Project Background
The Adaptations for Smallholders in Hilly Areas (ASHA) is a seven-year climate change adaptation project jointly implemented since June 2015 under the governance and direction of Ministry of Forests and Environment (MoFE) and the financial assistance of the Government of Nepal (GoN) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The ASHA project has three components:
Component 1: Framework for local level climate adaptation strengthened.
Component 2: Climate resilience of vulnerable smallholders improved.
Component 3: Project management and coordination.
Objective of the Assignment
There were four main objectives to this assignment:
- To assess the institutionalization and sustainability of ASHA project interventions and results.
- To measure the positive and/or negative outcomes of the ASHA project.
- To provide evidence of ASHA project success and/or failure.
- To assess the efficiency and effectiveness of ASHA project in targeting key indicators.
APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY:
The AOS team utilized a mixed-method approach to collect information from primary and secondary sources. Quantitative information was collected through structured household surveys and qualitative information was collected through key informant interviews, focus group discussions and independent observations. The AOS team completed a comprehensive literature review of key project-related documents to enrich the content and depth of this AOS report.
KEY FINDINGS:
ASHA has made measureable progress in improving the livelihood and food security status of smallholders.
Smallholder farmers have improved understanding of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) technologies and have adopted CSA into their regular farming practices.
The ASHA project has gradually refined local governments’ knowledge and capacity on climate change adaptation and climate-smart technologies however, there still remains key areas for capacity building and institutionalization.
