This was the first country strategy and programme evaluation (CSPE) conducted by the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD in Burundi. The report assesses the performance and impact of IFAD operations in the country from 2009 to 2020, covering 10 investment projects and 8 grants.

The evaluation found that although the country context presented institutionally, economically and environmentally fragile conditions, IFAD-supported interventions in Burundi achieved most of their objectives. In the areas involved, the IFAD programme brought about improvements in crop and livestock productivity. Promising approaches were adopted to enhance the nutritional and food security of the most vulnerable people.

However, the report notes that the country programme omitted to consider the cumulative environmental and social impacts of multiple interventions on the same watersheds. The interventions did not sufficiently contribute to solving a key challenge for rural development in Burundi – the great pressure placed on the country’s limited land resources. In addition, the sustainability of the results attained is yet to be fully guaranteed.

The CSPE’s recommendations for the future include consolidating a holistic approach to pro-poor value chains, prioritizing strategies and actions to reduce pressure on land, and strengthening the regulatory and financial landscape in order to foster sustainability of the results accomplished to date.