Abstract
USAID/Nigeria's Maximizing Agricultural Revenue and Key Enterprises in Targeted Sites (MARKETS) was a multi-faceted six and a half-year pilot program designed to strengthen agricultural competitiveness and food security in Nigeria. The program began in 2005 with a budget of $24 million which later increased to $51.6 million by the time the project closed in December 2010; after which the project was extended for 16 months (January 2011 through April 2012) with an additional $9.5 million through the Bridge to MARKETS II (BtM2) project. The project was managed by Chemonics International with international and local sub-contractors, MARKETS employed a private sector-led, comprehensive value chain approach that identified commercial buyers and facilitated inputs that supported farmers to meet market standards and a guaranteed buyer. The final evaluation fieldwork of the MARKETS program was conducted in June and July 2012. The evaluation was commissioned by USAID/Nigeria Mission with the aim: (1) to determine whether the goals and objectives of MARKETS were met; (2) establish how effectively MARKETS interventions were delivered; (3) assess project outcomes; (4) assess the extent to which the project affected its beneficiaries; (5) determine whether the USG investment in the program received the greatest possible return; and (6) learn lessons that will guide the implementation of MARKETS II. The final evaluation was guided by eight key evaluation questions on project design, implementation and outcomes. The evaluators found, in general, the value chain approach had a positive impact on the farm level and with agro processors. Production and quality increased two- and three-fold. The value chain approach of this pilot demonstrated notable success stories in linking farmers to formal credit and guaranteed markets. There is still a vast ongoing need for access to credit, consistent output and meeting quality standards of the marketplace. A constraint is that Nigeria small holder farms are still very labor intensive and inefficient. The good news is that the introduction of new technologies was well received and the new production technology adoption rate of was 100 percent. Beneficiary satisfaction is one of the main achievements of the MARKETS pilot program. Satisfaction was very high with increases in yields and related incomes. The beneficiaries expressed their strong interest in ongoing knowledge through trainings and demonstrations as well as improved and certified inputs like seeds, agrochemicals and fertilizer. Likewise the agro processors were largely satisfied with the MARKETS activities and program staff, and most important the results of increased value added commodities and products (132% of the MARKETS target). MARKETS II has been launched and is going more deeply into a fewer number of value chains that meet the current programmatic criteria and priorities—food security and nutrition, income and job creation and greater benefits to women and youth among others. (Excerpt, modified)