The decentralized evaluation of the R4 Rural Resilience Initiative was commissioned by WFP Zimbabwe. The R4 Initiative managed climate-related risk to enhance the food and nutrition security of farming households. Its integrated risk management strategy relied on four pillars: risk reduction (through a food for assets scheme and improved agricultural practices), risk transfer (through drought insurance), risk reserves and prudent risk taking (through village savings and loan groups, and market access for smallholder farmers).
The evaluation period covered the first phase of the R4 Initative in Zimbabwe, which ran from January 2018 to June 2021 and targeted 6,000 beneficiaries in the rural districts of Masvingo and Rushinga.
The evaluation served the double purpose of accountability and learning (with emphasis on the latter) and addressed the evaluation criteria of relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact, and sustainability, mainstreaming gender equality and empowerment of women throughout.
The mixed methods approach of the evaluation combined qualitative methods (document review, remote key informant interviews with national stakeholders, as well as field-based in-depth interviews with local stakeholders, focus group discussions with beneficiaries, and direct observation) and quantitative methods (a phone survey with beneficiaries, and analysis of existing M&E data).
The evaluation report is available at: https://www.wfp.org/publications/zimbabwe-r4-rural-resilience-initiative-masvingo-and-rushinga-evaluation