Rome, 10 September 2024 – In countries faced with situations of high volatility, it is important for IFAD to prepare its response through planned flexibility and heightened operational and strategic support. This important finding emerged from the Argentina Country Strategy and Programme Evaluation (CSPE) report, the conclusions of which were discussed during a national workshop on 10 September 2024. Dr Mònica Lomeña-Gelis, Senior Evaluation Officer at the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE), facilitated the event, as the lead author of the CSPE.

“Preparing IFAD’s response to Argentina’s volatility implies establishing, within the framework of the development of the new Country Strategic Opportunity Programme (COSOP), technical criteria that guide decisions to make its operations more flexible. It also calls for strengthening the capacity for operational and strategic support to the programme”, Dr Lomeña-Gelis explained in her presentation.

Co-organized by the Government of the Republic of Argentina and IOE, in collaboration with IFAD’s Latin America and the Caribbean Division, the on-line virtual workshop brought together a wealth of high-level attendants, including Silvia Pérez, National Director of Financing with Regional Credit Organisations, Secretariat of International Economic and Financial Affairs, Ministry of Economy of the Nation. Over 50 participants joined the event, from the government of Argentina, development partners, civil society organizations, private sector partners, and IFAD senior management and staff. National institutions represented included the General Directorate of Sectoral and Special Programmes and Projects, the National Institute of Agricultural Technology and several provincial governments.

During the workshop, participants discussed the main findings, recommendations and issues emerging from the CSPE. The meeting also provided an opportunity to focus on the opportunities and challenges of the partnership between IFAD and the Government in the near future, and discuss strategic priorities for IFAD's upcoming programme.

“The evaluation found that the country program was well aligned with the priorities of the Government of Argentina and was appropriate for the family farming producers strongly affected by the deterioration of the country's economic situation”, noted Dr Indran A. Naidoo, IOE Director.

The CSPE covered one COSOP, six loan operations and seven regional or global grants between 2011 and 2023. Loan operations amounted to US$ 323.6 million, of which US$ 97.8 million was IFAD financing and the rest came from the Argentinean government, beneficiaries and other international agencies.

The period covered by evaluation was particularly complex for Argentina, as the country went through an economic crisis, aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic and several serious droughts. It also went through several changes of government that represented pendulum swings in terms of economic policy and were accompanied by institutional reorganisations. Within this challenging context, IFAD maintained a close collaborative relationship with the central and provincial governments, and showed a high degree of flexibility, which government actors appreciated.

“IFAD has helped small producing families very much. We have seen a very volatile period, and IFAD has been very patient and has supported our management in this area. My heartfelt thanks to IFAD”, underscored Ms Pérez.

Alongside these achievements, workshop participants discussed several challenges encountered during the reference period. In this regard, it was noted that a strategic method was not developed to identify, select and serve the beneficiary population. This was reflected in duplications and a significant fraction of the target population that did not receive support.

The country programme also fell short of achieving its capacity building goals. Only half of the intended trainings took place for producers and their organizations, while efforts to improve institutional capacities were scarce. Regarding innovations, few of those proposed during the period were implemented. Most of the technologies financed by the programmes were already known in their agroecological and social context.

To try to increase the income of small producers, the country programme placed more emphasis on productive aspects than on commercial aspects, which is reflected in the fact that the beneficiaries are not on the path to change the way they market their production. As for those results that were achieved, evidence suggests that, in most cases, gains in production and income would only be maintained in the short term. This is partly due to producers' limited linkages to markets and their vulnerability to exogenous shocks

Looking ahead, the deterioration of the socioeconomic situation and institutional advances regarding family farming suggest that IFAD support will continue to be relevant. For this reason, it is suggested that the organization deepen its contribution to rural poverty reduction by adapting interventions to the needs of different target population groups and strengthen the monitoring and evaluation system.

“The evaluation’s findings and recommendations are especially important at this point because we are working together with the Government to develop a new strategy for the period 2025 – 2030. This new strategy will have a special focus on how to address rural development programmes and policies in the context of Argentina”, explained Dr Donal Brown, IFAD Associate Vice-President, Programme Management Department.  

Argentina faces significant macroeconomic imbalances, mainly due to several years of fiscal deficits. This situation has led to a rising inflation rate and has deteriorated the growth rate of the economy. Poverty has increased significantly, from 9.9 per cent at the end of 2010 to 41.7 per cent at the end of 2023 and is highest in the north of the country and in the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area. These figures are based on data from urban areas. There are no statistics on rural poverty.

For further information, please contact Dr Alexander Voccia, Senior Evaluation Communication & KM Specialist [here].

• To access the opening statement by Dr Indran A. Naidoo, please click here.
• To access the presentation delivered by Dr Mònica Lomeña-Gelis, please click here.
• To access the CSPE Executive Summary, please click here [ES] and here [EN]
• To access the CSPE infographic, please click here.

• To access the brochure ‘More than a journey | 20 years of independence, please click here.
• To access the latest edition of Independent Magazine, please click here.
• To learn why independent evaluation makes IFAD a more credible institution, please click here.

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