Results – Periodic review of the coherence of Dutch policy and the effects on food security, water and climate in developing countries
Global challenges require an international coherent approach. The Netherlands supports food security, water management, and climate action in developing countries. The evaluation assessed the results and how these have been affected by coherence: between different themes and different actors, between short-term projects and long-term strategies, and between activities at different scales. This evaluation mainly looks at development cooperation, but also at other Dutch policies.
Background
In the past, IOB has evaluated themes separately: drinking water and sanitation (in 2012), renewable energy (2015), sustainable water management (in 2017), and food security (in 2017). The interconnectedness of these themes and the importance of international collaboration requires an integrated approach. For the evaluation, this means besides assessing the results also assessing policy coherence.
Central question
To what extent has Dutch policy contributed to food security, water and climate objectives in developing countries, and how has policy coherence affected these results?
Approach
For this evaluation, fields visits were done in three case study countries: Bangladesh, Mozambique and Ethiopia, with visits to various project sites and interviews in the case study countries and in the Netherlands. A selection of 25 projects has been analysed in detail on the relations between results, coherence, and factors affecting coherence.
In addition, the evaluation looked at the effects of Dutch policy on import and value chain development (of soy from Brazil, flowers from Ethiopia, and garment from Bangladesh) and Dutch agricultural policy, as examples of domestic policies with side effects on food security, water and climate in developing countries.
We distinguish
internal coherence: between different Dutch policies
external coherence: between activities of the Netherlands and of government in partner countries
temporal coherence: between short-term projects and long-term strategies
spatial coherence: between activities at different scales
Conclusions
IOB draws the following main conclusion: Policy coherence positively contributes to achieving food security, water and climate objectives.
Dutch development policy has contributed to food security, water and climate objectives in developing countries. These results have been positively influenced by policy coherence. External coherence between activities by donor and partner countries had the greatest positive impact, especially when projects fitted in broader long-term strategies.
Other Dutch policies – policies for import and value chain development and domestic agricultural policy – were previously found to be incoherent with development policy. In recent years, the negative effects have been reduced by interventions in value chain sustainability and sustainable production. Nevertheless, some incoherence remains, due to the limited attention in Dutch policy to link sustainable production with sustainable consumption in the Netherlands.
The nine detailed conclusions are presented below, following the five research questions.
1. The sampled food security and water projects are generally effective: people are reached, there are positive effects on the target groups, and some institutional results are achieved.
The evaluation identified positive results in terms of people being reached and effects on people. Food security effects include increased farm production, higher incomes and improved diets. Drinking water, sanitation and hygiene effects include better hygiene behaviour and health. Various institutional results have been achieved such as organised farmer groups and water management plans.
2. Cost-effectiveness is often not monitored, although some projects show very encouraging examples.
Few projects monetised the benefits experienced by people. Where cost-effectiveness could be measured, some very encouraging examples were found. For instance, household-level benefits outweighed the ODA costs of projects within a few years.
3. The sampled food security and water projects showed that sustainability of the results after Dutch funding ceased was a major challenge.
The continuation and scaling up of interventions and results after Dutch funding ended is the exception rather than the rule. Moreover, some projects do not pay sufficient attention to the ongoing maintenance of water infrastructure or to future water availability in anticipation of climate change. As a result, the long-term impact is mostly uncertain or even doubtful.
4. Dutch policy and Dutch multi-annual country strategies are coherent with international long-term strategies and partner countries’ policies.
Dutch policy is mostly coherent with international long-term strategies. Dutch multi-annual country strategies are less coherent with these strategies. They often are a compromise between alignment with Dutch policy and alignment with partner countries’ national policies.
5. Dutch projects often collaborate well with partner government organisations, but the linkages between Dutch projects are often weak.
Projects often collaborate well with national organisations; themes are relatively well combined as well. However, projects pay less attention to inclusiveness and long-term strategies. Linkages between Dutch projects, especially between embassy-managed and centrally-managed projects, are often weak.
6. The strongest coherence was found when Dutch, innovative projects were linked to national programmes or to the development of national strategies.
