BUILDING NATIONAL CAPACITY TO IMPROVE THE IMPACT EVALUATION OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH
The emphasis on agricultural economics research in the current time has moved significantly towards assessing the impact of agricultural innovations, policies and programs. With the advances in the impact evaluation methodology, it has become important to facilitate the upgradation of related knowledge and skills in young researchers and scientists of the national agricultural research system. Taking account of this growing demand, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in collaboration with the Institute of Agricultural Science, Banaras Hindu University (IAS-BHU) and funded by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) organized a 6-day training program on ‘Analytical Techniques for Impact Evaluation Methods’ at the Department of Agricultural Economics, IAS-BHU from April 25-30, 2022.
Out of 180 applicants, 33 researchers and scientists were selected from ICAR institutions, State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) and Central Agricultural Universities (CAUs) across India and included 18 male and 15 female participants. The objective of the program was to train them on the best practices in conducting field surveys, analyzing data, and using advanced methods for impact evaluation. The session deliberations included introduction to impact evaluation of agricultural research and development programs, basic concepts and tools required for econometric/statistical analysis, impact evaluation methodologies, and also tips on writing research and policy papers.
The techniques learnt in the training will encourages researchers to consider a logical framework that clearly sets out the causal pathways by which a program works to produce outputs and influence final outcomes, and to combine impact evaluations with monitoring and complementary evaluation approaches to gain a full picture of its performance. The participants were also provided a unique opportunity to have active interactions on each topic with the respective trainers, which included expert IFPRI researchers like Dr. Anjani Kumar, Dr. Avinash Kishore, Dr. Devesh Roy, Ms. Manavi Gupta, Ms. Shweta Gupta, Mr. Sunil Saroj as well as Dr. Prabhat Kishore of ICAR- National Institute of Agricultural Economics and Policy Research (ICAR-NIAP).
The inaugural session, held on April 25, 2022, saw several key dignitaries such as Dr. Panjab Singh, Ex-Vice Chancellor, BHU & Secretary, DARE, Dr. R. C. Agrawal, Deputy Director General (Agricultural Education), ICAR, Dr. J. P. Mishra, Assistant Director General (International Relations), ICAR, Dr. Shahidur Rashid (virtual), Director-South Asia, IFPRI, Dr. Anjani Kumar, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI, Dr. Yashwant Singh, Director, IAS-BHU, and Prof. Rakesh Singh, Head, Agricultural Economics, IAS-BHU, gracing the opening ceremony.
Dr. Kumar presented the background of the training and remarked “IFPRI’s activities in South Asia are organized under 3 major categories: collaborative research, capacity building and policy advocacy and this training program is aimed at enhancing the skills and expertise of researchers in advanced impact evaluation methodologies”. Delivering the keynote address, Dr. Rashid said, “to face the new challenges in the field, a new set of analytical tools are needed and so, there is a necessity to equip the young researchers with these new tools.” The guest of honor, Dr. Mishra, highlighted the structural problems India is facing and how the researchers can contribute towards overcoming them, concluding that “this is the time to shift our focus from the broader impact on food security to the finer aspects of impact studies which can take into account the issues of equity, sustainability and women empowerment". Dr. Agrawal, the chief guest, drew attention towards the National Education Policy 2020, and highlighted the excellent role IFPRI has been performing by organizing various capacity building programs with the ultimate aim of helping to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the region. Dr Panjab Singh, the honored chairman of the inaugural session, stressed the need of “socioeconomic impact analysis and how it affects the livelihoods of millions across the country”. The vote of thanks was delivered by Prof Rakesh Singh and in his address, he thanked all the dignitaries for gracing the program with their presence.
A valedictory session was conducted at the end of the training, wherein a brief discussion on the perspectives of “Institutionalizing Impact Assessment in Agricultural Research and Extension” was held and the participants were invited to present their views on the same. The certificates of completion were then awarded to the participants by the chief guest, Dr. Mangala Rai, Former Secretary, DARE & Former Director General, ICAR along with Dr. A. K. Singh, Deputy Director General (Agricultural extension), ICAR. In his address, Dr Rai stressed on the need for upcoming generation of policy makers and scientists to address real problems, proclaiming that “science will die if truth does not prevail” and concluding with an appeal to the gathered young minds to come up with fresh ideas that possess a core of reality. Dr. Singh in his remarks highlighted on the need for “young researchers and scientists to connect with farmers at the grassroot level” and emphasized the importance of primary data in impact assessment.
Post completion of the training, IFPRI plans to continue working with the participants to foster collaborative research and facilitate engagement on various projects to generate policy insights and outputs which would benefit the nation’s farmers and masses alike.
Anisha Mohan is a Communications Associate with IFPRI-South Asia.
