This was the second country-level evaluation conducted by the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE) in China. The evaluation covered the years 2014-2021.

Overall, the country strategy and programme evaluation (CSPE) found that the country programme has made an important contribution, building the capacities of community-level organizations, supporting inclusive cooperatives and increasing agricultural productivity and smallholders’ access to markets. The Government’s leadership and its substantive contributions have enabled IFAD-supported projects to make an effective contribution to the reduction of rural poverty on the ground.

For the future, the CSPE recommends that IFAD consolidate the experiences from ongoing projects and share them more widely. The CSPE also proposes that IFAD step up to the role of knowledge partner in China.

IFAD’s upcoming country strategic opportunities programme will provide an opportunity to develop a clear vision for the longer-term strategic partnership with China. As China’s role as a global development actor grows, this partnership would place greater importance on the promotion of global public goods and good practices in inclusive and gender-equitable rural poverty reduction.