The selected projects show examples of Dutch innovative projects that are well embedded in large-scale, national multi-donor programmes. A special case is the Dutch Delta programmes where support for a national IWRM strategy was combined with short-term projects and investments, funded by the Netherlands, the partner government or other donors. This contributed to good internal, external, temporal and spatial coherence.
7. The results of the selected projects in Mozambique, Bangladesh and Ethiopia were positively affected by coherence: external coherence, especially strategic collaboration with government organisations, showed the clearest effect.
External coherence, in particular collaboration with governments at the strategy and programme level, had a positive effect on the number of beneficiaries reached, on continuity and on cost-effectiveness as well as on institutional results. Besides, internal coherence had a positive effect on the number of people reached, the effects on people and cost-effectiveness. Temporal coherence had a positive effect on institutional results and the continuity of results.
8. Coherence is positively affected by the existence of certain factors, and negatively affected by the absence of these factors.
In the selected projects in Bangladesh, Mozambique and Ethiopia different factors improved coherence:
a clear theory of change, results framework and flexibility to learn and adapt
funding large-scale, government-led multi-donor projects and national strategies
multi-stakeholder policy dialogue
a larger role for embassies and country steering
linking
innovative projects to large-scale programmes
support to a long-term national strategy with short-term projects
9. Efforts to mitigate the negative effects of Dutch import and domestic agricultural policy in developing countries have successfully focused on sustainable production, but not yet enough on sustainable consumption.
In Dutch policy on the import of commodities and value chain sustainability, and in Dutch (and EU) domestic agricultural policy, we see successful efforts to mitigate the negative effects. However, the impact is likely to be limited without adequately considering the whole system. This requires:
sufficient efforts to involve other importing countries outside the EU in global agreements on sustainable trade, and
shifting consumption in the Netherlands towards a sustainable and more plant-based diet, and towards fewer and more durable goods.
Recommendations
IOB formulated the following recommendations, for development cooperation, but also for other Dutch policy.
Recommendations for future development policy on food security, water and climate
In Bangladesh and Mozambique support for long-term strategies of the Delta plans was successfully combined with short-term projects. Building on the positive experiences, the Netherlands could support partner countries in developing similar coherent long-term strategies in countries where this is possible and feasible. Embassies are best placed to define the scope and actors to be involved.
Policy dialogue with the government of the partner country and other stakeholders is a condition, not only to stimulate country ownership, but also to achieve long-term results. The Netherlands could also promote better governance through policy dialogue, a long-term commitment for capacity development and support in accessing finance from MDBs and climate funds.
In countries with a relatively stable government, long-term agreements for programmes help to build relationships, work on long-term structural solutions and ensure mutual accountability. Such programmes can then be fleshed out with short-term projects, public-private partnerships, technical assistance and diplomacy. Flexibility in project implementation helps monitoring, learning and project adaptation.
Achieving tangible results often requires addressing multiple challenges in combination. A systems-based analysis and approach can support such an integrated, coherent mode of operation. In addition, a differentiated approach may be needed to reach the poorest people.
Embassy staff are best placed to assess the country context, set up relevant programmes, select the right partners and react to changing circumstances. A first step is a larger role for embassies in the design and monitoring of centrally-managed projects. A second step is to devolve a larger share of the total budget to embassies.
Projects are mainly evaluated individually, mostly in the last year of funding, too early to measure impact, sustainability or changes at the system level. For longer-term programmes – consisting of a coherent set of parallel and successive projects and diplomacy, working in a specific sector and in geographical area – it is more useful to evaluate the programme as a whole. Within such a programme, there is still a need to evaluate projects, but this can be limited to a selection of the most interesting projects.
Recommendations for other Dutch policies: Dutch import and value chain sustainability, and domestic agricultural and food policy
To reduce the negative effects of Dutch import of commodities and Dutch agriculture on food security, water and climate in developing countries, policies are needed that use a systems approach. This includes production, consumption and the environment. This requires
diplomatic efforts to involve non-EU importing countries in sustainable trade agreements, and
addressing consumption in the Netherlands: shifting to a sustainable and more plant-based diet and importing fewer and more durable goods such as clothing.
Substudies
IOB commissioned three substudies as input for the coherence study:
