Partnership to increase evidence-based agricultural policies launched

Following extended consultations with policy-makers and civil society, the launch event was a platform that allowed a broad array of stakeholders to discuss and engage on the key elements of the partnership.

The partnership will be spearheaded by Development Impact Evaluation (DIME), a unit within the World Bank’s Research Group that works with governments to design and implement impact evaluations to inform policy decisions, through its Impact Evaluation to Development Impact program.

The European Commission joins other donors, such as DFID, to this existing multi-donor program, which aims to generate high-quality and operationally relevant IE research to transform development policy, help reduce extreme poverty, and secure shared prosperity.

Within the specific context of the DIME-EU Partnership in Rwanda, the research team will work closely with MINAGRI and other relevant stakeholders in the sector to inform policy design through the use of rigorous evidence and data-driven results.

The portfolio of IEs will aim to cover key infrastructure investments in the sector feeder roads and irrigation; and will focus on MINAGRI’s main priorities under its flagship programs as well as its future sector-wide aims.

The ultimate objective of the partnership is to enable MINAGRI to improve the delivery of its programs, so as to improve farm productivity and farmer welfare.

One of the core aims of the partnership is to build capacity for IE generation and absorption in the sector.

It starts with officials within MINAGRI and related line ministries, with whom DIME will run a number of trainings across various levels of technical and managerial staff.

Complimenting these trainings, DIME staff will work with officials within the ministry through a learning-by-doing model, working to collect and process data to generate useable findings in the context of their everyday work.

The research team will also engage with the broader research community, to both learn from and build local capacity and contribute to the growth of high quality IE evidence in the sector in the long-run.