Type of RFE Engagement: Monitoring Technical Assistance

IPA is providing MEL technical support to One Acre Fund (1AF) as part of a strategic expansion of a multi-channel delivery model in its operating countries in Africa. IPA’s support includes helping to prioritize when and where to evaluate program channels, validating and strengthening data collection practices, and designing strategies to capture holistic impacts of 1AF’s programs on farmers, their communities, and broader agricultural markets.

One Acre Fund is a social enterprise working to enhance the productivity and resilience of smallholder farmers across many countries in Africa. 1AF is currently expanding its model to reach farmers through different impact channels – including retail, credit, extension services, and investments in processing and export capabilities. This comprehensive approach is also combined with 1AF becoming more expansive in their definition of impact, looking to measure their impacts on farmer well-being, resilience, and environmental sustainability, and market systems for crops, seeds, and other inputs, alongside household income gains due to 1AF products and services. 

Through a multi-year learning partnership, IPA provided a suite of custom MEL support services to 1AF, including guidance on evaluation strategy and feedback on data collection and analysis approaches. In addition, IPA supported 1AF to develop right-fit approaches to measuring the impact of its program on gender norms, household resilience and broader agricultural systems. Throughout this process, the focus was on building sustainable capacity within the 1AF MEL team, ensuring that 1AF will be able to continue to implement key approaches on their own in a relevant, credible way.

IPA developed a thorough understanding of 1AF, their program, and priorities. This understanding helped IPA make relevant and applicable recommendations across a number of key areas. Strong longer term engagement with 1AF's MEL leaders has allowed IPA to offer detailed improvements to 1AF’s survey protocols, including changes to sample selection and survey translation. In addition, IPA led literature reviews and consultations with sector experts to ensure that 1AF’s new approaches to measuring holistic farmer impacts were grounded in best practices.

Implementing Partner