Project Performance Evaluation

The Post-Tsunami Agricultural and Fisheries Rehabilitation Programme in the Republic of Maldives was implemented between 2005 and 2013. The programme aimed to contribute to restoring agricultural gross domestic product to pre-tsunami levels, returning the economy to a stable, long-term growth trend and reducing the fishery sector’s vulnerability to natural disasters. The programme made little progress in the first three years, which meant that its original design was only partially relevant to the rapidly changing country context. After the Mid-term Review, the programme was revitalized to focus on the country's development needs, rather than on disaster relief restoration.

Additionally, the initial design focused more on physical inputs – e.g. new boats, new markets, new ice plants – and less on capacity-building or training. The revitalization shifted the focus of the programme from direct support to the fishery and agriculture sectors to policy support to the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture.

The programme could have been revitalized in a more systematic way with effective programme planning and clear intervention logic. Although there was a wholesale set of changes in the components of the programme, there was no systematic reconsideration of the programme's overall objectives. The programme was most effective at national policy level with regard to sustainable fishing, but it is rather difficult to measure any direct effect on the ground.