This is the first country programme evaluation of Cameroon conducted by the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE) and it covers the partnership between the Government and IFAD from 2007 to 2017. During this time, IFAD provided funding for six rural development projects to the tune of US$84.2 million for a total cost of US$159.9 million.

The evaluation concluded that the IFAD country programme applied rural development approaches, including local development, farmer organization support, rural finance, value chain support and youth enterprise development, that were well-aligned with evolving IFAD and Government policies and strategies. IFAD-funded projects contributed to the increase of  productivity for cultures like cassava, rice and onions, which are important for the local populations. Moreover, the programme reinforced the capacity of producer organisations to provide services upstream and downstream of agricultural production to their smallholder members. However, the report also indicates that the poorest and most vulnerable rural households were not often reached, although these households were specifically targeted by the country strategies and project designs. Other areas for improvement cited in the report include more attention to gender equality, and the sustainability and scaling-up of successful interventions.