: Yes, because the M&E system covers the project in between the baseline and end line stages.

• Q: Is this M&E system compatible with PDAs? R: With understanding of how the PDA works the M&E team can develop a compatible application for PDAs.

Questions from the presentation (2)