The Government of Ecuador and the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE), in collaboration with IFAD’s Latin America and the Caribbean Division (LAC), co-organized a national workshop for the Ecuador Country Strategy and Programme Evaluation (CSPE), as a final step in the evaluation process.

The workshop took place in Quito on 4 February 2020 and was attended by over 260 participants. These included representatives from the Government of Ecuador, IFAD Management and staff (including IOE), multilateral and bilateral development organizations, project management staff of IFAD-funded projects and programmes covered by the CSPE, academic and research institutions, the private sector and foundations, non-governmental organizations, and selected resource persons.

Mr Oscar Garcia, Director, IOE, opened the workshop with introductory speeches, followed by statements from: Luisa Migliaccio, Lead Portfolio Advisor of LAC; Matilde Mordt, UNDP Resident Coordinator; Lourdes Pacheco, a beneficiary of the Project to Strengthen Rural Actors in the Popular and Solidary Economy (FAREPS) project; Mr Andrés Briones, Director General of the National Institute of Popular and Solidarity Economy (IEPS) and chair of the session; and Hon. Hector Romero, Vice Minister for Rural Development in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, representing the Minister for Agriculture and Livestock.

Thereafter, a press conference was held during which members of the morning panel responded to questions from national press and television journalists regarding the ongoing IFAD portfolio in Ecuador, as well as the future direction of the partnership between the Government and IFAD.

Jorge Carballo, IOE Evaluation Analyst and Claudia Ranaboldo, IOE rural development consultant, then explored the key findings, conclusions and recommendations from the CSPE report.

Finally, a group work session took place after lunch. The discussions of each group focused on key thematic areas emerging from the evaluation: territorial approach, entrepreneurship and policy dialogue.

The workshop was widely covered by the local media.