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Monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) in farmer field schools on food security and adaptation to climate change: pilot testing of a framework in Malawi

Version 1 (18 July 2023)

Year of publication 2023

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 17 p.

Author ​van den Berg, H., Chikomola, A., Bondo, A. et al. ;

Publisher Springer Nature ;

Product type Article

​This is an open-access article published externally in Springer Link, Last updated: 18 JULY 2023

Cite this content as:

van den Berg, H., Chikomola, A., Bondo, A. et al. Monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) in farmer field schools on food security and adaptation to climate change: pilot testing of a framework in Malawi. Food Sec. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-023-01386-0

Language English

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    Monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) is an essential component of any programme or project that aims to continuously improve and provide better outcomes. The ultimate purpose of MEL is to track implementation and outputs systematically, measure their effectiveness and allow learning with the aim of improving the quality and effects of Farmer Field School (FFS) implementation while ensuring accountability to beneficiaries and donors. A sound MEL system further helps to track the progress of any project and offers evidence upon which mid-course correction in a programme can be made with a goal of achieving the project objectives and impact targets. This system is built on the premise that the data is of high quality including timeliness, representativeness and reliability; the entire data management process is critical to ensure proper and systematic data collection for decision-making and programme improvement. To ensure systematic high-quality data management processes for MEL systems, the adoption, adaptation and utilization of digital systems becomes critical. Digital systems have proven importance in enhancing real-time data collection, collation and tabulation, which further enables timely evidence-based decision-making and feedback mechanisms. This also contributes to timely learning and quality improvement of the project, as well as accelerated feedback mechanisms to the beneficiaries and various stakeholders, ultimately ensuring improved results.
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