HANDBOOK for the evaluation of agroecology

L. Levard, B. Mathieu, P. Masse (2019) Handbook for the evaluation of agroecology,A method to evaluate its effects and the conditions for its development, GTAE-Agro Paris Tech. CIRAD-IRD, March 2019. 74 pp.

L. Levard, M. Bertrand, P. Masse (2019), Mémento pour l’évaluation de l’agroécologie,Méthodes pour évaluer ses effets et les conditions de son développement, GTAE-Agro Paris Tech CIRAD-IRD, Mars 2019. 74 pp.

This handbook is a methodological tool useful to evaluate the conditions for developing agroecology and the agro-environmental and socio-economic effects of agroecological practices and systems. Mainly planned for development actors, it is also intended to be an easy-to-use tool with a reliable and common methodology for the systematized production of references that are still often lacking today to promote and support the development of agroecology.

The handbook provides methodological guidelines for the evaluation of agroecology, whether in the context of a one-off evaluation (ongoing, at the end of or outside of an intervention) or in the context of the implementation of a monitoring-evaluation system for an intervention. It aims to help development actors evaluate the results and effects of their agro-ecological interventions by proposing different evaluation criteria associated with indicators and methods presented in the form of sheets. In addition, the creation of references on the economic, social and environmental performance of agroecology will help to support arguments in favor of agroecology with donors and decision-makers, while the identification of the conditions for the development of agroecology can be considered in the design of interventions and public policies in favor of agroecology.

This guide is a first methodological document, which will be improved and adjusted based on the lessons learned from the implementation of the proposed tools and methods, within the framework of future evaluation work carried out by the GTAE and its partners.

This methodological handbook is the result of collaboration between teams from :

• The Agroecological Transitions Working Group (GTAE), made up of Agrisud International, Agronomes et Vétérinaires Sans Frontières (AVSF), Cari and GRET,
• the UFR Comparative Agriculture and Agricultural Development of AgroParisTech,
• the Agroecology and Sustainable Intensification of Annual Crops research unit (AÏDA) of CIRAD,
• the Functional Ecology and Biogeochemistry of Soils and Agro-Systems (Eco&Sols) joint research unit of the IRD.

The book is available in English and French.

Related:

FAO (2019) Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation (TAPE): Process of Development and Guidelines for Application: Test Version Rome, 94 pp.

With the help of multiple partners, FAO has developed a global analytical framework for the multidimensional assessment of the performance of agroecology: the Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation (TAPE), which aims to:

· Inform policy makers, development institutions, and other stakeholders by creating references to the multidimensional performance of agroecology and its potential to contribute to multiple SDGs;

· Build knowledge and empower producers through the collective process of producing and sharing data and evidence based on their own practices;

· Support agroecological transition processes at different scales, in different locations and different timeframes by proposing a diagnostic of performances over time and by identifying areas of strengths/weaknesses and enabling/disabling